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The Situation Room

Trump Returns To Oval Office Despite Infection, WH Outbreak; WH Officials Concede That Trump Is Not Tested Daily But "Regularly"; Interview With Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); Soon: Pence, Harris Face Off For First Vice Presidential Debate; Fauci: U.S. Could See As Many As 400,000 Pandemic Deaths This Winter. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 07, 2020 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[17:00:13]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We're following breaking news. President Trump leaving the White House residence for the Oval Office despite his COVID infection, and the growing outbreak among White House staff in what is truly a stunning display of disregard for the health of those around him.

CNN has learned that White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Social Media Advisor Dan Scavino have been with the President in the Oval Office and that they wore personal protective equipment. We can expect all of this to be front and center just hours from now.

At the Vice Presidential debate when Mike Pence and Kamala Harris face off for the first time in a historic contest. Senator Harris would be the first female vice president, the first person of color to be vice president.

The debate comes on a night when the U.S. coronavirus death toll here in the United States has now topped 211,000 people with more than seven and a half million confirmed coronavirus cases.

Let's get straight to the White House right now. Our Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta is on the scene for us.

Jim, the President is putting the health of those around him over at the White House, potentially at risk by simply walking around from the residence to the Oval Office. He certainly doesn't have to do that.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf.

President Trump returned to the Oval Office even as he is still infected with the coronavirus and capable of spreading COVID-19 to other people. He's been in the Oval Office with a couple of aides as you said including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. The White House continue to cloak the President's health in secrecy today.

The President's doctor released a statement saying Mr. Trump feels great and as symptom free. But top White House officials are giving conflicting answers on whether the President entered the Oval Office yesterday and CNN has learned the President was not being tested daily for the virus prior to his positive results last week. White House officials will only say he is tested regularly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): With the Marines stationed outside the West Wing meaning the President was back in the Oval Office White House officials are dodging key questions about Mr. Trump's recovery from the coronavirus.

Presidents Dr. Sean Conley released another brief statement that first quotes Mr. Trump, "The President this morning says "I feel great." And goes on to say his "vital signs including oxygen saturation and respiratory rate all remain stable and in normal range. He's now been fever free for more than four days, symptom free for over 24 hours."

Top White House officials are giving conflicting answers on whether the President stopped by the Oval Office on Tuesday, with economic advisor Larry Kudlow saying, yes he did.

LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER: The government is functioning, the President actually showed up in the Oval Office yesterday with extra precautions with respect to -- his COVID-19 and he's getting a lot better.

ACOSTA: But Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters Mr. Trump only wanted to go.

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: We're looking at his prognosis from a health standpoint. He wanted to go to the Oval yesterday.

If he decides to go to the Oval, we've got safety protocols there.

ACOSTA: Meadows would not say when the President last tested negative for the virus before his positive results on Thursday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mark, was the President tested daily before Thursday?

MEADOWS: You already had that asked --

ACOSTA: White House officials tell CNN the President is tested regularly while people around Mr. Trump are tested daily. That's a critical distinction considering all of the people in Mr. Trump's orbit who've come up positive with COVID-19.

Administration officials are looking at both the Rose Garden event for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Mr. Trump's debate prep sessions that included Kellyanne Conway and Chris Christie, as likely spreaders of the virus late last month.

If Mr. Trump caught the virus that weekend, he could have passed it on at a Goldstar event for military families where many people were not wearing masks.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- I was very proud to nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court.

ACOSTA: As well as his news conference the same day.

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, you shut up, man.

TRUMP: Who is your -- listen, who is --

ACOSTA: Add to that his debate in Ohio two days later and then his rally in Minnesota.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says, that's why he's been urging Americans to be more careful.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Take a look at what happened this week at the White House. That is a reality right there. And every day that goes by more people are popping up that are infected. It's not a hoax.

ACOSTA: Behind closed doors, the President is back to tweeting conspiracy theories with one including a notable typo that combine the words caught and cough.

The President also thanked a supporter who tweeted "I would wait through a sea of COVID infested water to vote for President Trump on November 3."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who slammed the President for abruptly ending coronavirus stimulus talks question whether his medications are affecting his actions.

