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The Situation Room

Republican Senator Blasts Trump; COVID-19 Second Wave?; Interview With Former Acting CDC Director Dr. Richard Besser; Georgia Governor Extends COVID-19 Restrictions through October 31; More Than 17 Million General Election Ballots Cast So Far Despite Trump's Continued Disinformation About Voting; Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) is Interviewed About the Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court Nomination. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 15, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:50]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. We're following breaking news.

Tonight, there are new and ominous indicators that the United States is now plunging into the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the rising death toll and case count, most states are not reporting alarming spikes in new infections, 21 of them seeing all- time highs, as hospitalizations are also soaring right now.

But President Trump is again insisting the country is doing fine -- his word, fine -- as he campaigned in North Carolina, where daily cases just peak. The president ignoring the evidence of downplaying fatalities, as the CDC now projects another 23,000 Americans may die by the end of election week.

The president is now in Miami, as he and Joe Biden prepare to take part in competing televised town halls tonight. It's an alternative to their second debate, which was canceled because Mr. Trump refused to participate virtually.

Let's go straight to our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. He's in Miami for us.

Jim, the president's complaining about this town hall tonight, and he's renewing his attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That is true, Wolf.

President Trump will be on his way to a town hall here in Miami shortly, after he backed out of what was supposed to be a presidential debate with Joe Biden. The president is already claiming he's being -- quote -- "set up" in tonight's town hall, but that's not true.

And Mr. Trump is also attacking, as you said, one of the administration's top health experts in Dr. Anthony Fauci. That's despite the fact that the president was featuring Fauci in one of his campaign ads just a few days ago.

The president is claiming the U.S. is doing just fine when it comes to the coronavirus. But that raises the question, this is fine?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): On a night of dueling televised town halls with Democrat Joe Biden, President Trump is complaining about imaginary forces conspiring against him, from the news media.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, you know I'm being set up tonight, right? And so they asked me if I would do it. And I figured, what the hell? We get a free hour on television.

ACOSTA: To Dr. Anthony Fauci from the president's own Coronavirus Task Force.

TRUMP: And you have my friend. And he's a nice guy, Tony, Tony Fauci. He is a nice guy.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: He said, this is not a threat, this is not a problem. Don't worry about it. It's not once -- a problem. It's the craziest thing. But he's a nice guy. So I keep him around. Right? We keep him around.

ACOSTA: The president is lashing out at one of the nation's most trusted health experts just days after Fauci was taken out of context in a Trump campaign ad.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.

ACOSTA: After that, the president's attack on Fauci came as Mr. Trump staged yet another rally, where many supporters were not social distancing and not wearing masks, just like top White House officials traveling with the president, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and adviser Hope Hicks, who weren't using masks as they boarded Air Force One.

Even as the virus is raging out of control, the president is insisting his administration has a handle on the pandemic.

TRUMP: We're not doing any more lockdowns, and we're doing fine.

ACOSTA: But this is fine? The Centers for Disease Control is forecasting as many as 240,000 deaths by November 7, with 59,000 new cases and 985 deaths reported Wednesday.

Mr. Trump is portraying himself as a warrior against lockdowns, blasting Democratic leaders like Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

TRUMP: And they ought to open up the states. That's the other thing with the Democrats, maybe more important. Open up the states. She wants to be a dictator in Michigan, and the people can stand there. And they want to get back and they want to get back to work.

ACOSTA: It's not clear how seriously the president has taken the virus, as he conceded he's not being tested every day for COVID-19.

TRUMP: I'm tested, not every day, but I'm tested a lot. I was really tested a lot after I got rid of it, because they wanted to make sure, and I always tested a lot.

ACOSTA: Contradicting what the White House said earlier this year.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is the most tested man in America. He's tested more than anyone, multiple times a day. And we believe that he's acting appropriately.

ACOSTA: The president is again raising worries about what he will do after Election Day, refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses.

TRUMP: I'm not saying anything. I'm saying this. I think everybody says it. You have to have a fair election.

[18:05:00]

ACOSTA: Mr. Trump is continuing his war of words with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, even as she is negotiating with administration officials over a new coronavirus relief bill.

TRUMP: She's got a lot of problems. She's got a lot of mental problems, and it's going to be very hard to do anything with her. She wants to wait until after the election. She thinks it hurts the Republicans. And I don't. I think it hurts -- I think it hurts them.

