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New Details on Alleged Michigan Kidnapping Plot; Trump to Hold White House Event Saturday; Hurricane Delta Hitting Louisiana as Category 2 Storm; Infected Trump to Hold White House Event Tomorrow, Florida Rally Monday; U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Top 213,000 with 7.6+ Million Cases. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 09, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:19]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We're following breaking news on risky new moves by the president, apparently still infected with the coronavirus.

We're told Mr. Trump is planning to address hundreds of people at a White House event tomorrow afternoon and speak at a campaign rally in Florida on Monday. The president is back in the West Wing tonight, as Dr. Anthony Fauci is speaking out about the COVID outbreak over at the White House.

Dr. Fauci essentially confirming that a Rose Garden ceremony two weeks ago was, in fact, the coronavirus super-spreader event, this as the president is accused of erratic behavior, including his latest flip- flop, flip-flopping this time on the coronavirus relief package now under consideration.

He now says he actually wants a bigger bill than either Republicans or Democrats are offering just three days after declaring that all the talks were off until after the election.

And in the midst of all this chaos, the pandemic is clearly worsening here in the United States, with more than 213,000 confirmed deaths and more than 7.6 million cases.

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

Jim, what more, first of all, are you learning about this White House event tomorrow?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we're learning the president is planning on hosting an event tomorrow here at the White House even as he's recovering from the virus, and other officials could be contagious.

The event is planned for the South Lawn. And the president is expected to address hundreds of attendees from the balcony where we saw Mr. Trump after he got out of the hospital earlier this week. And on top of that, he is planning on holding a rally in the Orlando area on Monday.

All of this comes as the president is confirming what our sources have been telling us for days, that he was in trouble as he grappled with coronavirus at Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): Keeping behind closed doors and away from reporters, President Trump is turning to a support network of conservative broadcasters to offer new details on his bout with COVID- 19, including an admission that his illness has been far worse than described by the White House.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was in not great shape. And we have a medicine that healed me, that fixed me. It's a great medicine. I mean, I feel better now than I did two weeks ago. It's crazy. And I recovered immediately, almost immediately. I might not have recovered at all from COVID.

ACOSTA: Contrast that with what White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters one week ago.

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: The president does have mild symptoms.

ACOSTA: Mr. Trump also explained he's dealt with a lingering cough.

TRUMP: There's always that little -- that little lingering thing for a couple of days. But, no, I have -- I have -- my voice is now perfect.

ACOSTA: But hold on. That's not what the president's doctor, Sean Conley, stated Wednesday, when he said the president's been symptom- free for over 24 hours. Mr. Trump was coughing and having difficulty breathing at times during another softball session on FOX.

TRUMP: We had three debates with Hillary. And on, I think, the first debate, they...

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Excuse me. On the first debate, they oscillated the mic.

ACOSTA: One of two notable moments during the interview.

TRUMP: Well, I want them to vote, but I will say this. Absentee is OK, because absentee ballots -- excuse me -- absentee ballots are fine.

ACOSTA: Contrast the president's sudden candor about his sickness with what he said in a White House video on Monday, when he told Americans not to be afraid of the virus.

TRUMP: Now I'm better. And maybe I'm immune. I don't know. But don't let it dominate your lives.

ACOSTA: The nation's top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, is dubbing the White House outbreak a super-spreader.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The data speaks for themselves. We had a super- spreader event in the White House. And it was in a situation where people were crowded together and were not wearing masks. So, the data speak for themselves.

ACOSTA: Yet the White House continues to stonewall the public on when the president last tested negative for the virus, with one official refusing to answer that question six times in one interview.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just because he's president doesn't mean he shares every single detail of his entire life. But we do share enough information, certainly, for public health purposes. The fact of the matter is, there's a reason to share certain information.

ACOSTA: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has accused Mr. Trump of being in an altered state while on his medication, introduced a bill that would establish a commission to help enforce the U.S. Constitution's 25th Amendment that calls for executive branch power to be shifted to the vice president when the president is incapacitated.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): This is not about President Trump. He will face the judgment of the voters. But he shows the need for us to create a process for future presidents.

ACOSTA: The president is signaling he's ready to work with Pelosi on a massive new coronavirus relief bill, after ending stimulus talks earlier this week.