[17:05:05]

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: There are those who say that steroids had an impact on people's thinking. I don't know. But there are those health care providers who say that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now White House officials who says they're prepared for the President working out of the Oval Office claiming staffers will be shielded by personal protective equipment when they're around Mr. Trump, that's quite a remarkable departure from how White House officials have been behaving for months when they scoffed at the idea of just wearing masks and talk about reversals, Wolf.

Yesterday, the President claimed he was ending stimulus talks. Remember he tweeted about that. Today, officials say he was briefed on the status of those talks in the Oval Office. Wolf.

BLITZER: Jim Acosta at the White House for us. We'll get back to you. Thank you.

We're coming down to tonight's vice presidential debate as Mike Pence and Kamala Harris prepare to face off for the first time. CNN's Ryan Nobles is joining us from Salt Lake City.

Ryan, the President's COVID diagnosis is likely to be a big part of tonight's debate, right?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right, Wolf. Not only will Vice President Pence be pressed on how the President responded to that positive coronavirus test, but also how the Vice President himself acted. In the days after that announcement, of course, Vice President Pence among those not wearing a mask at that event with Amy Coney Barrett last Saturday.

Also expect the coronavirus to extend beyond just the President's diagnosis to the broader administration response. Democrats and Kamala Harris will be on stage for the Democratic ticket, expected to press Pence on the way that this administration has handled it and including Pence's role as the leader of the Coronavirus Task Force.

But Republicans say, to be prepared for Mike Pence to return fire, he is someone who is very skilled at debates like these. Very good at staying on message. And he's expected to turn the tables on Kamala Harris and bring up her prior support for Medicare for All.

So, Wolf, this will be a much different debate than we saw last week of both Kamala Harris and Mike Pence skilled debate performers and it will be a much different conversation than we saw when it was President Trump and Vice President Biden.

BLITZER: Yes. I'm sure it will be Ryan, both Pence and Harris they have tested negative for coronavirus, just ahead of tonight's debate. But in the wake of an outbreak in the White House, a very significant outbreak, I must say as well. What are the precautions that are being taken where you are on the debate stage in the debate hall?

NOBLES: Well, the debate commission is trying to tighten things up from what happened in Cleveland more than a week ago. Inside the debate Hall today every single person who was going into the debate hall, including journalists like myself, will be asked to put on a mask and wear it the entire time. The only people not wearing a mask in the hall will be the Vice President, Senator Harris in the debate moderator Susan Page.

They've also moved apart the distance between Harris and Pence. They'll now be 12 feet apart. They were originally only seven feet apart. And there will be a plexiglass shield between the two candidates on either side.

Now, we should point out, Wolf, that medical professionals say that the shield, many the other steps that the Commission are taking is not going to eliminate the risk of those inside the debate Hall could contract the coronavirus. This is all about mitigating the risk, but they make it clear, including our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta that the only way to make sure that the coronavirus is not spread through an event like this is to do it in a virtual setting something that neither of the candidates have agreed to or the Commission itself. Wolf.

BLITZER: Interesting indeed. All right, Ryan Nobles on the scene for us in Salt Lake City. Thank you.

Let's get some more in all of this. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us all along with CNN Political Correspondent Abby Phillip and our Senior Political Analyst Ryan Lizza, he's the chief Washington Correspondent for Politico.

Sanjay, is the President breaking his own CDC guidelines by working from the Oval Office today, walking from the residence over to the Oval Office?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yes, the CDC guidelines are pretty clear on this. I mean, he has known COVID disease, he should be in isolation. Isolation is for people who have disease, quarantine is for people who have had exposure to the disease. So it's very clear and the CDC guidance is even gives you some indication of how long he needs to be in isolation.

We can show this. But basically, you know, and admittedly, you know, people might clear virus at different levels, but as a general rule of 10 days, since people develop symptoms, you want to make sure that they're likely to be contagious at least 24 hours since the last fever without using medications. And you know, it's important to point out that the President has been on dexamethasone, probably still on dexamethasone, although the doctors haven't told us one way or the other, that will suppress the fever. So, it's really hard to read into his symptoms right now.

So, he absolutely should be in isolation. It's not good for him. To not be an isolation is not good for the people around him. Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. Let me read from the CDC guideline on this specific point, Sanjay, I think is very important. "People who are in isolation should stay home until it's safe for them to be around others.

[17:10:02]

In the home anyone sick or infected should separate themselves from others by staying in a specific sick room or area and using a separate bathroom, if available."

