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Trump Criticizes U.S. Military Generals; Trump Blasts Doubters Of Early Coronavirus Vaccine; Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) Campaigns In Wisconsin After Speaking With Jacob Blake And Meeting With His Family In Kenosha; Florida Reports Lowest New Case Count In Nearly Three Months As Health Experts Fear Post-Labor Day Spike; California Sets Record For Land Torched By Wildfires. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 07, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:27]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. This is a SITUATION ROOM special report.

The breaking news this hour: A federal official familiar with the Trump administration's push for a coronavirus vaccine now tells CNN there is very little chance one will be available before Election Day.

But President Trump is once again making major promises that a vaccine will be ready, in his words -- and I'm quoting him now -- "very soon, maybe even before a very special date. You know what date I'm talking about."

And as Americans celebrate the end of summer on this Labor Day holiday, a top former U.S. health official is warning that the level of infection here in the United States is simply too high heading into the fall and winter. More than 189,000 Americans have died from the virus and nearly 6.3 million U.S. cases have now been confirmed.

Let's begin our coverage this hour with CNN's Nick Watt. He's out in Los Angeles for us.

Nick, yet another official is casting doubt on the president's vaccine promises. What's the latest?

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Listen, Wolf, the president keeps on saying it, that he thinks that we're going to get a vaccine by Election Day.

And yet another federal official telling CNN that is just not realistic. Here's the direct quote: "I don't know any scientist involved in this effort who thinks we will be getting shots into arms anytime before Election Day."

Meanwhile, Wolf, Friday, the TSA screened more people in a day than they have since the pandemic began, another sign, perhaps, that more of us are letting down our guards.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WATT (voice-over): Is this the spark for another surge? Or this? Or this? We will find out in a few weeks.

FRANCIS SUAREZ (R), MAYOR OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Things have stabilized. Things are much better. But we have seen, as you mentioned, spikes after long weekends.

WATT: In part due to Memorial Day crowds celebrating the start of summer, new case counts soared from around 20,000 a day mid-May to over 70,000 a little more than a month later. And Labor Day, we're starting from a much higher baseline.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: I don't think it will take much to really bring us back up to op to 70,000 new cases a day.

WATT: This weekend, of course, also marks the unofficial start of fall, when people will be moving more indoors, when infection risk rises and:

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: People are exhausted. That's another challenge, trying to keep up our vigilance, trying to keep up our vigilance at a time when we know that this can spread more aggressively.

WATT: It's also back-to-school time. Colleges now in every single state dealing with outbreaks, 11 Northeastern students just kicked out for the entire semester without refunds after allegedly gathering in a hotel room; 900 students have now tested positive at Iowa State.

Now, when student athletes first returned after Memorial Day:

HOTEZ: It two about three weeks before it started to spread into the general population. It then got into a local nursing home, and 10 people died.

WATT: Twenty-nine states right now seeing 5 percent or more tests coming back positive, a bad sign, the past few days, West Virginia and North Dakota seeing record infection rates, Missouri and Puerto Rico seeing record death tolls.

Meanwhile, as we near Election Day, the president says we have turned the corner.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to have a vaccine very soon, maybe even before a very special date. You know what date I'm talking about.

GOTTLIEB: I think the likelihood that we're going to have a vaccine for widespread use in 2020 is extremely low.

WATT: At least three vaccine potential producers, rivals, reportedly now preparing a joint statement that they will not seek government approval until they know for sure the vaccine is safe and effective, this according to "The Wall Street Journal."

HOTEZ: The fact that we're seeing the pharmaceutical companies sort of protecting the U.S. population from the government is something I have never seen before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: Now, the president also wants K-12 schools open as much as possible.

We are tracking the 101 biggest districts in the nation. And, Wolf, tomorrow morning, 16 of them will kick off their school year, 14 of the 16 online only, among them, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Baltimore -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Nick Watt reporting from L.A. -- Nick, thank you.

Let's go to our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, right now.

Jim, the president had a rather lengthy session with reporters over at the White House earlier this afternoon. It was billed as a news conference, but parts of it totally sounded like a campaign event. Update our viewers.

[18:05:08]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Wolf.

President Trump was rambling and misleading at times, as he lashed out at Kamala Harris, accusing the Democratic vice presidential candidate of spreading fears about a coronavirus vaccine. Harris told CNN that she does not trust the president as a credible source of COVID-19 information.

