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U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Passes 170,000; Trump Targeting U.S. Postal Service?; Democratic National Convention Set To Launch; L.A. Schools Announce Massive Testing And Tracing Initiative For All Students And Staff; Soon, Democrats Begin Unprecedented Virtual Convention; Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) Is Interviewed On Postmaster General Agreeing To Testify To Congress As Trump Steps Up Attacks On Mail-In Voting. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 17, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Breaking news: a stunning acknowledgement from the White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx.

Just a little while ago, she said she wished the United States had enacted a far stricter lockdown procedure, similar to the one in Italy, where people weren't even allowed to leave the house without a certificate.

The death toll here in the United States now stands at more than 170,000, with nearly 5.5. million confirmed coronavirus cases, but testing is actually trending downward in at least 15 states, despite the urgent need for more testing.

Also, breaking the postmaster general of the United States, Louis DeJoy, has agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee at highly anticipated hearings one week from today, as President Trump ramps up his baseless attacks against mail-in voting.

And we're just hours away from the launch of a truly historic Democratic National Convention.

Also breaking, the president just confirmed he we will deliver his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination next week from the White House.

All that coming up.

But let's begin with CNN's Erica Hill.

She's in New York for us.

Erica, we just heard some pretty remarkable revealing comments from Dr. Deborah Birx. Tell us more.

ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Wolf. She said, somehow people always want to believe that their family and friends are healthy, that they're not infected. But she reiterated, we can't tell who has the virus, and that's why

it's so important to wear a mask. And she was candid when she admitted that the U.S. could be in a much better place if we had had a more strict lockdown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: I wish that, when we went into lockdown, we looked like Italy.

But when Italy locked down, I mean, people weren't allowed out of their houses. Americans don't react well to that kind of prohibition.

HILL (voice-over): Just getting Americans to wear masks has been a hurdle in many places, including schools. They're not mandatory in Georgia, one of nine states where positivity rates top 10 percent, and more than 1,000 students and staff are now quarantined.

Outbreaks in Cherokee County, just north of Atlanta, forcing three high schools to suspend in-person learning through at least the end of the month.

Nationwide, the number and rate of coronavirus cases in children has been steadily increasing since March.

In Arizona, more than 100 staff members in one district called out sick, school there canceled for the day.

LILA GONZALEZ, PARENT/FORMER TEACHER: I was glad that they have decided to kind of take a pause for Monday, because this is going to impact our community as a whole.

HILL: Multiple schools in to Florida districts also adding quarantine orders, as others worry they could be next.

JIMBO JACKSON, PRINCIPAL, FORT BRADEN SCHOOL, FLORIDA: We do all types of drills for emergencies and tornadoes and fires and even active school shooters. But there is no foolproof way to have a drill to avoid a COVID-19 infection.

HILL: UNC Chapel Hill moving all undergraduate classes online after reporting several clusters on campus. An entire sorority house at Oklahoma state is now quarantined. And these images from a crowded party near the University of North Georgia sparking concern that school could be next.

ANDY SLAVITT, FORMER ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES: We're setting them up to fail. And then we're going to blame them for being irresponsible. And I think we're the ones that are, quite frankly, being irresponsible by allowing that kind of thing to happen.

HILL: Deaths topping 170,000, with the country now reporting an average of more than 1,000 deaths a day for the past three weeks.

And while new cases over the past week are trending down in 20 states, at least a dozen of those are also reporting a decline in testing.

DR. WILLIAM HASELTINE, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: We're probably missing eight out of 10 people who are contagious. And any decrease in testing is worrisome because we're already not doing well.

HILL: A new saliva test granted emergency use authorization by the FDA offering hope.

SLAVITT: Well, these tests can be done very rapidly, very inexpensively, lots of them, and with a quick turnaround time, and that's a big difference from where we are today.

HILL: Further evidence communities of color are being hit harder. New analysis of 12 states published in the journal "JAMA Internal Medicine" finds that black, Latino and Native populations were hospitalized at a disproportionate rate. And vaccine trials have been slow to recruit black and Latino participants, currently just 10 percent of those who volunteer, despite making up more than 50 percent of confirmed cases in the U.S.

DR. SEEMA YASMIN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It's on us in medicine, in public health to build those bridges with communities of color and say, look, these are going to be safe trials and we need your involvement because we want to know the vaccine will protect not just some Americans, but all Americans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Wolf, I want to give you a little bit more information what we're learning about UNC Chapel Hill.

