GOP Sen. Sasse: Trump "Mocks Evangelicals Behind Closed Doors" And "Flirts" With White Supremacists; Trump Gives Wild Answers On QAnon, Retweeting Conspiracy Theories
COOPER: Well, breaking news now. We're dealing Trump and Biden town halls going on was originally meant to be a second presidential debate. That is until President Trump balked at a format change from in-person to virtual decision that was made after President Trump tested positive for the virus. Instead, each candidate tonight is responding to voter questions in two different battleground states Biden in Pennsylvania, Trump in Florida. Moments ago President Trump was asked about his own testing for the coronavirus, something about which he has been covering up.</s>SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC HOST: When was your last negative test? When did you last remember having a negative test?</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: Well, I test quite a bit. And I can tell you that before the debate, which I thought it was a very good debate. And I felt fantastically I was -- I had no problem before.</s>GUTHRIE: Did you test day after the debate?</s>TRUMP: I don't know. I don't even remember. I test all the time. But I can tell you this. After the debate, like I guess a day or so. I think it was Thursday evening, maybe even late Thursday evening. I tested positive. That's when I first found out --</s>GUTHRIE: Well, that's at the debate, because the debate commissions rules that was the honor system --</s>TRUMP: Yes.</s>GUTHRIE: -- that you would come with a negative test. You say you don't know if you got a test on the day of the debate.</s>TRUMP: I have no problem. Again, the doctors do it. I don't ask them like I test all the time. And --</s>GUTHRIE: Did you take a test so at the day of the debate?</s>GUTHRIE: So, did you take a test on the day the debate I guess is the bottom line.</s>TRUMP: I probably really did. And I took the test the day before and the day before and I was always in great shape. And I was in great shape for the debate. And it was only after the debate, like a period of time after the debate that I said that's interesting. And they took a test and it tested positive.</s>GUTHRIE: So just to button it up. Do you take a test every single day?</s>TRUMP: No, no. But I take a lot of tests.</s>GUTHRIE: OK. And you don't know if you took a test the day the debate.</s>TRUMP: Possibly I did, possibly I didn't.</s>COOPER: Joining us now, Van Jones, former special adviser to President Obama, a CNN political commentator, Rick Santorum former Republican senator from Pennsylvania, a CNN senior political commentator, and CNN's Dana Bash is back as well. Dana, did President Trump do himself any favors tonight? I mean, he said, you know, you can ask the doctors, I'll give you a perfect answer. The doctors won't give any answer because he's told the doctors not to give an answer.</s>BASH: Exactly. Look, the fact that he had to be asked multiple times whether or not he took a test the night of the debate and could not answer it is our answer. I mean, I'm sorry. But if the President took a test the night of the debate, he would have said I took a test the night of the debate. It's not something that that you forget. And I just, you know, maybe I'm making a leap here, but I don't think so. And that was the whole point of that exchange that went on way longer than I'm sure Savannah Guthrie had intended it to. But she was determined to get an answer. And again, his non-answer was an answer. And why does this matter for so many reasons. It goes to what we were talking about earlier in the program, Chris Christie, who helped him for that debate in the statement he put out today, now that he's finally feeling better after being in the hospital for a week with COVID, which he believes he got at the White House, is that the leaders of this country, meaning the president, even though he didn't say I'd have to stop being so cavalier about this. And not getting a test, and putting in danger, the people who are in that room, including his opponent, for the presidency, is as cavalier and as careless as it can be.</s>COOPER: Senator Santorum, shouldn't the President just be transparent about when he last us to negative before he got sick?</s>RICK SANTORUM, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. The President should make his records available as to when he was tested and what the results of those tests are. I mean, I don't understand why he's not. Whether he maybe didn't get a test that day. That's possible. They'd say he's not tested every day, but I don't see any reason why not to release that information.</s>COOPER: Van, we don't have the sound bite cut from Vice President Biden's town hall yet but he was asked about taking an COVID-19 vaccine. He said of scientists say people should take it then he would. He also said quote, we should be talking about thinking about making it mandatory. What do you make of that?