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The Situation Room

White House Sows Confusion About Trump's Condition; Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) Discusses Trump Receiving Treatment For Coronavirus Infection, Unclear Timeline For Illness, National Security Risks, Senate Hearing To Confirm Barrett To Supreme Court; What Message Does Non-Transfer Of Power While Trump In Hospital Send To World?; Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Tests Positive For Coronavirus. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 03, 2020 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Thank you, Christine Brennan. I appreciate that.

I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thank you for being with us this afternoon. Wolf Blitzer picks up CNN's breaking news coverage with a special edition of The Situation Room right now.

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

We begin today with mixed messages and a very troubling picture of the president's health. Earlier today, his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said the president is, quote, doing very well. But just minutes later, a very well-placed source familiar with the president's health said the next 48 hours will be, quote, critical and that the president of the United States is still, quote, not on a clear path to a full recovery, close quote, alarming details that add up to a rather confusing picture.

And while we're watching the president's health, we're also learning a lot more about members of his inner circle who have tested positive for the coronavirus, including the former New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, who was brought into the White House to help the president prepare for the debate.

Let's start off our coverage with CNN's Kaitlan Collins. She's over at the White House for us. Kaitlan, several names emerging today, people who are in regular physical proximity to the president and now sadly dealing with the news that they too are positive with coronavirus. Tell our viewers what some of them might have in common.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, it's unbelievable the number of people that have been around the president that are testing positive. We're getting hourly updates, almost, it seems, on whether or not someone is positive or negative, as we are hearing that people who have been around the president are rushing to be tested given the fact that so many people have now tested positive. And there are two events in the recent week that is what people are pointing to as where it seems most of these cases are stemming from. And that is last Saturday, one week ago today, there was that celebration here at the White House for the president to introduce his Supreme Court nominee, and you see how many people there have since tested positive, obviously, including the president and the first lady, but also his former advisor, Chris Christie, the Notre Dame president, so many people, in addition to two Republican lawmakers.

But Wolf, it's also the president's debate prep as he was getting ready for Tuesday night in Cleveland, he was in a room with several officials, not wearing a mask, and you can see the ones there that were in the room and the people at the top have all tested positive in addition to Chris Christie. So far, Rudy Giuliani, Jason Miller and Stephen Miller, we do believe are negative. But you can see the level of how many people around the president have now tested positive.

And, of course, these are all events where we're told people are not social distanced, they're not wearing masks, and instead had been relying on this false security blanket of being tested on a regular basis or being tested before coming into contact with the president. And, Wolf, we are seeing the repercussions of that in real-time.

And the fear inside the White House is that there are more cases to come and now you've already seen it changing the measures of some people with staff that were not wearing masks before, they're now wearing masks, as this is becoming a real cause of concern because, of course, the president is now hospitalized, he's on experimental drugs and it really seems to have shaken the west wing awake to just how real this is after months of downplaying it and pretending like they were in a protected bubble from coronavirus.

BLITZER: You're absolutely right, they are certainly bracing for more positive results from coronavirus testing coming up, not only associates of the president at the White House but up on Capitol Hill in the Senate and the House of Representatives, three Republican senators now testing positive.

Kaitlan, stand by, we're going to get back to you.

The president's medical team causing a lot of confusion today over his condition while updating the public late this morning, the president's doctor repeatedly would not say whether President Trump was ever given supplemental oxygen as part of his COVID-19 treatment. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SEAN CONLEY, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PHYSICIAN: He is not on oxygen right now, that's right.

REPORTER: He's not received any at all?

CONLEY: He's not needed any this morning today at all. That's right.

REPORTER: I'm going to try to pin you to that one more time. I know you said there is no oxygen -- CONLEY: Yes, he's not on oxygen today.

REPORTER: Did he receive any on Thursday?

CONLEY: And he's -- what's today, Saturday? No. No. Thursday --

REPORTER: No Thursday, no Friday, no Saturday.

CONLEY: Thursday, no oxygen, none at this moment, yes. And yesterday with the team, while we were all here, he was not on oxygen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's bring in our White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond. He is just outside the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Jeremy, what are sources telling CNN about the president getting supplemental oxygen? Because, clearly, Dr. Conley must think that journalists aren't too bright. He's not answering the question.

