Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 20

Unprecedented reaction to the Police Shooting of jacob blake. Athletes from the national baseball, basketball and soccer leagues are refusing to play. They took a moment and made the world stop and see for a second how they felt and hopefully that will reverberate through any sports fans through everyone of different colors. Overnight protests continued in kenosha. We have these two justice systems in america. One for black america. One for white america. On the one hand the Police Shooting of blake after a tus and he will a white teenager with a massive rifle walks right by police after a shooting and is not arrested. Officers high stress may have created tunnel vision. Why is a black man walking away from them get shot seven times in the back. A young white man who killed and shot people is not shot and is taken alive. Reporter police say the 17yearold is accused in one of the deadly shootings that took place in the protests. I saw his eyes rolled back in his head and he had no pulse. I did not think i would be able to save him. But i could just think to keep pumping on his chest. He drove in to town from out of state. His tiktok account shows a long gun being assembled. Another shows his view from the front row of a trump rally in january. Investigators confirmed that jacob blake confirmed to having a knife on him and that officers tried to taser blake before shooting him seven times. Blake family attorney responded. Jacob had three of his most prized possessions in that car, his three boys, 8, 5, 3 years old. So the suggestion that he was going to his car in order to start some sort of a fight with Police Officers with their guns drawn is basically absurd. According to the sheriff a sevenyear veteran of the Kenosha Police force pulled the trigger. We are learning there are more National Guard troops expected to come here. There are so many details still unknown, whether or not the 17yearold is charged in two shootings or just one. Thanks very much. I want to get perspective from former nba star kenny smith. Kenny, thank you so much. So Many Americans watched as you walked off the set last night in support of the nba players protesting. For those that did not see it let me show this clip. I think the biggest thing now as a black man and as a former player i think it is best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight. Is it something that was building up in you . I think it was just building up. Players have made their statements and i was informed of what they were thinking. They have been in a bubble. They dont really know i think we are losing your audio a little bit. The connection is not so great. Lets see if we can fix that, kenny. Stand by for a moment. We are go to try to fix kennys audio. While we try to fix kenny smiths audio, and we will, i want to go over to the white house. President trump, he is attacking the nba players leading the strike and wont say anything at all. Update our viewers on the latest. When the president was asked he did not address why the nba players were boycotting their game. He said that he believes the nba is a Political Organization now. This all comes on the day where the president is slated to give his speech at the republican convention, a night he has been waiting for all week. He watched others go forward it. And now his time has come. Starting in wisconsin. Also along the gulf coast and the pandemic that has been nationwide for several months now. It is also whether or not he goes off script given he will be in front of the largest crowd that he has seen in months. Using a law and order message, President Trump will make his case for a second term with the run rest in wisconsin as his backdrop. Vandalism in the building is ridiculous to allow this to happen. I dont know how they can possibly do it. While he and mike pence have condemned the violence they have yet to address what led to it. The Police Shooting of another black man. Earlier today President Trump refused to answer questions about jacob blake. The more chaos and anarchy and violence, the better it is for the very clear choice on who is best for Public Safety. These guys are rooting for violence. Reporter after nba athletes boycotted games in protest of the Police Shooting of blake, the president s soninlaw dismissed their protests. The nba players are fortunate they have the financial position where they are able to take a night off from work. I dont know much about the nba protest. I know the ratings are very bad. The nba has become like a Political Organization and that is not a good thing. Reporter Vice President mike pence was go to deliver wisconsin to give a commencement address and they are uninviting the Vice President and a pastor will President Trump was expected to say no time before voters have faced a clearer choice between two parties, visions, philosophies or agendas and he weighed delaying his speech because of hurricane laura but he announced he will go forward with it and visit the storm ravaged area. It was very big and powerful but it passed quickly. 1,500 people are expected to attend trumps speech on the south lawn, despite the claim from Kellyanne Conway everyone will be tested. Reporter cnn has learned of zero testing requirements. Last night in the Vice President s speech there was a line that stuck out. He said you wont be safe in joe bidens america. Joe biden responded to that saying the videos of violence playing out in American Cities are happening in Donald Trumps america and during an interview he gave this afternoon and commented on the arrest of the 17yearold and found it troubling. The white house hasnt commented on the arrest of kyle rittenhouse. Maybe as many as 2,000 people were invited to hear the president s speech on the south lawn of the white house and can wear mask fis if they want to b it is not required unfortunately. We will watch it closely with you. I want to go to the governor of wisconsin. It is a serious time here in kenosha. The city has gone through a lot of trauma over the last several days and i had a chance to witness some of the damage that was done. The thing that gives me hope, thousands of people from the area volunteering as we speak to bring water, to do great paintings. It gives me great hope because at the end of the day when this is over, the people of kenosha are ready to make life better and they are already beginning that process. I feel very confident about where we are going. But the confidence does not come from madison or washington d. C. It comes from the great people that inhabit the city. They have a lot of pride in what they have been able to do in the city. They obviously understand that there is a need to make sure that we are in a better place, racial racially. I could not be more proud of that effort on their part. So with that i will turn it over to Lieutenant Governor barnes and