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The Situation Room

Trump, Battling COVID-19 At Walter Reed, Takes Photo Op Joyride With Secret Service Agents; McConnell: All GOP Senators Need To Be "Back And Healthy" On Oct. 19; Families Reunite As Nursing Homes Ease Restrictions; First Lady Melania Trump Has "Mild" COVID-19 Symptoms. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired October 04, 2020 - 21:00   ET

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

[21:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

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.

Tonight, very serious questions about the health of the president of the United States. President Donald Trump will spend his third straight night at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside DC under a medical team's care battling the effects of COVID-19.

Despite the seriousness of his condition and the fact that he's carrying a highly contagious virus, President Trump took a brief drive this afternoon in a motorcade. Past now, a motorcade waving and cheering, waving and cheering supporters outside the hospital. He wore a mask but Secret Service agents were in the vehicle with him. And several doctors tonight are calling the photo op, totally unnecessary and very irresponsible.

The President's medical team upbeat and optimistic about their patient's condition right now, but they also revealed something today they previously had not, that the President didn't receive oxygen to help him breathe. He did have a high fever at one point, and he's taking a steroid drug usually prescribed to people with the most severe cases of COVID-19.

My guests, including doctors and public health experts, will join me here in THE SITUATION ROOM to discuss the President's prognosis that's coming up shortly. The President today, before that photo op motorcade drive, released a video on his Twitter account praising Walter Reed Hospital, and the men and women caring for him there. He also said that these past few days have been to him an important education.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONAD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: It's been a very interesting journey. I learned a lot about COVID. I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school. This isn't the, let's read the book school. And I get it and I understand it. And it's a very interesting thing and I'm going to be letting you know about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: CNN's Jeremy Diamond is outside Walter Reed for us right now. Jeremy, the President saying he's learned a lot about the disease now that he has it. We're also getting word that people who work in the White House have only now been given some specific guidance about going back to work tomorrow. What are you hearing?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. Listen, we, in the media and in the public, have obviously had questions about transparency as it relates to the President's condition. But there has also been concern within the White House about guidance or frankly, the lack of guidance, coming to White House staffers in the wake of President Trump testing positive for coronavirus, as well as several other aides including the President's top adviser, Hope Hicks.

We are now three days from the diagnosis of the President, testing positive for coronavirus. White House officials are only just now, Wolf, receiving an email from the White House Management Office. And it really doesn't tell them very much. It is a staff-wide email that suggests that people who have symptoms should immediately go home if they are at work and experiencing those symptoms. It says if you're experiencing symptoms, you should not come into work, and that staffers should essentially contact their primary care providers to handle any concerns about testing or to get diagnosed if they are concerned that they have those symptoms.

It also says that staffers should not go to the White House Medical Unit for any testing inquiries, but should instead contact their primary care providers. And ultimately, wait until they don't have symptoms before they can get cleared to come to work. But again, the fact that that is coming three days after the President tested positive for coronavirus and several other White House aides have tested positive is pretty remarkable, Wolf.

Now, we're here outside of the hospital where the President is being treated. And earlier today, Wolf, we saw President Trump come out here in a motorcade and actually do a drive by here in a show of support, and thanks to those, dozens of his supporters who are out here throughout the day to show support for him.

But it was remarkable, Wolf. I mean, this is the president of the United States. He is currently extremely contagious with an infectious disease that has killed more than 209,000 people in the United States. And yet, here he was out of the hospital in his motorcade with two Secret Service agents who are in the car. Now, we should note those Secret Service agents they did appear to be wearing N95 masks as well as protective eyewear, and protective gowns over their suits.

[21:04:58] But nonetheless, Wolf, that is not something thing that any doctor would recommend a contagious coronavirus patient do. But the president of the United States deciding on the risk benefit analysis front here that it was more important for him to come out here and have this public facing PR stunt to show people that he is doing well, essentially, despite the fact that he is dealing with this virus.

BLITZER: Yes. It was pretty extraordinary, I must say. The President's team of doctors, Jeremy, spoke to reporters earlier today, second time in two days, by the way. What do they saying now about the President's health and which direction do they see his condition moving?

