Country now surpasses 191,000. More than 1,200 fatalities reported just yesterday. And today we have yet another sign that the federal response is falling short. The nations testing czar admitting that testing still isnt where it needs to be. Admiral brett giroir telling dr. Sanjay gupta there are technical limitations, quote unquote, to getting more tests. Meantime, a new poll out today shows the majority of americans are concerned political pressure will cause the fda to rush through a coronavirus vaccine. Lets start at the white house. Cnns Kaitlan Collins is inside that briefing room. Any moment now well see the president. What do you expect to hear from him . Reporter so far hes been defending what he told bob woodward saying he did not want to cause a panic and even today asking why woodward did not release these quotes sooner if he thought we were so damaging to the president . Thats about the best line of defense youve seen coming from white house aides so far. He did not know the president would have audiotapes of his quotes to bob woodward and also did not know how extensively he sat down with the famed journalist and author for the book coming up. Even the Vice President admitted today, brooke, he did not know the president sat down with woodward 18 times. Only had seen him in the white house once or twice. And chief of staff said last night he would not have recommended the president grant that level of access to woodward. So weve seen a bit of a blame game going on at the white house yesterday and in the immediate aftermath of this book coming out, excerpts released on cnn and in the washington post. Really, ultimately the president made the decision to sit down with woodward and he is minimizing the access gave to woodward. We know it is extensive, he gave bob woodward his cell phone number, called late at night sometimes from the residence to talk to him about these conversations he was having with chinas president , with other World Leaders and all of this stuff that is now in this book, because the president didnt think it would be as damaging if he cooperated and if he spoke to woodward and, of course, were seeing how woodward just used the president s own words to reveal what it was he really thought about coronavirus back in february and back in march and in all of those months when he was saying something very differently publicly. Well let you sit down. Wait for the president , if he speaks, in an Opening Statement about woodward. Take it. Also listening for the q a. Kaitlan, for now, thank you. Well come back to you. Bring in two guests, cnn medical analyst dr. Saline goudner anden glorp een gloria. Let me remind everyone, we talk ob tv, y on tv. You were on the front lines when it was so bad in new york city. When the story first broke, when you hear the president on tape with bob woodward saying that he was intentionally playing it down. He didnt want people to panic, that they knew if how bad this virus was, you said you were in tears. Tell me why, number one, and number two, as we wait for the president , what questions would you have for him . Well, brooke, you know, i cant help but think back on all of those patients i took care of back in march and april and even since then here in new york city. And its still ongoing. Its not just the patients who we had to put on ventilators, who we had to inform families that they were not going to make it. Its also patients coming in now with heart failure, with kidney failure, with longterm complications of this infection, and it is just sickening. It is just sickening to realize how many of those lives could have been saved. What questions, just given the fact youre sickened by this, what would you ask of the president . I would say, mr. President do you care do you care about the American People . Do you care about protecting the American People and their health and their safety . Where is your leadership . You know, everything from masks to testing, to outright lying. I mean, this is medical malpractice, negligent homicide on a grand scale. Yeah. I i it baffles the mind to think about how differently thing koss have turned out. Gloria, to you. We know that so far in the last 24 hours the white house response so far has been this blanket die nienial. What do you think the president will say . Were starting to hear a variation what weve heard in the the past brooke every time thing likes this and nothing as big as this, happened. Which is, i did it. So what . I did it. So what . And what you saw from trumps tweet this morning, he said you know, bob woodward had my quotes for many months. If it was so bad, why didnt he release them . No. He didnt release them because he knew they were good and proper. Then a top adviser to the president saying dont believe anything bob woodward writes. As we all know, this isnt what bob woodward is writing. Its what we are hearing. Its trumps own voice on the tape. With our own ears. I think today as we hear the president defend himself, if he answers questions, i think youre going to hear a variation of, i did it. So what . I was trying to be calm. I was trying to tell you not to panic. And lets just lets just move on. It wasnt so terrible. I think you know, the silence among republicans who dont want to talk about it. Uhhuh. Speaks volumes. Lets come back to that point in a second. Just a second. Dr. Gounder, this comes down to trust. What happens when for example, this president announces that suddenly a vaccine has been approved . What should the American Public think . Well, you know, i think this is really a question of confidence. Not just politics. And, yes, you dont want did you say competence or confidence . Competence. Competence. Competence in terms of our leadership. You know, i want to see a leader who is, in whom we can have confidence that theyre going to do the right thing in terms of the science, but also that theyre not going to lie. Theyre not going to conceal information for political