also in person. >> it was outrageous, some people waited 3, 4, 5, 6 hours to last their ballot. it was raining. it was a terrible situation. let's hope they fix it. thank you very much. erin burnett "out front" starts right now. outfront next, see no evil, another white house official denying cyst temmic racism as protests grow for the 16th day in a row. plus a black man dies in police custody after saying he couldn't breathe. no charges against the police there. a grim new warning, a prominent doctor warning another 100,000 americans will die from coronavirus by september as a dozen states are seeing spikes in hospitalizations. let's go outfront. good evening. i'm erin burnett. out front tonight, tone deaf as protests grow for the 16th day

in the country the president's top economic adviser had this to say. >> i don't believe there's systemic racism in the u.s. i'm not going to go into a long rift on it. >> [ inaudible question ] >> i do not. >> you don't believe there's any systemic racism against african-americans in the united states? >> i will say it again, i do not. >> this despite the massive protests that have been taking place across the country for more than two weeks. live pictures. this is new york you happen to be looking at here. here's what we've seen protests, people motivated to go out in every state from coast to coast, red states, blue states, cities, towns, look at these pictures. americans making it clear that systemic racism is an issue that they feel needs to be addressed. and yet trump and his team are out of touch with that. >> i think there's racism in the

united states still but i don't think that the law enforcement system is systemically racist. >> i do not think that we have a systemic racism problem with law enforcement officers across this country. >> do you think systemic racism is a problem in law enforcement agencies in the united states? >> let's say this, i grew up in a time when there was real systemic racism. >> denials from team trump even as the republicans' point person on this who happens to be the only african-american gop senator also says it is an issue, an issue that cannot be fixed by talking up economic news like kudlow tried doing. >> having a job is certainly one of the paths forward for racial justice. i think it doesn't solve the problem of racism. that is a far more complicated far more layered problem because it starts with the heart, starts with fear and a sense of low

self-esteem by those people who are racist. >> senator scott wants to address the deep, real and nuanced issue here even though president trump does not. just today trump refused to engage in a conversation over renaming military bases that bear the name of confederate leaders. trump tweeting the history of winning, victory, and freedom. therefore my administration will not even consider renaming these magnificent and fabled military installations. our history is the greatest nation in the world will not be tampered with. respect our military. first of all, these are names. and when we talk about winning victory and freedom this was the side that fought to enslave people. and of course they did not win. but also this is not about respecting the military as the president says because on the same day the president tweeted his support for keeping the names of confederate generals on u.s. military bases.

nascar with its conservative base announced it was banning confederate flags at its events because, quote, the presence of the confederate flag at nascar events runs contrary to our commit hadment to providing a welcoming environment, bringing a welcoming and inclusive environment together. shimon prokupecz is live in new york city. shimon, what are you seeing? >> reporter: i have to tell you this is about asner apologized energized as i've seen these protests the past several days at night. if anyone thinks this is ending any time soon i think when you look around -- i'm going to have frederick show u.s. just behind us -- there are probably about 2,000 people. it's hot here in new york city. we've been walking for miles. and this crowd is energized,

they are organized and they are ready to keep going. of course we keep hearing the same thing from this crowd. they want change. they want change with the police. and really just social change and better quality of life and the diversity of this crowd. we've seen some very young kids, a 5-year-old year with her mother. we've seen other parents bringing their kids out. this just shows you we're now at bryant park. we're entering the park now. the police are nowhere around them. they're allowing them to walk around the streets, do as they want as long as it remains peaceful. it is organized. they are energized. and for the two weeks, two plus weeks we've been doing this, i have to say it doesn't seem like this crowd and the people here in new york city are going to stop doing this any time soon, erin. >> thank you very much. meanwhile across the nation the issue of police reform is at the forefront today both in

minneapolis and also in capitol hill. >> race is part of the american policing system. we will never evolve in this profession if we do not address it head on. >> reporter: minneapolis police chief me dario arradondo in the spotlight tonight in the wake of george floyd. >> history is being written out. and i'm determined to make sure that we are on the right side of the history. >> the first move, withdrawing from police union contract negotiations, calling for new policies on disciplining officers, the use of force and other matters he suggested the union contract has prechted from changing in the past. the chief is also launching a warning system to weed out bad police officering early on. >> for the first time in the history of policing, we here in minneapol minneapolis will have an opportunity to use real time data and automation to intervene

with officers engaged in problematic behavior. >> reporter: also tonight revelations that former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin, seen with his knee on george floyd's neck, was negotiating a possible plea deal with prosecutors before he was arrested and charge bud the hennepin prosecutor did not say why. this as protests continue to spread across the nation with calls for police reform spreading across the nation. moving to ban police from using neck restraints or choke holds, the techniques controversial long before floyd's death. and on capitol hill, a blunt reminder of george floyd's brother. >> he didn't deserve to die over $20. is that what a black man is worth? $20? this is 2020. enough is enough. >> leaving lawmakers with this emotional plea.