ACOSTA: Complicating those talks, Senate Republicans want a stimulus package that's far smaller than what Pelosi and the administration are discussing.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): They were discussions going on between with the secretary of the Treasury and the speaker about a higher amount. That's not what I'm going to put on the floor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And during his attack on Dr. Fauci, the president accused the administration's health expert of being a Democrat.

But that's ridiculous. There is no evidence that is the case. And more, importantly, Fauci has served under six presidents from both parties. And when he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the president in office at that time with George W. Bush, a Republican -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. It's really, really sad what the president is saying. All right, Jim Acosta, thank you very, very much.

Let's get to the breaking news on the state of the pandemic here in the United States and the second wave that health experts have been so worried about.

CNN's Nick Watt is trying to put all of this together for us. Nick, there's breaking news, first of all, I understand, out of Georgia?

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf.

Georgia has just extended its COVID-19 restrictions through at least the end of the month, and records falling across the country, Illinois, most cases in a day, same in North Carolina and both Dakotas, Ohio, most cases in a day, a new record two days in a row.

And, today, Wolf, some words of wisdom from Mayor Marty Walsh up in Boston. He says, one day, we will go back to parties, we will go to games, but, right now, we are at a very critical point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICARDO AGUIRRE, FAMILY MEMBER OF CORONAVIRUS VICTIMS: I feel very incompetent.

WATT (voice-over): This virus destroyed Ricardo Aguirre's business, killed eight family members, including his father.

AGUIRRE: We did everything together.

WATT: And nearly 60,000 new COVID-19 infections across America yesterday, highest tally in a couple of months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is now unconscionable this late into the outbreak.

WATT: The Atlanta Falcons won't practice today after a positive test. And perhaps the biggest name in college sports is now COVID-positive.

NICK SABAN, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA: I feel fine. I felt fine. I was very surprised by this.

WATT: These are the nationwide daily case counts, bad in the spring, worse in the summer, rising again, rising fast, a call to arms in NYC, our one-time epicenter.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NY), NEW YORK: Simple as this. Crucial week. This is the way to stop the second wave.

WATT: This week, 21 states logged their highest average daily case counts ever.

GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): We have got to get these numbers down. And if this trend continues, our hospital capacity will be in jeopardy.

WATT: In just a week, the number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital in Indiana jumped 25 percent, in Ohio 28 percent, in Delaware 30 percent, in Minnesota 32 percent, in Wisconsin, more COVID-19 patients in the hospital now than ever.

ASHOK RAI, CEO, PREVEA HEALTH: If there was a major car accident today in Green Bay, between all the hospitals, we wouldn't be able to take care of it.

WATT: But advisers to our president reportedly promoting herd immunity, AKA, let it rip.

FAUCI: I think that we just got to look that square in the eye and say it's nonsense.

DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: It leads to unnecessary cases and it leads to unnecessary deaths.

WATT: What might have been, New Zealand, small island nation, granted, but 25 deaths total. Why? Quick action, real border closures, a nationwide lockdown, strong test-and-trace, this according to a new study from "The Lancet."

Here, cases are rising, temperatures are falling. Some say the first wave never ended. Here comes the second. So, Thanksgiving?

FAUCI: You may have to bite the bullet and sacrifice that social gathering.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: And indoors is the issue. And here's why.

We have been hearing from the CDC about an amateur hockey game in Florida back in the summer, 22 players. One of them, they say, was infected, and during the course of that game infected as many as 13 other players.

Now, granted, around the Thanksgiving table, hopefully, you're not going to be panting and hitting people as much as you would be on the ice, Wolf, but it is indoors. That is the issue. The virus spreads indoors -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, it's going to be harder and harder to eat outdoors as it gets colder and colder here in the United States.

WATT: Yes.

BLITZER: All right, thanks very much, Nick Watt, reporting from Los Angeles.

[18:10:02]

Joining us now, Dr. Richard Besser, the former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Besser, thank you so much for joining us.

And, as you know, the U.S. seems to be clearly at the beginning of a second wave in the pandemic. Do you worry we're going to see a surging death toll similar to what we saw in the early spring?

DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Well, Wolf, there are parts of the nation that are seeing a second rise in cases, and then there are other parts that are really seeing their first big increase.

Many parts of the Midwest, many rural communities that thought they may have been spared by this are seeing the increases that occurred in other places.

