Trump's Kenosha Visit Ends Without Answers; California And Florida See Infection Rates Decline; Three Out Of Four Adults Worldwide Say Yes To A COVID Vaccine; Facebook: Russia is Targeting American Voters Again
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. Coming up this hour. A presidential visit with a fistful of dollars for the Kenosha P.D., the one that shot an African American man seven times in the back. South Korea bracing for Maysak, one of the most powerful typhoons to make landfall in years. And why did Donald Trump say a stroke wasn't the reason for that mystery trip to Walter Reed Hospital back in November, when no one suggested it was. CNN NEWSROOM begins now. Donald Trump spent three hours in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday. Never say the name Jacob Blake, the African American man who was shot by police, didn't visit Blake in hospital where he's paralyzed. He didn't meet with Blake's family. But he did tour damaged property and he promised millions of dollars in federal aid for business owners and showered law enforcement with praise and promised a million dollars in extra funding to, quote, "do what you have to do." And, for the record, not once was he seen wearing a mask. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports from the White House.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A thing like this should never happen.</s>JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, President Trump surveying Kenosha, Wisconsin, a week after police here shot a black man in the back seven times. But the president all but ignored that tragedy, instead lamenting the property damage caused by riots that followed the shooting and delivering political remarks.</s>TRUMP: Reckless, far left politicians continue to push the destructive message that our nation and our law enforcement are oppressive or racist. They'll throw out any word that comes to them.</s>DIAMOND: Also taking credit for a National Guard deployment he did not order.</s>TRUMP: This ended within an hour, as soon as we announced we were coming. And then they saw that we were here. This ended immediately.</s>DIAMOND: Falsely claiming federal troops marched into Kenosha and ended the unrest. The reality? All National Guard troops in Wisconsin are under state control. As for Jacob Blake, Trump addressing the situation only after question from reporters.</s>TRUMP: I'd feel terribly for anybody that goes through that. As you know, it's under investigation, it's a big thing happening right now. I guess it's under local investigation.</s>DIAMOND: Blake's uncle staying above the fray.</s>JUSTIN BLAKE, JACOB BLAKE'S UNCLE: We're not going to get caught up him. He wished he would, and we're not. Were here to heal Kenosha and push forward our agenda for getting little Jake justice.</s>DIAMOND: Today Trump denying the existence of systemic racism in policing.</s>TRUMP: I don't believe that. I think the police do an incredible job. And I think you do have some bad apples.</s>DIAMOND: Trump is also spinning new conspiracy theories.</s>TRUMP: (...) they control him.</s>LAURA INGRAHAM, "FOX NEWS" HOST: Who do you think is pulling Biden's strings?</s>TRUMP: People that you've never heard of. People that are in the dark shadows.</s>DIAMOND: And then there was this.</s>TRUMP: We had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend. And in the plane it was almost completely loaded with thugs wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms with gear. A lot of people were on the plane -- to do big damage.</s>DIAMOND: The president providing no evidence to back up his strange claim.</s>TRUMP: This was a firsthand account of a plane going from Washington to wherever. And I'll see if I can get that information for you; maybe they'll speak to you, maybe they won't.</s>DIAMOND: President Trump spent nearly three hours on the ground in Kenosha. And during that time, we saw him turn the city into the backdrop for his 2020 reelection campaign, and his focus on this law and order message. We saw him disparage what he called left wing violence and this anti police rhetoric that he feels some politicians are engaging in. What we did not hear from the president in those nearly three hours where the words Jacob Blake. That is the name, of course, of the man who was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. And the president did not utter his name once during those nearly three hours. Instead, we heard the president only address the situation when he was asked about the shooting. And in that case, we heard the president say that he feels terribly about the situation but he declined to weigh in any further. And the president, of course, also did not meet with Jacob Blake or his family. Jeremy Diamond. CNN, the White House.</s>VAUSE: Matt Lewis is a CNN political commentator. He's a conservative and a senior columnist for "The Daily Beast". And he is with us from Washington. Matt, thanks for taking the time.</s>MATT LEWIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey, thanks for having me.</s>VAUSE: OK. Well, we've heard from Trump for a while now. He's pushing this sort of Orwellian-like narrative that Joe Biden is a basket weaving, chardonnay sipping, police hating soft- on-crime Democrat while Donald Trump is the tough guy, the law and order candidate. And on "Fox News," he had this defense for the police officer in Kenosha who shot Jacob Black -- listen to -- Blake, rather. Listen to this.