DIAMOND: Well, Wolf, we learned some more information about the President's condition. They certainly provided more details than they did yesterday during their first briefing. This briefing once again was led by Dr. Sean Conley, the President's White House physician.

Dr. Conley made clear that the President had a worryingly high fever on Friday, as well as a dip in his oxygen saturation levels that went down below 94%, which prompted them to advise the President to be hospitalized here at Walter Reed. They also made clear that the President is on several drugs now, which suggests that his symptoms and his condition is quite severe as it relates to the coronavirus.

The President is on this experimental antibody cocktail made by the pharmaceutical company Regeneron. He is also on the antiviral remdesivir. And finally, he is also on dexamethasone, which is a potent steroid that is only advised by the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization to be used in patients who are having severe symptoms of coronavirus and specifically, those who have required supplemental oxygen.

Of course, we know that the President twice now has had to be on supplemental oxygen. But, Wolf, a lot of questions were still unanswered specifically over the President's lungs and the lung scans, Dr. Conley declining to provide those details and several others. So still many, many questions to be answered. We are far from a model of transparency as of yet from the President's medical team and from the White House.

BLITZER: You're absolutely correct, Jeremy Diamond doing excellent reporting for us. Thank you very much.

Joining us now to assess what's going on, the Brown University Emergency Room Physician Dr. Megan Ranney, also The Epidemiologist and Public Health Expert, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.

Dr. Ranney, let me get your reaction first to this email that the White House staff has now actually received it, by the way, three days since we learned about the President's diagnosis. Isn't it a little late now for them to be telling people be careful? If you have any symptoms don't come to work. Normally that's sent out immediately.

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY: That's exactly right, Wolf. You know, we have the standard recommendations of our own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which say if you have been in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, in other words, if you've been within six feet for more than 15 minutes, you, yourself should quarantine for a minimum of 14 days, and potentially longer if you end up developing symptoms.

That guidance should have been sent out the same day as those first diagnoses, those first positive tests were obtained. People should have been quarantined through the weekend. It also strikes me as awfully unfair to tell people to go to their primary care physicians, rather than referring them to the White House health office for evaluation and testing.

The White House has been able to provide tests to everyone who walks through the door to see President Trump. They owe the same respect to their staffers who've had to put their lives potentially on the line for this president.

BLITZER: Very important. Dr. El-Sayed, we saw the President still infectious, use that motorcade as a photo op. Can you imagine his doctors actually signing off on something like that, letting him leave the hospital, get into that SUV, driving around the main street over there, waving to supporters, then driving back to the hospital?

DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Never, not in my wildest dreams, Wolf. I'll tell you this, you know, had any other patient, other than the president of United States, done something like that. Physicians would have said that he self-discharged against medical advice. And potentially when he came back would really question not just his physical health, but also his mental health.

In so doing, he put a number of Secret Service members at risk, putting them knowingly at risk of contracting a very serious, a very deadly disease, of which he was extremely infectious. This was really the height of irresponsibility from the president of United States.

And you know, he said, you know, I've really gone to school on this. Not the kind of school that, you know, that read in books. Now, the fact is, we all wish he would have read a little bit more, because all the people who are treating him have read the books, and all of the people who are making public health policy have read the books. One person who hadn't yet read the books seems to be the president of United States. 210,000 people are now dead because of it.

BLITZER: Yes, as I said, seven, eight months into this crisis. He said I learned a lot about COVID, meaning the last few days you would think the president of United States would have learned a lot about COVID over these past several months.

[21:10:00]

Dr. Ranney, talk a little bit about these very sophisticated experimental medications the President is now taking, and how potentially they could be affecting how he feels, and maybe even the state of mind.

RANNEY: Absolutely. So the President is on a very complex regimen of medications right now, two of them remdesivir and dexamethasone, are medications that we give in our hospital and even in our emergency department, to really sick patients with COVID-19. They're things that many of us across the country are familiar with, and we reserve them for those seriously ill patients.