And what we do will really matter. The CDC predicts the number of deaths will continue to rise, and rise dramatically. So much of that depends on what we do as a nation, whether we follow the guidance of public health or not.

One of the things that concerns me, Wolf, is that not only are we seeing the number of cases going up in so many places. Each region of the nation is also seeing an increase in the number of hospitalizations. And that is what you see before you see an increase in the number of deaths.

Fortunately, the treatment for this has improved. But I expect, with the increase in hospitalizations, we will see an increase in deaths.

BLITZER: Yes, and the CDC is now forecasting -- projecting up to 240,000 American deaths by November 7, just a few days after the November 3 election.

The president, on the other hand, says the U.S. is doing fine -- his word, fine.

But based on all the modeling being done by the CDC, we're still a long way from the end of this pandemic right now, aren't we?

BESSER: Well, this is still early days. The CDC director has said that nowhere -- no more than 10 to 15 percent of people in this country have been infected. That leaves a lot of people who are still susceptible to this.

You know, Wolf, there's there's there's a really damning report out today in ProPublica that looks at the fall of CDC, and the influence of politics in their work. And the influence has been catastrophic, in terms of not allowing proper public health recommendations to come forward, and not allowing CDC to make the case for the measures that we need to do as a nation to keep the number of deaths as low as possible.

BLITZER: You heard Dr. Fauci warning Americans that they might not necessarily be able to have gatherings like Thanksgiving as usual, as they traditionally do every year, given the fact that this coronavirus pandemic seems to be escalating right now.

Is he right about that?

BESSER: Well, I think everyone needs to be careful. And everyone needs to look at who's inside their bubble, what the risks are to the people that they have close contact with, and think about the risks of bringing other people into that close setting.

If there's a group of people that you have been associating with throughout this, and you're having the same exposures, then that's a group that you might be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with. But the idea of people coming together from all over the country, exposing people who are at great risk, could have grave consequences.

And, Wolf, this will be a time as well when a lot of students are returning from colleges and universities, bringing whatever exposures they had across the country. We're going to want to make sure that those individuals coming back can be kept away from people who are at highest risk.

And, for many households, in particular lower-income households, that is very challenging to do.

BLITZER: It's a whole new way of living right now.

Dr. Fauci is also warning Americans about what's called herd immunity. That's a strategy that's actually being pushed -- hard to believe -- it's actually being pushed by some inside the White House.

Why is herd immunity such a dangerous concept for a disease like the coronavirus?

BESSER: Well, when I think of herd immunity, as a pediatrician and an infectious disease epidemiologist, I think about it in terms of, how many people do you need, what percentage of the population do you need to vaccinate to protect those in your community who can't get the vaccine, so, people who may have cancer or have immune problems that puts them at great risk?

And it varies for different infections. But the idea of letting an infectious disease run rampant around young people, and thinking that young people will just keep to young people, and that the people who are at greatest risk with underlying medical conditions or the elderly will be kept separate, is absolutely ludicrous.

We are a connected society. And this kind of policy is going to have racist implications. And the same populations, black Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans, who've been hit the hardest, will get hit even harder with this kind of approach, where you're just letting the virus run rampant.

BLITZER: Yes.

BESSER: It's very reckless.

BLITZER: Let's not forget, young people, they may have limited, very minor symptoms or asymptomatic, but they can simply pass it on to their parents, their grandparents, a lot of friends and neighbors as well.

So, it's obviously very serious.

Dr. Besser, thank you so much for joining us.

BESSER: Thank you, Wolf.

[18:15:00] BLITZER: Just ahead: a Republican senator heard blasting President Trump, saying he secretly mocks evangelicals and flirts with white supremacy.

Plus, Joe Biden learns he was on a plane with someone who actually tested positive after a COVID scare for Senator Kamala Harris. We have new details, new information coming into THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Joe Biden and President Trump are competing for viewers, as well as voters, as they hold dueling town halls less than two hours from now.

Our political correspondent, M.J. Lee, is joining us.

[18:20:00]

M.J., tonight's town hall for Biden comes as we're learning about COVID scares for both the Biden campaign and Kamala Harris, her team as well. What's the latest?

M.J. LEE, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have just learned Wolf that a member of the aviation company that charters Joe Biden's plane has now tested positive for COVID-19. This was somebody who traveled on Biden's plane on Monday and Tuesday, going to Ohio and Florida.