then we will take some questions. Jacob blake is still alive unfortunately after being shot seven times in the back and although there is a long road to recovery we need to acknowledge that this is nothing short of a miracle. Today governor evers and i had a moment to speak with jacob blakes family and met with the leaders here and i had a couple of phone calls yesterday. The organizer friend of mine here met with local elected officials and also visited a couple of businesses. And it was important to do that. Because in the wake of it all, you see community actually being built. We see with Community Building that is not inclusive, you end up with the situations like this that we are dealing with now. As the governor said dc is investigation is ongoing. Blakes shooting falls in a long and painful pattern of violence. This is a pattern of violence that happens against black lives too often and across the country. We saw two protesters were tragically killed and one other injured by gunshots. That is not anything normal and we should not accept it. What do you think is going to happen if you have an agitated with a gun walking down the streets thinking he is a peacekeeper. That behavior shouldnt be enabled either. We have to not ever want to see that happen again. And i say that we have to want, because we truly have to have that desire. We truly have to work towards that not becoming the reality of our state. It was painful. It was tough waking up wednesday. The first thing or the text that i woke up to a friend of mine that said she was struggling. I didnt even know what she was talking about. A Community Still reeling from a tragedy. Our broader Wisconsin Community is reeling from the tragedy. Many mistakes have been made before most if not every protester was born. If we dont want to or if we fail to correct the mistakes the problems we deal with Going Forward or what we are dealing with now is nothing compared to what we will deal with down the line. We have to bring about the change. It is we cant afford for that to change tonight or any other night for that matter. Everybody has to recognize the pains of those protesting and you have to call out. If you have the power to do more than call it out, do what you have to do to end systemic racism and the systemic violence that happens every day in the city, state, country, all over. And then we all have to work to bring our communities together, the way that you see it happening downtown right now. We have to come together and rebuild the broken systems. I do believe that we can do it. I would not be sitting here and talking to you today. This just happened after the jacob blake or george floyd, this is on going. That is one of the reasons i decided to run for office. We all have a role to play. Members of the media as well. You have a responsibility to report the facts and truth and make sure that people are educa educated. To make sure that things are not swept under the rug or hid under a cloak of secrecy as more institutions continue to damage communities. We all deserve and we all want more. I know kenosha and wisconsin will get through this. The only way that we can do this is if we get through it together. With that said i am going to hand it over. Thank you. Good evening, here to give you an update on our mission the mission of the National Guard as we continue to serve in a supporting role to local Law Enforcement here in kenosha. Bottom line is similar to what i mentioneda earlier today when i talked to many of you. We are here to preserve Public Safety and the ability of individuals to exercise their First Amendment rights to lawfully and peacefully demonstrate, the bottom line for the National Guard. I think that we can do better. We are here to ensure that there is an environment where we can do better. By the direction of the governor evers, we are bringing in additional guard and Service Members from other states, states of alabama, michigan, arizona have offered to send their Service Members and guard members here to wisconsin to assist in keeping the peace and keeping Public Safety. I want to personally thank those states for sending their Service Members here to kenosha, wisconsin. The wisconsin National Guard, we are not federalized. We are on state active duty. Soldiers and the airmen will be under the direction of our commander in chief, governor evers, and we are working to help the local authorities keep people safe. I want to thank Law Enforcement, local leaders and the community for coming together to make this a great place and make kenosha a place that people want to come for all of the wonderful things that it has to offer. And i ask you in the press to help us do that. Thank you. With that we will entertain any questions. We will monitor the News Conference with the governor of wisconsin. Governor evers. We will update you on any new information that does emerge. Right now i want to go back to kenny smith who is joining us on the phone. Can you hear me okay . I hear you well. Okay. We have seen nba players leading the way in the National Reckoning since George Floyds death. How historic is it to see a protest like this to postpone playoff games in the nba, yesterday, today. And to demand change. Tell us what you were thinking as you decided to walk off the tnt set last night. Well, wolf, this is the first time that i talked about this. It was more waiting to hear what the players were going to say and making a real dedicated decision on what to do. Secondly, i did not feel like i wanted to it be a talking head in this sense. I wanted to join the march. So i got off the steps to join the march. Certain times in your life you have to join the march. Because of my platform, i am a little more visible so i am at the front of the march but i am just one of many that feel the same way across the country, white, black, indifferent. We all feel the same. Citizens, black men, we are americans first. And that is the most important thing than anything else. What has been the reaction, kenny, since walking off the set last night . Well, i think that people are appreciative that i joined the march and that i put myself in a position to let them understand. Because as black americans one of the things that we always say is that we have in our neighborhoods, we have Community Watch systems, we have all of these different groups inside our own communities. We dont like crime. We want people arrested who are doing crime. But at times it is misinterpreted that well, this person or these people could have been doing something wrong. And they shouldnt be arrested. Nobody ever has said that. The ideology of that is not in our or anyones nature. I think the one thing that people understand is that there is a systematic thought process when things happen. I applaud the nba players. What happened last night, you are becoming a political group. No. Shows you have power. When you have