[18:05:06]

TRUMP: I would like to see a bigger stimulus package, frankly, than either the Democrats or the Republicans are offering. I'm going in the exact opposite now, OK?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now, another sign we will not see a debate next week between President Trump and Joe Biden, the former vice president is now set to do a town hall on what was supposed to be the night of the debate.

And the president, we are told, is in talks to take part in one of his own. We're still waiting on a statement from the White House doctor, Wolf, at this hour. We still don't know if the president is in any condition to hold this event on the South Lawn of the White House tomorrow.

The White House tells us they are going to be taking some precautions, handing out masks and so on. But once again, Wolf, there is the potential for another super-spreader event, a second super-spreader event here at the White House in just two weeks -- Wolf. BLITZER: And we haven't heard directly from Dr. Sean Conley, except

for some brief little statements he's put out on paper. He hasn't answered reporters' questions in days, right?

ACOSTA: That's right, no briefings with Dr. Conley, just these brief statements from the White House doctor that essentially seem to tell the public what the president wants everybody to hear.

BLITZER: Jim Acosta at the White House, thank you very much.

As President Trump prepares to get back out there on the campaign trail, the former Vice President Joe Biden is in Nevada tonight, and he's slamming the president's conduct.

Let's bring in our political correspondent, M.J. Lee.

M.J., so what did we just hear from Joe Biden?

M.J. LEE, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, while President Trump has been in Washington, D.C., all week recovering from COVID-19, Joe Biden has been out on the campaign trail.

We saw him yesterday in Arizona with his running mate, Kamala Harris, and today he has been campaigning in Nevada, and, earlier today, we saw him make a direct appeal to Latino voters, obviously a key demographic group in that state.

And you're right. Just now, he wrapped up remarks in Las Vegas at a drive-in rally. I should note, he was wearing a mask the entire time. And in light of the news that President Trump is now going to be hitting the campaign trail again in a matter of days, Joe Biden said that his actions around his own diagnosis have simply been unconscionable. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The last thing you need is a president who ignores you, looks down upon you, who just doesn't understand who in God's name we are. That's President Trump.

His reckless personal conduct since his diagnosis, the destabilizing effect it's having on our government is unconscionable. He didn't take the necessary precautions to protect himself or others.

And the longer Donald Trump is president, the more reckless he gets. How can we trust him to protect this country? '

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And another issue that is clearly on Biden's mind is the question of whether President Trump will accept the eventual results of the election.

Earlier today, he said to voters in Nevada that Donald Trump is -- quote -- "trying to scare us." And he said it is all the more important that they win, not just win, but win overwhelmingly, so that they can avoid an outcome where President Trump tries to challenge the outcome of the election in November -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, M.J., thank you very much, M.J. Lee reporting.

Let's bring in our experts.

And, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, first and foremost, how reckless, Sanjay, is this decision by the president to hold a White House event with hundreds of people in the South Lawn tomorrow afternoon and then a campaign rally, who knows how many people are going to be there, on Monday down in Florida, despite the fact, for all we know, he still has coronavirus, and in light of Dr. Fauci warning today that the last White House event in the Rose Garden there actually became a super- spreader event?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

No, I mean, there's no question they have evidence now of what can happen at these sorts of events. We saw it sort of unfold real time. I mean, a lot of people look at these other rallies and things like that. And we never actually can contact-trace those folks because there's so many people becoming newly infected in this country.

But we did see that at the Rose Garden event. That's got to be a continued concern. And there may be other people at the White House who have been infected who, if they're still at the White House, they could be sources of spreads. So that's a concern.

Even aside from the fact that the president is dealing with COVID right now, it would be something that, in the middle of a pandemic, bringing people together like that is obviously not a good idea.

In Florida -- Florida is sort of just basically reopened, Wolf. It's like there's no pandemic there. And that's obviously a concern, aside from the rally. But then you bring a bunch of people together for a rally in a place where things are essentially opened up, the likelihood that you're going to come in contact with somebody who is carrying the virus ends up being much higher.

And that is a recipe for another super-spreader event. And then, of course, Wolf, you layer on to that the president's own health. I mean, he's still -- he was medevaced from the White House residence to Walter Reed just a week ago. He's still probably taking some of these meds.

[18:10:04]

So he's 74 years old. He's got preexisting conditions. He should probably be still recovering and isolated.