But the campaign is emphasizing that this person did not have close contact with Biden. They were more than 50 feet away from the former vice president. They even use a different entrance getting on and off the plane.

And both of them were wearing masks the entire time, the campaign says, and so doctors have now determined that there's no need for Biden himself to quarantine.

Now, the reason we are finding out about all of this is because they are doing contact tracing right now after a member of the flight staff on Senator Harris' plane tested positive for COVID-19 late last night.

Now, Senator Harris herself has tested negative for COVID-19 multiple times. But, as you know, Harris' campaign has said that they are going to pause in-person campaigning for a couple of days.

And I just want to quickly point out, we have now gotten two very lengthy statements from the Biden campaign and a conference call with reporters earlier today to lay all of this out. This is, of course, so much more than we have ever gotten from the White House and the administration in the campaign for Trump, after their massive outbreak at the White House.

BLITZER: All right, M.J., thank you very much, M.J., reporting.

Let's bring in our senior political analyst, David Gergen, and CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers. He's the author of a new book entitled "My Vanishing Country."

David, the president is launching a new smear against Dr. Anthony Fauci, claiming he's a Democrat, as we fight this global pandemic. Why is the president of the United States attacking this renowned expert, expert, in this field, who has worked for Democratic presidents and Republican presidents?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yet another mystery, Wolf, yet another mystery.

It's just not a smart campaign tactic to go out and criticize the most respected man in America, the man who is on the cover of "TIME" magazine this week. It just seems to me that's asking for trouble.

Dr. Fauci, he -- for a long time, President Trump was so proud that he had gotten Fauci to come and work with him. But as he had done with so many others, he threw him under the bus when he was no longer convenient for him or helpful for him.

BLITZER: Yes.

GERGEN: Part of the pattern, but I think it's a really, really dumb move.

BLITZER: Yes, it was really sickening earlier in the day today at that campaign rally the president was doing in North Carolina, when he was making fun of Dr. Fauci, saying, oh, he's a nice guy, nice guy, but basically suggesting he really doesn't know what he's talking about.

It was really not pleasant at all to hear that, especially those of us who've known Dr. Fauci for a long time and admire him greatly.

(CROSSTALK)

GERGEN: Yes.

BLITZER: Bakari, we're just, what, 19 days from the presidential election. We have only seen one debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Tonight, the candidates are appearing in separate, very separate town halls, because President Trump refused to participate in that virtual debate that was proposed. So what impact will all this have, do you believe, Bakari, on the race?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I don't think it's going to have much impact at all, Wolf.

And I just firmly believe, having run for office before, been on the winning end (AUDIO GAP) you're this close -- and I think David will attest -- when you're this close to Election Day, this is about get- out-the-vote. This isn't about wooing people to your side.

The campaigning, for all intents and purposes, is over. You are firmly in GOTV, get out to vote. And so I think that the messaging and what they're doing on the ground in Ohio and North Carolina, Florida, all of these swing states is far more important than anything that is going to happen on that stage tonight.

Donald Trump needs this way more than Joe Biden. But Joe Biden still is sitting on half-a-billion dollars to activate his voters, which is what matters today.

BLITZER: David, I want to play some really amazing audio, new audio of Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska talking publicly -- earlier, I said it was private, but this was a public statement, a town hall he was doing with Nebraskans.

And he was speaking very, very brutally about the president. Listen to this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. BEN SASSE (R-NE): He mocks evangelicals behind closed doors, as his family has treated the presidency like a business opportunity. He flirted with white supremacists.

I mean, places where we differed on COVID, he -- at the beginning of the COVID crisis, he refused to treat it seriously. For months, he treated it like a news-cycle-by-news-cycle P.R. crisis, rather than a multiyear public health challenge, which is what it is.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLITZER: Now, he said that to about 17,000 Nebraskans who were on a telephone town hall with him, so it wasn't a private conversation. It was a scathing rebuke just, what, three weeks or so before the election.

It was amazing to hear a member of the president's own party speaking publicly about this, although we know -- and you know this as well -- that, privately, a bunch of Republicans say stuff like that.

[18:25:07]

GERGEN: Absolutely, a whole lot do.

And Ben Sasse has been sort of a renegade from the beginning. But even so, his remarks were so far beyond what other Republicans have been willing to do.