So those undergraduate classes move online effective Wednesday. The school says the positivity rate at its campus health for testing has gone from 2.8 percent to 13.6 percent in the last week. There are 177 people now in isolation, nearly 350 in quarantine both on and off campus.

[18:05:15]

And the school also saying to students they're looking at other ways to de-densify, and reminding them of state and local regulations, which prohibit mass gatherings. And those numbers, just for reference, anything outdoors needs to be 25 people or less.

Indoors, Wolf, those guy those gatherings are limited to 10 people or less.

BLITZER: Interesting.

All right, Erica Hill reporting for us, thank you very much.

Let's go to CNN's Kaitlan Collins. She's over at the White House for us.

Kaitlan, the president just confirmed he will accept the Republican nomination with an address from the White House. Give us the latest information.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf.

He had been going back and forth between whether or not to give it here at the White House or maybe at Gettysburg or some other location after they had to scramble to figure out what they were doing for the Republican Convention.

But he has confirmed he will be speaking from here next Thursday when he accepts that nomination. And he made that remark today while he is traveling to two swing states, given his third set of remarks today in events that look a lot like those rallies we used to see the president do, all while, back here in Washington, fury is growing over those big changes that have been made to those policies at the Postal Service, at the postal office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (voice-over): A showdown is brewing in Washington tonight, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling back members from recess to block major post office changes that President Trump is defending.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I also want to have a post office that runs without losing billions and billions of dollars a year.

COLLINS: The changes were put in place by new U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a GOP mega-donor with no experience at the post office. Trump says DeJoy wants to -- quote -- "make the post office great again" and denied instructing him to slow down mail delivery that could impact mail-in voting.

TRUMP: I have encouraged everybody, speed up the mail, not slow it down.

COLLINS: But Democrats want to hear from DeJoy himself. And he's agreed to testify next Monday, shortly after lawmakers return to Washington to vote on legislation that would block his new policies for the time being.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): It's now being 100 percent undermined by the postmaster general, a political hack appointee of Donald Trump.

COLLINS: Democrats are proposing a bill that would include $25 billion in funding for the Postal Service and require it to keep current delivery standards in place through the end of the year.

TRUMP: This is a con game by Pelosi and Schumer.

COLLINS: DeJoy became postmaster general in June and made changes he says we will cut cost and make the post office more financially stable.

But critics say eliminating overtime and banning workers from making extra trips to ensure on-time delivery has caused delays and backlogs. The Postal Service has also been criticized for plans to remove more

than 600 sorting machines in dozens of cities, causing workers to fear they will have less capacity to process mail during the election.

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I'm saying that sorting machines between now and the election will not be taken offline.

COLLINS: Meanwhile, the president has continued to sow misinformation, tweeting today that drop boxes for mail ballots could cause a -- quote -- rigged election," even though they have been used for years without widespread problems.

With two stops in swing states today, President Trump gave a shout out to Mike Lindell, a booster of his and the CEO of MyPillow.

TRUMP: When I sleep well, I'm using his pillow.

COLLINS: Lindell recently pitched the president and HUD Secretary Ben Carson a botanical extract he claims can treat COVID-19. There are no peer-reviewed studies showing, so but Lindell told CNN the president was -- quote -- "enthusiastic" about the idea, even though the product comes from a toxic plant and hasn't been approved by the FDA.

TRUMP: Is it something that people are talking about very strongly? We will look at it.

COLLINS: Today, a new CNN poll of polls shows that 51 percent of registered voters nationwide back Joe Biden, while 42 percent are behind Trump. But for a former Trump administration official, it's not even close.

The former Chief of Staff to the Department of Homeland Security secretary Miles Taylor endorsed Biden today.

MILES TAYLOR, FORMER DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY CHIEF OF STAFF: For me, after two-and-a-half years in that administration was terrifying.

We would go into try to talk to him about a pressing national security issue, cyberattack, terrorism threat. He wasn't interested in those things.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Now, Wolf, today, on Twitter, the president is critical of when that hearing with the new postmaster general is going to happen.

Right now, it's scheduled for next Monday. And the president is complaining that's going to happen on the week the Republicans are holding their convention, instead of on the week, this week, when the Democrats are holding theirs.

BLITZER: Interesting.

All right, Kaitlan Collins at the White House, thanks very much.