The third medication, Regeneron, is something that very few of us have experience with. It's really only used in a clinical trial right now. And to my knowledge, there are no studies and no one with experience of getting all three of those medications together. All of them have the potential for side effects for the liver, for the heart. And, of course, COVID-19 itself can cause problems with liver, heart, lungs and kidney. And the dexamethasone is known to have mental health side effects. It can cause psychosis. It can cause delirium. It can cause mania.

Many of us -- I would never want to say that the President is experiencing steroid-induced psychosis, but it is certainly concerning to see some of his actions today in the wake of this potentially deadly diagnosis and infectious disease.

BLITZER: What do you think, Dr. El-Sayed, because earlier, one of our CNN physicians told us that the President may be the only person on earth who's actually taking all three of these very experimental, very sophisticated drugs.

EL-SAYED: Yes. I mean, it is really concerning because it does tell you that they are throwing the kitchen sink at this president. Maybe because he's the president of United States, but it may also be because he was desperately ill, and they're not letting on to exactly how ill he is.

The long-term consequences, as Dr. Ranney pointed out, is that we don't actually know how these different medications may interact with one another in someone who's already sick because of the coronavirus. And so, we have yet to see and it is concerning. And there's a reason why we do all of these studies to make sure that these medications are safe and effective. And usually, you don't use them in concert until there have been multiple studies that have looked at how they may interact and play in the body together.

BLITZER: It's very unusual indeed. All right, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Dr. Megan Ranney, guys, thank you very, very much.

Meanwhile, sources are now telling CNN that President Trump is furious with his White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows after he contradicted that rather rosy picture painted by the President's doctor yesterday. We're going to take a closer look at why the lack of transparency from the White House really matters right now.

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[21:16:50]

BLITZER: President Trump's agenda today while hospitalized for COVID- 19 included a national security briefing. The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the call brought the President fully up to speed. CNN's Kylie Atwood is joining us right now. Kylie, so what are we learning about the President's briefing?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we didn't get very many specifics from Secretary Pompeo tonight. He said, as you said there, that the President was brought fully up to speed on all the things happening around the world. He didn't cite any specific national security topics or threats that were discussed.

But this comes, of course, there are questions about the national security implications of the President being in the hospital and the secretary was clearly trying to reassure the American people, as well as American allies and adversaries, that the US national security team is competent here. And he's also trying to seek and cast the President as being engaged despite the fact, of course, that he took this briefing from Walter Reed Medical Center because he's sick with the coronavirus pandemic.

And I do want to note that Pompeo was asked about potentially adversaries, seeing this moment as a time to come in and take advantage, do something against the United States. And the secretary acknowledged that there are malign actors, but he said that the US government, citing diplomats and the Pentagon, are fully prepared.

BLITZER: Kylie Atwood reporting from the State Department for us. Kylie, thank you.

While the President is receiving his briefing, we're still waiting for a full picture of the President's health. The former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is joining us right now. She served during the Obama administration.

Madam Secretary, thanks so much for joining us. Is the White House telling the American people what they need to know?

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, FORMER SECRETARY, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Well, Wolf, I am more confused by the minute what in the world is going on? We've had multiple stories from AIDS. We still don't know exactly when it was that the President was found to be positive with COVID-19.

And that's an important timetable because what is supposed to happen are two things. Anyone has been in contact with him, close contact, and you heard the doctors explained that's within six feet for more than 15 minutes, should immediately quarantine for 14 days at a minimum, and test frequently during those 14 days if they have any kind of symptoms.

The other thing that's supposed to happen immediately is the patient, the person who has COVID-19, is to isolate. Stay away from everybody, stay away from family members, use separate facilities, not share any food items. That's very difficult for normal Americans to do. But the President is in the hospital, we don't know how sick he was to get to the hospital.

The doctor seemed to have clarified that he indeed did have supplemental oxygen. We know this is an older man, a high risk category. He's 74. And he is obese, another high risk category. So, he is potentially in a very difficult position.

[21:20:08]

But the notion that he got into a car with a Secret Servicemen, at least one, maybe two or three, exposing them to COVID-19, so he could do a drive by of supporters is one of the most irresponsible and outrageous things I've ever heard of in my life.

BLITZER: There were two Secret Service agents in the car, both in the front of the car. He was in the back.