It's -- I think it was a brave thing to do, but he's going to pay a price for it.

And I actually think one of the things about these town halls tonight, I actually think that Trump's being given a lot of credit for sort of knocking this thing around, so he's competing with Biden mano a mano on in different networks.

But I actually think Trump misplayed this thing. Listen, if he had gone along with the regular debate, he would have had a chance to reach 70 million people tonight, 70 million. That's what he got in the first debate. He's misplayed it -- 70 million -- if he had -- his last town hall for NBC in September, he got 3.8 million viewers. In other words, he blew a chance to reach as many as 65 million people with his last and maybe his final opportunity to be really make his case.

BLITZER: Yes.

And, very quickly, Bakari, what do you make of Senator Sasse's comments?

SELLERS: Well, it's befuddling, because I'm not sure that he thought those comments were going to get out and be played on CNN on "WOLF BLITZER" today.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Well, 17,000 people were listening.

SELLERS: I know. I know.

It's -- but it's -- you know what it sounds like to me? The best closing argument that Joe Biden can make. That's going to be on ads across the country in every single swing state, because he sounded like Democratic talking points (AUDIO GAP) was just telling the truth.

If only the other Republican senators had the same fortitude that Sasse has, even with 17,000 people listening in.

BLITZER: Yes, you may be right. All right, guys, thank you very much.

And, to our viewers, stay with CNN later tonight. Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris will join our own Don Lemon after those dueling Trump-Biden town halls. That's live at 10:00, 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Just ahead, I get the first reaction from Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to the Georgia governor's decision to extend COVID-19 restrictions throughout the state.

And we will also talk more about the 17 million early ballots that have already been cast here in the United States. What does it tell us about voters and the false claims they have heard from President Trump?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: We're following breaking news out of the state of Georgia right now, where the governor just extended pandemic restrictions in the state through the end of the month.

Let's discuss with the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms. Mayor Bottoms, thank you so much for joining us.

Does Governor Kemp's decision give you confidence that you'll be able to keep your beautiful city of Atlanta from seeing a big second wave of coronavirus, like the one that's unfolding across so much of the United States right now?

MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D-ATLANTA, GA): Well, it's always been our belief, Wolf, in the city of Atlanta that the state's guidelines just did not go far enough and really did not recognize and put into place all of the things that we need to have in place to make sure that we stay safe during this pandemic.

So we have a separate set of guidelines in the city of Atlanta, These came together with a group of public health officials, the corporate -- corporations, businesses, residents who represent it. So we are still in phase two of our advisory guidelines. We were hoping to get to phase three, but the numbers are going back up in our state.

BLITZER: Yes, that's so disturbing, well good luck. I'm looking at those numbers in Fulton County.

Let's talk about early voting that's going on in Atlanta right now, Mayor, just got under way this week. And many voters in the Atlanta area, they are being forced to wait in extremely long lines, sometimes for hours. How do you explain these various polling places where you see these lines going on and on?

BOTTOMS: It's unacceptable, the first day of early voting, and people were reported waiting in line six to twelve hours. It's not like we've not have any election before in the state. We should be well past the glitches that continue plague us.

That being said the numbers have improved, so I am very happy to hear that. And we're just encouraging people to make a plan to vote and then be patient. People literally died for people to have the right to vote, and so an inconvenience is just that an inconvenience, but it is going to be worth it and that people will just patient and stay in line.

BLITZER: Are you seeing any evidence, Mayor, of large racial disparities when it comes to how long people have to wait in line to vote?

BOTTOMS: We certainly are, and especially in my county, Fulton County. On the south side of Fulton County, we are seeing the extremely long lines. They are moving faster in other areas, more diverse areas across the metropolitan area.

And then we're hearing stories of people who requested the absentee ballots, they still haven't received those ballots, even candidates who are attempting to get mailers out that were mailed three weeks ago that it's just slowdown with the postal service.

So there are a lot of challenges and it all relates to voter suppression. Voter suppression often comes in the very subtle ways, often, it's very overt. But all of this is a form of voter suppression and that's even more reason for people to stand in line and cast their votes.

[18:35:01] BLITZER: I want to get your thoughts on Governor Christie of New Jersey. Your family has suffered some serious coronavirus problem, as your husband had it, your son.