BLITZER: Yes, he should err on the side of caution. This is a deadly pandemic. Let's not forget about that.

Abby, I wonder how you see it? Why hasn't the president actually gotten the message?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The president views these events as proof what he wants the American people to see, which is, in his view, you shouldn't take the virus too seriously, you need to move on with your lives, the country needs to reopen, and everything is normal.

And he survived this experience because of therapeutics that he says are going to become available to people. So he's painting this picture of a world in which you don't have to not do any of the things that are recommended, which is not gather hundreds of people together in one place. You don't have to necessarily isolate yourself for any long -- for a minute longer than necessary.

You don't have to take any precautions just in case. And it really is kind of a wishful thinking sort of scenario from President Trump that's in line with how he's been acting all along.

I don't think that this experience has changed the president's view of the message that he needs to send to the public. In fact, I think he's emboldened now. He's -- his message is that: I survived this. It's no big deal.

And that is so dangerous, especially as we are going into the fall, when we know, based on the data that's out there in these states, the virus is spreading. And we know it's spreading because it's spreading within the White House.

So it seems like, tomorrow, the White House is concerned about keeping the president away from the people who are going to be gathered there. But they should also be concerned about protecting the people that they are bring together. And it seems that just the mere fact of having this event, they are not that concerned about that issue.

BLITZER: Yes, hundreds of people are going to be gathered on the South Lawn of the White House.

The president may be on the Truman Balcony overlooking them, but there are a lot of folks who are going to be down below.

So, David Gergen, we know that a lot of people who actually work in the White House behind the scenes, they are deeply worried right now. Why aren't we hearing more, first of all, from Republicans out there, Republican members of the House or the Senate, governors, who might be concerned about the president's outrageous decision?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, we have been wrestling with this question now for over three years, about, why aren't the Republicans standing up and acting like Republicans, as opposed to sycophants?

And we haven't gotten a clear answer set yet. I do think there's this cowardice that's built into this. And, obviously, they're really worried about being hit back home.

But we have reached such a serious state, Wolf. I don't think you and I have seen anything like this since the final days of the Nixon administration. We have a president whose judgment seems compromised. And he's always been erratic, I mean, and predictable, but now he has come truly erratic, and making U-turn after U-turn this week, the most important coming on the stimulus package.

First, he says, we're calling off all these talks in very belligerent fashion. And then, just a few days later, he says, we're back on.

BLITZER: I think we just -- we just lost David Gergen. We will try to reconnect.

Sanjay, we're just getting word out from Minnesota that nine people who attended one of the president's rallies, political rallies, there in Minnesota on September 18 in an airplane hangar now have been confirmed with coronavirus themselves.

It's really worrisome. And I can't help but think. And I think about this all the time, Sanjay, and I want your thoughts. When the president got out of the hospital, he spent four days over at Walter Reed. He got out of the hospital. One of the first things he said was: "Don't be afraid of COVID. Don't let it dominate your life."

Those are the president's words. I wonder what the -- and I just checked -- 55,191 Americans who were confirmed with coronavirus just yesterday, and the families of 961 Americans who died from the virus yesterday, whether they think this is dominating their life.

GUPTA: Yes, Wolf.

I mean, it is hard to fathom what families of people who have passed away due to this disease, how they hear this. And they think, so much of this could have been preventable. And it's tough for them to digest that, because when you think about these types of rallies, and the fact that we're dealing with a contagious virus in the middle of a pandemic, it obviously makes no sense.

I mean, history will not judge us well for how we have behaved, how -- having rallies like this in the middle of a pandemic, bringing people together in any fashion is really concerning.

But the other thing, Wolf, I was having a conversation today with a couple of pediatricians who are taking care of young people with COVID. And it is absolutely true that young people are far less likely to get sick from this.

[18:15:05]

But there's two things to remember. One is they can get sick. But two is that, even with milder symptoms, sometimes, they can develop these long-hauling sort of symptoms, meaning the symptoms that really linger, people describing these long COVID naps that their teenager is now taking, several hours a day of COVID naps.

My point is that this is not a disease you want, no matter what you hear, and the people who advocate for herd immunity. And, unfortunately, I think, when people hear the president say, you don't have to fear COVID, that's what they hear. Just let the virus spread through the community and see what happens.