</s>VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, you know, when he was asked a bunch of questions in this area, I think he got a little bit rambley. And, you know, I think overall Biden did very well, you know, you kind of break your wrist going back and forth between things that I watch him at the same time. But look, I think that what he was trying to say was that you're going to have to be take this seriously, make a serious effort. He talked even about having the bringing governors in bringing, he doesn't have the power to do but you bring the governors in he bring the mayors in, he brings city council people and he would do all these different things, trying to make the point that the president needs to lead I think that's more of what he was trying to say. But listen, above these debates, these moderators are not giving these guys free passes. I mean, Savannah was on this dude from the word go. And, you know, and also the same the same thing on the other station. So you're actually seeing them --</s>SANTORUM: Not as much.</s>JONES: Well maybe not as much, but --</s>SANTORUM: Not as much.</s>JONES: But --</s>SANTORUM: But not nearly as much.</s>JONES: Biden is not dancing as much, Biden is answering too long giving these promises and stuff like that.</s>BASH: And Biden is not president.</s>JONES: But where and whereas on the other side, would you see Trump doing, you see Trump's got a disadvantage because Trump's got to defend all this stuff. And then also try to get his message across whereas Biden disabled, explain his plans and move forward. It's very, very interesting to watch these guys get grilled in front of a live audience.</s>COOPER: I want to play some more of from President Trump's town hall this listen.</s>GUTHRIE: You were asked point blank to denounce white supremacy. In the moment, you didn't, you ask some follow-up questions who specifically a couple of days later on a different show you denounce white supremacy.</s>TRUMP: You've done this to me and everybody --</s>GUTHRIE: Why does it seem like --</s>TRUMP: I denounce white supremacy. OK.</s>GUTHRIE: You did two days later.</s>TRUMP: I denounce white supremacy for years. But you always do -- you always start off with a question. You didn't ask Joe Biden, whether or not he denounces Antifa. I watched him on the same basic show with Lester Holt. And he was asking questions like Biden was a child?</s>GUTHRIE: Well and also, this is a little bit of a --</s>TRUMP: What -- are you listening? I denounce white supremacy.</s>GUTHRIE: OK.</s>TRUMP: What's your next question?</s>GUTHRIE: Do you feel -- it feels sometimes you're hesitant to do so like you wait a beat.</s>TRUMP: Yes, here we go again. Every time -- in fact, but people came, I'm sure they'll ask you the white supremacy question. I denounce white supremacy.</s>GUTHRIE: OK.</s>TRUMP: And frankly, you want to know something, I denounce the Antifa and I denounce these people on the left that are burning down our cities that are run by Democrats who don't know --</s>GUTHRIE: All right, while we're denouncing, let me ask you about QAnon. It is this theory that Democrats are a satanic pedophile ring and that you are the savior of that. Now, can you just once and for all state that that is completely not true. Disavow QAnon and its entirety?</s>TRUMP: I know nothing about QAnon.</s>GUTHRIE: I just told you.</s>TRUMP: I know</s>GUTHRIE: They believed it is a satanic called run by the demon states.</s>TRUMP: To study this subject. I'll tell you what I do know about. I know about Antifa and I know about the radical left. And I know how violent they are and how vicious they are. And I know how they are burning down cities run by Democrats not run by Republicans.</s>GUTHRIE: Republican Senator Ben Sasse said quote, QAnon is nuts and real leaders call conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theory.</s>TRUMP: He made why --</s>GUTHRIE: Why not just say it's crazy --</s>TRUMP: Can I be honest?</s>GUTHRIE: -- and not true.</s>TRUMP: He maybe right. I just don't know about QAnon.</s>GUTHRIE: You do know.</s>TRUMP: I don't know. No, I don't know. I don't know.</s>GUTHRIE: Let me ask you another thing.</s>TRUMP: You tell me all about it. Let's waste the whole show. You start off with white supremacy. I denounce it. You start off with something else. Let's go keep asking me these questions.</s>GUTHRIE: OK. I do have one more on this thing --</s>TRUMP: Let me just tell you, what I do hear about it is they are very strongly against pedophilia. And I agree with that. I mean, I do that and I agree with that --</s>GUTHRIE: OK.</s>TRUMP: -- and I agree</s>GUTHRIE: But they're not a satanic pedophile --</s>GUTHRIE: You don't know that? OK.</s>TRUMP: No, I don't know that.