Mr. Trump used the White House, as you said, as a campaign backdrop, as he hinted once again that a vaccine could be available before Election Day, even though his own administration health experts have said repeatedly, don't bet on it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Thank you. Happy labors -- Labor Day.

ACOSTA (voice-over): During a Labor Day news conference that sounded more like a rally from the White House grounds, President Trump was all but giving away his own October surprise, suggesting there will be a coronavirus vaccine ready by Election Day.

TRUMP: We are going to have a vaccine ready very soon, maybe even before a very special date. You know what day I'm talking about. But let me just tell you -- wait -- and they're doing, because they think it is going fast.

ACOSTA: The president ripped into vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who told CNN she doesn't believe Mr. Trump's vaccine promises.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump, and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he's talking about.

ACOSTA: Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly spread false information about the virus since the pandemic began, accused Harris of what he called anti-vaccine rhetoric.

TRUMP: They are politicalize -- they will say anything. And it's so dangerous for our country, what they say. But the vaccine will be very safe and very effective, and it will be delivered very soon. You could have a very big surprise coming up.

ACOSTA: The president's claims about an Election Day vaccine have been contradicted by his own health experts, who say that's highly unlikely.

Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN he would call out any political interference in the vaccine process.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: I would report the science in an accurate way. And, certainly, if I saw interference, I would be very disturbed and would call it out.

ACOSTA: Complaining about reporters wearing masks at the news conference...

TRUMP: You're going to have to take that off, please.

QUESTION: Is that better?

TRUMP: It's better, yes. It's better.

ACOSTA: The president also angrily denied a report in "The Atlantic" magazine, confirmed by CNN and other news outlets, that he referred to fallen U.S. service members in crude terms during a trip to France in 2018.

Mr. Trump pointed to statement by ex-White House official Zach Fuentes, an aide to former Chief of Staff and retired General John Kelly, who said: "Honestly, do you think General Kelly would have stood by and let anyone call fallen Marines losers? Whatever the sources are, they're unlikely firsthand accounts and they're conflating stories."

TRUMP: It's a disgrace. Who would say a thing like that? Only an animal.

ACOSTA: But the president brushed off reminders that he's repeatedly disparaged late Senator John McCain.

TRUMP: He is not a war hero.

FRANK LUNTZ, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: He's a war hero. He's a war hero. Five-and-a-half years as a POW.

TRUMP: He's a war hero -- he's a war because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured.

ACOSTA: Mr. Trump's explanation for that?

TRUMP: I have always been on the opposite side of John McCain.

ACOSTA: Joe Biden seized on the controversy in Pennsylvania.

JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Did you think most of those guys and women are suckers?

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

ACOSTA: The president also responded to a report in "The Washington Post," finding that embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy reimbursed some employees for their political contributions when he was running his own company.

Mr. Trump said he's open to an investigation into the allegations.

TRUMP: Sure, sure. I think, let the investigations go. But he's a very respected man. I would have to see it. He's a very respected man. He was approved very much by both parties, I guess. It was sort of an approval that took place by both parties.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And much of what the president said today at the White House is just not in line with the facts.

As he defended his comments on U.S. military service members, Mr. Trump said top commanders at the Pentagon -- quote -- "want to do nothing but fight wars, so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy."

That is not only an unfair characterization. It also glosses over the military actions he's authorized as president. And the president once again accused Barack Obama and Joe Biden of spying on his campaign in 2016, making them guilty of -- quote -- "treason."

Mr. Trump said, if he were a Democratic president, the people behind the Russia investigation would receive 50 years in prison, he said, but the president offered no evidence once again that Obama and Biden spied on him.

And he did not mention, obviously, that a recent bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report found that there were, indeed, contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russians in 2016.

And, Wolf, Republican senators signed off on that report -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, they did. It was bipartisan. Jim Acosta, thank you very much.

Let's get more analysis right now.

Dr. Peter Hotez is joining us, the dean of tropical medicine at Baylor.

Dr. Hotez, one federal official now tells CNN -- and I'm quoting now -- "I don't know any scientist involved in this effort who thinks we will be getting shots into arms anytime before Election Day" -- end quote.

[18:10:07]

Give us a reality check. What's a more realistic timeline for people actually getting vaccinated?

HOTEZ: Yes, that's absolutely right, Wolf.

First of all, remember, we don't even know if we have vaccines that actually work yet. All we have is information from what are called phase one and phase two trials showing that there seems to be some degree of safety and that there's an immune response.

I think the reason the official might have said that is for a very simple reason. Those phase one and phase two trials, what they showed is that you need at least two doses of the vaccine in order to induce a robust immune response that is likely to protect.

And that means you have to extend the trial. That means you're giving two doses at least, roughly, a month apart. And so if you just backtrack and say, OK, the phase three trial started in sometime -- started gearing up some time in the middle of August, it's going to take at least until November and probably into December to get all of the data that you need to actually prove that these first round of Operation Warp Speed vaccines, the Moderna, the Pfizer, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine actually works and is safe.

So, it's the simple logistics of collecting the data, which is the most important part for developing a vaccine, less the scientific hurdles, more the quality control, quality assurance, and collecting all of that data to reassure the scientists and the regulators that you have got a good vaccine.

BLITZER: And then the American public has to have faith, confidence that the vaccine is safe and effective before they start getting two shots, as you say, maybe a month apart.

What goes through your mind, Dr. Hotez, when you hear the president hint that we could have a vaccine before a special date? And he was referring to November 3?

HOTEZ: Yes, he keeps revisiting that.

And those of us in the scientific community have been on Zoom calls and Skype and phone constantly trying to understand why those statements are being made.

And when we go through the science -- and everyone is really working hard to make sure this happens -- I'm on a committee of the National Institutes of Health, as are others -- and we're working day and night, including all Labor Day weekend, to make certain that the American people receive the best vaccine possible.

And so we're all sort of scratching our heads and puzzled by this. But when you take a step back, there is good news, in the sense that we're pretty confident that there will be multiple COVID-19 vaccines coming out, especially in the early, middle part of next year.

The key is not to rush it and the key is having the right public health messaging to reassure the United States population that what we're doing is sound, is safe, and based on solid scientific principles.

The U.S. has the most robust system in the world in terms of regulatory science around vaccine efficacy and safety testing. This is -- and we need to remind the American people that we would never allow anything that would -- has any question in terms of safety or efficacy.

BLITZER: "The Wall Street Journal," Dr. Hotez, is reporting on a draft pledge by Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson to not seek approval of a vaccine until it's been proven safe and effective.

Are you encouraged to hear that?

HOTEZ: Yes, I'm not only encouraged, but it's quite an extraordinary statement, if you think about it, that we have the pharma companies stepping forward to provide that reassurance.

And, again, that's a very practical thing to do, because if a company rushes a vaccine that turns out that had been rushed or safe, that could damage not only the reputations of vaccines and cause the United States public to lose confidence, but it would also have grave implications for the future of those companies.

So it actually makes a lot of sense that they did this. And I'm glad that they did.

BLITZER: It's now another holiday weekend. The death toll is heading towards 190,000 here in the U.S. There are about 40,000 new cases of the virus reported every single day.

Do you fear this weekend, though, could lead to yet another spike in cases?

HOTEZ: Well, we have certainly seen that. Right?

After every major holiday, whether it's Memorial Day or July 4, we have seen that spike. And so I'm very worried about that. And, remember, it's not only just what's going to happen if there's a lot of people getting together on Labor Day, but now you have schools opening, and especially some of the K-12 schools in areas where there's still a lot of transmission, unfortunately. And you have colleges opening.

So I'm really worried about what happens to this nation as we head into the fall. We're going to be at 190,000 deaths. Look, Wolf, we are going to be at 200,000 deaths before the end of this month, it's just heartbreaking.

[18:15:03]

And one of the things that you have been great about doing is letting me remind people that so many of these people who are perishing are people living in low-income neighborhoods, underrepresented minorities, Hispanic, African-American, Native American people. It's just devastating, what's happened to some of those communities.

BLITZER: It certainly is.

And, Dr. Hotez, thanks for everything you and your colleagues are doing. We are so grateful. Just stay safe out there. Thanks so much for joining us.

HOTEZ: Thanks, Wolf. You, too.

All right, just ahead: President Trump slams top U.S. military brass as he tries to defend himself against reports that he has disparaged fallen American troops.