power in any negotiation, i have been blessed to be in really good negotiations. That is what it is. A negotiation of humanity. So we are negotiating and we are showing our power. We could cut the power off if you dont. Hear what we are saying. Now for the first time in my life, wolf, as a black man everyone says what do you want. And a good negotiator is not going to blurt that out right now because this is a negotiation. We dont have to have the answer today. We will get back to you in a month. You understand the power that we have. As you know, kenny, President Trump earlier today dismissed the protests saying the nba in his words has very bad ratings and Jared Kushner said nba players have put a lot of slogans out that need to be turned into actual actions. How do you respond to this . I think the one thing with how you respond is kind of like if you win the championship. It is inappropriate to ask someone what you are going to do next year. Right now we need your attention. We need your attention. And in that, that is the protest. The march. And one thing that i will say, wolf, for me i just feel like black americans, i have been the most american thing that you can ever be. I was born here. I fought, my family has fought in the military. My family fought for the bible. My family fought for demonstration. We all have been part of the process. But it seems at times that other groups get to stick the process and skip certain steps that we want the same. Nobody wants anything different. Very few times in our life we have the power to selectively stay someone based on their race only. That never happens in the black community. We are inclusive and we have to learn to be inclusive of everyone. All races, creeds, colors. We never had the luxury to say i am only going to pick the guy because he is black. Impossible do as a black american. We feel the difference and the undercurrent of racism that pulls you in saying it is bigger than the waves, the undercurrent can kill and drown you in the ocean. We were all sickened, kenny, when we saw that horrific video of jacob blake being shot as he tried to get into his car. His three boys were in the car at the time. We saw the Police Officer shoot him seven times in the back. When you first saw that video what went through your mind . We have seen it. And this is not, you know, if that was a onetime incident the nba would have been playing today and yesterday. I speak for what the people that i know around me. You look at the incident and you say look. Well, if that is the people that protect and serve us and are supposed to keep everything lawabiding, how does it infiltrate in every other aspect of other life in business and sports and every other sport of life. We understand that people that are supposed to have the highest morale character as a Police Officer, we expect that from them. I dont think any american would say if the Police Officer doesnt have the highest moral character, we cant have them. If they dont see that, how can it not bleed in to everything else. I think that this is a great awakening for the people on the fence at times that said man, i never looked at life that way. There are people that we will never be able to convince that this is right. But there are people on the fence now checking themselves outside of black American Communities now saying that i see it now. I did not realize that before. Yesterday around 4 00 eastern, the Police Shooting<\/a> of jacob blake. Athletes from the national baseball, basketball and soccer leagues are refusing to play. They took a moment and made the world stop and see for a second how they felt and hopefully that will reverberate through any sports fans through everyone of different colors. Overnight protests continued in kenosha. We have these two justice systems in america. One for black america. One for white america. On the one hand the Police Shooting<\/a> of blake after a tus and he will a white teenager with a massive rifle walks right by police after a shooting and is not arrested. Officers high stress may have created tunnel vision. Why is a black man walking away from them get shot seven times in the back. A young white man who killed and shot people is not shot and is taken alive. Reporter police say the 17yearold is accused in one of the deadly shootings that took place in the protests. I saw his eyes rolled back in his head and he had no pulse. I did not think i would be able to save him. But i could just think to keep pumping on his chest. He drove in to town from out of state. His tiktok account shows a long gun being assembled. Another shows his view from the front row of a trump rally in january. Investigators confirmed that jacob blake confirmed to having a knife on him and that officers tried to taser blake before shooting him seven times. Blake family attorney responded. Jacob had three of his most prized possessions in that car, his three boys, 8, 5, 3 years old. So the suggestion that he was going to his car in order to start some sort of a fight with Police Officers<\/a> with their guns drawn is basically absurd. According to the sheriff a sevenyear veteran of the Kenosha Police<\/a> force pulled the trigger. We are learning there are more National Guard<\/a> troops expected to come here. There are so many details still unknown, whether or not the 17yearold is charged in two shootings or just one. Thanks very much. I want to get perspective from former nba star kenny smith. Kenny, thank you so much. So Many Americans<\/a> watched as you walked off the set last night in support of the nba players protesting. For those that did not see it let me show this clip. I think the biggest thing now as a black man and as a former player i think it is best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight. Is it something that was building up in you . I think it was just building up. Players have made their statements and i was informed of what they were thinking. They have been in a bubble. They dont really know i think we are losing your audio a little bit. The connection is not so great. Lets see if we can fix that, kenny. Stand by for a moment. We are go to try to fix kennys audio. While we try to fix kenny smiths audio, and we will, i want to go over to the white house. President trump, he is attacking the nba players leading the strike and wont say anything at all. Update our viewers on the latest. When the president was asked he did not address why the nba players were boycotting their game. He said that he believes the nba is a Political Organization<\/a> now. This all comes on the day where the president is slated to give his speech at the republican convention, a night he has been waiting for all week. He watched others go forward it. And now his time has come. Starting in wisconsin. Also along the gulf coast and the pandemic that has been nationwide for several months now. It is also whether or not he goes off