>> i'm here to ask you to make it stop. stop the pain, stop us from being tired. george called for help, and he was ignored. please listen to the call i'm making to you now to the calls of our family and the calls ringing out the streets across the world. >> erin, we've just learned thomas lane was released from county jail on $750,000 bond. the other three police officers remain behind bars. lane was new to the police force and his attorney says that's one of the reasons he didn't intervene in chauvin's sitting on floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. the police chief today dismissing that excuse. he said regardless of how long an officer was on the police force, floyd was expecting humanity that day and he did not get it. >> i want to go now to van jones, former special adviser to

president obama and cedric alexander, the former chief of police for dekalb county, georgia and the organization for black law enforcement executives. thanks to all of you. let me start with what larry kudlow said. he was very clear. he didn't mince words and he didn't want to be misunderstood. he said there was no systemic racism against african-americans in this united states. what's your response? >> i think it's unfortunate he said that. we are in the middle of a great awakening across the world on this issue, a continent of common ground has materialized in almost miraculous way where you have people saying -- including tens of millions of white americans saying for the first time no, racism is real. there's something wrong with our criminal justice system and our policing system and what can i do about it? i've never seen this before in

my life. tens, maybe hundreds of millions of white people coming to the same conclusion and somehow kudlow manages to fall off of this continent that's just emerged. it is really, really unfortunate because this is the time when, you know, great conservatives like tim scott -- you can be conservative and still believe in limited government and individual rights and dignity. tim scott is a strong conservative. he's willing to address the issue head on. jack kemp was willing to address the issue head on. there's going to have to be a reckoning inside the republican party. some of their policies have been good for african-americans but their rhetoric has not all tuchb and their understanding is sometimes too shallow. i think the tim scotts and the people in the legacy of jack kemp need to get louder in the republican party and people like kudlow maybe could listen to them. >> when you hear what this administration is saying about systemic racism and it was kudlow and bill barr and ben

carson saying there is none, trump doesn't want to drop confederate names from bases even as nascar is banning the confederate flag at events. and you've got these protests across the country. looks like we just lost the mayor's shot. so, chief alexander, let me ask you what do you think the disconnect is here? >> well, the disconnect is being in denial as it relates to the question around race and is there racism in america. and the answer to that is yes, and everybody knows that it is. and even though we may be shamed about it, it does exist and it exists in every institution in this country. but we're in a place, as van has just suggested and indicated, that we're in a great place to begin to do something about it. there is a movement going on in this country that's moving against racism. so, we need to acknowledge it. it's just like covid-19.

it's out there. and it can be asymptomatic meaning that we can't see it but it still hurts people, or it can be very symptomatic and very in your face. so, we've got two diseases here we're fighting. and this racism disease is one in which i think we're in a route to finding a cure for, if you will in a metaphoric sense, but yes, it does exist. >> and of course there's the great irony not only that so many former military chiefs have spoken out in unprecedented fashion, but also the words he chose to conflate the names of bases named after -- with somehow the acts that -- you know, the bravery of the people on those bases now, that he's trying to say that those names are equated with winning victory and freedom when those were the people who fought to have slavery be the law of this land. >> the president has shown over and over again he is not

confined to facts. he's not confined to history. once he charts a course, he is on that course whether it is right or wrong, and he's decided that his base wants to keep the names of the confederate generals in place. and that is it. that is the beginning and the end of the story. and it's unfortunate because i think there's such a huge opportunity for the president to lead at this moment. and just as van said, you can be conservative and still believe that there's racism in this country. he's missing a huge opportunity to unify this country, a huge opportunity to lead, and a huge opportunity if you really truly wanted to make america great again, you would not turn a deaf ear to all of the cries of all the americans who wanted to do better by black americans. >> van, there seems to be an

