Return to Transcripts main page

EARLY START

Trump Intensifies Effort To Create Mistrust Around Election Results; New York State Will Review Any COVID Vaccine; Tokyo Olympics To Be Scaled Back Due To Pandemic. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired September 25, 2020 - 05:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:30]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump hard at work embedding doubts about the election results in the minds of his supporters, and it could be working.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: And an erosion of trust as the state hardest hit by the coronavirus says you cannot trust a vaccine approved by the Trump White House.

Good morning, this is EARLY START and I'm Abby Phillip.

JARRETT: Abby, so great to have you in the chair today. I'm Laura Jarrett. It's about 30 minutes past the hour here in New York.

And we begin this half-hour with the president escalating his threat to topple a pillar of American democracy. After refusing to commit to peacefully transferring power should he lose the November election, the president dug his heels in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So we have to be very careful with the ballots. The ballots, that's a whole big scam. We want to make sure the election is honest and I'm not sure that it can be. I don't -- I don't know that it can be with this whole situation.

Unsolicited ballots -- they're unsolicited. Millions being sent to everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Here's the thing. They're not unsolicited ballots and they're not sent to everybody.

In 41 of 50 states, voters have to request a mail-in ballot before one is sent. Only a handful of states automatically mail ballots to all registered voters.

And even the president's own FBI director says mail-in ballots pose no real threat to a free and fair election result. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, DIRECTOR, FBI: Now, we have not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it's by mail or otherwise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: Despite President Trump's continued baseless warnings about voter fraud, Republicans seemed compelled to respond to the idea that he wouldn't step aside peacefully if he's not reelected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): No questions, no qualms, no concerns, it's going to be peaceful.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): People wonder about the peaceful transfer of power. I can assure you it will be peaceful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there will be a peaceful transfer of power.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be a peaceful transition of power --

REPORTER: What will you --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- no matter what anybody says.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: You can take their word for it. But this is from the same Republicans who just did a complete reversal on whether to hold a vote on the Supreme Court justice in an election year. And they've said little to nothing about the steps the administration is currently engaged in.

CNN has learned the Trump campaign and Republicans at the state and local level are trying to make it harder for voters to cast a ballot, harder for states to count them, and more likely that the final counts will be challenged in court. That includes key swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan.

JARRETT: And in an extremely unusual move, the Justice Department announced Thursday it's investigating a handful of military ballots it said were discarded in Pennsylvania. But what's even more unusual about this situation, the press statement from DOJ revealed that seven of the nine ballots were cast for Trump. They actually revealed who the ballots were cast for.

Meanwhile, election officials and voting experts from both parties want to make sure that the president's baseless claims about mail-in voting don't begin to take hold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOCELYN BENSON (D), MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: And we need voters of all backgrounds to know that whoever they cast their vote for, their ballot will be counted and their vote will be secure.

BENJAMIN GINSBERG, REPUBLICAN ELECTION LAWYER: I spent 38 years as a Republican lawyer going into precincts looking for evidence of fraud. There are, to be sure, isolated cases, but nothing like the widespread fraud that would somehow invalidate an election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: The truth is the system has never been tested like it will be and it already is. Twenty-five states already have ballots in the mail, including in Florida where the president has been encouraging that people vote by mail.

A CNN tally shows a whopping 71 million ballots nationwide either requested or set to be mailed automatically. That is far more than the 50 million pre-Election Day ballots cast in 2016.

And, Abby, you know, we do these fact-checks. We try to show what is actually happening. But when you talk to people on the ground at some of these Trump rallies they say things like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Do you think that if we get to election night or the in the following days, if Biden winds up somehow becoming the winner, do you think it's rigged?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes, very much so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the mail-in ballots, we don't like it. I'll tell you, there's a lot of cheating that's been exposed, especially over the last four or five years. See, our president brought this to our attention that this stuff was going on that nobody really knew about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: So what it shows is he's saying all these things and even if they're not true it's actually working with people who are listening to him very closely.

[05:35:05]

PHILLIP: Yes, and to be fair, these are his core supporters.

But this is the big difference between what's happening now and what has happened in modern American history. We've never had a president, let alone a presidential candidate, ahead of the election, basically saying that it's going to be fraudulent. That's what's, I think, so risky.

And when I talk to election officials, they tell me that this is the concern that they have. After the election, will the American people trust the results, regardless of what President Trump says?

JARRETT: Yes, it's a real issue and this is -- it's not going anywhere.