script given he will be in front of the largest crowd that he has seen in months. Using a law and order message, President Trump<\/a> will make his case for a second term with the run rest in wisconsin as his backdrop. Vandalism in the building is ridiculous to allow this to happen. I dont know how they can possibly do it. While he and mike pence have condemned the violence they have yet to address what led to it. The Police Shooting<\/a> of another black man. Earlier today President Trump<\/a> refused to answer questions about jacob blake. The more chaos and anarchy and violence, the better it is for the very clear choice on who is best for Public Safety<\/a>. These guys are rooting for violence. Reporter after nba athletes boycotted games in protest of the Police Shooting<\/a> of blake, the president s soninlaw dismissed their protests. The nba players are fortunate they have the financial position where they are able to take a night off from work. I dont know much about the nba protest. I know the ratings are very bad. The nba has become like a Political Organization<\/a> and that is not a good thing. Reporter Vice President<\/a> mike pence was go to deliver wisconsin to give a commencement address and they are uninviting the Vice President<\/a> and a pastor will President Trump<\/a> was expected to say no time before voters have faced a clearer choice between two parties, visions, philosophies or agendas and he weighed delaying his speech because of hurricane laura but he announced he will go forward with it and visit the storm ravaged area. It was very big and powerful but it passed quickly. 1,500 people are expected to attend trumps speech on the south lawn, despite the claim from Kellyanne Conway<\/a> everyone will be tested. Reporter cnn has learned of zero testing requirements. Last night in the Vice President<\/a> s speech there was a line that stuck out. He said you wont be safe in joe bidens america. Joe biden responded to that saying the videos of violence playing out in American Cities<\/a> are happening in Donald Trumps<\/a> america and during an interview he gave this afternoon and commented on the arrest of the 17yearold and found it troubling. The white house hasnt commented on the arrest of kyle rittenhouse. Maybe as many as 2,000 people were invited to hear the president s speech on the south lawn of the white house and can wear mask fis if they want to b it is not required unfortunately. We will watch it closely with you. I want to go to the governor of wisconsin. It is a serious time here in kenosha. The city has gone through a lot of trauma over the last several days and i had a chance to witness some of the damage that was done. The thing that gives me hope, thousands of people from the area volunteering as we speak to bring water, to do great paintings. It gives me great hope because at the end of the day when this is over, the people of kenosha are ready to make life better and they are already beginning that process. I feel very confident about where we are going. But the confidence does not come from madison or washington d. C. It comes from the great people that inhabit the city. They have a lot of pride in what they have been able to do in the city. They obviously understand that there is a need to make sure that we are in a better place, racial racially. I could not be more proud of that effort on their part. So with that i will turn it over to Lieutenant Governor<\/a> barnes and then we will take some questions. Jacob blake is still alive unfortunately after being shot seven times in the back and although there is a long road to recovery we need to acknowledge that this is nothing short of a miracle. Today governor evers and i had a moment to speak with jacob blakes family and met with the leaders here and i had a couple of phone calls yesterday. The organizer friend of mine here met with local elected officials and also visited a couple of businesses. And it was important to do that. Because in the wake of it all, you see community actually being built. We see with Community Building<\/a> that is not inclusive, you end up with the situations like this that we are dealing with now. As the governor said dc is investigation is ongoing. Blakes shooting falls in a long and painful pattern of violence. This is a pattern of violence that happens against black lives too often and across the country. We saw two protesters were tragically killed and one other injured by gunshots. That is not anything normal and we should not accept it. What do you think is going to happen if you have an agitated with a gun walking down the streets thinking he is a peacekeeper. That behavior shouldnt be enabled either. We have to not ever want to see that happen again. And i say that we have to want, because we truly have to have that desire. We truly have to work towards that not becoming the reality of our state. It was painful. It was tough waking up wednesday. The first thing or the text that i woke up to a friend of mine that said she was struggling. I didnt even know what she was talking about. A Community Still<\/a> reeling from a tragedy. Our broader Wisconsin Community<\/a> is reeling from the tragedy. Many mistakes have been made before most if not every protester was born. If we dont want to or if we fail to correct the mistakes the problems we deal with Going Forward<\/a> or what we are dealing with now is nothing compared to what we will deal with down the line. We have to bring about the change. It is we cant afford for that to change tonight or any other night for that matter. Everybody has to recognize the pains of those protesting and you have to call out. If you have the power to do more than call it out, do what you have to do to end systemic racism and the systemic violence that happens every day in the city, state, country, all over. And then we all have to work to bring our communities together, the way that you see it happening downtown right now. We have to come together and rebuild the broken systems. I do believe that we can do it. I would not be sitting here and talking to you today. This just happened after the jacob blake or george floyd, this is on going. That is one of the reasons i decided to run for office. We all have a role to play. Members of the media as well. You have a responsibility to report the facts and truth and make sure that people are educa educated. To make sure that things are not swept under the rug or hid under a cloak of secrecy as more institutions continue to damage communities. We all deserve and we all want more. I know kenosha and wisconsin will get through this. The only way that we can do this is if we get through it together. With that said i am going to hand it over. Thank you. Good evening, here to give you an update on our mission the mission of the National Guard<\/a> as we continue to serve in a supporting role to local Law Enforcement<\/a> here in kenosha. Bottom line