So those are the CDC guidelines, which it appears to be the case right now for those of us who have been at the White House. And you've been there are many times, Sanjay, you walk from the residence, you walk down, you got to go across a long corridor over there to get to the West Wing, then walk into the Oval Office. These clearly are seem to be a significant violation of these guidelines from the CDC.

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, without a doubt, Wolf. I mean, he is thought to be shedding virus at this point. So even those areas that he's walked through, given that we now know and the CDC has this on their website as well that the virus can aerosolize. So it's so small that it can become suspended in the air, and it can stay there for a few hours and travel some distance.

So, what is the ventilation like? Who is going to be in that area even some time after the President has gone through? Is he wearing a mask? Presumably what kind of mask is he wearing?

You know, all these things make a difference. And that's part of the reason the guidance is pretty clear. When it comes to this.

He should be in isolation. This is a contagious deadly disease. I know that we've been talking about this for months, and people generally know that. But I think it's worth repeating. He has a contagious disease, he should be in isolation. So at least he can protect other people.

BLITZER: It's not just a contagious disease. It's a deadly disease as we all know.

You know, Abby, we just learned that the President wasn't getting tested for the virus every day. And now we see that he's still contagious going into the Oval Office, walking around the White House complex.

The White House seems to think the basic rules of Health and Science and the CDC own guidelines don't apply to the President, is that right?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's how they are behaving. And not only do they seem to think that it doesn't apply to the President, but they're saying effectively, that it doesn't apply just to the West Wing. Because based on what the White House has said about what's going on in the residence, in the East Wing, which is governed by apparently different rules, the staff that work in the East Wing, they are wearing masks every day that is required in the East Wing. They're being tested, according to the White House every day.

And these things are not happening in the West Wing. And we can only say that that is because of political reasons. The White House refuses to say when the President last got a negative test for the coronavirus. And it's likely that they won't say because he -- because of the very reason Jim reported he wasn't being tested every day.

But now the critical question becomes did he receive a coronavirus test before he attended that debate with Joe Biden last Tuesday? And if he did not, why not? What kind of -- what -- on what planet would they actually send the President to a debate having not tested him when they certified to the debate commission that he was tested?

I think this is a really critically important question. The fact that they won't answer it is really unacceptable. And all of this just really seems to have no rhyme or reason toward -- for it. There's no reason for the President to work from the Oval Office. He can work from anywhere and doing so just exposes potentially more people to this virus.

BLITZER: What's so disturbing Abby is the President's doctor yesterday and today issued a very short statement, but he's refusing to answer reporters' questions, legitimate questions, indeed.

Ryan, we know the President didn't want to be seen hospitalized. He was over there at Walter Reed for about four days. He wanted to get back to the White House. Wanted to get back to the Oval Office. But from your perspective, how reckless is this? RYAN LIZZA, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Well, look, he's not the first world leader to get coronavirus. So we have some other models. Look at Boris Johnson did in the U.K., when he had to isolate. He went to his country home away from the Capitol until he, you know, took a turn for the worse and had to go into the hospital.

But Trump has other homes, there are other possibilities for him to isolate in a way that does not have all of the infrastructure and Secret Service and staff and reporters around the White House. They could come up with a plan. This does have the hint of just being about optics and about trying to quote across a sense that everything is normal.

When Sanjay points out he's, you know, walking around spreading this virus around in an area where there are other human beings. So, it's baffling. It's the whole course here has been baffling from the way that they have hidden what his last test was to the way that they have been not giving us enough information about his condition to just being reckless about the CDC guidance.

BLITZER: Yes.

[17:15:00]

So many of the President's associates, so many of his aides, supporters, I think more than 20 right now are already been confirmed with coronavirus yet the President is behaving this way.

All right, guys, standby, we're going to get back to you Sanjay Gupta, Abby Phillip, Ryan Lizza. We're gone have much more coming up on all of this.

Also stay with us tonight our special vice presidential debate coverage starts at 7 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

Up next, we'll talk about the debate and the breaking news with Senator Elizabeth Warren. Plus a sobering warning from Dr. Anthony Fauci now saying us coronavirus deaths could climb dramatically this winter. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The breaking news this hour President Trump taking briefings inside the Oval Office leaving the White House residence, walking around the White House complex despite his COVID infection.

[17:20:07]

CNN has learned that White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Social Media Advisor Dan Scavino were with the President in the Oval Office and that they wore personal protective equipment.