JARRETT: Yes, absolutely, and I think we have some reason to be concerned about it as well.

But, President Trump's threat to intervene in vaccine approvals is now making states step up to the plate.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announcing that he's creating a task force to review coronavirus vaccines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: Frankly, I'm not going to trust the federal government's opinion, and I wouldn't recommend to New Yorkers based on the federal government's opinion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: New York officials don't generally play a role in approving drugs or vaccines but they could delay the distribution in the state if they believed a vaccine was not safe.

JARRETT: A key model used by the White House now projects more than 371,000 coronavirus deaths in the U.S. by January first. That's 7,000 fewer than before. Yet, still, there could be 3,000 deaths a day by the end of the year. Nearly 100,000 people can be saved if most people would just wear masks, and right now, about half of Americans are wearing them.

The average of new cases is up 23 percent in two weeks. Now with more people heading indoors for the fall season, a reality check here from Dr. Anthony Fauci.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: Given the fact that we have never got down to a good baseline, we are still in the first wave. Rather than say a second wave, why don't we say are we prepared for the challenge of the fall and the winter?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: What cannot be lost in all of this is the nation's children. Remember what President Trump said about young people earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Nobody young, below the age of 18 -- like, nobody. They have a strong immune system. Who knows? You look -- and you take your hat off to the young because they have a hell of an immune system. But it affects, virtually, nobody.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIP: We've got to take a look at what's happened since he said that. Twenty-seven colleges in 15 states have now switched from in- person to remote learning. And just yesterday, the ruby-red state of Tennessee released data showing significant learning losses for K-12 students following the closure of schools.

And this week, CNN reported the number of people needing food assistance has tripled since the pandemic began. In the New York City area alone, the Campaign Against Hunger served eight million meals this year. That's compared to three million in a typical year. That is a lot of hungry children.

And, unemployment remains staggeringly high. Families have faced job losses and evictions. So this idea that the virus affects virtually no one except for the elderly and those with preexisting conditions just does not hold up with the facts.

JARRETT: Breaking news overnight.

A federal court ordering the Trump administration to drop plans to rush the census to a conclusion and extending counting for the census for an additional month. The results of the census determine future congressional districting, of course, and how federal funding is divvied up across the country.

Commerce Sec. Wilbur Ross had ordered the Census Bureau to finish counting by September 30th. That's one month earlier than originally planned. This ruling is expected to be appealed.

PHILLIP: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be laid to rest today. First, she'll be moved from the U.S. Supreme Court steps to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, becoming the first woman in history to receive this high honor.

Joe and Jill Biden are also expected to pay their respects today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEOPLE PAYING RESPECTS AT OUTDOOR MEMORIAL FOR JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG: Vote him out! Vote him out! Vote him out! Vote him out!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: You can hear the audible boos. President Trump was greeted with boos and chants of "vote him out" as he paid his respects yesterday. He is expected to nominate Ginsburg's replacement tomorrow.

JARRETT: Six months into this pandemic, unemployment claims are still historically high and the numbers are just staggering. Eight hundred seventy thousand Americans filed for first-time state benefits last week. Jobless claims are four times higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Goldman Sachs now warning the economic recovery will slow more than feared because Congress almost certainly will not pass additional stimulus. House Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to break a logjam by preparing a new relief package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked her committee chairs to put together a slimmed-down proposal still largely in line with the $2.2 trillion top line she's held firm on for several weeks now. That's about $1 trillion less than the plan the House passed back in May, but it's 50 percent higher than the White House wants.

[05:40:04]

Reports say the proposal includes unemployment insurance, direct payments, funding for small business loans, and aid for airlines.

PHILLIP: The first presidential debate is just four days away. You can watch Donald Trump and Joe Biden face-off live. Special coverage on CNN starts Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIP: A surprise from Brazil. President Jair Bolsonaro agreeing to join the World Health Organization's global initiative to develop and distribute vaccines.

Brazil's coronavirus death toll is the second-highest in the world, behind the United States. But, President Bolsonaro has consistently been a detractor of science even when he had the virus himself.

And overnight in South Korea, announcing tighter social distancing measures during its upcoming national holiday.

[05:45:01]

And, France, the U.K., and Israel all hitting record-high case numbers. Those countries have taken new measures this week to slow a second wave.

JARRETT: Well, as COVID cases around the world spike, Africa has maintained a very low death rate so far. So how are they doing it?