is similar to what i mentioneda earlier today when i talked to many of you. We are here to preserve Public Safety<\/a> and the ability of individuals to exercise their First Amendment<\/a> rights to lawfully and peacefully demonstrate, the bottom line for the National Guard<\/a>. I think that we can do better. We are here to ensure that there is an environment where we can do better. By the direction of the governor evers, we are bringing in additional guard and Service Members<\/a> from other states, states of alabama, michigan, arizona have offered to send their Service Members<\/a> and guard members here to wisconsin to assist in keeping the peace and keeping Public Safety<\/a>. I want to personally thank those states for sending their Service Members<\/a> here to kenosha, wisconsin. The wisconsin National Guard<\/a>, we are not federalized. We are on state active duty. Soldiers and the airmen will be under the direction of our commander in chief, governor evers, and we are working to help the local authorities keep people safe. I want to thank Law Enforcement<\/a>, local leaders and the community for coming together to make this a great place and make kenosha a place that people want to come for all of the wonderful things that it has to offer. And i ask you in the press to help us do that. Thank you. With that we will entertain any questions. We will monitor the News Conference<\/a> with the governor of wisconsin. Governor evers. We will update you on any new information that does emerge. Right now i want to go back to kenny smith who is joining us on the phone. Can you hear me okay . I hear you well. Okay. We have seen nba players leading the way in the National Reckoning<\/a> since George Floyds<\/a> death. How historic is it to see a protest like this to postpone playoff games in the nba, yesterday, today. And to demand change. Tell us what you were thinking as you decided to walk off the tnt set last night. Well, wolf, this is the first time that i talked about this. It was more waiting to hear what the players were going to say and making a real dedicated decision on what to do. Secondly, i did not feel like i wanted to it be a talking head in this sense. I wanted to join the march. So i got off the steps to join the march. Certain times in your life you have to join the march. Because of my platform, i am a little more visible so i am at the front of the march but i am just one of many that feel the same way across the country, white, black, indifferent. We all feel the same. Citizens, black men, we are americans first. And that is the most important thing than anything else. What has been the reaction, kenny, since walking off the set last night . Well, i think that people are appreciative that i joined the march and that i put myself in a position to let them understand. Because as black americans one of the things that we always say is that we have in our neighborhoods, we have Community Watch<\/a> systems, we have all of these different groups inside our own communities. We dont like crime. We want people arrested who are doing crime. But at times it is misinterpreted that well, this person or these people could have been doing something wrong. And they shouldnt be arrested. Nobody ever has said that. The ideology of that is not in our or anyones nature. I think the one thing that people understand is that there is a systematic thought process when things happen. I applaud the nba players. What happened last night, you are becoming a political group. No. Shows you have power. When you have power in any negotiation, i have been blessed to be in really good negotiations. That is what it is. A negotiation of humanity. So we are negotiating and we are showing our power. We could cut the power off if you dont. Hear what we are saying. Now for the first time in my life, wolf, as a black man everyone says what do you want. And a good negotiator is not going to blurt that out right now because this is a negotiation. We dont have to have the answer today. We will get back to you in a month. You understand the power that we have. As you know, kenny, President Trump<\/a> earlier today dismissed the protests saying the nba in his words has very bad ratings and Jared Kushner<\/a> said nba players have put a lot of slogans out that need to be turned into actual actions. How do you respond to this . I think the one thing with how you respond is kind of like if you win the championship. It is inappropriate to ask someone what you are going to do next year. Right now we need your attention. We need your attention. And in that, that is the protest. The march. And one thing that i will say, wolf, for me i just feel like black americans, i have been the most american thing that you can ever be. I was born here. I fought, my family has fought in the military. My family fought for the bible. My family fought for demonstration. We all have been part of the process. But it seems at times that other groups get to stick the process and skip certain steps that we want the same. Nobody wants anything different. Very few times in our life we have the power to selectively stay someone based on their race only. That never happens in the black community. We are inclusive and we have to learn to be inclusive of everyone. All races, creeds, colors. We never had the luxury to say i am only going to pick the guy because he is black. Impossible do as a black american. We feel the difference and the undercurrent of racism that pulls you in saying it is bigger than the waves, the undercurrent can kill and drown you in the ocean. We were all sickened, kenny, when we saw that horrific video of jacob blake being shot as he tried to get into his car. His three boys were in the car at the time. We saw the Police Officer<\/a> shoot him seven times in the back. When you first saw that video what went through your mind . We have seen it. And this is not, you know, if that was a onetime incident the nba would have been playing today and yesterday. I speak for what the people that i know around me. You look at the incident and you say look. Well, if that is the people that protect and serve us and are supposed to keep everything lawabiding, how does it infiltrate in every other aspect of other life in business and sports and every other sport of life. We understand that people that are supposed to have the highest morale character as a Police Officer<\/a>, we expect that from them. I dont think any american would say if the Police Officer<\/a> doesnt have the highest moral character, we cant have them. If they dont see that, how can it not bleed in to everything else. I think that this is a great awakening for the people on the fence at times that said man, i never looked at life that way. There are people that we will never be able to convince that this is right. But there are people on the fence now checking themselves outside of black American Communities<\/a> now saying