[17:05:00]

He's dodging and dodging and dodging. Does he think we're just going to accept that non-answer?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, you heard Dr. Sean Conley there trying to offer this very specific response, saying it was lawyerly, almost, frankly, saying that the president is not currently on oxygen. And even when he described the president's situation yesterday on Friday, Dr. Conley saying that the president did not need any oxygen here with the team, meaning, while he was at Walter Reed.

But, Wolf, a source familiar with the matter, a source close to the White House, confirming to CNN that the president did require supplemental oxygen at some point yesterday before he came here to Walter Reed, meaning that while he was at the White House, before they made the decision to take the president to Walter Reed, the president did require some supplemental oxygen.

Another source had told our colleague, Jim Acosta, yesterday, that the president was indeed having some trouble balance breathing. That was something that Dr. Sean Conley denied today. But, again, what we saw out of Dr. Sean Conley because of his refusal to address some of these specific questions, like the oxygen question, like how high the president's fever spiked, it left us with, frankly, more questions than answers at the end of this news conference.

Nonetheless, Wolf, Dr. Conley, his main goal here during this news conference was clearly to try and provide an optimistic assessment of the president's condition. He said that the president had not had a fever in the last 24 hours and he laid out the -- all the attention that the president is getting from this extensive team of doctors who gathered behind him for this news conference. We know, of course, that the president is taking this monoclonal antibody cocktail, as well as remdesivir, the antiviral that has been used to treat patients with coronavirus. That is a five-day treatment, and it is supposed to be taken in a hospitalized setting, which appears to make it likely that the president will remain at Walter Reed for the next four days at this point. But, nonetheless, they made it very clear that they are monitoring his condition.

But even as they offer that kind of optimistic assessment of his condition, Wolf, what we heard from a person familiar with the president's health right after that briefing, and this was given to pool reporters, meaning to the print reporters and the T.V. reporters who were on site at Walter Reed and then distributed it to the press corps, they got a statement saying that the president's vitals over the last 24 hours were, quote, very concerning. And also saying, Wolf, that as it pertains to the future of the president's care, that we are still not on a clear path to a full recovery.

So that was obviously very concerning statement about the future of the president's care and making very clear, Wolf, that the decision to take the president to the hospital wasn't simply out of an abundance of caution, as White House officials had been telling us over the last 24 hours, but it was also really because the president's symptoms were worsening and he needed to be in a hospitalized setting for the treatment of his coronavirus.

BLITZER: The only thing I can imagine, Jeremy, is that the president himself must have told Dr. Conley, I don't want people to know I needed supplemental oxygen, so don't say that. Is there any indication that the president was dictating to Dr. Conley what he can and cannot say?

DIAMOND: Well, we do know, Wolf, that any time the White House physician comes out, he will only offer information that has been approved by the president. Any time you see one of these memos, at the very top, it says, I am only releasing this information with the permission of the president.

And so it's very possible that the president, who we know is very conscious of the optics, doesn't like to appear weak, did not want that information out there. But Wolf, we have nonetheless independently verified that the president did indeed receive that supplemental oxygen yesterday.

BLITZER: They certainly did. All right, Jeremy Diamond reporting from Bethesda, Maryland.

So what do medical experts think about the shifting timeline, the lack of clarity on the president's condition? Dr. Peter Hotez is a professor and the founding Dean of the School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and Dr. Leana Wen is a CNN Medical Analyst, former Commissioner of Health in Baltimore.

Dr. Wen, you say you're troubled by the timeline the White House and the president's doctor have laid out. You'd like to know when his last so-called negative test occurred. Tell us about the significance of that.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Absolutely, Wolf. So, there is a lot that is just, frankly, very confusing about this picture that the White House is currently painting. We don't know the president's condition, including his vital signs. I mean, first-year medical students would know that they cannot talk about the patient's condition without presenting the vital signs, and then you also mentioned about the timeline.

Right now, it appears that the president had a fever on Thursday. Well, fever tends to be a later sign, so when did his symptoms first occur? That's really important because 48 hours before the symptoms occur, that's when the infectious period is the greatest. And so we need to be able to -- for contact tracing purposes, we need to know. And we also need to understand the timing for the purposes of tracking the course of the president's illness.

[17:10:01]

And then the last negative test, also important. We are being told that the president is getting daily tests where everybody around him is getting daily tests, so did he really have negative tests Tuesday, Wednesday, and then a positive test on Thursday? Or is it possible that maybe he went days or a week without having a negative test, in which case he could have been infectious and his course of disease may actually be significantly longer than we currently know.