It will -- a lot of people will die, hospitals will become overwhelmed. And then there can be these lingering symptoms, even in people who think that they are otherwise not vulnerable to this.

BLITZER: Yes, and those long-haulers, as they say, could be very, very worrisome.

Sanjay, thank you. Abby, thanks to you as well.

We're going to have much more coming up on these late-breaking developments.

Also, there's other breaking news we're following on the alleged domestic terror plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan.

And we're tracking Hurricane Delta right now, as it lashes the coast, before it's set to hit areas pummeled by Hurricane Laura just a few weeks ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:34]

BLITZER: We're getting some breaking news.

The Commission on Presidential Debates has just announced that the second debate, the town hall debate between the president of the United States and the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, has now officially been canceled. It was scheduled for Florida, for Miami next week.

But now that debate is formally canceled. The commissioner had suggested that it be a virtual debate. The president rejected that idea. As a result of that, the Democratic nominee decided to have his own town hall on that same night. So, there will not be a debate next week.

We will see what happens to the third, which will now be the second, if in fact that still happens in Nashville, on October 22. We will see if that debate actually takes place, but, right now, once again, no debate next week.

We're going to continue to update you on that, a significant development indeed, much more coming up.

But there's other breaking news we're following right now on the alleged domestic terror plot here in the United States to actually kidnap the governor of Michigan. Six of the men charged were formally arraigned today. A total, by the way, of 13 suspects are linked to a broader anti-government plot that authorities now say was directly aimed at sparking a civil war here in the United States.

Let's talk about the case, the political tensions surrounding it.

Joining us now, Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP, and our chief legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. He's the author of the new and important book "True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump." Derrick, in the last hour, I spoke to the Michigan attorney general about this alleged terror plot. She said that many of these members of these are members of extremist groups that purport to be anti- government, oftentimes waving Trump flags and signs at the same time.

So, what does it tell you about this alleged domestic terror plot to kidnap the elected governor of Michigan?

DERRICK JOHNSON, NAACP PRESIDENT: Well, it tells me a statement I made three years ago, that racism, intolerance is germinating from the White House, and now we're seeing manifests in these type of attempts.

In addition to that, it's the concern that Facebook, as a social media platform, has been used as a tool to allow these groups to convene and carry out these types of acts.

We must, as a nation, respond to this immediately. Unfortunately, I have not, we have not heard a clear message from this White House to say that this will not be tolerated.

If this took place in Michigan, where else are there groups seeking to organize to cause this level of disruption prior to the election and even after?

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, Jeffrey, because the attorney general of Michigan told us in the last hour, she described President Trump as the anti-law and order candidate over his public speaking his handling of this case.

We do know the FBI was directly involved, the U.S. attorneys in Michigan were directly involved.

But what do you make of that accusation by the attorney general of Michigan against the president, who, basically, whenever you ask him about right-wing white supremacist groups, he almost always turns over to left-wing groups like Antifa, for example?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think it's important to remember why Michigan is so important here.

It was this group and, in fact, some of the same people who, when Governor Whitmer, who engaged in efforts to shut down the state to control the -- to control COVID, they were the ones who engaged in armed protests at the state capitol.

And the president was very clear in supporting those armed protests. He was tweeting, "Liberate Michigan."

I mean, this is the kind of encouragement he gave them. Now, he didn't tell them to go kidnap the governor and engage in the violence with which they're charged with, but his support for these groups and their objectives is something that is now just a matter of public record.

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, Derrick, because, back in July, the attorney general, Bill Barr, testified before Congress that he wasn't aware of threats against Governor Whitmer. He said Michigan authorities could handle that.

Is the Trump administration, from your perspective, turning a blind eye threats that are coming from the far right?

[18:25:04]

JOHNSON: Well, absolutely.

I am a native of Michigan. And many people know that, in the Western part of the state, rural, there have always been a level of anarchist- type groups, anti-government groups that exist.

And for the attorney general to say he wasn't aware, it's only because he's turning a blind eye to the reality that we must make sure that these racial hate groups -- the Southern Poverty Law Center issue a report every year. It lists many of these groups.

The FBI keep a record of these groups. We have plenty of intel that we have subversive groups that exist.

BLITZER: And it's interesting, because the FBI director, Christopher Wray, has testified under oath before Congress that the single greatest domestic terror threat here in the United States emanates from these white supremacist groups. Those are his words.