Let's discuss all the breaking news with Dr. Peter Hotez, professor and dean at the Baylor College of Medicine.

[18:10:01]

Dr. Hotez, thanks so much for joining.

What we just heard from Dr. Birx, the White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, she wishes -- and I'm quoting her now -- "that we went into a lockdown the way Italy did," much more thorough, much more robust. The situation today would have been a lot different.

What do you think?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Yes, she's partially right.

I mean, the White House Coronavirus Task Force, if we look over this past six months, has missed multiple opportunities in order to (AUDIO GAP) our current situation, with 170,000 deaths as of today, American deaths, and 189,00, 190,000 deaths project projected by September 5, and maybe 300,000 deaths by the end of the year.

And the problem was, the White House Coronavirus Task Force could not provide the leadership to prevent this. So, back in March and April, when we started doing -- what we saw was going on in New York, there were efforts to kind of slow things down, put things -- put people in a shelter-in-place type of situation.

But then there was never the leadership, the directives to the states to say, look, this is what you have to do now to prevent a resurgence, and give a time and a date when they could begin opening up safely and give the specific instructions about how to implement a public health control system, with the right number of contact tracers hired.

None of that was done. And so we saw this massive resurgence. Then they missed the second opportunity again, when we saw this big resurgence, and they said they wanted to open up schools. A number of us put forward plans in October about what we had to do in individual states. Some states were fine. They didn't have to do anything.

Others had to go back into shutdown. And now we can't open schools in so many states in the country. So the thing that I didn't like about her comments -- and I know she's struggling with a very difficult administration -- was, you know, they continue to point the finger as though there's something inherent in the American character, they won't accept instructions, and some kind of strange kind of twisted version of de Tocqueville and America individualism.

It's not that way. It's the absence of leadership giving directives to the states, tell them what they need to do to save lives.

BLITZER: Yes. At the end of her statement, she said, Americans don't react well to that kind of prohibition. That's what you're referring to.

We do know the United States now is averaging about 1,000 deaths a day. Italy right now, over the past few weeks, is averaging about three deaths a day, just some perspective, some context.

Dr. Fauci today, he brought up long-term effects, especially in young people, as what he calls really troublesome. You see these four cluster of cases at the University of North Carolina, for example, where they're now returning to totally remote learning.

How concerning is this, as schools continue to try to reopen college campuses across the country?

HOTEZ: Yes.

Again, the problem is, we could have done this. I put forward an October 1 plan. Others at Johns Hopkins had similar ideas, that we know what needed to be done to safely open up schools and colleges, maybe even host sporting events.

In certain states, like in the Carolinas, which were raging with COVID in June and July, we had to implement approaches to bring us back down to containment mode, whether it was one new case per 400,000 residents per day or testing under 1 percent.

We could have done that and then safely opened up schools. Instead, what was -- there was no leadership, no guidance to say what had to be done at that point and said, let's just let it rip and open up the schools and colleges and see what happens.

And now we see what happens. We have seen this in North Carolina today. We saw in the Georgia high schools, when we opened up in areas with high transmission. There's this failure to understand that opening up the school safely is not the responsibility of the teachers and the principals.

They are doing their part, maximizing things with Plexiglas and six feet apart and all those things. The failure has been the elected leaders who have not done the good-faith effort, the hard work to bring down community transmission.

The point is, school teachers can do everything under the sun perfectly, like they're doing now in Houston Independent School District, but it will fail unless we can bring down community transmission. It's not the fault...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Yes, always important to hear what you have to say, Dr. Hotez.

Thanks, as usual, for joining us. Appreciate it very much.

HOTEZ: I appreciate it, Wolf. Thank you.

BLITZER: And just ahead: Democrats are ramping up for a showdown over delays and cuts to the U.S. Postal Service. I will speak with a key member of the House committee preparing to grill the postmaster general of the United States.

Also this hour, we will bring you a preview of Michelle Obama's speech to the Democratic National Convention later tonight. We have excerpts.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:19:15]

BLITZER: We have breaking news.

We're getting excerpts now from Michelle Obama's speech to the Democratic National Convention later tonight.

Our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, is with us. Our senior political reporter, Nia-Malika Henderson, is also with us.

Dana, this is a portion of what the former first lady will say tonight. Watch and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: And he will govern as someone who's lived a life that the rest of us can recognize.