BLITZER: And, Dr. Hotez, the picture has gotten a lot more complicated by some details that CNN has obtained from a very well-placed source. That person says the president was on oxygen at some point, despite the fact that Dr. Conley avoided a clear answer on that, as you heard, he kept dodging and dodging and dodging.

Tell us about the importance. If, in fact, the president, before he left the White House on Friday, and was medivacced to the Bethesda hospital, if, in fact, he needed oxygen, what does that mean as far as our viewers are concerned? How significant is that?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, CHAIRMAN, TROPICAL PEDIATRICS, TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: Well, Wolf, we already know that the president was sick. He had fever. He's got all the risk factors. He's 74 years old. He's got at least one co-morbid condition, being with a high body mass index. He's male, which does also puts you at a higher risk category, and depending on whose numbers you look at, the mortality rate, the death rate could be as high as 10 or some even say up to 30 percent if you incorporate all the risk factors.

So the fact that he's had fever, that he's had oxygen, all points to the fact that he required hospitalization, and that's what we were saying all day yesterday. And then he was admitted to Walter Reed and then he received monoclonal antibody therapy, virus-neutralizing antibody therapy, which you would only think about giving to someone you're very concerned about. So I don't see the point of trying to hide whether or not he required supplemental oxygen therapy.

The bottom line is the president had a lot of risk factors, he got COVID-19, he was ill and he seems to be getting better, according to the doctors. The question then is, is that because of the experimental therapies he's been getting, the remdesivir and the monoclonal antibodies, or would he have gotten better anyway?

This is a pretty exciting treatment that a number of us are enthusiastic act. We know that virus-neutralizing antibodies are a key to helping you get better from COVID-19. That's why that's our target for vaccination. So this may be a very promising treatment.

But I don't see a reason to be obscure or opaque about this. This is a time to be very frank with the American people.

BLITZER: Yes, there is no need to dodge these very, very simple questions.

And, Dr. Wen, the fact that the president, even while he was at the White House, was getting this monoclonal antibody treatment, experimental, hasn't even been approved by the FDA yet, but even for emergency use, but he's getting this treatment at the White House before he was medevaced to the Bethesda hospital.

And then once he's in the hospital, he's getting Remdesivir, another treatment that has to be injected, a five-day treatment, which suggests he's going to be in the hospital at least for five days. What does that say about his condition?

WEN: Well, there are a lot of things that are just not stacking up based on the information that we are presented with. We know that there is a lag in time between when someone is first exposed to when they develop symptoms, generally, five to seven days. Then there's another pretty significant lag of time, five to eight days on average between when somebody starts showing symptoms and when they become pretty ill, when they start developing shortness of breath, requiring oxygen.

And so the fact that the president tested positive on Thursday night and then by Friday was ill enough that he required maybe supplemental oxygen but was getting these experimental treatments, something isn't stacking up here. And I just wish that we knew more about his condition, including his full vital signs. What is his oxygen saturation? Did he have a fever and was it necessary for him to be taking fever-reducing medications.

And, critically, this is a respiratory illness. There is no chance that he didn't get some kind of diagnostic studies for his lungs. He must have had a chest X-ray, most likely a chest C.T. too. What did it show? The fact that the White House physicians presented all these other data, talked about his kidney enzymes and liver enzymes but did not mention his chest X-ray, it makes you wonder what data they are cherry-picking and what are the results, maybe abnormal results that they're not showing.

BLITZER: They wouldn't even tell us what kind of temperature he had. It was very, very strange, indeed. Of course, we wish the president a very speedy recovery. I speak for all of us when I say that. Dr. Leana Wen and Dr. Peter Hotez, thanks for your expertise. We are always grateful to you.

As President Trump remains hospitalized at the Walter Reed Military Medical Center, a source tells CNN that the next 48 hours are very critical for the president as he battles COVID-19. So how will his infection change the way Republicans across the United States view the virus?

[17:15:04]

We're about to take a closer look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We are following all the late breaking developments over at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, that's where the president is now. He's getting treatment and we're getting a lot of conflicting reports about how he is doing right now. We're going to have much more on that.

But listen to how the president has talked about measures, like masks, the critical importance of masks during the nature of this pandemic over the past eight months or so.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But did you ever see a man that likes a mask as much as him? And then he makes a speech and he always has it -- not always but a lot of times he has it hanging down because, you know what, it gives him a feeling of security. If I were a psychiatrist, right, no, I'd say -- I'd say, this guy's got some big issues.