Governor Christie just told The New York Times, and I'm quoting him now, I was wrong to not wear a mask at the Amy Coney Barrett announcement, and I was wrong not to wear a mask at my multiple debate prep sessions with the president and the rest of the team. I hope that my experience shows the fellow citizens that you should follow the CDC guidelines in public no matter where you are and wear a mask to protect yourself and others.

He also says, he was in the hospital for days and days, spent seven days in intensive care and intensive care unit. He's out now. Fortunately, he's doing much better. But it underscores how serious this problem is.

BOTTOMS: And I appreciate the fact that he has publicly acknowledged that he obviously didn't have to do that, and it is unfortunate that it is on the other end of such a grave experience as it relates to COVID-19. But this is the reason that we're encouraging people to wear masks, and it maybe your health or it may be a loved one's health.

But it's very simple, just put on a mask, be thoughtful of other people, and I applaud him for sharing that with the nation.

BLITZER: Yes. And I applaud him too for saying what the president of the United States should have said when he emerged after, what, three- and-aha-half, four days in the hospital. We didn't hear him speak like Governor Christie is speaking right now.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta, thanks so much for joining us.

BOTTOMS: Thank you for having me.

BLITZER: Coming up, with just 19 days to go, more than 17 million Americans have already voted despite hours' long lines in many areas.

Plus, Democrats attempt to delay the confirmation process for President Trump's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, as Republican though have already scheduled a committee vote.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: President Trump has repeatedly spread disinformation about voting here in the United States, stoking fear about the integrity of the upcoming election. Despite this, get this, more than 17 million Americans have already cast their ballots with many braving hours' long of wait times at polling sites across the country.

Let's discuss with The New York Times National Security Correspondent and CNN Contributor, David Sanger. He's also the executive producer of a new documentary base on his best-selling book of the same name entitled, The Perfect Weapon. It premiers tomorrow on our sister network, HBO. Great work, David, thanks so much for joining us.

And as we're seeing these long lines at the polls for early voting, partly because President Trump has sown so much doubt about voting by mail, the president is applauding the California Republican Party for putting out unauthorized ballot drop boxes. What sort of opportunity does all of this provide, let's say, to Russia and other foreign adversaries?

DAVID SNGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, first, thanks for having me on, Wolf. We have already seen the Russians begin to amplify the president's message about mail-in ballots, and the president says it will lead to fraud, which there is no evidence that it would. In fact, five states in the U.S. have used universal mail- in-ballots without many problems for a long time. The Russians keep putting this out.

And the message it sends is, this time, unlike 2016, the Russians don't need to make stuff up and pretend to be people they are not Facebook. All they need to do is keep repeating the president's messages or those who are also echoing the president.

BLITZER: So disturbing. Let me play a clip for our viewers, David, about your new documentary showing the lessons foreign adversaries took from the chaos that unfolding, for example, during the Iowa caucuses. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: 16 hours since the Iowa caucuses began, we're still waiting for the results.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ad didn't work, no one knew if it would.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is so far not so good.

ALEX STAMOS, PROFESSOR, STANFORD UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND COOPERATION: Iowa was exactly my worst fear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The biggest concern was that voters would not be able to trust the system.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: What about the confidence in the vote?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And especially against the backdrop of Russia interference in 2016.

STAMOS: What Iowa is demonstrating to adversaries of the United States is all they have to do is create that appearance. And they probably don't even have to create their own disinformation, American partisans will do it for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So what sort of implication, David, does that have for November 3rd election night 2020? SANGER: So, what Alex Stamos, who you heard there, used to be the head of security at Facebook and he's now at Stanford, was talking about something called perception hacks. What that means is you don't have to take out of the state of Wisconsin or all of Michigan or Pennsylvania, you just need to have the perception that something has gone wrong in a few districts to create an impression or at least the argument that the president or someone else could make that the entire state's balloting has gone bad.

And that's what happened in the perfectly innocent set of mistakes in Iowa. Just the other day, you saw a cable got cut in Virginia and it cut off the ability of people to go register on the last day of registering to vote. There are always going to be some things that will happen on Election Day. I think the fear now is, even something accidental, but certainly something triggered by the Russians or other actors or domestic actors could create a perception hack.

[18:45:04]

BLITZER: Really looking forward to the documentary. The book was terrific. I'm sure the documentary will be great as well.

David Sanger, thanks for everything you're doing.