When he was a kid, Joe's father lost his job. When he was a young senator Joe lost his wife and his baby daughter. And when he was vice president, he lost his beloved son. So, Joe knows the anguish of sitting at a table with an empty chair, which is why he gives his time so freely to grieving parents.

[18:20:03]

Joe knows what it's like to struggle, which is why he gives his personal phone number to kids overcoming a stutter of their own.

His life is a testament to getting back up. And he is going to channel that same grit and passion to pick us all up, to help us heal, and guide us forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Dana, how powerful is that message of empathy?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's incredibly powerful.

And, look, for any presumptive nominee who is at the beginning or even any part of his or her nominating process during the convention, a big part of it is filling out their biography, filling out their personality, their character.

And for somebody like Joe Biden, he's leading with that in a big way and has been since he announced as an antidote to Trumpism, because of who he is and who he represents.

And having somebody as wildly popular, not just with the base, not just with Democrats, but across the board, as Michelle Obama, to be that kind of explainer of who Joe Biden is, is huge.

But, Wolf, my understanding, in talking to sources, is that that is just part of Michelle Obama's speech. She is supposed to be incredibly tough on President Trump, incredibly pointed and sharp on the contrast between Joe Biden and President Trump.

And you will remember, four years ago, she now very famously talked about the notion that, when they go low, we go high, that she's going to fill that out in 2020 terms and talking about the imperative of what that means and the imperative of, yes, being high, but that not meaning you just take it on the chin.

BLITZER: Nia, the former first lady has certainly an enormous amount of sway within the Democratic Party. What else will you be watching for when she delivers that address later tonight?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: One of the big tasks that Democrats have in front of them is bringing the party together.

There are people in different wings of the party who aren't quite behind this ticket, behind Joe Biden, and behind Kamala Harris, and a lot of those folks are younger, they're blacker, they're browner, they're much more progressive.

So it will be interesting to see the ways in which Michelle Obama, who, again, connects with such a broad swathe of the country, a broad swathe of the party, as well, it will be interesting to see the ways in which she reaches out to them by drawing this contrast between Donald Trump, between Joe Biden, and saying, listen, folks have to be pragmatic.

The ultimate goal, I imagine she will say to some of these folks who are sitting on the fence, Democrats, that you have got to get behind Joe Biden, because the alternative, she will say, I imagine, is much worse.

So that's the kind of, I think, message that Democrats need. I think it's also the kind of message that she can certainly deliver, because, again, she makes connections in a way that I don't think on many people on stage tonight who are going to be able to make that connection to progressives, to younger folks who, again, still have some questions about being enthusiastic backers of this party.

Listen, it's not even necessary that they be enthusiastic backers of this party, but it's certainly necessary for them to vote, if Joe Biden is to replace Donald Trump in November.

BLITZER: Dana, this comes as Democrats are clearly right now mobilizing around mail-in voting, the slowdowns at the U.S. Postal Service.

So what is to come in the next week or so on this front?

BASH: The House of Representatives, led by Democrats, of course, decided in a series of calls with the House Democratic leadership over the weekend that they have to come back.

They have to come back to push legislation, on the one hand, to try to stop the postmaster general, who is a Trump supporter, a Trump appointee who was -- has been doing things to -- in the view of a lot of Democrats and I think objectively speaking, to try to curb the ability for people to vote by mail, at a time when they don't feel comfortable, many people, to go vote in person.

And so the Democrats are going to come in and try to legislatively stop the postmaster general for putting those curbs on, and also to try once again to give the post office more money, because, even before the pandemic, the post office was in pretty bad financial shape.

And so that has been part of the negotiations. Unclear if the Senate Republicans are going to even think about bringing that up, despite the fact that, at the White House, the chief of staff said that they might be interested in doing that.

We will see.

BLITZER: How do you think, Nia, this controversy over the Postal Service is going to play out over the next few days of this convention?

[18:25:05]

HENDERSON: Well, Democrats are going to try to own this issue, because it's not only about mail-in voting. They want to see that all across the country in a much broader way than we have seen in elections past.

It's also about everyday Americans trying to get their medicine, trying to mail their bills, any number of ways in which people rely on the Postal Service. So, I think you're going to see Democrats really try to own this issue, and, in that way, really connect with Americans who really want to see this fix and don't want to see the U.S. Postal Service hampered at this critical time.