[17:20:00]

What the hell do they spend all that money on the plastic surgery if he's going to cover it up?

I don't wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's discuss with our Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein and our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger.

Gloria, do you expect the president's message, his attitude on masks, for example, to change now that he and so many of his close associates have been infected by this deadly virus?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Do you mean will Donald Trump ever admit that he made a mistake, that all those ridiculous things he said at his rallies and at the presidential debate were wrong? No. Of course, Donald Trump can never admit he made a mistake. He is going to have to find something or someone else to blame this on. He'll never blame it on himself. And we've heard from person after person, both on the record and in background conversations, those who worked at the White House, those who still work at the White House, that this is a president, for some reason, it's hard for me to fathom, but he believes that wearing a mask is a sign of weakness.

And there is nothing worse to Donald Trump than somebody looking weak, which is why, of course, he doesn't want to go to the hospital, he didn't want to be seen looking weak going to the hospital, he doesn't want to be in the hospital, he doesn't like people he thinks are weak and he doesn't want to be portrayed as weak himself.

So now, that he has made fun of Joe Biden and others for wearing a mask, what will he do? It's hard to say, but I guarantee you one thing. He's never going to say he made a mistake, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, he never says that, and you're absolutely right.

Ron, the president, he's been holding, as we know, massive rallies right in the midst of this deadly pandemic. In fact, he had two planned for today before getting sick himself. Are you getting any indication at all that the Trump campaign will take health and safety more seriously during this final month?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, they're going to be -- first of all, he's going to be off the field for a little while. I doubt it though. I mean, he has, you know, not only held these rallies in defiance of kind of the health of his supporters but in open defiance of public health officials in the communities that he has gone, governors and mayors and county executives.

You know, obviously, as Gloria said, he does not want to display weakness, but I also think there has been something else in this from the beginning. I mean, really, from the beginning, from his conversations with Bob Woodward and going out and saying the opposite publicly to what he acknowledged privately about the severity of the risk here, Trump has concluded, and for reasons I don't think are entirely clear, that his only path to re-election is to portray normalcy at all costs and at all times no matter what is happening, to act as though this is not occurring and the country is going to be back to normal as quickly as possible.

And I think that has been his posture from the beginning. It has had enormous impact not only on the behavior of his supporters but also on the behavior of Republican governors in places like Texas and Florida and Arizona and South Carolina and Georgia, who are fearful of being criticized by the president have gone out of their way to override local rules on things like masks and to force their own states to get back to normal long before it is safe. I mean, that is, in some ways, his posture has been the defining, I think, characteristic that has shaped the American response to this and has left us in the position that we are in.

BLITZER: That's an important point too.

Gloria, if you look at those who attended Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court, exactly one week ago, we had live coverage here in our special Situation Room, several of them have now tested positive and it's staggering. The president of the United States, the first lady, Kellyanne Conway, the president of Notre Dame University, Senator Mike Lee, Senator Thom Tillis, Governor Chris Christie.

What does it say to undecided voters when the White House hosted what appears now to have been a super-spreader event?

BORGER: Well, you've got to figure that most of those undecided voters are soft Republican voters, and Ron knows more about this than I do. And if you're looking at that, and you then see how many of them have gotten COVID, including the president of the United States, again, we don't know where the president got it, we don't know how he got it, I would say, why are there a different set of rules for the people who are attending an event at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and then a different set of rules for me as an American citizen?

I have been told, for example, by my office, they might say, that I need a mask, I need to take my temperature, I'm working from home, I've lost my job, I've lost income. Why would they not look at that and say, wait a minute?

Now, some of those people, a lot of those people had their temperature taken beforehand, but as we all know, Wolf, that is not a guarantee that you're going to be safe.

[17:25:03]

And this is this false sense of security that is also around the White House, which is, oh, we get tested regularly or semi-regularly, so we're safe. Well, that's not the case. And most people know it. But that seems not to have gotten through to people at the White House, including the president.

BLITZER: Yes, you can certainly spread this virus even if you have no symptoms, including no fever, no temperature at all. All right, Gloria, thank you very much. Ron Brownstein, thanks to you as well.

As the White House gives conflicting messages about the president's health status, we're going to take a closer look at how the president's diagnosis could potentially pose a national security threat.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:06]

BLITZER: With President Trump right now at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, receiving treatment for COVID-19, the timeline of his illness remains muddy.

But a source familiar with the president's health tells us the next 48 hours of treatment will be critical. Meanwhile, in the U.S. Senate, another battle is brewing. Mitch

McConnell and Lindsey Graham vowing to stick to their schedule to try to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court.

That's even though three Senate Republicans, including two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have now tested positive for the coronavirus.

Here to discuss, Democratic Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland. He's a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

The country right now, as you well know, in the middle of -- in the middle of a moment of incredible uncertainty.

What's your reaction, Senator, to the contradictory information we're getting from the president's doctors and White House officials on his condition?

SEN. BEN CARDIN (D-MD): Well, Wolf, it's very disappointing. We should have total transparency now as to how the president's being treated, his symptoms, when his tests were given, when he first learned that he was positive, which steps were taken at that time.

All that's important so we don't speculate, not just speculate here in America but speculate around the world.

Our national security is very much impacted by making sure that the information that gets out is accurate.

And you point out it's not just the executive branch. We have three members of the United States Senate Republican members who have tested positive for COVID-19.

So, it's also now how the Senate operates. We were supposed to be in session this coming week. We have now made sure that we do not come in this coming week. That makes sense.

We should postpone the confirmation process until after the elections for many reasons, and with the work that Congress should do right now should be concentrated on COVID-19.

BLITZER: You say national security is at stake, Senator.

Explain to our viewers here in the United States and, indeed, around the world that are watching us in more than 200 countries and territories right now, explain why you think U.S. national security potentially could be endangered as a result of the president's illness.

CARDIN: Well, whenever the president -- any president is -- could become incapacitated, there's speculation around the world that this may be an opportunity to take advantage of America.

So, we have to make sure that that is countered. And that's why we have the transition of power, temporarily, in the event the president becomes incapacitated.

Of course, it's the vice president. But after that, it's members of Congress. Then it goes to the cabinet.

Many of these individuals have been exposed to the virus through the White House events. So, we have a real challenge as to what could happen in America.

So, the more certainty we have, the better we can cut off any activities by other countries who may see this as a sign of opportunity to take advantage of our nation.

BLITZER: Yes, I know that the U.S. national security team around the world is watching all of this very, very closely, to make sure that adversaries, whether Russia or China, Iran, North Korea, don't take advantage of the uncertainty, what's going on here in the United States right now.

The majority leader, Mitch McConnell, Senator Cardin, has sent a letter saying he wants all Republican Senators to return to Washington by October 19th.

Are you concerned about this timeline, given the fact that three Republican Senators, three of your Republican colleagues, have now tested positive for the virus?

CARDIN: Wolf, I'm very concerned about that time schedule. It makes no sense whatsoever. The majority leader should pull back the nomination of the Supreme Court. Let's get this COVID-19 under control.

He should be working with Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Mnuchin to get the COVID package done. He should be concentrating on this virus. That's what the American people want us to do. Let's get this virus under control

And certainly let's not bring the members of the Congress back together in a large group where we already have infected members that could put more members of Congress at risk and raise some questions as to the ability of the United States Congress.

BLITZER: And let's hope that these three Republican Senators, Thom Tillis, Mike Lee, and Ron Johnson have a speedy, speedy recovery. We'll watch it together with you.

CARDIN: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Senator Cardin, thank you so much for joining us.

CARDIN: Thank you, Wolf.

[17:34:45]

BLITZER: The next 48 hours are said to be critical for President Trump in his fight against the coronavirus. The White House says he's still in charge and there will be, quote, "no transfer of power." But what's the message that it's sending to the world? We're about to take a closer look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As President Trump remains hospitalized with the coronavirus, the White House insists that he's still in charge and the country -- still in charge of the country, I should say, and that there will be no transfer of power at this time.

Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for "The New York Times." Susan Glasser is a CNN global affairs analyst, a writer for the "New Yorker" magazine.

They're the husband and wife team that are also the coauthors of a brand-new excellent and important book entitled "The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III."

Guys, congratulations on this book. It really is eye-opening, especially for those of us who lived through so much of that era.

We'll get to the book in a little while, Susan.

But what message does it send to the world, particularly our adversaries right now, when there's no transfer of power, despite the fact that the president is in the hospital and he may be in relatively serious condition for all we know?

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Wolf, that's, I think, the key point, for all we know.

[17:40:02]

Right now, there's an enormous amount of uncertainty, frankly, that has been added to today by the White House, rather than subtracted to, because they have not given us a clear and consistent briefing with adequate information about the president's condition.