And a quick reminder to our viewers, the documentary special "The Perfect Weapon" premiers tomorrow on HBO.

Just ahead, Democrats try to delay Judge Barrett's confirmation process in the U.S. Senate. We'll have that.

Also, President Trump and Joe Biden hold simultaneous dueling town halls.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:14]

BLITZER: The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote a week from today to advance Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court, setting up her confirmation by the end of this month. Democrats attempted to delay the process today, saying they've had inadequate time to review the nominee.

We're joined now by Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. He's a member of the Judiciary Committee as well as a very strong supporter of Joe Biden.

Senator Coons, thanks so much for joining us.

And as you've been hearing all day, Senate Democrats -- they are facing some serious criticism for what some view was a cautious approach to questioning Judge Barrett. Is there anything more your party could have done to oppose her nomination over the past few days? SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): No, Wolf. We used every procedural tool we

had available. And, frankly, I thought we launched a very coordinated, focused, capable challenge both to Judge Barrett's legal philosophy, her writings, to demonstrate her impact. And we worked tirelessly to make it clear to the American people what's at risk, what's at stake, both what's at the -- on the docket of the Supreme Court, what are the cases that are coming up soon, where having her seated might make a dramatic difference in the lives of the average American and what's on the ballot.

Over and over, Democrats focused on real people from our home states, who would be denied coverage if the Affordable Care Act were reversed or repealed.

That's on the docket of the Supreme Court a week after the election, which is just 19 days from today.

And, Wolf, I think we made it clear, every one of us, that we opposed this rush in partisan proceeding, and we had profound and justifiable questions about how Judge Barrett, if she becomes Justice Barrett, might carry out President Trump's promise that his next justice would overturn the Affordable Care Act, reverse Roe versus Wade, and may well be the deciding vote in an election dispute should one arise from this upcoming presidential election.

BLITZER: But do you acknowledge it's probably over, it's a done deal, she's going to get confirmed, the Republicans -- they have the majority. The Democrats are the minority.

COONS: If the Republicans are determined to keep racing forward with this unprecedented confirmation this close to a presidential election, in which more than half the states are voting, there's nothing else we can do except appeal to the American people.

BLITZER: I want you to listen to part of a recording from a campaign telephone town hall given by your colleague, Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska. It's very stark.

Here's what he said, this is a Republican, speaking about the president in a public town hall with Nebraskans. Listen to this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. BEN SASSE (R-NE): He mocks evangelicals behind closed doors. His family has treated the presidency like a business opportunity. He's flirted with white supremacists.

I mean, the places where we differed on COVID, he -- at the beginning of the COVID crisis, he refused to treat it seriously. For months, he treated it like a news cycle by news cycle PR crisis rather than a multi-year public health challenge, which is what it is.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLITZER: What's your reaction to that, Senator Coons? COONS: It's striking that Senator Sasse is repeating out loud in

Nebraska what millions of Americans already know, but most Republican senators won't confirm, which is that President Trump has badly mishandled our nation's response to this pandemic. As a result, nearly 8 million Americans are infected, more than 120,000 dead. And we are facing a second Great Depression if we can't deliver another round of COVID relief.

Why Republicans aren't more forceful in publicly calling on President Trump to change course and to take his responsibilities for our public health and safety seriously, is beyond me.

If you watched the proceedings of the last couple of days, Wolf, I made several personal appeals to my Republican colleagues, like Senator Sasse who serves on the Judiciary Committee with me, to step back from the precipice of confirming Judge Barrett, and instead work together in the better interest of this country to prevent this ongoing challenge of the pandemic, the recession, and the ways in which President Trump is an unconventional president, putting our very democracy at risk.

BLITZER: Senator Coons, thanks so much for joining us.

COONS: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. We're going to have more news just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:11]

BLITZER: Finally tonight, we honor more of the people whose lives were cut short by coronavirus.

Edward J. Konaha of Wisconsin was 53 years old. A proud Native American and proud union member, he was a devoted son, sibling, father and grandfather. His sister says he was a fan of cribbage and the Green Bay Packers and considered the life of the party at family gatherings.

Tim Hiatt of Maryland was 62. His daughter describes him as a caring, generous and hard worker who shared his talents and kindness with those in need. He loved spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, as well as pursuing hobbies, including bird watching, coin collecting, and golf.

May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing.

Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WolfBlitzer. Tweet the show @CNNSitRoom.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.