BLITZER: All right, Nia and Dana, we will see both of you later tonight, as our special coverage will continue.

We're going to have much more on the pandemic coming up, the unprecedented effort that the country's second largest school district is now making to test all students.

Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, he's standing by live. There you see him. We have lots to discuss with the mayor.

We will when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:30:00]

BLITZER: California took some of the earliest and toughest steps to try to halt the spread of coronavirus, but it may not have been enough. The state last week became the first to surpass 600,000 confirmed cases, many of them in Los Angeles.

This weekend, L.A. County school system announced a major new effort to try to keep students safe, families safe, teachers safe, when schools reopen.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is joining us right now with more. What are you learning, Stephanie?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it is back to school for L.A. UST, which is the second largest school district in the nation serving 600,000 students enrolled between Kindergarten and 12th grade. But you realize, it's not just those students who everyone is concerned about when it comes to the virus, it's also the staff and their families as well.

So then this new plan, what they are going to do, and it's started today, is test their populations to see if they have the virus. And they're saying this will help out the school communities and it will also help out the greater Los Angeles County community as well as they will be doing contact tracing along with this.

The idea being is that they will constantly be testing their populations to see where the virus is, to know what it is doing, where it's going and then working with some big names who've been really on the forefront of this. And that would include schools like UCLA, Stanford and Johns Hopkins.

The superintendent, Austin Beutner, announcing that he will be the co- chair, along with Arne Duncan who served as the Education Secretary. So, together, they're working together to do this testing and then being able to pinpoint.

Now, it doesn't mean that kids will be able to go back to school right away but the ideas that everyone knows the students learn better when they're in the classroom, so being able to get them back, that would be important.

Also worth noting, while you noted that California is the first to pass 600,000 cases of the coronavirus, the number is looking much better here. Governor Newsom speaking today about that and saying with Los Angeles County, where the numbers are looking so much better, that they're saying, of the six indicators that California monitors, that the state is monitoring to see if counties are in line with where the virus is in the area, they meet five out of six of them. So the number is looking much better over the last few weeks, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Stephanie, thank you very much, Stephanie Elam in L.A. for us.

Joining us now, the Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti. Mayor, thank you so much for joining us. And as you know better than anyone, California has now become the first state to pass 600,000 cases, did so last week. L.A. County reported more than 30,000 in just the last 14 days. Why is your state continuing to be hit so hard by this pandemic?

MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI (D), LOS ANGELES, CA: Well, I think it is important to remember an absolute number is different than a per capita number. So, of course, we're the biggest state in the nation, but we have about an eighth number of deaths we saw in places like New York.

So we're actually very optimistic and I think the message has been received loud and clear by our people here. We've actually cut our hospitalizations almost in a half in a single month, Wolf, and now we're down to levels we haven't seen since April inside our hospitals.

So, we were the first city in America widespread to offer testing to asymptomatic people. We're the first city in America of our size to cut African-American deaths under the population rate, which is something we're very proud of. And the first city in America to mandate masks back when people were still dithering about whether that protected people.

So, you know, we're a big state, so those numbers and those headlines will continue to come. We're actually pretty optimistic about where we are but it's a reminder, everybody has to going keep up their part of the bargain.

BLITZER: Yes. You're the biggest state, that's true.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has just announced that testing and tracing programs. So, Mayor, how will it work and how will this influence when schools can fully reopen?

GARCETTI: Well, this is exciting news. I mean, we've been a testing leader. We have the largest testing facility in the country at Dodger Stadium. We have been able to turn around our tests in about 23 hours on average when it's seven to nine days. So building on that, the school district is going big and going bold, looking at, it's ramping up a way to be able to test hundreds of thousands of students, staff and the families, and integrating that with the Los Angeles County tracking and tracing.

Remember, this is a multilayered chess game. You have to not only get testing right, make it available and make it quick, you also have to sure you're tracking and tracing people while you're also educating them to just keep their distance, wear their mask, wash their hands and surfaces.

Any crack in the armor with those, this virus preys off of them.

[18:35:03]

And schools, especially young kids, and I'm a father of an eight years-old, we should be really focused on getting those K through 6 kids back to school where the development is so critical. At a moment of racial justice too many black and brown kids left behind, not having access to internet, not having the right equipment. So we're very focused on that, the city, the county, working together with the school district on making sure those resources are there.