And, later, we will bring you details from Senator Kamala Harris' meeting with the family of Jacob Blake.

Stay with us. This is a SITUATION ROOM special report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:09]

BLITZER: Tonight, President Trump is lobbing some truly stunning accusations at the American military leadership.

Let's get some perspective from the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, retired Four-Star General Wesley Clark, and a former senior official over at Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration Miles Taylor.

General Clark, I want you and Miles to listen to one of these accusations that the president leveled earlier today. Listen to this. It is pretty outrageous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm not saying the military is in love with me. The soldiers are. The top people in the Pentagon probably aren't, because they want to do nothing but fight wars, so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy.

But we're getting out of the endless wars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, so, General Clark, during your nearly four decades, you served in the United States Army, became a four-star general.

Is that all you cared about when you were a general, endless wars, lucrative contracts for the defense companies?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: That's the most absurd thing I think I have ever heard him say, Wolf.

First of all, the generals have no commitment in companies. In fact, they have to disclose all of their stock holdings. Their financial disclosure forms to prevent them from investing in a company like this in the first place.

Secondly, nobody wants war less than the leaders who have to lead it, because they understand what the human cost is. They understand what the risks are. And they understand the danger to the country.

What President Trump said is absolutely, blatantly false, totally.

BLITZER: If you were an active-duty four-star general and you heard the president level a charge like that against the U.S. Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, you would be pretty outraged right now.

Miles, you served in the Trump administration. The reported comments, the president referring to U.S. troops as losers, suckers, are those in line with things that you and your colleagues heard while you were actually serving during the Trump administration?

MILES TAYLOR, FORMER DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, Wolf, what's so extraordinary about his comments today is that I have heard the president in the Oval Office make similar comments.

One time we were in a meeting with him, and he accused the military brass of trying to make contractors -- quote -- "so damned rich." And he was frustrated about it.

The irony and the hypocrisy there, Wolf, is that I was also in another meeting with the president where he browbeat a senior member of the military, trying to urge him to adopt a contract for the wall for a specific company.

So here was the president criticizing senior leaders of the military for trying to drive contracts a certain direction, and then, later, a specific senator said, you know, this company in my home state can build the wall better. And the president was urging a Marine general that he should go with that company.

I mean, that's extraordinary to me, the hypocrisy.

But look, the bigger picture here, Wolf, on the comments he made about our military are consistent with the way the president talks about how people have served our country, whether they're front-line intelligence personnel, whether they're career civil servants, whether they're ambassadors, you name it.

This is how he talks about people he doesn't like or don't agree with him in private. And, again, I would to point to the fact that just after he said he would never make comments about senior members of the military about this, he, of course, disparaged Four-Star Marine General John Kelly, who I served under, calling him exhausted and incapable of doing the job.

And, of course, the comments he made about John McCain are clearly on the record. It's consistent with the president's ethos and his character.

BLITZER: So, General Clark, as a former NATO supreme allied commander, what do you think the reaction is going to be to the comments leveled today by the president against the generals and the admirals, the military brass?

How do you think those on active duty right now are going to react?

CLARK: Well, I think that this just digs a deeper hole for the president trying to get support from veterans and from those on active duty.

They know this is not true. And it's the people who are there, who were basically accused, they are not going to toss in the towel and say, OK, I quit because the president said this.

They know what he's like. They're serving the country. Their oath is to the Constitution, not the Donald Trump. But this politically is a big mistake by President Trump. It's absolutely false. It's demonstrably false and offends the very voters that he apparently needs in order to win reelection.

BLITZER: You know, Miles, we still haven't heard any public response from Generals Mattis or Kelly, for that matter.

There's almost a thunderous silence, if you will. Do you expect any other high-level administration officials will join you in speaking out before the election?

[18:25:03]

TAYLOR: So, I do expect it, Wolf.

And I'm and hopeful that, in the next week or so, you're going to hear news of other folks joining me in that regard. I'm working on it every day behind the scenes.

But I have got to say, the president has really created this culture of intimidation, where people are scared to speak out. And they feel like the only way they can do so safely is through the cover of anonymity. But now is not the time for anonymity.

And so I'm urging folks to step forward. I think some will. I will also add that one of the individuals who witnessed some of this firsthand did tell me that the president wanted to say home and watch TV the day they went to the cemetery.

Now, this person couldn't validate this comment about suckers and losers, but said he was looking for any excuse to stay home and watch TV and didn't have any interest in taking the car, which would have taken a little bit longer.

I think that shows you the level of respect that our president has for the troops. And I think that more people will be coming to speak out about that soon.

BLITZER: If that's true, that accusation, that would be outrageous.

General Clark, the president today also repeated his oft-stated claim that President Obama, Vice President Biden spied on his presidential campaign, suggesting they actually deserve 50 years in prison for treason.

He's often spoken about treason. This is the first time he's actually said 50 years in prison for committing treason. When I spoke to the attorney general, Bill Barr, last week, he told me the president uses the word treason, in Bill Barr's word, colloquially.

What does that say to you?

CLARK: Well, it says to me that President Trump's having great concern about whether he's going to be reelected or not, and he's becoming more hyperbolic in his comments.

But the truth is that the evidence that's being released in books and memoirs and what we know at the time, President Trump, when he was a candidate, was a legitimate national security target.

And it now turns out that the Mueller committee apparently never really investigated the Russia connections between President Trump and Russia, the financial disclosures that should have been filed (AUDIO GAP). We don't know what the truth is about President Trump.

But one thing about treason is that, legally, it has to be connected to an adversary, a foreign adversary. And the most obvious thing that President Trump (AUDIO GAP) it's always he's charging his (AUDIO GAP) something he's done himself.

So he must have a really guilty conscience on this one. This information is going to come out in the next two months, Wolf. And you're going to see more and more between President Trump and (AUDIO GAP)

BLITZER: All right, General Clark, thanks so much. And thanks for your service over these many, many years.

Miles Taylor, thanks to you as well.

Just ahead, we will have a live report from wildfire-ravaged California, where blistering heat is fueling a record-setting inferno.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00] BLITZER: Breaking news. Senator Kamala Harris is campaigning out in Wisconsin this evening. Earlier, the Democratic vice presidential nominee spoke with Jacob Blake over the phone during a meeting with the Blake family.

Let's get details from our Shimon Prokupecz who's on the scene for us. Shimon, so what do we know? What did they actually discuss?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, she spent an hour talking to the family, and as you said, Jacob Blake, as well. He was on the phone and they talked about how proud they were of one another, of each other. Jacob Blake telling her, telling the senator how proud he is of her, and then she told him how proud she is of him for enduring the pain that he's under now.

This, as for the first time, we have heard from Jacob Blake, from the hospital, releasing a short clip, talking about the pain that he has been feeling. But he also wanted to send a message, Wolf. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB BLAKE, SHOT BY POLICE IN WISCONSIN: Every 24 hours is pain. It's pain. It hurts to breathe. It hurts to sleep. It hurts to move from side to side. It hurts to eat. Please, I'm telling, change our lives out there. We can stick together, make some money, make everything easier for our people out here, man because there's so much time that has been wasted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PROKUPECZ: And, Wolf, Senator Harris had a similar message today to the family. She told the family to use their pain to help America progress to end systemic racism.

So, a moment here for the family to have that time to spend with the senator, Wolf.

BLITZER: A very powerful moment, indeed. Shimon Prokupecz, thank you very much.

Let's continue the discussion right now with two attorneys for the Blake family, B'Ivory Lamarr and Patrick Salvi.

B'Ivory, you were in this meeting. You heard the exchange between Jacob Blake and Senator Kamala Harris. How powerful was that moment? What else can you tell us about the conversation?

B'IVORY LAMARR, BLAKE FAMILY ATTORNEY: Wolf, I think that the message that Kamala gave to the Blake family today was very, very powerful. I think that she had a lot of insight. She spoke to the family today almost as a family member.

[18:35:03]

Her dialogue was just very personal. She was almost like a matriarch. She began the conversation, just seeing how the family was doing, and like, essentially, counseling the family on grief and how to deal with these things and providing a good outlook to our community as to things that are being done to deal with these issues.

I think a large part of the dialogue today was spent on discussing how do we address these issues? I mean, obviously, we see through Kenosha and across the country a lot of protests being done, a lot of activism. But she also spent a large part of time addressing the demands of the Blake family.

She talked about legislation that was currently pending in the Senate. She talked about the Justice and Policing Act, which deals with mandatory body cam footage with local police departments. She talked about banning chokeholds, excessive force and transparency and de- escalation.

These were all the parts she kind of emphasized on on the Policing Act, and it was very refreshing. I think that the family had a lot of takeaways. A lot of the questions that the family had was, okay, we're getting all of these messages, we're getting all of this support from the public. What do we do? What are the next steps?

And I think that's what the next part of this movement is, is about how do we take the insight, the motivation across this country and actually turn it into action items? And I think that was done today with her visiting today.

BLITZER: Patrick, you were also there in the room. Is there anything you would like to add?

PATRICK SALVI, BLAKE FAMILY ATTORNEY: B'Ivory captured it very well. I would say that the concepts of de-escalation, the body cams which would provide transparency and the involvement of police officers within their own communities, these are all concepts that apply to this case.

De-escalation would have prevented what ultimately occurred. Body cams would have provided transparency, because on the one hand, the police association has put out comments saying that Jacob was the aggressor, which are conflicting with what I've learned from witnesses firsthand. So these are all things that directly apply to this case.

And when you talk about police officers becoming more engrained in the community, then you can break down barriers and not have the type of act that ultimately led to this very unfortunate incident.

BLITZER: B'Ivory, we heard Jacob Blake talk about the pain he's in. What's the latest that the doctors are saying about his condition and his path towards recovery?

LAMARR: Sure. I think, you know, obviously, the world can see that Jacob has had some development over the last couple of weeks. He's doing better. He's able to talk and engage in conversations. He is starting to learn the impact that his situation has had on the country. He's also been -- he's starting to be more mobile at this time. He's getting out of bed. He's being -- he's using a wheelchair to kind of start getting around. But, again, though he's had these improvements, his condition is still very serious, still very critical. He's going to have a long road to recovery.

So we're -- you know, we're definitely keeping him in our prayers. He's not out of the woods yet, but we're still optimistic about his recovery.

BLITZER: Has he spoken, Patrick, to the Wisconsin Department of Justice Investigators who are looking into this entire case?

LAMARR: Yes. So our legal team is in contact with any of the agencies that might have relevant evidence, so you can imagine, we've put out requests both for evidence to be preserved and then turned over. Because the department of justice, the Wisconsin Department of Justice, is investigating this as a potential crime, we're not yet entitled to all of their findings with respect to their investigation.

We are in touch and we hope to get that very soon. And, of course, we're conducting our own investigation, some of which (INAUDIBLE).

BLITZER: All right. Patrick Salvi, B'Ivory Lamarr, guys, thank very, very much for joining us. We'll clearly stay in close touch with both of you. I appreciate it very much.

LAMARR: Thank you, Wolf, for having us.

BLITZER: All right. Just ahead, we'll have more on the catastrophe unfolding in California right now as the state struggles to contain record-breaking wildfires.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: As people here in the United States gather for Labor Day celebrations, many experts are concerned large crowds and poor social distancing potentially could lead to a new spike in coronavirus infections.

Let's discuss this and more with Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber. Mayor, thank you so much for joining us.

Tell us, first of all, what you're seeing in beautiful Miami Beach. We're showing our viewers, we'll show some video. The beaches appear to have so-called moderate crowds. Many beachgoers appear to be keeping a safe social distance. Does this match with what you observed throughout this holiday weekend?

MAYOR DAN GELBER (D), MIAMI BEACH, FL: Yes. I mean, there was -- first of all, happy Labor Day. There were certainly a lot of folks out there, but they were -- they've been pretty good on our beaches. And, frankly, it's not been the beaches that have been as much of a problem as the crowds that are often attended at home parties and get- togethers elsewhere during these kinds of holiday weekends that have been the real challenge and concern.

[18:45:00]

BLITZER: The good news is your state of Florida had just reported its lowest daily number of coronavirus cases in nearly three months. But in Florida, indeed, all across the nation, we saw spikes in cases following the Memorial Day weekend, the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Are you bracing for a similar uptick following this long Labor Day holiday weekend?

GELBER: Yeah, and I think we're trying to make sure people are careful. We -- you know, we've probably given out over a thousand, you know, fines for failure to wear a mask over the last week or two. We've got limited capacity at restaurants, but we are letting people know that the fact that this -- that there is this sort of modest reopening shouldn't be an all-clear sign or a green light.

But rather, that it really needs to be -- you've got to keep doing the things you've been doing, or we're going to get another surge. I really hope and pray people listen to that, because I think it's important if we're going to open up our economy at all.

BLITZER: What's very worrisome is what we heard from a former FDA commissioner who's warning that people across the country, they are growing exhausted with this pandemic. They may start to cut back on wearing masks and social distancing.

Are you worried your citizens are growing weary of these necessary safeguards?

GELBER: There's no question that they're weary. But fatigue cannot be the organizing principle of our response. We have to stay vigilant on this. And the mask -- and the mask wearing, you know, really seems to be what our experts are telling us, a critical feature of it.

And it's the one thing you can do that allows you to still open up aspects of the economy. In other words, you know, sheltering in place is just a horrible impact on everybody's jobs and economy and other issues. But if you open up things and you wear the mask, you really can -- so I'm hoping that people really get accustomed to it, it becomes a little bit part of our culture.

And it's very important that we have a unified message, up and down government, up and down the private sector that, please wear the mask. You've got to do it.

BLITZER: It will save lives. If 95 percent of the American public just did it, it would save thousands and thousands of American lives. It's so, so important.

Mayor Gelber, good luck in Miami Beach. Thanks for joining us.

GELBER: Thanks, Wolf. BLITZER: Just ahead, high temperatures in California right now are

fueling record-breaking wildfires throughout the state. We're going there live when we come back.

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[18:52:03]

BLITZER: Wildfires in California have now burned over, get this, over 2 million acres. That's the highest total in state history. This is groundbreaking. Heat wave fans fires throughout the entire state.

CNN's Dan Simon is near the Creek Fire in Auberry, California.

Dan, are these fires close to being controlled at all or are they getting even worse?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're definitely getting worse, Wolf. The fires are getting close to some of the mountain communities in central California. In fact, the entire town of Auberry, a little ways from where we are had to evacuate 2,500 people. You can see the flames above that town just a short time ago.

For the most part, though, this fire is burning in the wilderness, in the Sierra National Forest. But it is getting close to some of these communities so authorities trying to get everybody to evacuate from their homes.

So, the real question mark going forward, Wolf, is the weather. Of course, it's very hot. Triple digit temperatures today, expected to cool down tomorrow. But we could see more winds. That could fan the flames even more, Wolf.

BLITZER: One of these big fires was actually started I understand because of a party. Is that right?

SIMON: That's exactly right, Wolf. This was in southern California in San Bernardino County.

You know, because of social media, these so-called gender reveal parties are getting very popular. So, a couple went to a park near their home and had a pyrotechnic device where, you know, you'll light it. It either goes pink or goes blue, or any event. The sparks basically traveled to the grass and before you knew it, there was a wildfire.

The couple did try to douse the flames with some water bottles they had on hand, but, unfortunately, it was too late, Wolf.

BLITZER: Very sad indeed.

All right. Dan Simon, be careful out there. We'll stay in close touch with you. And we're going to have more news right after this.

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[18:58:20]

BLITZER: This programming note: tune in later tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, as our own Jake Tapper goes inside the Trump presidency and looks at the administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Finally, on March 11th, the day Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson became the first high profile Americans to announce they had tested positive and the NBA shut down its season, Trump set out to reassure a very nervous nation.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My fellow Americans --

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The president was uncomfortable heading into it.

TAPPER: "New York Times" White House correspondent and CNN political analyst Maggie Haberman.

HABERMAN: The president looked unfamiliar with the material as he was reading it. It contained at least three errors.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That speech was probably the single most important moment in the U.S. response to the coronavirus, but for all the wrong reasons.

TAPPER: CNN's Abby Phillip.

PHILLIP: It really highlighted that the administration was not prepared to deal with the crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Jake Tapper hosts the CNN special report later tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Finally, our nightly tribute to some of the lives cut short by the coronavirus.

Lloyd Porter of New York was 49 years old, a beloved father of an 11- year-old daughter and husband to his wife Hillary for 21 years. He worked as an actor and owned a cafe where he employed at risk youth and people formerly incarcerated.

Sara Shewangizaw of Virginia was 68. She leaves behind four children and eight grandchildren. Sara loved dressing up and being stylish in her own creative way. We're told she enjoyed poetry and art and was deeply devoted to her faith.

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

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.