The House Speaker, Madam Secretary Nancy Pelosi, other top members of Congress, they have not, at least she says, they have not been briefed on the President's health. They are learning about all of these developments through the news media, like most Americans. Should the White House be briefing at least the top leadership, the Speaker of the House, for example, who after the Vice President is next in line?

SEBELIUS: You bet. I mean, this is about the safety and security of the American population. This is about continuation of government. It's about having a president able to do his job and understanding really what the degree of danger might be to his ongoing health.

While all of us wish him well and hope for a speedy recovery, I think we have a right to know as Americans what it is that's going on. This is a president who has consistently tried to raise doubts about his opponent's health. He did it in 2016 with Hillary Clinton, he certainly has done it consistently this year with Joe Biden, and he will not tell the truth.

We heard just from the White House briefing recently that the folks in the White House who worked closely with him were not even given notice of what they should do about getting themselves tested, about whether they should come back to work immediately about what they should do to take care of their health.

Certainly, Congress has a right to know, the Speaker of the House has a right to know, the close advisers. I mean, this is about people's health and well-being, people's livelihoods and the safety and security of the American public.

BLITZER: These are national security issues as well. In that one- minute video that the President posted on Twitter earlier tonight, he said he has actually learned a lot about the coronavirus now that he has it himself. He said I learned a lot about COVID. I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school. This isn't the let's read the book school. And I get it and I understand it.

What does that tell you, Madam Speaker, that what, seven, eight months into this pandemic he's now saying he's learned a lot about COVID?

SEBELIUS: Well, unfortunately, Wolf, I think what we see demonstrated by his actions is that he hasn't learned nearly enough. One would hope that the President would be enormously well-steeped in COVID right now and he is not. He actually has contracted the disease. He's exposed lots of people to this potentially deadly disease. He refuses still to insist on mask wearing at his events. He exposed Secret Service agents.

Think about the number of Americans, over 200,000 people have died. The number of lives that represents in grieving loved ones who weren't even allowed to see their family member because they were too ill. They were in the hospital with COVID. And, yet, we have a patient with COVID, the president of the United States, who leaves the hospital and exposes the people in the car when he is supposed to be isolating. He clearly hasn't learned enough.

On Friday, Wolf, we had the highest spike in cases since August. We had over 54,000 new cases identified on Friday and over 900 deaths. This is a very ongoing, very difficult, very dangerous virus. And we now have the highest levels of government exposed and still not following any of the guidelines that their own Centers for Disease Control puts forward.

BLITZER: Yes, we shouldn't be under any illusions at all. This coronavirus pandemic continues here in the United States, non-stop, and in many parts of the country even getting worse. Kathleen Sebelius, as usual, thanks so much for joining us.

SEBELIUS: Nice to be with you.

BLITZER: All right. So there's 30 days until the election here in the United States, but this week's events have Republicans in the US Senate wondering if they'll actually have enough time to confirm President Trump's nominee for the US Supreme Court. Stay with us. We'll update you on that and a lot more when we come back.

[21:24:55]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're not only one month away from Election Day here in the United States, but with the President in the hospital and three Republican senators now infected with COVID, another countdown is thrown into disarray. In the US Senate, Republicans now wonder if they have the time and the numbers to confirm President Trump's Supreme Court nominee.

I'm joined now by our Chief Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin. He's the author of the important new book called "True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigations of Donald Trump." There's the book cover. Also with us, our Chief Political Correspondent, Dana Bash.

Jeffrey, let me start with you. The Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expects all US senators to return in just over two weeks to Washington. Republicans have an earlier date circled October 15th.

[19:30:00]

Explain to our viewers of the quorum and why they think that is such a key date in this process to confirm the Supreme Court nominee.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Well, the Judiciary Committee has to act before the full Senate can act on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett. And on October 12, the plan is for the judiciary committee to begin three days of hearings of -- about Amy Coney Barrett. They do not need a quorum that is nine senators to vote -- to conduct the hearing. They can examine Amy Coney Barrett.