And one further thing, Wolf, we're also looking at paper strip testing that could bring the cost of this down from $1 to $200 a test to maybe $1 to $5 a test. So you could really have mass testing almost daily for a population like our schoolchildren.

BLITZER: Yes, that's so important. We're also getting ready, as you know, for the start the Democratic National Convention tonight. What's the most essential message that Democrats need to get across over the next four nights, Mayor, from your perspective?

GARCETTI: Well, this is a re-election for a sitting president and it's really about the incumbent. As proud as I am, you can see from the signs behind me, to be the second national co-chair for Joe Biden, president of the Democratic mayors, and working hard to help him choose a superb running mate, which happens to come from the Golden State, Kamala Harris.

This is about the pandemic stupid but it's also about the economy stupid. To quote Bill Clinton's campaign, those two things showed failure from our incumbent. And more than that though, I think it's not just rejecting Donald Trump. We have to communicate this extraordinary ticket that really is about restoring the soul of this nation.

And, remember, nation isn't a country, a nation is the people. And we've had a president who has ripped us under the fabric of America and there is no more decent human being in public life, I can say this after 20 years as a public official, than I know than Joe Biden. And there is no person who reflects America today better than Kamala Harris.

The two of them together are lightning in a bottle. 48 hours raised $48 million, but remember four years ago, take nothing for granted, make that case about the incumbent, about how we will restore this nation and I think we're going to have a good November.

BLITZER: And I know you know Senator Harris personally. We just learned, by the way, her Secret Service code name, and she's not getting Secret Service protection, is Pioneer. Is that apt given to what you know about her?

GARCETTI: It absolutely is. Kamala and I have been dear friends for a decade-and-a-half. We walked through the snow together as California co-chairs for an up-start and probable senator of Illinois, who was running as an underdog. I have seen her in action. I have seen her restore hope to people. I've seen her to be a pioneer. She's shattering three glass ceilings simultaneously.

And yet, for all of us who are of this generation, that's what America is, not what it should be but what it is today, to finally have politics reflecting who we know we are. It's a great day and a great chapter.

BLITZER: Mayor Garcetti, you've got a great city over there. Thanks so much for joining us.

GARCETTI: Thank you, Wolf, always a pleasure to be with you.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Up next, we will have more on what to expect for night one of the Democratic Convention.

And later, a key member of the House Oversight Committee standing by live, we'll discuss the testimony coming up of the postmaster general of the United States. Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of trying to cripple the U.S. postal system to help his friend, the president, win a second term.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: Right now, we are less than 90 minutes away from CNN's coverage of the most unconventional Democratic Convention ever. As we mentioned, we've learned Kamala Harris' Secret Service code name, it is Pioneer, and we've gotten our first excerpts of former First Lady's Michelle Obama's speech later tonight.

Let's go to our Senior Washington Correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, who's joining us from Willington, Delaware, right now. Jeff, tell us more about the big moments, we can expect in over the next few hours.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it is going to be that speech from the former First Lady Michelle Obama that is certainly being described as the biggest validation for Joe Biden this evening. In a long series of speeches, she is a character witness for him. I am told she's going to speak for about 18 minutes or so in deeply personal ways.

Of course this is about the fourth convention she has spoken to, but this is in a different moment in her life. But this is what she plans to say, at least a part of it, about Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: I know Joe. He is a profoundly decent man guided by faith. He was a terrific vice president. He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country. And he listens. He will tell the truth and trust science. He will make smart plans and manage a good team. And he will govern as someone who's lived a life that the rest of us can recognize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, Michelle Obama there speaking in pre-recorded remarks. But, Wolf, it is going to be a mix of live remarks from senators, from some governors, as well Amy Klobuchar will be speaking, Gretchen Whitmer, of course, the Governor of Michigan, Andrew Cuomo will be speaking, the governor of New York. All of them have a specific purpose to talk about racial justice, to talk about coronavirus, to really build the case for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris against President Trump. So a wide variety of speakers representing just about every wing of the Democratic Party tonight, Wolf.

BLITZER: You're absolutely right. Senator Bernie Sanders, for example, he'll be speaking later tonight from Vermont.

[18:45:04]

He was the runner up.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Right.

BLITZER: Is the Democratic Party, Jeff, united, unified right now behind Biden or is it still a work in progress?