Just ahead -- guys, thanks very much for joining us there.

We're getting some new evidence right now of why it's so dangerous for young adults to get COVID-19. This is information you need to know, even if they don't necessarily have any symptoms at all.

And Hurricane Delta is set to make landfall within hours. We will take you to an area that is bracing for impact.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: We are following all the late-breaking developments out of the White House. Very disturbing developments indeed, the president's expected event with hundreds on the south lawn of the White House tomorrow, and then a campaign political rally in Florida on Monday, much more on that coming up.

But there is other breaking news we are following in The Situation Room right now. We're following the very disturbing conditions along the coast of Southwest Louisiana right now. They are rapidly deteriorating with Category 2 force winds are hitting the area just ahead of Hurricane Delta's expected landfall.

Let's check in with CNN's Ryan Young. He's on the scene for us. Ryan what are you seeing? What are you hearing?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, we're in Gueydan, Louisiana, and I can tell you just in the last ten minutes or so, you can tell the rain has sort of dropped out but the wind and the pressure still remains pretty strong here.

I have a building in front of me that's blocking some of the wind. But as we move this direction, you can see the difference in terms of how the wind is impacting my body. This wind has been picking up for the last two hours or so.

And I can tell you that it's been reaching over 65 miles per hour. And that's what some of the residents were concerned about because it's already been impacted so much because of all the wind and the past storms that have been through here.

When you drive through the area, there are blue tarps dotting the entire area. And as you talk to business owners, they were hope to sort of get a reprieve from the storm. But now, we believe we might be at the direct path of where the storm is headed.

Now, the good news is, so far, that rain has dropped off so we haven't seen the massive amount of flooding that people were concerned about. Then when you talk about people were definitely evacuating this time because some of their structures were not as strong as they have been in the past. The roadways out of here were packed, sometimes three to four hours for a short drive, and on top of that, the scarcity of gas and a lot of locations.

And then let's think about the residents who could leave who also were definitely dealing with the fact that being in shelters. We know 8,500 people were left and sheltered from the last storm. And, of course, it probably will swell again. You add the global pandemic, Wolf, and this has really just made this a sort of situation where people think this is -- they hope the hurricane season sort of gives them the last punch from Delta.

But, again, we're several hours away from the storm, really picking up its peak, but this wind has just been amazing so far in terms of strength and the powerful punch that is hitting this coast way. Wolf?

BLITZER: Ryan, just be careful over there, I am worried about you. Partially, you're a big guy so you'll be safe. Ryan Young on the scene for us, thank you.

Let's get some more on this really dangerous storm. Tom Sater is in the CNN Weather Center. I understand you've just got a late breaking forecast, Tom, strong winds, storm surge expected to be, what, a huge problem.

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Surge is already up to nine feet, expected as high as 11. Now, the water six weeks ago, we had a surge east of the center that was anywhere between 11 and 17. So we are not going to see a surge up to 15, 17 feet. But where you saw Ryan reporting, he is now in the eye wall, not in the center of the eye because it's still offshore by 20 miles.

But it's really breaking down. We're seeing, Wolf, some winds shear coming through, pushing a lot of the precipitation far off to the north and northeast, and that's where the system is moving. Houston, not into the rainfall, although you did have a wind gust at tropical storm strength at 40, even New Orleans as well.

The center, again, just about 20 miles offshore, were looking at landfall possibly within the hour, maybe hour and 15 minutes. Cameron was in the center of Laura and Lake Charles, they were in the eye wall. They were on the eastern part of the eye wall.

And I will give you an indication of what we are looking at. We're looking at landfall with Delta here, the first hurricane in history in the Greek alphabet to make landfall in the U.S. probably within ten miles, maybe less than ten miles of Laura just six weeks ago yesterday.

Winds are still going to be tremendous from Cameron and Lake Charles to Lafayette. That's where we've got thousands of thousands of homes with tarps. They're not going to be able to withstand this.

[18:35:00]

I mean, the blood sweating tears they went into the cleanup and rebuilding still taking place, some just got their power on last week. That's going to be knocked-off. Already power being reported knockoff to over 50,000, some of those are in Texas.