</s>COOPER: I mean, obviously, you know, QAnon is based on anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic tropes that have been around for centuries, frankly. And, you know, it's a cabal -- they believe, followers believe it's a cabal of Democrats and celebrities who drink the blood of scared children because it has some hormone in it, and worship Satan and are pedophiles. And we're operating out of a pizza parlor in D.C. and someone was armed and went there to rescue children. Of course, there was just a pizza parlor. I mean, Dana the idea that the President doesn't know anything about QAnon, I mean, he if you want to know about QAnon, he would know about QAnon and he absolutely knows about QAnon.</s>BASH: He is a voracious consumer of news. Now, even if he didn't get a briefing from his aides, he would see it on CNN on every other news outlet because it's been talked about, and his tweets and his tweets --</s>COOPER: Yes, yes he retweeted, it doesn't --</s>BASH: And he's retweeted a lot. OK. And I can also just, you're right, then. The other point is, is that, let me just say, as we're fact checking, QAnon is not against pedophilia. QAnon creates false stories that celebrities and others are part of pedophilia rings. That is what they do. But also, this is dangerous for so many reasons, including the fact that there are people out there who are trying to decide whether to cast their ballots who are consuming information from the President and from QAnon conspiracies who believe it. And I talk often with a man named Richard Thaw, who does focus groups with Obama, Trump voters, swing voters all over the country and more and more in the past few months. He has heard from them. Conspiracy theories parroted back to him, it is absolutely going into the soil of this country.</s>COOPER: Senator Santorum, I mean, he doesn't do himself any favors by this. The only reason he would not condemn QAnon or even knowledge that he knows what it is? It is that they support him that in this imaginary world system that they have created. He is the secret savior secretly fighting Democratic pedophile rings and Satan worshipping celebrities.</s>SANTORUM: Yes, you know, I said the last time we went through this debate, which was -- so there's not a debate, but the last debate the actual debate that the President wasn't prepared, and he you know, his people, whether they're preparing or not, they need to. I mean, to not expect this question and not be able to answer it. He obviously expected the white supremacist question and he answered it straight up correctly and right away. Good. Hadn't been prepared two weeks ago, he could have done it. And we wouldn't be asking that question again. And my guess is we'll get that question again next week, because again, he didn't answer it, because he wasn't prepared. I just have to, you know, say to the President, you can't go wandering into these forums without being prepared as to what the tough questions that you're going to get, and have a good response, one that's that needs to be made, which is condemning crazy things that are crazy.</s>COOPER: Van, Vice President Biden was asked about packing the Supreme Court, he wouldn't commit to a position, he said he'd let voters know where he stands before the election. I mean, that's a complete dodge.</s>JONES: D minus</s>COOPER: Senator Santorum, do you think there's going to be debate next week? One more debate?</s>SANTORUM: Yes, absolutely. I mean, I can't imagine why they wouldn't do it. I mean, look, I, as I said, the morning after the last, the vice presidents have -- what the debate commission here did was horrible, you know, to unilaterally go out there and change the bay without consulting the campaigns. I mean, you know, the Commission on Presidential Debates has to, you know, take the role that they're there, which is not the leader of the free world, but to actually facilitate information for the public so they can make good decisions. They're not doing that right now. They need to get their act together. They need to work with the campaigns and we need to have another debate that they campaigns can agree on. Not some group of people try to play God for the rest of the country.</s>COOPER: Rick Santorum, Van Jones, Dana Bash, appreciate it. Thanks very much. Programming note there -- as of now, still one presidential debate left as I mentioned, President Trump Joe Biden scheduled to face off for election day one final time and layer, CNN next Thursday night. Our special live coverage will start at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night. News continues right now. Thanks for watching. Want to hand things over to Chris for "CUOMO PRIMETIME", Chris.</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: All right, Anderson, thank you very much. I am Chris Cuomo and welcome to "Primetime". President Trump didn't want to virtually do Biden in a safe way, and he wasn't willing or able to come up with a negative COVID test. So, the debate was delayed.