that i see it now. I did not realize that before. Yesterday around 4 00 eastern, the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> in a playoff game, nba playoff game were scheduled to play the Orlando Magic<\/a> and all of a sudden the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> did not come out of the locker room. Eventually the Orlando Magic<\/a> players walked in to their locker room. The game was clearly postponed. Other playoff games were postponed. Did you have any clue that was about to unfold what happened yesterday . No. Not at all. I dont think any time there is a thought process of what is right and you try to do something that is just to try to correct something unjust that you are going to alert the world. I think you can shock the world. Sometimes you have to wake people up with a cold glass of water. Doesnt mean you have to shake and caress them wake them up. That is what that was, the nbas version of that. I heard the president say the nba is becoming a political group. We are all citizens. If cnn has an opinion on sports. We cant say wolf blitzer cant talk about basketball. You are a citizen of the United States<\/a> and everyone has an opportunity to vote and i am part of a process called be woke and vote to get everyone to vote. Everyone has an opportunity to voice their opinion. Everyone has an opportunity to put in systematic things to help all groups at all times. That is the one thing i can never be against, inclusion. We are not a political group. Major League Baseball<\/a> is not a political group. Cnn is not a political group. We are americans that have a voice and we speak and speak loudly at times. One of the greatest things about our country that we can say what we really believe. I want to get your reaction to this, kenny in your act of solidarity that we all saw walking off the tnt set. We heard your colleague, ernie johnson. He was with me yesterday and is one of my guests here yesterday saying that he respected your decision. I assume everyone respected your decision. Yes. There are certain people i admire and that texted me saying i support what you do. I am glad because i am not on visually, my 12yearold son. I facetimed him. 10 15 at night on the west coast. I landed. I texted him. I facetimed him. Before i said one word he is looking in with the biggest grin on his face and he is clapping and applauding me. He says no work. He understands. As a dad it has to start in your home and i am happy that my son at 12 who understood it. I have another son who is 24. I have daughters and they all understood. But my 12yearold son said no words and just applauded as i facetimed him. A lot of people were applauding, including me. One final question before i let you go. Have you had the conversation with your son, your 12yearold . Everyone asks me do i have the conversation. It is a continuous dialogue. Wolf, it is a moving pendulum. No. You know, when you get stopped by the police, do this. When you are here, you have to do this. When you are here. It is a moving pendulum that most people do not understand as africanamericans that we have to deal with. We can talk about Police Brutality<\/a> and the things that should be enforced. If you are in the car with your partner and he does something wrong, we need to give power to the good Police Officers<\/a>. What happens if they dont have a voice . If i am in the car and an officer has their foot on the neck for eight minutes. Im to go home. Now it gives the good officers power. Prosecutors need to prosecute Police Officers<\/a>. They work hand in hand. They are the coaches for police in most investigations. They call them as expert witnesses. We need an independent service that prosecutes Police Officers<\/a>. You cant referee the game you are playing. We dont get justice when you have incorrect actions that need accountability. That is the issue that we feel needs to be addressed, changed and done now. That is so important. I assume you will be back on tnt once the games resume, correct . Yes. If they Start Playing<\/a> i am behind them. I just joined the march. I didnt create the march. I just joined the march on what they did and i respect them for it. Say hello to your colleagues over there inside the nba. As you know i am a big nba fan. If you are really interested, did you want to know when that ended . When it started. Ended in seventh grade or eighth when i realized i didnt have it and that i would have to find another career to go in to. Basketball wouldnt be my strength. I do love basketball and the nba and thanks kenny so much for joining us. Good luck. Thank you for giving me the platform to say that. I want to bring on bob costas, he is a cnn contributor. Any reaction before we get into some of the substance on what you just heard kenny describe . Yeah. I do. How can anyone listen to kenny smith and not just how thoughtful that he is and how heart felt that it is or robert horry or chris webber or doc rivers in the last few days or Dominic Smith<\/a> of the mets switching over to baseball or Jake Flaherty<\/a> of the cardinals, Ryan Tannehill<\/a> of the tennessee titans, Matt Stafford<\/a> of the detroit lions. How can anyone look at it and dismiss it as political. What you get coming from, and this is important, george w. Bush wouldnt have responded this way. Barak obama would havent responded this way. Despite their other political differences they were able to have empathy and understanding of people besides those that are part of the base. Instead what we get here is a dismissive and an oppositional stance. Distinctions could be made. You could say depending where you fall on the political spectrum, you could say most cops are good cops but whatever fractions are not they must be weeded out. Not just because of the instances that we are looking at now but it resonates. It goes back century state use of power against africanamericans. You can make the distinction and still support good cops and make the valid distinction between the cause of black lives matter and the Political Organization<\/a> black lives matter whose motivation and motivations and agenda could rightly be criticized or questioned and could certainly decry as joe biden did yesterday, rioting, looting and vandalism, not just because it is criminal and wrong but undermines a rightious cause. Embrace the humanity. Show some empathy towards what the africanamerican fellow citizens are feeling in this moment and it resonates with them deeply. If you are a human being, and you cant relate to that and you cant care about that, i cant fathom where you are coming from. Well said, as you know, three more nba playoff games postponed. Tonight, second night in a row. We hear the players have resumed to resume the playoffs at some point. Where do things go from here, not just in the nba, the wnba, major league, nhl, tennis, soccer. We have seen this spread. It is obviously a grab