But if you look at our forecast models, this is what I wanted to point out. So our storm center, you see the circulation, 20 miles offshore. Lake Charles was in the eye wall. So that's where they had all the winds. We were expecting with Laura, they would see the winds and the flooding. They didn't get the flooding, thank goodness. That storm surge stayed to the east of that eye wall. And that's where we seeing now already surge up to nine feet, as mentioned.

So with this system now, what's going to be a little bit different is we're going to see the other side of the eye wall in Lake Charles. They will not be in the strong winds on the east, they'll be on the west. But that still means eye wall wins. We're still looking at significant wind gust, already getting gusts up to 70 miles per hour off shore, buoys about 78.

Tomorrow, and even tonight, the possibility of tornadoes will extend across the parishes of Louisiana and toward areas of Panhandle in Florida. And that goes through the day tomorrow.

The system picks up speed. That's great. Laura slowed down. It moved at a snail's phase and that's why we had 15, 20, 25 inches of rainfall all the way in areas toward Pensacola. The amount of rainfall widdling down now because those winds north are pushing it, Wolf, off toward the north, northeast. But still we're going to have totals over ten inches.

Again, the fourth named storm to move into Louisiana unprecedented, the tenth named landfall in U.S., in all-time record. The old record back in 1916, Wolf.

BLITZER: Very worrisome indeed. All right, Tom Sater, thanks very much. Martin Savidge is joining us right now. He's in Lake Charles, Louisiana, for us, if we can get that shot up. It does not look like we can. We will see if we can reconnect with him.

In the meantime, let's take another quick break. Just ahead, we'll return to the coronavirus pandemic and the devastating impact on businesses across the country. Broadway now announcing its stages will be shuttered, closed until the end of at least next May.

And the NFL is reacting to recent outbreaks of coronavirus, rearranging its schedule as several players are testing positive. They are trying to keep the season alive. We'll see if they can.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: We're following breaking news on the coronavirus crisis here in the United States. President Trump now planning to address hundreds of people over at the White House tomorrow and speaking a Florida campaign rally on Monday, his first event since his COVID-19 diagnosis.

Also tonight, the pandemic keeps moving in the wrong direction with more than 213,000 Americans confirmed dead and more than 7.6 million confirmed cases here in the United States.

Let's get some more from CNN's Nick Watt. Nick, so what are we learning about the new coronavirus hot spots that are emerging all over the U.S.?

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, one of the big questions is what is fueling those hot spots. So this is interesting. CDC researchers took about 700 counties that are hot spots and they traced the data back. And what they found is about a month before they reached hot spot status, those counties showed a test positivity increase in the under 25. So, are they driving these hot spots?

Now, today the Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio, pretty much summed up the general vibe when he said this, every single number is going the wrong way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: A new outbreak at a nursing home here in California, nine dead.

CATHERINE BOBEDA, DAUGHTER OF NURSING HOME PRESIDENT: I am trying to prepare myself that I am never going to see my mom in person again.

WATT: In New Jersey, average new case counts are up over 60 percent this past two weeks. New Mexico's governor is worried.

GOV. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (D-NM): But we're in a pretty difficult spot in the state of New Mexico right now. We are at extreme risk of uncontrollable spread.

WATT: 56,191 new coronavirus cases reported in the U.S. Thursday, the most in nearly two months.

DR. RICHARD BESSER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION: This is really something we need to pay attention to.

WATT: These ten states have more COVID-19 patients in the hospital now than ever before. These three states, Kansas, South Dakota and Tennessee just logged their most COVID-19 deaths in a single day.

Over the course of this pandemic, we've seen hot spots, spikes, rolling waves.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The state of Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Arizona is in the real crossroads.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The hospital rate here in California.

WATT: Up one place down in another. But right now, every region in the country is on the rise. New York saw hell in the spring, now seeing spikes, some centered on religious communities.

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE RESPONSE COORDINATOR: It's important for all of us to not let our guard down during Thanksgiving. We see that from the high holy days. People are just yearning to be together.

WATT: Broadway now shuttered until at least the end of May, went dark mid-March, will stay dark for more than a year due to a virus. This morning the New York Jets sent players and coaches home after a presumptive positive test, but they are supposed to play the Cardinals Sunday. The NFL now juggling its schedule reacting to outbreaks, Patriots/Broncos now moved from Sunday to Monday.