Joining us now to discuss that and more Democratic senator, former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Senator Warren, thank you so much for joining us. So you see, the President of the United States is battling the same virus that has now killed more than 211,000 Americans. But instead of following the CDC guidelines and isolating, he's back in the Oval Office with staff tonight. So what kind of example is the President setting?

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Well, he's setting the same kind of example he has set from the beginning. He demonstrates both his self- absorption that all he cares about is Donald Trump. And he also demonstrates his incompetence, that they really can't seem to understand the importance of getting this virus under control.

And the only way that's going to happen is if we listen to the scientists, if we follow their guidelines, and if we do our best to keep each other safe, and Donald Trump just doesn't get that. He just cannot seem to think outside the shell of Donald Trump.

BLITZER: The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has noted in her words that medical doctors say that steroids, in addition to the coronavirus, could have an impact on someone's judgment. She added that she'd leave it up to the doctors to say for certain. What do you make of the President's behavior in the wake of his diagnosis?

WARREN: Look, I don't know. And I leave that up to the doctors. But what I do know is that COVID has killed 211,000 Americans. People are dying by the hundreds every single day. And we need leadership from the White House.

Donald Trump has proven time and again, that he is not only incapable of leading, he is actually putting more Americans at risk. He does it in a very personal way right now, by going into the Oval Office, by exposing people, by walking through hallways.

And he does it by example. In effect, saying to millions of people across this country, what was it? Don't let COVID dominate you? Are you kidding me? This is a potentially fatal virus, you know?

And that's why it is that November 3 is so important. Why it is so important to have Joe Biden in the White House, to have a leader who cares and a leader who is confident.

BLITZER: More than 700 Americans, by the way, died just yesterday, in one day.

The President tweeted yesterday he was ending the stimulus negotiations with the Democrats up on Capitol Hill. But before walking that back a few hours later in signaling, maybe he is open to some talks.

If you're one of the millions of Americans right now, who were in desperate, desperate need of federal assistance, where does that leave you?

WARREN: And it leaves you out in the cold. That's where Donald Trump and the Republicans have put him put them.

People need help. People are dying, people are out of work. People are not going to be able to make their rent payments or their mortgage payments. People are facing losing their jobs and losing their health insurance.

And all Donald Trump can focus on at this point is stealing another Supreme Court seat so that they will be able to take away health care from 10s of millions of people in the middle of a pandemic. This is wrong. So many different ways. And this is why it November 3 is so important and getting Donald Trump out and getting Joe Biden in is so important.

BLITZER: Let's turn senator to tonight's highly anticipated vice presidential debate. The former Republican Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin who has been helping a Vice President Pence prepare for the debate. He told Fox that Pence plans to paint Senator Kamala Harris as part of the radical left.

If Senator Harris defends against those attacks by let's say, distancing yourself from two signature progressive policies, Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, what message will that send to progressives in your party who Biden and Harris clearly will lead big time in order to win this election?

WARREN: Oh, please. Kamala is going to talk about how Republicans are trying to take away health care coverage from millions of Americans in the middle of a pandemic. And if she talks about that over and over and over during the debate tonight, the 10s of millions, hundreds of millions of people in this country who say that they want people to be able to keep their healthcare coverage, that they want to expand health care coverage for Americans, they know who they need to vote for in November.

[17:25:10]

You know, if you had to pick a single issue that divides the Republicans from the Democrats more clearly it's healthcare, because on the one hand what the Republicans are trying to do right now is they are in court. They're going to be in the United States Supreme Court in November, trying to get the Affordable Care Act overturned, trying to take away health care from people, trying to let insurance companies discriminate against people with preexisting conditions.

What the Democrats are for is expanded health care coverage. That's what we get out there and fight for. We believe that health care is a basic human right. And we want Americans to have health care coverage, and we are willing to work toward that end. And to me that's what this 2020 election is about just in a nutshell.

BLITZER: You're you make an important point, because the Supreme Court will hear those arguments for and against the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare on November 10. Exactly one week after the election. This is going to be a huge, huge issue.

Senator Warren, thank you so much for joining us.

WARREN: Thank you. Good to see you.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Coming up, as many as 400,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States, this winter details of what Dr. Anthony Fauci is now warning.