</s>TRUMP: And shooting the guy in the back many times. Couldn't you have done something different, couldn't you have wrestled him? In the meantime, he might have been going for a weapon -- you know, and there's a whole big thing there. But they choke. Just like in a golf tournament, they miss a three foot --</s>INGRAHAM: You're not comparing to golf. Because, of course, that's what the media will say.</s>TRUMP: No. I'm saying people choke.</s>INGRAHAM: People --</s>VAUSE: He's not comparing it to golf, except for the fact that he is. There will be some people who think that it's perfectly reasonable to say that sort of stuff. Many more will find it totally offensive to compare the tragedy of a police shooting to that time you missed a three-foot putt. As a conservative, I don't know, can you explain the strategy here that Trump is trying to win the election by?</s>LEWIS: Well, yes. First of all what he's doing at that that moment is botching the communications aspect. And he needs Laura Ingraham, who is an ally, to basically help him on track and keep him from making a major gaffe, even more of a gaffe than he did. So the execution's very flawed. But I think there is a strategy, and the strategy is basically to say we've got about 60 days left until the election. And if the election's about COVID or if it's about the economy then Donald Trump can't win. And so what you need is an issue that is just as emotional, just as compelling, to drive out working class white voters and even suburban white voters to the polls. And that would be the law and order issue. And when you see rioting in the streets, that's the opening for Donald Trump. And that's really his only play. It may not be a great play but that's his only play right now. And I think it would've resonated more had he executed it better.</s>VAUSE: Yes. Well, the protests in Kenosha and across the United States the past few months ultimately have focused on systemic racism, which is behind acts of violence against black men and women in this country. And, again, Donald Trump speaking at a news conference in Kenosha. Here he is.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe systemic racism is a problem in this country?</s>TRUMP: Well, you know you just keep getting back to the opposite subject. We should talk about the kind of violence that we've seen in Portland and here and other places. It's tremendous violence. You always get to the other side, "Well, what do you think about this or that?" The fact is that we've seen tremendous violence, and we will put it out very, very quickly if given the chance. And that's what this is all about.</s>VAUSE: Now if you want to talk about messaging, I think this is actually quite, quite clever, if you listen to it. Because what he's saying is that the protesters and the looters, they're the bad ones. It's not the government or society. And is this a message which wins over sort of garden variety white bread Republicans?</s>LEWIS: Well, again, I think it's all that he's got, right? The truth is that reality is more complex and nuanced. We do have systemic racism but we also have looting and rioting. And I think Joe Biden condemned both things. Joe Biden condemned police abuse and looting and rioting. Donald Trump wants to basically -- rather than bring us together, he wants to divide us. And he really wants it to be two teams. One team is basically, in Donald Trump's mind, African Americans and looters and rioters and then the other team are the good people including the police officers. That that is what he wants to set up. And it is possible that Donald Trump could win. Remember, in America, it's not about the popular vote, it's about winning the electoral college. Right? And the key states there could be states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. And so it's possible that enough working class white voters and also suburban college educated whites here in the next 60 days decide they re more afraid of the rioters than they are of COVID, Donald Trump could pull off another electoral college miracle.</s>VAUSE: Very quickly --</s>LEWIS: That's his only play, I think.</s>VAUSE: Yes. Very quickly. "Politico" has this report. That -- "... in Wisconsin, the prediction that those put off by the protest will embrace Trump hasn't yet been supported by the polling or in conversations with pollsters and operatives here. " the president's handling of the protests continue to be one of the weakest points with Wisconsin voters, even more so than how he's addressed the COVID-19 pandemic." Well, is it too soon? Are we going to have to see a lot more violence before this strategy starts working?</s>LEWIS: Well, look I think that what happened in Kenosha is still fairly new, right? We're about a week out from what happened there. And I think there is a sense, and maybe it's anecdotal, but there is a sense that there is a sort of fatigue. There were a lot of Americans who a few months ago with the George Floyd shooting or George Floyd killing that were, I think, very sympathetic to the cause, right? And then they were actually in some cases joining in the protests and wanted to do something about police abuse. But as that story shifts and you start to see rioting and looting, the question is will the white folks move away from that support? And, again, I don't know that polling is backing that up, but I think a lot of people who -- let's just look at political history in America. Whether it is Richard Nixon in the 1960s or Lee Atwater running George H.W. Bush's campaign in 1988, the whole Willie Horton story. Race does resonate. And if you're Donald Trump and you can't talk about COVID because it's not a good story to tell and you can't talk about the economy --</s>VAUSE: Make one up.</s>LEWIS: -- this may be the last move you have.