[18:45:02]

Titans/Bills will now play Tuesday. They're trying to keep the season alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:45:03]

Titans/Bills now will play Tuesday. They are trying to keep the season alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: And today, our planet set a new record, more than 350,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the space of 24 hours.

So, right now, where we are is this, a virus we didn't know existed a year ago now has infected 36 million people worldwide and a ridiculously disproportionate number of those cases, Wolf, are right here in the United States.

BLITZER: Yes, more than 7 1/2 million confirmed cases in the United States.

Nick Watt, reporting for us, thank you.

We're going to have much more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:28]

BLITZER: At a marathon interview today with the radio host Rush Limbaugh, President Trump had some very strong and profane words, I must say, for one of America's fiercest adversaries, warning Iran of strong retaliation if it messes with the United States.

And in an important new documentary from CNN's Fareed Zakaria, he looks at President Trump's impact on the relationships between the United States and its allies. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" (voice-over): Now the queen was holding a reception for NATO leaders at Buckingham Palace. The mood grew edgy, as everyone waited.

Donald Trump was late.

One group of leaders was enjoying itself. Canada's Justin Trudeau, Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Princess Anne, and Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister. They were caught in a hot mic moment, making fun of the American president.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: So that's why he's late.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: He was late because he takes a forty-minute press conference. I've watched his team's jaws just drop to the floor.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They were essentially laughing at the U.S. president there. That's remarkable.

ZAKARIA: The president of the United States, the most powerful country in the world, being mocked by some of its own staunchest allies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Fareed Zakaria's latest special "How the World Sees America" airs Sunday night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, here on CNN. Fareed, by the way, is the author of a brand new book just out this week entitled "Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World."

Fareed Zakaria is joining us right now.

Fareed, congratulations on the new book. It really is powerful. But that was a very remarkable moment, and that was before the coronavirus pandemic.

Has the spread of this virus throughout the U.S. exposed vulnerabilities to the rest of the world?

ZAKARIA: Absolutely, Wolf.

For the most part, people have always been critical of America for its foreign policy. They don't like the war in Iraq. They don't like some of the other things we do.

But COVID has produced a new world. Now the world is looking at the United States and wondering, can this country not get its act together? Does it turn out that this is not the city on the hill?

I talk about it in the book and if the documentary, this extraordinary change that has taken place where they now look at the United States as a country with deep internal flaws. Part of it is that, you know, social media and things like that reveal more. But at the heart of it is the fact that the United States has failed with COVID.

But there's no other way to describe it. Your previous guest said it right, with 5 percent of the world's population, we have about 20 percent to 5 percent of the world's deaths.

BLITZER: Which is so, so awful.

I want to play something that the president of the United States said today. He was doing a phone interview with Rush Limbaugh for nearly two hours.

But listen to this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And Iran knows that, and they've been put on notice. If you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you things that have never been done before.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLITZER: Millions of listeners out there, using the F word. Have you ever heard another president talk publicly like that?

ZAKARIA: Never heard another president talk publicly like that. Never heard of another president who had two hours to spare to give to a radio show host in addition to the hour he often gives to "Fox and Friends."

But the point he's expressing is quite frankly silly. The United States is still the most powerful country in the world. Iran has a (INAUDIBLE) economy.

Of course, we can put enormous pressure on Iran. The question has always been, to what end? What is the strategy that the Trump administration has for Iran?

Of course, you know, we can continue to throttle it, but without -- in the absence of any larger strategy, all you're doing is increasing tensions in the Middle East, not decreasing them.

BLITZER: Important point indeed. Fareed, thank you very much.

Once again, Fareed's new book entitled, "Ten Lessons for a Post- Pandemic World," check it out and be sure to tune in to "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS", Sunday morning, 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

[18:55:00]

We always do.

Much more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Finally tonight, we honor some of the victims of the coronavirus pandemic.

John Alfred Tone Jr. of New Jersey was 75 years old. His daughter, Donna, describes him as a family man who enjoyed giving advice. She says he got joy from his part-time job at Costco and for playing golf with his buddies, including friends he had for 50-plus years.

Alex Cuesta of New Jersey was 85. His great granddaughter Elaine (ph) says her papa was the person who held their family together. She says he was always helpful to neighbors, stopping to talk to everyone, and tipping his hat to women. She says losing him is unbearable.

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

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.