Plus, the disturbing new number of cases, they're on the rise right now in half the country. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:29]

BLITZER: We're following breaking pandemic news. The U.S. coronavirus death toll has now topped 211,000 people with more than 7.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases. CNN's Brian Todd is joining us right now. Brian, those numbers don't bode well at all, especially as winter approaches.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They don't, Wolf, and there are other very disturbing numbers we have to report tonight. Almost every indicator regarding how this pandemic is going in the United States is going in the wrong direction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): A dire warning from America's leading voice on the pandemic of a potentially devastating winter ahead.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We could have from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths. That would be just so tragic if that happens.

TODD (voice-over): Dr. Anthony Fauci's warning comes as almost all the trends in America are heading in the wrong direction. 24 states are trending worse in new weekly cases, while only three states are improving. And eight states are seeing their highest ever new case weekly averages.

WILLIAM HASELTINE, FORMER PROFESSOR, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: People have come back to work. Some are going back to school, and they're not taking the proper precautions. We see that not just in the United States, we see that around the world.

TODD (voice-over): For the first time since August, the U.S. is seeing an average of more than 44,000 new cases per day. In the state of Wisconsin, the situation is spiraling. Hospitalizations have skyrocketed in recent days.

HASELTINE: And there's always a delay between the rise in the cases that we've seen, the rise in hospitalizations, and sadly a number of deaths.

TODD (voice-over): Wisconsin's governor has issued an emergency order limiting public gatherings to no more than 25 percent of a room or buildings total occupancy. And the Green Bay Packers are now barring fans from going to home games at storied Lambeau Field. Former Packers coach Mike Holmgren now supporting Joe Biden's candidacy, blames President Trump for Wisconsin spike.

MIKE HOLMGREN, FORMER GREEN BAY PACKERS COACH: It doesn't have to be this bad. And had the President acted earlier and done some things earlier, but he didn't and now here we are.

TODD (voice-over): In New York meantime, officials are desperately trying to head off several new clusters of coronavirus. In those clusters combined, many of them in New York City, officials say the positivity rate is five times that of the rest of the state. So, in so-called red zones, non-essential businesses will be closed, mass gatherings prohibited and in places of worship, only 10 people will be allowed inside at a time.

People in an Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn protested that restriction, accusing the Mayor and Governor of deceiving them. Mayor Bill de Blasio defended the crackdown.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: We need to stop this outbreak dead in its tracks for the good of all New York City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Meanwhile, President Trump is lashing out at his own governments Food and Drug Administration after the FDA issued new guidance saying that no company that is developing a coronavirus vaccine can seek Emergency Use Authorization to distribute their vaccine until at least two months have passed after their volunteers get their second dose of the vaccine. That means that Emergency Authorization for any vaccine is unlikely until after Election Day. The President calls that a, quote, political hit job by the FDA. Wolf?

BLITZER: His own FDA indeed. All right, Brian Todd reporting for us. Thank you very much.

Let's get some more on this. The Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health is joining us Dr. Ashish Jha. Dr. Jha, thank you so much for joining us. So, right now, the United States is averaging more than 44,000 new coronavirus cases every single day.

[17:35:05]

We haven't seen numbers of that high as you just heard in Brian's reports since August. Does that put us on track now for this projection from Dr. Fauci, God forbid, that the death toll could actually reach 300,000 or 400,000 deaths by this winter?

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Yes, Wolf, thank you for having me on. Those are dire predictions by Dr. Fauci consistent with what the -- you see (ph) of Washington model is suggesting. I'm still optimistic we can do better than that. But it's not going to be easy and it's not going to happen if we take our eye off the ball. So we know what to do around mask wearing and avoiding indoor gatherings and all of that.

If our country can do those things, if states can focus on those things, yes, I think we can avoid the 300,000 to 400,000 deaths, but it's going to take work.

BLITZER: It's going to take a lot of work and a lot of leadership, which unfortunately, is missing right now. About 44,000 Americans are getting the virus having to isolate themselves. So what sort of example is the President setting for them by working from the Oval Office, walking around the large White House complex? He's doing that today while he's still contagious.

JHA: Yes, the entire way that the White House has dealt with their super spreading event that they experienced last week and what has happened since then, is really shocking. It's shocking for two reasons. One, is that it means that the virus will continue to spread in that community. And what the President is doing is going to put other people at risk. What the Vice President has done by not quarantining, I think puts others at risk.