Some of the senators may participate by Zoom. But in order to vote to advance her nomination to the full Senate, they need a majority. They need a majority of the Judiciary Committee. That's what they're targeting for October 15. The question is with two members of that committee, the Senator from North Carolina and wow I'm blanking, the Senator from North Carolina --

BLITZER: And Mike Lee, from Utah.

TOOBIN: And Mike Lee of Utah, are both with -- they both have COVID. The question is, will they be in a position to vote on October 15?

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, because, you know, Dana, if the Republicans can't get all this done before November 3, there's the lame duck session. We don't know who's going to win the election. But is that a realistic option you think?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: In a lame duck? I mean, it is it is potential. But there are so many political risks for someone like Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, particularly from McConnell. He doesn't like to take risks when it comes to the courts. And that is why they're pushing it through as fast as they possibly can. And Jeffrey, of course, is right on the rules of the Judiciary Committee.

I think technically, you -- the committee would allow senators to vote by proxy, meaning vote without being there. However, the chairman, Lindsey Graham, has made clear because it is the Supreme Court that they are voting on, he wants there to be a majority voted voting in- person.

And there is a lot of concern, because as you said, there are two members who are right now tested positive, and others who were at that what seems to be a super spreader event, the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, ironically, and they so far have taste tested negative. Josh Holly, for example, also a member of that committee. So we'll see what happens when, when we get, you know, we get in more into the days continue into the potential incubation period, if we have more positive cases, and that will be even more of a problem.

BLITZER: Yeah. And there could be this is ready. Go ahead, go ahead.

TOOBIN: Once points that's clear in the Senate rules is that on the nomination itself that is when the full Senate votes, no proxy voting at all, all Senate on a vote have to show up and vote. And we know that there are two Republican no votes already on record. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins will not vote to support this nomination.

So there are three votes that McConnell -- he can only afford to lose three more votes. And there are now three Republican senators with COVID, including Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin. So you know, they have a little more time for that. The election is a month off. But, you know, when the full Senate votes, everybody has to show up if they want to vote and, you know, have at least three Republican senators who are seriously ill at this moment.

BLITZER: Yeah, I think it's fair to say this is still very much up in the air right now.

You know, Dana, 00:03:58 introduced Senator Kamala Harris, the Vice Presidential Democratic Nominee. She just posted this on Twitter. Let me read it to our viewers. Yesterday, I joined Senator Feinstein and Judiciary Committee Democrats in calling on Chairman Graham to delay the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings moving forward threatens the health and safety of everyone involved. There's no question that we cannot move forward. All the Democrats basically agree on that. The question is, will other Republicans follow soon?

BASH: It's doubtful. It's doubtful. I mean, this has become a -- what's it called a shirts and skins situation. I mean, this is really about your party right now. It shouldn't be -- necessarily it should be about health. It should be about what's right.

It should be about all the things that you know, we hope and we expect our elected officials to think about and not just their reelection, but you know what, that's the world in which we're living particularly because we are so close to election day and there are so many people including and especially the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, for whom, you know, who's running in a tight race and race that's much tighter than he would have expected in a very red state. He needs his base to get out. And if there's any chance that he or if even kind of shows any notion that he wants to delay that will be bad for him politically at home.

[21:35:29]

BLITZER: Yeah, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Go ahead, Jeffrey.

TOOBIN: Just don't think about the health risks involved here. I mean, it's really, I mean, Dianne Feinstein the right the ranking Democrat is 87 years old. You know, Chuck Grassley, who is on the Judiciary Committee is also in his mid 80s. There is COVID swirling through the United States Senate, and they are expecting these senators to sit right next to each other hour after hour, day after day, a week from tomorrow.

BLITZER: Yeah.

TOOBIN: I mean, it's just --

BLITZER: It's really dangerous and reckless.

All right guys, thank you very much, Jeffrey Toobin, Dana Bash, appreciate it.

Amid the pandemic, social distancing measures have meant so many Americans have been unable to see their loved ones in elderly care homes, as the regulations ease some families that were starting to reunite. We have updated information for you. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:40:32]

BLITZER: Social distancing, of course, is a very, very important way for all of us to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. But for millions of Americans with loved ones in assisted living facilities, it's been very difficult. Now as some states are beginning to ease their visitation restrictions families are once again able to hug their elderly family members. Our Rosa Flores shows us one of those long- awaited reunions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLENE LEBENTHAL, LIVES IN ASSISTEND LIVING FACILITY: How are you? It's me.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The anticipation is over.