David McKenzie spoke with the chief of Africa's CDC and joins us live from Johannesburg. David, what did he tell you?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Laura.

You know, there was long predictions at the beginning of this that the African continent would see a catastrophe because of COVID-19. Now, those predictions have proved to be wrong. And I spoke to the influential head of the Africa CDC. He says it's, in part, because of stereotypical perceptions of the continent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. JOHN NKENGASONG, DIRECTOR, AFRICA'S CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: The level of asymptomatic -- the proportion of individuals that have been infected and the (INAUDIBLE) in the country is very high. It's above 80 percent. And I think that is very, very important.

So that means that we are not seeing people end up in mass numbers as it was predicted. I think that is some very good news, and this is based on data.

MCKENZIE (on camera): Why do you think some people find that hard to believe, even if the data backs it up?

NKENGASONG: I can understand that because of the massiveness of what we are seeing in the west -- in Europe and in the United States.

We should also remember that our population is very different from what people are seeing in the U.S. and also Europe. More than 70 percent of our population is less than 30 years and median age is actually around 17 to 18 years. And I think that is really an important factor to put into the creation and in the understanding of the different -- the levels of death in the United States or Europe versus Africa.

I think that is a -- my assumption is that many more people will be infected in Africa and that the deaths will continue to be (INAUDIBLE). But I think there's a lesson to be learned from the continent that those predictions were not based on any solid assumption. They were based on historical understanding of the continent, which is flawed as we are seeing in this current pandemic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: And it's not just the demographic makeup of the continent. He said that early action lockdowns and a sense of collaboration amongst leaders and the work of the Africa CDC has all helped the continent to buck those expectations. And while they're not out of the woods yet, he said they feel they can confidently take on this virus in the coming months -- Laura.

JARRETT: All right, David. Thank you so much for that reporting. Really interesting.

PHILLIP: And with the pandemic driving concerns about big gatherings, it looks like the Tokyo Olympics now scheduled for next summer will be significantly scaled back.

CNN's Will Ripley is live in Hong Kong with the latest. Will, what will the Olympics even look like?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So there is actually a meeting ongoing right now. We're getting some details just within the last few minutes, Abby, about a scaled-down and safer Tokyo 2020.

That would mean reducing, for example, the number of spectators in stadiums by perhaps 30 percent, which raises the question what about the millions of tickets that have been sold. Are all of those going to be honored?

Also, they're trying to cut costs because of the ballooning expenses that resulted from postponing a massive event like the Olympics for a year, which could mean a reduction in some of the opening and closing ceremonies -- not using, perhaps, so many sizzling special effects, canceling some of the events for delegates. And even asking countries to reduce the size of their delegations, which would also cut costs.

Now, of course, the biggest concern beyond the expense and the logistics is the safety of the participants. And athletes, potentially, could be exempt from a 14-day quarantine upon arrival because, by the way, they're saying that these games are going to go on with or without a vaccine.

So if there isn't a quarantine, how do you make sure that the athletes are safe? Japan is proposing perhaps five COVID-19 tests over a period of 72 hours. They'd be tested before they arrive in Japan and several times also after they arrive. Basically, continuously being tested while they're in the country.

In addition to athletes being tested, they could also have to install an app on their phones that would allow their movements to be tracked -- even submit an action plan ahead of time.

All of this with the hopes of putting on the games and making them feel as much like the Olympics from the old days, but in this new reality that we're living in, Abby.

PHILLIP: Really extraordinary measures.

Will Ripley in Hong Kong. Thank you.

JARRETT: All right.

Developing overnight, a rare apology from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to the rival South. This apology coming over the fatal shooting and burning of a South Korean government official who crossed a maritime border between the two countries, possibly trying to defect. Officials say Kim called the incident unexpected and unfortunate.

PHILLIP: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft won't face trial on charges that he paid for sex. That's according to newly-filed court papers from prosecutors. Kraft was one of dozens of people charged in connection with a prostitution and human trafficking investigation at a day spa in Jupiter, Florida.

[05:50:05]

Kraft pleaded guilty at his -- as his lawyers had challenged -- had pleaded not guilty as his lawyers had challenged a search warrant that allowed authorities to install hidden cameras inside the spa. But the state court tossed out the evidence, effectively gutting the prosecution.

JARRETT: A new study finds that despite warnings from Tesla, drivers using the autopilot function still aren't paying enough attention. Tesla's autopilot is designed to steer the car. However, the carmaker admits the software is imperfect and warns that drivers should always be prepared to take control. Researchers at MIT found that drivers using autopilot glance away from the road more often and 33 percent do not have their hands on the wheel before taking back control of the car.