bag of differences there. I think the nba intends to start on saturday. They can make up all of the games. Baseball has the option and they used it for Different Reasons<\/a> playing multiple doubleheader games. You can make up the games. Perhaps baseball, three games were not played yesterday in the aftermath of what happened with jacob blake. Baseball could say we are go to play no games on this day and it will be a day of reflection and we will resume. We know lebron james and Kawhi Leonard<\/a> of the lakers and clippers wanted to call it all off and just go home but the majority feeling apparently in the nba is that we can make our statement. Not only do we want to complete the competition but the platform is more effective than being out in the world at this moment. You will Vice President<\/a> differences. And just a random thought stick to sports. Those that are saying that are completely ignorant of or choose to ignore the long history of athletes not exclusively but primarily africanamerican athletes using their position in sports which often and historically was the only way for them to command public attention for their cause, using it very effectively and memorably. And on the flip side bypass the way, and i dont have to point out who i am talking about. First they say stick to sports and then shut up and sing about entertainers. Look at the long list of sports figures and entertainers saying what they want to hear who have an open mic any time they want to come on. Excellent point as well. Bob costas, thank you so much for joining us. These are incredibly important issues that the whole country is facing us right now. Ahead we will have the latest on the coronavirus pandemic. More than 180,000 americans now have died as new controversy erupts over testing. Well be right back. Do you know how it feels to live with schizophrenia . I am a good parent. Jared . Im hearing the most awful things, people shouting at me. Its ok. When you live with schizophrenia like us, it can feel like youre living in a different world. You should definitely talk to your doctor and ask about fanapt. Ok. Fanapt is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults. In clinical trials, fanapt significantly improved symptoms of schizophrenia compared to placebo. Cynthia, are you ok . I feel like everyones out to get me. Fanapt may change your heart rhythm which could elevate risk of sudden death. Your doctor will consider this when deciding among treatments and may prescribe another medication first or may instruct you to take a smaller dosage of fanapt. Remember youre not alone, there is help. Call 8557 fanapt we are following breaking news on the coronavirus pandemic. The death toll in the United States<\/a> passed 180,000 with more than 5. 8 million confirmed cases. Cnns erica hill has more on todays coronavirus developments. Reporter tens of thousands of people converging in sturgis, south dakota and now several states include cases linked to the rally. If you attended the event we highly encourage you to monitor symptoms closely and to get tested. Indiana, iowa and kansas reporting sevenday average highs for new cases. Colleges and universities boosting the numbers in more than 30 states with some 7,600 confirmed cases. We made it clear. These are the rules. If you cant comply, dont come. In new york where 5 of the population tests positive required to move Classes Online<\/a> for two weeks. Nationwide new cases are falling down 22 over the past 14 days, hospitalizations and deaths also declining. The daily toll is now back above 1,000. Since the pandemic began just over 180,000 lives lost. Pushback continues over the cdcs revised testing guide asbestguide. What is really important is that testing is used as an opportunity to find active cases. Reporter the association of american medical colleges calling the shift irresponsible and some governors labeling the move reckless, vowing to not change their approach. The Vice President<\/a> s chief of staff offering this explanation. The guidance that was updated is because there continues to be backlogs in the system with the testing and particularly for people who are getting tested that are asymptomatic. Reporter a 5 rapid test, results in 15 minutes displayed on an app and could produce 50 million tests per month by october. The vaccine shows an immune response by all age groups but needs more evidence in the trials. Some people, including hispanic, africanamericans, native americans, so it is very important to us that we get adequate representation from those groups in our enrollment. More than 1 million americans filing for firsttime Unemployment Benefits<\/a> last week and Consumer Confidence<\/a> hitting the lowest level in the last six years and lord and taylor, closing doors for good after nearly 200 years. We also learned the director of the cdc sent a letter to states, urgent request as it is phrased to expedite permits for a company the federal government contracted with to distribute a Coronavirus Vaccine<\/a> and asks them to waive requirements if necessary to make sure that the facilities could be operational by november 1st, two days before election day. There are five Coronavirus Vaccine<\/a>s in human trials in the u. S. And dr. Fauci said he doesnt expect to see results from the trials before november or december and wolf, he didnt expect there to be a vaccine widely available before 2021. Yeah. November 1. The election is november 3rd. Erica hill reporting. Thank you very much. More analysis from the former Surgeon General<\/a> of the United States<\/a> who is also advising the biden campaign. Doctor, what do you think about that, that they want to consider waiving requirements to have distribution facilities ready for a vaccine by november 1st. Wolf, it is good to be with you today. It is not clear at this point what the requirements and standards the cdc is asking states to wait. What they really need at this point is that they need to be clear and honest about what the requirements are so that states and the public can make an assessment about whether such requests would compromise the safety of the process or not. There is one thing that is abundantly clear and that is that we cant cut corners when it comes to the production and the distribution of the vaccine. We are also in dire need of a clear National Plan<\/a> to address covid, not only for distribution but for expanding testing and for reducing the number of cases. Half a year into the pandemic we are unfortunately still without a clear plan. What about this new test that the white house announcing, buying 150 of the new quick tests that can deliver results in only 15 minutes. How big of a difference do you think that can make and how does it fit into the overall testing strategy . Wolf, i think the news that we heard yesterday is that they developed a test they believe is a rapid test and can be done quickly. Requires just a fraction of the apparatus that is typically required for a point of care test and it also appears to be much more affordable. What is interesting is that they have the ability to produce this really at a scale that is extraordinary and could be really helpful for expanding our testing capacity. We have to see how quickly you can get the test out and we need to understand what the we need to see how this rolls out. When hospitals test in health care setting, are they getting the same level of specificity that the manufacturer is claiming to get . We did hear a rather surprising admission today who said the cdc guidance on testing was changed publicly because of what he called backlogs in the system. What are we seeing these issues so many months after this crisis erupted . Well, this is very disturbing, what happened, this change in cdc guidance. And it was also very confusing. What the cdc is doing now is its no longer recommending testing of asymptomatic contacts of those who have confirmed covid19. Heres the thing, if your goal really is to reduce the spread of covid19, that makes no sense. You want to test more so you can find positive cases and prevent them from infecting others. It doesnt make sense to restrict testing to just those who are symptomatic. Testing is like our eyes. Its what allows us to see whats going on. This guidance is blind folding us partially, which makes no sense. Thats why you saw medical and scientific organizations issue a strong rebuke to the cdc and the administration more broadly. This is unfortunately the next in a longer line of decisions made at the urging of the administration that have a Clear Scientific<\/a> explanation. When that happens, they damage trust. As we reported yesterday, the cdc was under a lot of political pressure coming in from the white house to go ahead and revise those guidelines, very disturbing development, indeed. Thanks so much for joining us. Good to be with you, wolf. Just ahead, why joe biden is telling cnn that President Trump<\/a> is rooting for violence like weve witnessed in kenosha. Well be right back. Book two separate qualifying stays and earn a free night. The open road is open again. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels<\/a> is there. Book direct at choicehotels. Com. Anand here we have another, cburst pipe in denmark. If you look close. Jamie, are there any interesting photos from your trip . Ouch, okay. Huh, boring, boring, you dont need to see that. Oh, here we go. Can you believe my client steig had never heard of a home and auto bundle or that renters could bundle . Wait, youre a lawyer . Only licensed in stockholm. What is happening . Jamie anyway, game show, kumite, cinderella story. You know karate . No, alan, i practice muay thai, completely different skillset. Ahead of President Trump<\/a>s speech later tonight to the Republican National<\/a> convention, his democratic opponent joe biden delivered a harsh critique of the president s response to the protests and violence in kenosha, wisconsin. Lets discuss with your chief political analyst Gloria Borger<\/a> who spoke at length with biden on a forthcoming documentary, a twohour film on cnn september 7th. Also with us our cnn Political Correspondent<\/a> abby phillip. Gloria, let me play something the former Vice President<\/a> told our colleague Anderson Cooper<\/a> earlier today about President Trump<\/a>. These guys are rooting for violence. Thats what its all about. To prove that you should be scared of joe biden, theyre pointing to whats happening in Donald Trumps<\/a> america. I made it clear from the beginning that theres no place for violence or looting or burning. And when i spoke with jacob blakes mother, julia you guys played her on the air she said thats not who we are, thats not who our family is, thats not who jacob is, dont do it. He continues to root for violence. The country will be substantially safer when he is no longer in office. So, gloria, what do you make of that . Well, i think that he understands very well what donald trump is trying to do. Hes running on the socalled law and order platform and saying only he can stop the violence thats going on in American Cities<\/a>. But what biden is saying effectively is, look, dont be fooled, what donald trump is saying to you is that only he can save you from his america because donald trump happens to be president of the United States<\/a> and the folks in the Trump Campaign<\/a> will say, well, these are democratic cities. But last time i checked, donald trump was president of the entire country. You know, abby, you think the president s going to address the situation in kenosha later tonight in his speech, address the issue of Racial Injustice<\/a> here in the United States<\/a> . You know, wolf, i would be surprised if the president addressed the issue of Racial Injustice<\/a> and Police Violence<\/a> in a real substantive meaningful way tonight. Do i think he will bring up kenosha . Yes, because we kind of saw a little bit from the Vice President<\/a> mike pence, in his speech he lumped kenosha in with all of these other cities like portland and new york and elsewhere where they say that there is all of this violence. So, i dont know that the president thinks at this point that theres any huge advantage to him in going down that road. I think theyre going to stick to their law and order message. But they may have made a bit of a tactical mistake, or at least Kellyanne Conway<\/a> made a tactical mistake by describing it as being good for their message. I think that gives away the game in a way that is not helpful to them. What do you think, gloria . I totally agree with abby. I think kellyanne was candid. She would say these are blue governors, these are democrats. Thats what shes going to say she was talking about. Its very clear this is exactly what they are doing. And, you know, i think sometimes candor can be interesting in a Political Campaign<\/a> and we heard it today. Were told the president s speech will last about one hour on the south lawn of the white house. About 1,500 to 2,000 people have been invited to sit there and listen to the president. Thats it for me. Ill be back in an hour to continue special coverage. Erin Burnett Outfront<\/a> starts erin Burnett Outfront<\/a> starts right now. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com outfront now, jacob blake, the 29yearold wisconsin man shot by police, is conscious and talking. This according to andrew yang. He just spoke to blakes father and im going to speak to andrew yang about what he learned from him and what the families wants you to know. Prosecutors file six charges including homicide against the 17yearold over those deadly shootings in wisconsin. And several prominent republican senators declining an invitation to trumps acceptance speech at the white house tonight. Why . 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