MARK LEBENTHAL, ARLENE'S STEP SON: We love you.

FLORES: A heartwarming reunion after being separated for months by the COVID-19 lockdown of senior care centers in Florida.

Mark Lebenthal and his 89-year old stepmom, Arlene had not embraced since Mark's father died in April.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please wear mask.

FLORES: Visiting rules are strict. Mark had to make an appointment in advance, get his temperature checked in the lobby, wear personal protective equipment all before being escorted to Arlene's door. Mark made a promise to his late father that he would find Arlene a comfortable assisted living facility.

A. LEBENTHAL: He went so quickly. And he was such a sweet man.

M. LEBENTHAL: And he loved you.

FLORES: But the comfort quickly turned to isolation, as the lockdown stretched for months.

A. LEBENTHAL: I first saw my sister yesterday. I couldn't see my friends. It was tough.

FLORES: Early in the pandemic, some seniors could look out their windows to see posters and signs made by family or friends. Others are still spending most of their days alone.

(On camera) Many states including Florida are allowing limited visits to nursing homes. The visitation rules vary across the country and facilities in a handful of states remain closed.

DIONNE POLITE, AARP SPOKESPERSON: The whole situation is a real tragedy. We are not supposed to treat our older adults, the way that they've been treated right now. FLORES: What's the toughest part of advocating for senior citizens?

POLITE: Oftentimes they don't have a voice.

FLORES (voice-over): Victoria Shuron (ph) pushed to see her 85-year old father, Victorio (ph) in-person after being separated for months.

VICTORIA SHURON: It was absolutely excruciating.

FLORES: Once a successful businessman traveling the world with his wife Elizabeth, Victorio now lives in a Memory Care Center struggling with dementia.

SHURON: Time is precious right now.

FLORES: Victoria says he became agitated, depressed and confused when visits were allowed only through a window. Here's a picture of her 82- year old mom waiting in 95 degree heat to see the love of her life separated by glass.

SHURON: I think I noticed my mother, my father tried to kiss ones. It was quite emotional.

FLORES: Victoria's heartbreak only grew as time passed and her parents couldn't celebrate their 58th wedding anniversary, Father's Day and Victorio's birthday. It would take six months for this father and daughter to reunite.

SHURON: And I gave him a giant hug. I didn't let go. And I just told them I loved them.

FLORES: Mark Lebenthal is thinking about his father too.

M. LEBENTHAL: My dad would be very, very happy.

FLORES: And honoring his memory by keeping his promise.

Rosa Flores CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Wow. Thank you, Rosa.

Coming up, the First Lady, Melania Trump is reportedly dealing with mild coronavirus symptoms this weekend. We'll have an update on her condition when we come back.

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[21:48:32]

BLITZER: First Lady, Melania Trump, dealing with what are described as mild coronavirus symptoms this weekend. Her 14-year-old son Baron testing negative for the virus. In recent years, the role of the First Lady has undergone some huge transformations that's partially due to Melania Trump's predecessor Michelle Obama. And tonight, CNN Original Series "First Ladies" Premieres right at the top of the hour. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is as Michelle puts it, no handbook for incoming first ladies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The role of the first lady is a throwback. We set up the White House as a royal court in a way. And I think for Michelle Obama, a modern woman, a career woman to suddenly be the great man's wife was an adjustment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She describes the role as a strange kind of sidecar to the presidency.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first lady's not a job. I mean, Hillary Clinton learned that when she turned it into a job. We don't want that that's going too far.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said the one that she took the greatest inspiration from Laura Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After a bruising campaign, Michelle is determined to control her own message. She starts with a simple statement deeper than it first appears.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How would you define your role as First Lady?

MICHELLE OBAMA FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, I joke that my first job is going to be mom-in-chief, because with a little kids, I have to make sure that their feet are on the ground.