There's certainly unclear rules as to what constitutes incapacitated or at what moment a president should temporarily turn over power. We're not in the position of having basic, adequate information.

I watched that briefing. I did not come away reassured that we were being given the full story. So that's a key issue, I think, in this presidency.

And of course, there's a long tradition of presidents not being fully open and forthcoming about their health conditions.

BLITZER: Yes, the phrase, "spin doctor" came to mind as I was watching that briefing at the Bethesda hospital.

Peter, you do amazing reporting for the "New York Times." This is a president, as we all know, who does not like to show any weakness.

Is his ego being prioritized right now over what's best for the governing of our country? PETER BAKER, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES":

Well, it's hard to watch the physicians out there say that the president is only slightly overweight and think that that's a completely candid answer, right?

It makes you think that he knows there's one viewer in particular who's watching that and the message would be calibrated for that viewer. Of course, the viewer being in Walter Reed Medical Center.

Literally, after the doctors went off air, as soon as the cameras were basically being turned off, you had the White House chief of staff give the exact opposite message, saying, it has been very serious and the next 48 hours might be critical to see whether the president's going to recover fully or not.

So, I think it's -- that sort of -- you're right, that sort of prioritizing the president's desire to project strength and never look weak, you know, stands in contrast to the message we were getting off camera from the very White House aides who were worried about his health.

BLITZER: And so you're saying, Peter, that the "New York Times" is now reporting who that unnamed source, that White House official was. Is that what I hear you saying?

BAKER: We have, yes, Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff. He spoke to the -- he goes up to the pool afterwards and asks to speak off the record. That part of it was captured on camera and put online.

So therefore, the, you know, the mystery of who it was, I think, was kind of revealed at that point.

He's in a little bit of trouble, we think, with his colleagues at the White House. It was a little more candor than they really wanted him to give.

But he did, in fact, say that the conditions -- the president, that his vital signs over the previous 24 hours have been quite concerning. That's, I think, something that's important for the public to know.

BLITZER: Yes, we certainly did not hear that from the president's doctor, Dr. Sean Conley.

And that's worrisome, Susan, because, historically, when a leader is sort of incapacitated or in trouble in the hospital, their entire circle and support structure is ready to step in.

But we're right now in a truly unprecedented situation where not only is the president's health in jeopardy, but potentially other key members of this staff.

Which raises the question: How vulnerable right now from a national security perspective is the country?

GLASSER: Well, Wolf, I think it's important to point that out. This is really -- we're writing a new script, although presidents have fallen ill before, because it's a pandemic, the idea that there's an outbreak associated with the White House.

And I should point out, because of their violations of their own guidelines for public health, and disdain for what seems to be basic safety precautions.

So the fact that it's not just the president but many of those potentially surrounding him who could be vulnerable to this illness, I think, it really encourages more governments to think that the U.S. is not being run by a steady hand, first of all.

Second of all, their attention is going to be distracted by this as well as the election.

So, you know, there's all sorts of conflicts that could break out where the U.S. might normally play a steadying hand or a mediating role.

Look at Armenian-Azerbaijan. A hot war has broken out and nobody's talking about that here in the United States.

So I think it's very serious situation from an international perspective as well.

BLITZER: In your excellent new book, Peter, let's talk about the man who ran Washington. We're not talking about the current president of the United States. We're talking about the former secretary of state, James Baker.

What lessons did both of you learn from that era that might be applicable right now?

BAKER: Well, one of the things we wanted to do with this book was tell a story about Washington as well as the man, right? So, the story about how Washington used to work and how things have changed so drastically.

And what you saw in James Baker was a pretty tough -- not the '80s and '90s were softball days, he was a pretty ruthless campaigner in the even-numbered years.

But the difference was, in the odd-numbers years, he would sit down with the other party to work out deals as Reagan's chief of staff, as Bush's secretary of state.

And I can't imagine -- we think about today, and this COVID relief package which has been sitting out there now for almost six months. Since April, we haven't had another relief package.

[17:45:05]

I can't imagine a Jim Baker or the people of his era would have allowed six months to go by without finding a way to sit down with the other side and cut a deal.

It wouldn't be everything they wanted. There would have to be compromises. But in that era, compromise is seen as a virtue, as opposed to today when it's seen as a weakness.

BLITZER: Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, you guys have written an excellent, excellent new book.

Let me show the cover to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world, "The Man Who Ran Washington, The Life and Times of James A. Baker III."