</s>VAUSE: It sounds like you make one up though, doesn't it, Matt? Good to see you, Matt. Thank you. Matt Lewis, CNN political commentator.</s>LEWIS: Thank you.</s>VAUSE: Thank you, sir. This coming weekend is Labor Day in the United States. And if history is prologue, it could be a major spreading event for the coronavirus. Across the U.S., though, a number of states including hard hit California and Florida are seeing infection rates decline. And with that in mind, health experts are pleading with Americans to not become complacent. And now as the country races to develop a vaccine, officials are still trying to figure out how and when to release it. More now from CNN's Nick Watt.</s>NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Three potential vaccines now in crucial phase three human trials here in the U.S. But the FDA suggesting could be approved before those trials are over? Now raising more than eyebrows.</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You don't want a vaccine to be available widely to the American public unless it's been shown to be safe and effective.</s>WATT: The FDA commissioner now intimating he'd consider resigning rather than greenlight the vaccine under political pressure.</s>STEPHEN HAHN, COMMISSIONER OF THE FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION: I think all options are on the table. With respect, I hope we are not in that position.</s>WATT: Such seismic statements now necessary because through previous misstatements and political pressure --</s>DR. AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS, CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER, PROVIDENCE HEALTH SYSTEM: We've started eroding the trust that we always had in these otherwise incredibly professional institutions. You can't just have the vaccine, you've to get it in people for it to work. And so trust is a critical element to make that happen.</s>WATT: In fact and when we get a vaccine, it will be initially in short supply. An independent committee now recommending it goes first to health workers and people with underlying issues. Phase two would be other high risk and essential workers, including teachers, all of the elderly and our prison population. While we wait, nationally new case counts are falling from a great height. Florida finally allowing some visitors into nursing homes again.</s>GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FLA): They would like to be able to say goodbye or to hug somebody. So it was --</s>WATT: But there's a knot in the heartland where average new case counts are rising right now, near double in South Dakota in just a week. The White House coronavirus task force just warned Iowa it has the highest rate of cases in the nation advising mask mandates across the state, bars must be closed and a comprehensive plan for college towns. More than 20,000 confirmed cases and counting at colleges in at least 36 states as students return.</s>DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: The only way to find them in the university setting is doing the aggressive testing.</s>WATT: New York City just pushed back in-person classes by 10 days and announced it'll test some K through 12 staff and students monthly. Hardly aggressive.</s>ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASST. SECRETARY OF HEALTH, U.S. DEPT. OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: It's great to talk about this utopian kind of ideal where everybody has a test every day and we can do that. I don't live in the utopian world.</s>WATT: But as one CNN analyst tweeted, "That's what White House staff and major league sports get now. Sure, let's call it utopia when it's for the less privileged." Meanwhile, remember that summer sunbelt surge sparked by Memorial Day? There's another holiday weekend coming up.</s>MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER, HOUSTON, TEXAS: As we approach Labor Day, let me encourage people to be mindful the virus is still looking for you.</s>WATT: And Dr. Anthony Fauci warning Americans that how they behave this holiday weekend will pretty much set the stage for what the fall might look like with COVID-19 when of course we might also have flu mixed in with all this mess. Nick Watt. CNN, Los Angeles.</s>VAUSE: Well, the U.S. president's new go-to guy on the coronavirus task force has adamantly denied media reports he's been pushing for a herd immunity strategy to fight the pandemic. According to the "Washington Post," Scott Atlas was pushing this strategy which would allow the virus to spread unchecked, quickly building immunity among the population. Those who survive, that is. Some studies have found this plan could end with a death toll north of two million.</s>DR. SCOTT ATLAS, MEMBER OF WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE (Voice Over): "I'm not sure they fabricated it or someone told them a lie, but there's never been any advocacy of a herd immunity strategy coming from me to the president, to anyone in the administration, to the task force, to anyone I've spoken to. The president does not have a strategy advocating herd immunity. The task force does not have a strategy advocating herd immunity. There is no change in any kind of strategy that I've seen. The whole thing is an overt lie. But this is Washington."</s>VAUSE: Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. Bracing for not one but two typhoons in the coming days. The first just hours away from landfall on the Korean Peninsula. Also, teachers in Russia are among the first to receive the Kremlin's rushed, untested, potentially dangerous coronavirus vaccine. No surprise some are saying "nyet."