And then, as you said, it suggests, you know, sort of sets all the wrong examples, asking people who are working on kind of, you know, with hourly wage workers, people who are -- have childcare challenges, asking them to quarantine when our leaders won't do it, really unacceptable.

BLITZER: As you know, the President did get an experimental antibody treatment, this Regeneron drug from the firm Regeneron. But now Eli Lilly says it plans to have a million doses of its antibody therapy ready for when it gets Emergency Use Authorization. How significant are these developments?

JHA: Yes, I think this is good news. I mean, again, you know, one of the things that I think that the administration has done actually pretty well, is both on the vaccine front and on the therapeutics front, has really done a lot to kind of push those forward. It'd be great -- first of all, we don't know if Eli Lilly drug is going to work. But let's assume it does, let's hope for a second that the science shows it does.

It'd be great to have a million doses because there will be a lot of Americans who will need it. Again, I'd rather have fewer people getting infected but if we have people getting infected, it'll be helpful to have therapeutics available.

BLITZER: It certainly will be. All right, Dr. Ashish Jha, as usual, thank you very much.

Coming up, the pandemic expected to be front and center in tonight's vice presidential debate. I'll talk to former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who's actually helping Vice President Pence prepare for the debate. There you see him, he's got a mask on. We'll discuss with the Governor when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:42:38]

BLITZER: The breaking news this hour, the President displaying a shocking disregard for the lives of others by actually leaving the White House residents, walking around the White House complex heading into the Oval Office despite his COVID infection. He's actually taking briefings inside the Oval Office. Let's talk about that and more with former Republican Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, who's in Salt Lake City right now. He's been helping the Vice President prepare for tonight's historic debate.

Governor Walker, thank you so much for joining us. The President despite his coronavirus diagnosis, he's still apparently contagious, he's back walking around the White House, potentially, potentially exposing staff members to this highly contagious and potentially deadly virus.

Are you and the Vice President comfortable with Mr. Trump's repeated defiance of the CDC guidance, which says those who were infected, those who are contagious need to isolate and what they call -- the CDC calls a sick room?

SCOTT WALKER (R), FORMER WISCONSIN GOVERNOR: Well, certainly staying away from the American public not out in the trail, but I caught the tail in your last segment and I mentioned Dr. Fauci. Remember back in March, Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx, and others told the President, Vice President and the task force they need to take immediate action, or as many as 2.2 million people with die. They took action, we flatten the curve.

And if you look, time and time again, they've listened to the scientists, they move forward with the actions required to keep this country safe. And in regards to what the President may or may not be doing in the Oval Office, I think what's most important is the actions he's taking to help protect the American people while it's contained to protect the American economy as well.

BLITZER: Your home state of Wisconsin, and you just heard Brian Todd's report, just set a record for daily coronavirus hospitalizations. But Wisconsin isn't alone states across the country right now, they are struggling, Governor, to contain this pandemic right now. How will the Vice President address the administration's response to the pandemic including the failure to contain the outbreak even within the White House?

WALKER: Well, again on this, certainly, we're concerned because it even happened after the mask mandate was in so that's no one cure all, but it's part of the plan. That's why I've been wearing a mask on public since March. But the bigger issue here in this debate is again, I think the Vice President's going to push back, talk about the actions this administration's taken and contrast that.

[17:45:02]

Remember, Joe Biden early on, was complaining about the President trying to restrict travel from places like China and elsewhere that, if we'd, listened would have been a huge mistake, and would have been potentially made things even more deadly. And even Joe Biden's former Chief of Staff obviously said, just this last year, that when it came to H1N1, they totally screwed that up. He talked about it only being perchance that it wasn't one of the worst global mass issues ever.

And so, there is a stark contrast. When you push back on the Vice President, former Vice President Biden, and on Senator Harris, the reality is, most of what they're talking about are things that this administration, in particular, the task force had been acting on.

BLITZER: I'm sensing, Governor, we're getting a few of the talking points we're going to be hearing from the vice President later tonight. Clearly, you've been helping prepare for this debate. Obviously, we -- I suspect that the Vice President strategy tonight will be very different from what we saw in the presidential debate last week. The Vice President will, we're told -- you said this publicly -- will remain calm, yet emotional and aggressive. He is trying to draw contrast from the President's debate performance last week, which was so widely panned.

WALKER: Well, I think in the end, Mike Pence is going to be Mike Pence. We saw it four years ago in this debate. I helped him back then. He's a Midwestern like I am. We certainly have passion, we care for people but we have a different style than people do in other parts of the country.

So, I think he's going to be calm, but he is going to have emotion. He's certainly going to push back when Senator Harris or, for that matter, if the moderator brings up things that aren't consistent with the facts. And the facts overwhelmingly show not only on coronavirus, but on this recovery. We had a 50-year low unemployment before the pandemic. We've had 11 -- more than 11 million new jobs created over the last five months.

I think the obvious question he's going to ask the American people is who would you rather have in charge with this recovery? President who's done it not once, but in the process of doing it again, or Joe Biden who wants to raise taxes by over $4 trillion? There is a stark contrast between the two and the two tickets.

BLITZER: Yes, but let's not forget that right now, according to the U.S. Labor Department, there are 11 million fewer jobs here in the United States than there were back in February when this pandemic began to explode. So there may have been an increase in jobs over the past few months, but there are still 11 million jobs fewer today than they were in February.

Think about those families, think about all those kids, people having trouble paying the bills, paying the rent, putting food on the table. It's an awful situation right now, not only painful economically, but obviously, from a medical point of view as well.

The former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker --

WALKER: But it is -- and it is --

BLITZER: We'll stay in close touch with you. Thank you.

WALKER: All right. Thank you, Wolf. Good to be with you.

BLITZER: All right, we'll continue this conversation down the road.

There's more breaking news here in "The Situation Room" with more on President Trump's shocking decision to go into the Oval Office with top aides despite his COVID infection. We'll be right back.

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[17:52:54]

BLITZER: In pandemic headlines from around the world, Britain is facing a possible shortage of tests as cases in the country climb. Let's go to CNN's Scott McLean in London.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the U.K. is now recording 40 percent more new cases of the coronavirus per capita than the United States with really no signs of slowing down. Now, amidst massive demand for coronavirus tests, the supply chain issue is threatening to delay the delivery of some test just as the government tries to significantly ramp up its capacity.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, the First Minister there is blaming pubs for a resurgence of the coronavirus. Scotland is on track to have more new cases of the virus than it had at the peak of the outbreak in the spring by the end of this month. So, starting Friday, bars and restaurants will not be allowed to serve alcohol indoors and in some parts of Scotland, they will have to close altogether. Wolf?

BLITZER: Scott McLean in London, thank you very much.

Germany and France are both seeing growing number of -- numbers of patients requiring hospitalization. CNN's Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen has more on that from Berlin.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Wolf. Yes, continues to be a difficult situation here in Germany with the amount of new coronavirus infections very much on the rise. The German Center for Disease Control for the first time since mid-April, recorded more than 2,800 new coronavirus infections in the span of 24 hours.

What's even more cause for concern for Angela Merkel and German government is the fact that more and more people are requiring treatment in intensive care units and a lot of those patients are also being ventilated.

Now, the same is the case in France, where in the Paris region alone, the amount of people who are in ICU, require ICU treatment has doubled in the past two weeks alone. Now, both Germany and France are putting measures in place to try and curb the amount of new coronavirus infections and all this comes as the World Health Organization is saying that more and more people in Europe are suffering from what they call pandemic fatigue, Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Fred Pleitgen in Berlin. Thank you very much.

In China, meanwhile, some disturbing images of holiday crowds. Let's go to CNN's Selina Wang in Hong Kong.

[17:55:07] SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, scenes at the Great Wall of China are inconceivable in most parts of the world, massive crowds crammed along a wall. Even though the tour site has kept capacity and reminded people to wear their masks, many were seen barefaced and jam together in tight quarters. It's China's Golden Week holiday right now. One of the country's busiest travel periods.

It's also a major test as China gets past this coronavirus pandemic. Since the springtime, China's official numbers have reported a low number of COVID-19 cases. There have been a few flare ups but they were followed by mass testing measures and lock downs.

Now, with close to zero local transmissions, people are booking hotels, filling airports and trains. In fact, in just the first few days of the holiday, nearly half a billion people traveled within the country spending more than $45 billion. Wolf?

BLITZER: Selina Wang in Hong Kong, thank you very much.

There's breaking news coming up. White House officials now admitting that President Trump is not tested daily for the coronavirus.

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