ZELENY: Wolf, I think it is a work in progress when you talk to progressive voters on the ground, the rank-in-file who firmly wanted either Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren to win this Democratic primary. But there is one person that unites Democrats, that's Donald J. Trump. So, that is what Senator Sanders tonight is going to talk about I'm told. He's going to bring his supporters aboard saying it's critical that they support Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Wolf, it's going to be interesting, because this is not in a convention hall. We're not going to hear, you know, some booing or anything like that. Of course, we all remember four years ago, some Sanders supporters were not that kind to Hillary Clinton. All of that will not happen tonight, because there's a virtual convention. So, if there is a bright side from that, is that there can be no sort of extraneous shenanigans on the sidelines. But Bernie Sanders certainly a big speech tonight as well, Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll watch all of this unfold together with you, Jeff. Thank you very, very much.

Just ahead, we'll have more on the breaking news. The coming showdown up on Capitol Hill over Postal Service delays that could impact the presidential election. And I will interview a key member of the House Oversight Committee, Congressman Gerry Connolly. There he is. We've got lots to discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:51:05]

BLITZER: As I try to do every night, I want to honor some of the people who have lost their lives as a result of this coronavirus pandemic.

Grace Nezgoda of New Jersey was 102 years old. A loving mother and grandmother, with a joyful life. Grace worked as a nurse at a veterans hospital helping to deliver babies. Her grandson, Joseph, says she was an avid reader who always saw the good in others.

Christine Sullivan of Massachusetts was 72. She was a public schoolteacher for 30 years. We're told Christine was a big supporter of animal rescue and loved walking her dogs along the beach. She leaves behind three children and four grandchildren.

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

We'll have more news -- actually we have more news coming up right now. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are preparing for a

contentious hearing with the postmaster general of the United States as President Trump escalates his attacks on mail-in voting.

Joining us now, a key member of that committee, Congressman Gerry Connolly.

Congressman, thanks for joining us.

REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): Great to be with you.

BLITZER: The president spoke a little while ago on all of this. I want you to listen and want our viewers to listen to what he said. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to win the election. We can't play games. Get out and vote. Use those beautiful absentee ballots or just make sure your vote gets counted.

Make sure, because the only way we're going to lose this election is if the election is rigged. Remember that. It's the only way we're going to lose this election. So we have to be very careful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Congressman Connolly, what's your reaction when you hear that from the president?

CONNOLLY: You know, the idea that the only way he could lose is if the election is rigged, you know, raises really alarming issues about the willingness of the Trump voter to accept the outcome of the election and of course the willingness of Trump himself to accept the outcome of the election. And so, that's very troubling. And, of course, we've seen him act on that, especially recently with respect to the Postal Service.

BLITZER: The postmaster general of the United States, he's agreed to appear before your Oversight Committee. I think, what, next Monday, is that right?

CONNOLLY: Yes.

BLITZER: What questions will you have for him? What answers do you want from him? Update our viewers on what's going on from your perspective.

CONNOLLY: So we know, and I want to know from him, how he justifies the actions he's taken that have the clear effect of delaying the delivery of mail.

So he's taken out very sophisticated sorting machinery. He has basically eliminated overtime. He has changed the hours of mail pickup at drop-off boxes. He's removed drop-off boxes so people can't actually access them. He is delaying the filling up of mail trucks to deliver mail on the same day of receipt.

And these are very troubling developments that clearly seem designed to delay mail and to threaten the overwhelming volume increase in mail-in ballots we expect to experience this fall.

BLITZER: You've actually called the Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's operational changes, in your words, and I'm quoting you now, one big fat Trojan horse designed to delay the delivery of mail.

Very strong words. Do you want to elaborate?

CONNOLLY: Yeah, sure.

[18:55:00]

I mean, I think we have to look at the context. Why would a brand new postmaster general without studying the operation, with no credentials and no experience, I might add, professionally in postal service issues, within a week of taking over last month implement such dramatic changes that obviously have negative impacts? Why would you do that right now in the middle of a pandemic and on the eve of a very consequential national election?

One can only conclude based on the words of President Trump himself and the fact that he put a crony and a political hack into the postmaster general's job, that this is clearly by design. It is a massive effort at voter suppression in front of our eyes.

BLITZER: Congressman Gerry Connolly, we'll watch that hearing very closely. Thanks so much for joining us.

CONNOLLY: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll have more news just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: I'm Wolf Blitzer. Thanks for watching. I'll be back in an hour for CNN's live coverage of day one of the Democratic National Convention.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.