PHILLIPS: Police in Vietnam catch lots of strange things sold on the black market, but nothing like this. Authorities have confiscated an estimated 345,000 used condoms being resold as new.

A woman detained during the bust told police that the used condoms were first boiled in water and then dried and reshaped before being repackaged and resold. It is not clear how many of the recycled condoms have been sold.

JARRETT: We've seen a lot of things, but not like that.

A new warning from the Food and Drug Administration over the so-called Benadryl challenge on TikTok. There have been multiple reports of teenagers winding up in emergency rooms or even dying from this. The FDA has contacted TikTok and strongly urged them to remove those challenges which encourage viewers to take large doses of the allergy medication to induce hallucinations.

PHILLIP: It seems like an obviously bad idea.

But the days of reaching for Snickers before you check out at the grocery store could be coming to an end in Berkeley, California. The Bay Area city will be the first in the U.S. to ban junk food from the checkout aisles. The goal is to lower rates of diabetes and other diseases worsened by a diet in high fat -- high in fat, and sugar, and salt. The new rules go into effect on March first.

JARRETT: All right, let's get a quick check on the markets. Red hours in -- red arrows in stock markets around the world. Asian markets closed mixed. European markets have opened lower.

On Wall Street, futures are also pointing lower. Stocks ended higher Thursday after another turbulent trading session. The Dow finished up 52 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed slightly higher.

Well, Google Maps is putting health first during this pandemic. A new color-coded update will show how bad coronavirus is in your area.

The maps will show seven-day averages of new cases per every 100,000 people. Users will be able to see if cases are increasing or decreasing. The update will also use different colors to indicate how many new cases were reported.

The feature will be available for all 220 countries Google maps works in on both Apple and Android versions of Google Maps.

All right.

Amazon has launched its own gaming service -- a so-called Netflix for video games. The service is called Luna. It's both a software and optional controller. For $50.00, they can connect to a number of devices. Amazon said Luna

works like Amazon Prime Video where users can subscribe to channels for a separate fee. So far, Amazon has only announced the price of Luna Plus, at $6.00 a month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Rock.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: Comedian and actor Chris Rock will be the first host -- the host when "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" kicks off its 46th season on October third. Rock, the former "SNL" cast member, will be hosting for the third time.

This show will be live from New York's Rockefeller Center for the first time since March. "SNL" plans to have a limited studio audience. And I think we'll be glad to see a little bit of normalcy return there.

JARRETT: Well, that's for sure.

And we leave you on a happy note this Friday morning. One Texas father has found a creative way to connect during his son's chemotherapy treatment, dancing for him. Because of coronavirus, Chuck Yielding can't sit with 14-year-old Aiden during his cancer treatment, so every Tuesday, the dad finds the nearest window near Aiden's room and he shows off his best moves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK YIELDING, DANCES WHILE SON RECEIVES CHEMOTHERAPY: We get out here and just try to -- try to communicate, you know, the best we can. Just anything to bring his spirits up a little bit and let him know that he's not alone and we're with him.

AIDEN YIELDING, FATHER DANCES WHILE HE RECEIVES CHEMOTHERAPY: It's funny watching him figure out all that he's going to do. It cheers me up sometimes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Awe. Aiden's mom, Lori, works at that hospital. She says the dance routine is a special bond between the father and son.

And it shows just how important family is during these tough times, Abby.

PHILLIP: Yes.

JARRETT: You know, you can't have someone there with you in the room, obviously, to keep us all safe, but at least he gets to watch him.

PHILLIP: What an awesome story. What a great dad.

Thank you for joining us. I'm Abby Phillip.

[05:55:00]

JARRETT: Thanks so much for joining us. Abby, so great to have you in the chair today.

PHILLIP: Hey, good to be with you.

JARRETT: Have a great weekend, everyone. I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president telling the country he will not accept the results of the election if he loses. That he will throw out some number of ballots. And if he can't throw them out, he won't go peacefully.

TRUMP: We want to make sure the election is honest, and I'm not sure that it can be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be a peaceful transition, no matter what anybody says.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The virus is raging in these places and it's not going to go down unless we do things differently.

ALEX AZAR, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: I want to reassure you and the American people politics will play no role whatsoever in the approval of a vaccine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The four companies revealed their strategy for testing a vaccine.