reasons. And that were going to have some transparency here. You know, i want to see a leader who has plans, policies, procedures in place, which we are still very much lacking in many respects. And its not just gloria, the contrast between what trump told woodward back in march and in april of this year, and what he was telling the American People at the time. He is still actively spreading disinformation, and downplaying the threat. So you know, we talk about the lie and also the coverup. Look no further than his rally in North Carolina just this week where masks werent even required and a couple weeks ago he was retreating conspiracy theories that the death count is inflated. My point is this is still going on. Right. I mean, and he is a conspiracy theorist at heart. As we know. So he loves to retweet conspiracy theories even as president of the united states. Perhaps he knows theyre not true. Perhaps he just wants to stir the pot. Another example. Just the other day at a press conference the president was telling a reporter to take off his mask. So he could hear his question. I remember that. Yeah a little bit of a bullying thing going on there. And the journalist, jeff mason, kept his mask on and said, no, no. Im just going to talk louder. So he was bullying. He, you know its just its stunning to me. Thats the thing, gloria. Back to your point. Its like hes publicly shaming. Publicly bullying. Knows all cameras are on him, taking that News Conference labor day, everyones eyes are on the screen. To your paint, saying, wrote down, i did it. So what . My question is, a lot of i did it. So what . And hes still in office, may get reelected. Is this the thing that sticks . To me, i think this sticks more than, say, impeachment and that was a phone call. I did it. So what . It was a perfect phone call. I think this sticks, because this is about our lives, our children, our parents, our families, our livelihood, and it affects all of us in every way every single day. And if you choose to believe him and say, well, you know, he did it for a good reason. He lied to me for a good reason, fine. Then youre a trump supporter part of his base and nothing will take you off that. But i think people may think about this differently. Again, i cant predict that, but i think this is an order of magnitude larger than anything weve seen. Like impeachment, for example. Yep. Doctor gounder, finish with you. You talked to the president about the lack of trust in public messaging Many Americans feel when it comes to this crisis. What more did he say to you . I asked, why is it that Public Health is so mur more politicized than say basic science research. The Research Portfolio he actually manages at nih. Interesting. His comment was, well, Public Health is much less abstract. It touches our lives in very intimate ways. And so youre just going to have a very different gut reaction, personal reaction, to issues of Public Health in the way that you might not about something thats happening in the lab. Okay. Okay. Lets stick around. Were going to wait and watch for the q a and glorpia, ill come back to you on your point of republicans. Many havent heard the news, or are zzzzzip. Thank you both. Coming up here on cnn. President trump also mocked bob woodward for asking about the existence of White Privilege, claiming that woodward, quote unquote, drank the koolaid. So lets talk about that, too. Also ahead, the nfl kicks off tonight while fans may be ready for some football, is football ready for games in a pandemic . We talk to a former player who is now an m. D. Youre watching cnn. Im brooke baldwin. Well be right back. Limu emu doug you know limu, after all these years its the ones that got away that haunt me the most. [ squawks ] cause youre not like everybody else. Thats why Liberty Mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. What . Oh, i said. Uh, this is my floor. Nooo only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. That includes temperature scan, and sanitizing everythingfe. And all of our staff wearing gloves and masks. Not that mask. This mask. Thats the visionworks difference. Visionworks. See the difference. We are back. Youre watching cnn. Im brooke baldwin. Live pictures. Were waiting for the president to speak there at the white house. Holding a press conference in a couple minutes. Weve got one eye on that. Let me move on. Talk to you about another piece of information today, which is this summer. In the aftermath of jf jfrgeorg floyds death at the hands of Minneapolis Police and the world demanded racial justice, the president weighed in during conversations with bob woodward. When the famed journalist pressed trump on the issue of White Privilege and the role it played in both of their lives the president dismissed it. But let me ask you this, i mean, we share one thing in common. Were white, privileged, who my father was a lawyer and a judge in illinois, and we know what your dad did, and do you have any sense that, that privilege has isolated and put you in a cave, to a certain extent, as it put me and i think lots of white, privileged people in a cave, and that we have to work our way out of it to understand the anger and the pain, particularly black people feel in this country . Do you no. You really drank the koolaid, didnt you . Listen to you. No. Wow. I dont feel that at all. That was june 19th. A followup phone call a couple days later, President Trump said this. Do you think there is systemic or institutional racism in this country. I think there is everywhere. Probably less here than many places. But is it here . In a way that it has an impact on peoples lives . I think it is, and its unfortunate but i think it is. And a National Reporter for the New York Times is with us and cofounder of black votes matter is with us. Welcome to you both. You heard the call. In one call the president mocks this idea of White Privilege. You heard the koolaid, drinking the koolaid and says a