[21:50:07]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously she's going to be mom-in-chief.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's not shy about being the mom-in-chief.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To sort of define her role more as First Lady.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was concerned about her daughters, but it was also just a very savvy way of saying, don't worry, this isn't a twofer. You know, I'm not here to make policy despite my executive experience.

LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC POLICY AT HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL: If I want to play the traditional First Lady role, I can play the traditional First Lady role. But don't be fooled in a country that consistently demonizes black mothers but women is welfare queens, black women as drug addicts, black women as -- because of the decline of the black family. The statement as simple as I'm first mom and that's my priority is something that is profound because it's something that's been denied to black women for so long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And joining us now CNN White House Reporter, Kate Bennett, who's covered first ladies for several years and CNN Contributor, Kate Andersen Brower, author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies.

Kate Bennett, we got two Kate, I'm going to mention your last name's, Kate Bennett. I want to ask about Michelle Obama in just a moment. But first of all, do you have any updates on Melania Trump's health condition as she battles coronavirus right now. I remember two years ago, she herself was at Walter Reed dealing with an issue.

KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Wolf. At that time, it was a kidney issue. Right now she's currently behind me in the White House at the residence. Every indication I've had from sources is that she has a mild case that she is resting that she is doing well.

You know, we heard from the President last night probably the most updated, you know, diagnosis. He said that she was handling it better because she was slightly younger than he is. She is almost a quarter century younger than he is. She is 50 years old. He is 74. So certainly she's not at Walter Reed tonight. And she is here resting but of course it is -- she's a very private First Lady. We have not heard as much from her about how she's doing.

BLITZER: Yeah, well, we wish her only the best that her husband of course the president as well.

Kate Andersen Brower, in the past some first ladies they've used personal crises to pivot into advocacy movement. So the former first lady Betty Ford, comes to mind she went public with your battles with alcohol, prescription drugs or candor and advocacy helped create a national -- Melania Trump be doing the same, potentially, as far as coronavirus is concerned?

KATE ANDERSEN BROWER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think it's an interesting point that in a way, this is really hitting home as never has before for the Trump family, figuring out how to deal with this health crisis as so many Americans have had to face of the past several months. So I think that a lot, you know, pictures speak louder than words and look at what she did at the debate. She wore the mask the entire time, there seems to be a sense that she is a little bit more aware of the dangers of the virus than some other members of the Trump family.

BLITZER: And you know, Kate Bennett, the immediate past First Lady, Michelle Obama, she did really amazing work and transforming the whole thing.

BENNETT: Yeah, I mean, as we just saw, in that clip from tonight's documentary series, Michelle Obama was able to sort of make the role of first lady relatable. Somehow she became -- she took it out of this mythical moment of the political spouse and she stands beside him and she became very real. And she did that in a very strategic, very important way. And what we see really behind the scenes, and we'll see this tonight in the special is that she was, you know, struggling with things we never knew about being the first African American first lady in the United States, learning how to put her career as, you know, as a Ford charging attorney, to the side to support her husband, lots of things.

BLITZER: Yeah, it's really amazing. Our Kate Bennett, Kate Andersen Brower, thanks to both of you. And once again, the new CNN Original Series First Ladies Premieres right here on CNN, right at the top of the hour. You'll want to see it. We'll be right back.

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[21:58:59]

BLITZER: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Thanks very much for watching. I'll be back in THE SITUATION ROOM tomorrow 5 p.m. Eastern.

Before I go though, I want to pay tribute to the victims of the coronavirus pandemic. Daniel Welsh told his mother he loved her every day as they both battled coronavirus. But as she got better, Daniel got worse.

On a video called with family while hospitalized. He held up his hands in the shape of a heart. But things took a turn for the worst soon after. Daniel's mother tells CNN he was kind and gentle. She says the heart symbol he made will mean the world to her that she copes with what she called the most horrible time in her life. Daniel Welsh was just 28 years old.

Cassie Martinez lost her fight against coronavirus, leaving her family in shock, saying she had no underlying conditions. Her boyfriend of eight years says he was planning to propose to Cassie this month. They love to travel and have planned to visit more national parks. Cassie Martinez was just 29 years old. May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing.