Former official on coronavrius task force: Trump could have saved lives, but he was too concerned about re-election; Acting homeland secy. Chad Wolf defies subpoena, skips house hearing; Biontech, Pfizer to “adapt” vaccine trial to hit October deadline; AG Barr compares DOJ prosecutors to preschoolers
The Lead with Jake Tapper
CNN
3.5 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 17 September 2020
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ex-WH official: Trump said “maybe this COVID thing is a good thing” because I don’t like shaking hands with “disgusting” people; Former top Pence staffer calls Trump presidency “terrifying”, says she will be voting for Biden ; WH Sr. official denies Trump would say COVID-19 might be a good thing so he doesn’t have to shake hands ; WH Sr. official on former aide rebuking Trump: Troye never expressed any concern about handling of pandemic; Former Trump spy chief calls for bipartisan commission to oversee election; Former DNI Coats pens op-ed against “sinister conspiracies” that suggest voting systems “fraudulent”; Ex-WH official” Trump doesn’t care about anyone but himself; Trump undermines his CDC Chief as more states see rise in cases; Trump blames “blue states” for death toll, ignores rates in Red States; FBI Director says Russia is actively working to hurt Biden’s campaign; Trump says teaching children race theory is a “form of child abuse”; FBI director says white supremacists are the largest group of racially motivated domestic terrorists; Trump open to house bipartisan stimulus proposal, which Pelosi & GOP leaders have not embraced; 23 states recording more infections this week vs. last week; 51% of Americans say they would get COVID vaccine; Fauci: If too few Americans get vaccine, there won’t be enough to reduce COVID spread; Fauci on Redfield, trump conflicting messages: I don’t want to create more confusion; AG Barr compares DOJ prosecutors to preschoolers; Barr: COVID-19 Lockdown would be “greatest intrusion on civil liberties” since slavery; Fmr deputy AG: Barr is working to make the president an autocrat; Crime reporter in evacuation zones as wildfires burn record 4.7 million acres in western states; Fire victims get first look at homes destroyed by wildfires;
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is CNN breaking news. |
| 0:05.0 | And welcome to the lead. I'm Jake Tapper and we begin with breaking news today. |
| 0:08.5 | The chorus of Voices criticizing President Trump for his inadequate handling of the coronavirus pandemic |
| 0:15.3 | just grew one voice louder. A stunning new rebuke of President Trump from a former official |
| 0:21.6 | in his own White House, |
| 0:23.3 | breaking right here on the lead. |
| 0:24.9 | She accused President Trump of failing |
| 0:27.5 | to protect the American people. |
| 0:29.5 | Olivia Troy was the top Homeland Security |
| 0:31.6 | advisor for Vice President Mike Pence who heads the |
| 0:33.7 | coronavirus task force. |
| 0:35.6 | She was on the task force from day one, she says, but now Troy left the White House in |
| 0:40.6 | late July and she is leveling some tough charges against President Trump in a new video. |
| 0:47.0 | Towards the middle of February, we knew it wasn't a matter of if COVID would become a big pandemic here in the United States. |
| 0:56.0 | It was a matter of one. |
| 0:57.0 | But the President didn't want to hear that because his biggest concern was that we were in election year |
| 1:02.0 | and how is this going to affect what he |
| 1:04.5 | considered to be his record of success. The truth is he doesn't actually care |
| 1:08.9 | about anyone else but himself. Troy goes on to say that President Trump made a statement that she will never forget |
| 1:17.1 | because in her view it defines who President Trump is. |
| 1:22.0 | When we were in a task force meeting President... President disgusting people. Those disgusting people are the same people that he claims to care about. |
| 1:35.4 | Troy goes on to say that if the president had taken this virus seriously he |
... |
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