couple days later he thinks systemic racism is in the united states. A Campaign Aide says reelection strategy double messages on race, number one, actively stoking racial divide and, two, also trying to convince americans that the president is not racist. Is that what you hear in those tapes . Yeah. I hear someone who doesnt understand the contours and consensus or the meaning of what White Privilege is, meaning of systemic racism and someone who spent their entire life opposed to these issuess not just a president but a personal, public figure who made his political rapport around these kind of divides. Go back to central park five. Back to suggestions white and black season of the apprentice. Birtherism and president obama. A throughline in this presidency and no matter bob woodward or black friends or critics or who has tried to get him to see the kind of larger context of racism and the history of such in this country that that is not something hes been willing to understand. Yes it is a political strategy but also a personal one where he has not shown the scape and ability to get at this issue at its matter. When you take that it double messaging, this odd, you know, not understanding this dichotomy, latasha, you combine it with the appearance of several highprofile africanamericans or people of color at the Republican National convention recently, do you think undecided voters will believe this portrayal of President Trump as not racist . No. At this point i dont know why anybody would believe anything that President Trump would say. He has shown he is a has hitch wo habitual liar. I disagree with the idea he doesnt understand ratism. He understands racism, he understands white supremacy. He uses it just as many have before him as a vehicle to really be able to divide, to stoke fear and create confusion. So ultimately he uses it to his advantage, and its his dog whistle call. When looking at what he is doing, i think hes so desperate he knows that the black vote is critical for the democratic nominee. Knows that hes in trouble and i think he is actually using race imto stoke the fear of the white electorate he continues to support that literally is based in racism. We are hearing more just about the president s history. Trumps former fixer Michael Cohen has a book out this week. Play a clip. Talking to don lemon about his old boss, now the president , and the issue of race. Im not really sure. White people dont get it. Donald trump is a racist. His stemp said it. His older sister said it. Im sorry. His niece said it. Im saying it. Stephanie Winston Wolkoff is saying it. Everybody who technically knows him is telling you this man is a racist. Im not sure whys people just dont get it. So along the line whats we just heard from Michael Cohen, the messengers, former members of his inner circle mostly white people does that make a difference . Or is it so baked in both for the trump base as womell as tho still tries to make up their minds . This is one that is going theyre going to try to stoke. Particularly for the independent swing voter. The idea this is not a person who can change, not a person who the office has changed, is going to be a message that democrats try to drive at, particularly to drive out a better turnout among people of color and africanamericans. I think they want, democrats need to say donald trump is bad but also why is joe biden good jb need good . Sometimes folks dont see whats in front of them because what it reflects on to them. We dont know whats in Donald Trumps heart but can judge by actions, what folks around him say. Talking to Republican Voters often an investment for themselves that to admit the person they are supportinghash hash hasher harbors these views and something they admit about themselves and something they wont do. A polarization state folks have to him, something that Michael Cohen is not going to be able to overcome. They dont want to hold up a mirror is what youre saying . For a lot of others, that is exactly whats going on. Wow. So glad you said that. So glad you said that. And then you think of latasha, think how the president , hes fixated, obsessed, whatever the word you want to use with president obama. Goes way back before the 2016 election. You know he regularly den graigs black female reporters, kamala harris, heard about the shole comments from a while back. All of this is out there. In this moment, the backdrop of protests, against police brewalitiy, a pandemic and economic shutdown both hit the black community dispro pornpor e disproportionately harder. Could this rhetoric actually fuel, turnout among black voters . You pointed out before, the bedrock of democratic support . I think absolutely. What it is, a preponderance of eford that trump is a racist. When all is said some refuse to look at, look in the mirror at themselves just as this country has refused to look at itself around structural racism, why there have been people taking to the streets. In addition to that, we need to think this is not just an individual trump just as a racist in itself. Also you look at his campaign and you look how hes ran his campaign, i can point people back to the southern strategy. Almost a blueprint of a southern strategy to create and stoke an idea of white fear to consolidate the base around this idea that theres these bad people and consolidated white power. This idea of literally being able to get people to december trust the systemodecember distrust the, and divide and conquer. I think using a blueprint from the southern strat egy to divid and conjure. I dont think that will help him with the black vote. If i may, talking to bunch of people every day. I have privilege to do that. Some folks in the black community, from what ive understood, there may is an apathy. My vote wont count. Why show up on november 3rd . Do you believe that people are enraged enough, care enough, to vote . You know, i think that theres a couple things. People vote for different