Congratulations on the new book.

Thanks to both of you for joining us on this Saturday evening. Appreciate it very much.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: So we have some breaking news coming into THE SITUATION ROOM on one of the people who tested positive for the coronavirus after attending the Rose Garden ceremony last weekend. We have details. That's coming up.

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[17:50:17]

BLITZER: There's breaking news coming into THE SITUATION ROOM right now. We're learning about the former New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, brought in to help President Trump prepare for the debate, and we've learned a few hours ago that Governor Christie did test positive for coronavirus.

Our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, is getting some breaking news for us.

What are you learning, Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that Chris Christie has checked himself into a hospital in New Jersey. Now, he has done this as a precautionary measure.

He was feeling achy. He has a slight fever. But no shortness of breath, no trouble breathing. However, he does suffer from asthma. That is, obviously, a very key pre-existing condition that is very dangerous for people who contract COVID-19.

So in consultation with his doctor, he checked himself into a hospital in New Jersey.

Now, this information, I should tell you, comes from Christie himself. He called me from the hospital. He sounds fine.

He, again, said that he is definitely feeling achy, has a slight fever, but is under the care of doctors in and around him, obviously, at the hospital.

The other thing I should tell you is that when he was checked into the hospital, he began a treatment course of Remdesivir, which as we know from covering this for many months, is usually given to patients who have a lot of trouble breathing.

As I said, so far, that hasn't happened. But because of his history with asthma, his doctors decided to get him on that treatment course right away -- Wolf.

BLITZER: The president is at Walter Reed Hospital. He's getting the Remdesivir treatment, as well. The president is also getting this monoclonal antibody cocktail that Regeneron has put forward, very experimental antibody cocktail.

Any indication that Governor Christie is going to do that as well?

BASH: As you know, in order to get that, because it is experimental, you have to have approval from the FDA for what's called compassionate use. And that is what the president had to get in order to get that cocktail.

So it is entirely possible that Chris Christie will also be able to get that. But it has to go through the proper approval process before that can happen -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Dana, I know you're staying on top of this. A very disturbing development.

Dana reporting that the former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has now tested positive for coronavirus, has checked himself into a hospital in New Jersey.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Can I --

BLITZER: Go ahead, Dana.

BASH: -- also tell you one other thing?

BLITZER: Sure.

BASH: One other thing. This is important. He wanted -- he told me this. He drove himself to the hospital. He got himself there. He was well enough to drive.

And that is important bit of information that he wanted to tell me to make clear that he really is feeling OK, given the fact that, if you think about the fact that he's in the hospital, it certainly sounds alarming

BLITZER: It sounds very alarming, indeed. He's got, as you point out, some pre-existing conditions. He's got to worry about those. He's a male. He's overweight. All of those problems, clearly, potentially -- we hope they don't -- but potentially exacerbate the coronavirus that he now has to deal with.

We wish him, of course, a speedy, speedy recovery. We know him both. Both of us know him. We wish him only the best.

BASH: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Dana, thank you very, very much.

We'll have much more on our breaking news coming up.

But first, 2012 "CNN Hero" Scott Strode and his nonprofit provide free athletic activities for a silver support community for thousands. When COVID-19 forced the organization to close its gyms, they found ways to stay connected online.

CNN's Phil Mattingly joined a class to see how they've kept the interaction going strong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keep moving, everyone! Let's try to get two or three more! You've got 20 seconds!

Nice job, Phil.

PHIL MATTING, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What was kind of your thought when coronavirus first started to spread and lockdowns really started to kick into gear?

SCOTT STRODE, "CNN HERO": I just knew that that social isolation was going to be a big risk for relapse for a lot of people.

So pretty quickly, we pivoted to offering virtual programs. We knew we had to keep people connected in this sort of uncertain and stressful time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; Three, two, one. And down for the sit-up.

STRODE: Just always lifts my heart to log into a Phoenix virtual class and meet somebody in recovery who's doing the workout in their basement somewhere in Tennessee, where we don't even have in-person programs, but they can come to the Phoenix, anyway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice job, everyone!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: To learn more about Scott's program and to see if Phil made it through that class, go to CNNheroes.com.

We have much more on our breaking news this hour, including the former New Jersey governor, as we just reported, Chris Christie, he has now been hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus.

[17:55:05]

Our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta is standing by live. We'll discuss this as well as the condition the president is facing.

We'll be right back.

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