obvious statement here coming from nascar, as the president is tweeting this on this day, for nascar to say the president has made a big show of trying to woo nascar supporters, that that's been something he's been doing for several years. and yet today nascar said very clearly they stand on the opposite side of this. >> you know, it was stunning. it was stunning. i was on a zoom call. i guess we all now live on zoom calls. and i looked down on my phone, and it said that nascar is going to get rid of the confederate flags. of i literally did a double take. i'm like am i awake? is this real? i mean, nascar is, you know, confederate flag friendly, i'll put it that way, most of the time. good folks, hardworking folks, but it's not a bastion of racial justice or agitation by any stretch. and yet something has touched the conscience of the human

species when you see a lynching -- and that's what that was. we've been lynched for 400 years here. but nobody -- at no point did a billion people see it at the same time on their cell phones. and something has touched the conscience of the nation of the human species, and nascar says we don't want to aid and abet any of the ugly history and present, we want to move in a different direction. when nascar is saying that, i think kudlow might reconsider his position. there must be something really wrong in america for this many people to be now coming together around a painful table to have a new discussion. i'd like kudlow to be a part of the discussion than denying the basis of it. >> what do you say to police officers across this country who are confused, some of them afraid, most of them trying to do the right thing, not sure what to do right now, what do you tell them? >> here's what i say to the good officers out there and there's a

lot of good men and women serving now putting their life on the lines doing their jobs do it constitutionally, doing it by the policies written for the good of the people. i will say to them, keep your heads up. keep yourselves safe. work with your communities that are out there. get to know people, allow them to get to know you and stay true to the oath that you took because all people want to be right now is treated fairly, treated equally and treated constitutionally. and to the police officers and all of those in the public safety community, in this country, 700,000 men and women who serve every day in state, local, tribal, and federal law enforcement, keep your heads up. let's act constitutional. let's help our communities, and lets work with them genuinely and let this be for the long haul and not the short term. we've got a great future ahead of us to build these

relationships again. >> i appreciate you all taking the time as always. next, he died in police custody after telling officers he couldn't breathe. no officers in this case have been charged ooichlt going to speak to the mother of javier ambler's children. plus breaking news coronavirus hospitalizations spike in a dozen states as a top doctor warns another 100,000 americans will die from coronavirus by the end of august. and the trump campaign demanding cnn apologize for a poll showing him trailing joe biden by 14 points. our network has a response and you'll hear it. it is not an apology. ♪

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to learn more, call one eight four four cosentyx or visit cosentyx.com . tonight a case with haunting similarities to george floyd, a black man dying while being arrested by officers in texas after he says "i can't breathe." the austin police department releasing body camera footage of this arrest. a warning that some of the video is disturbing tonight. so you see here march 28th, 2019, deputies try to pull over javier ambler, 40 years old. the sheriff's report says ambler had not dimmed his headlights as he drove past a deputy. authorities say ambler led them on a 22 mile chase. they say he resisted attempts to handcuff him. he can be heard telling deputies he has a heart condition and can't breathe.

>> stop resisting. >> officer. >> stop resisting. >> 30 seconds after he's handcuffed, officers appear to realize ambler is unresponsive. they perform cpr, medical units are on the scene, ambler is pronounced dead less than an hour later. it is hard to watch this and i can't imagine how hard it is for those that love this man. out front now, i am so sorry to both of you to have to show that to our viewers so they understand what happened. i'm sorry to have you on. brie, i can only imagine how difficult it is for you to hear this. what was your reaction when you first saw it? >> i tried to avoid it at all

costs, but once it went viral and went national it was no avoiding it. it ripped my heart out, and that's why i wanted to speak and have my son speak, to know -- to let the world know exactly much pain this type of thing brings on to a family. >> if you're able to talk, what do you want the world to know about your dad? >> this whole situation, you know, it takes a toll on you. this is -- this situation changed my life, my whole life. this makes me look at the world way different. it takes a huge toll on people.

the absence of my father now is -- i just -- i just really want justice for my pops, my dad. >> bre, as the mother of two boys, how does that make you feel right now when you think about what happened to their father and you're now raising two boys, two african-american boys in this world. >> it makes me feel empty. they were not a statistic before. you know, the stereotype is that black men aren't around. and the state of texas has

allowed williamson county go on like this for so long, and they have made my children statistics now. and that's an empty feeling. he was a good dad. all he did revolved around those kids. and, you know, i tip my hat to his father and his mother because they raised an exceptional, exceptional man. and it's very rare that you see this in the black community where parents split up and there's great, great energy and it's a great relationship. we've never had any drama. 20-plus years, we've never had the drama. he's always been there for us. he's always been there for these boys. and we've always been great, close friends, family. you know, we've lost a loved one. he was -- he was the glue. you could always call on him.

and to see the change in my sons and them kind of spiral downward -- they've never had issues in school with grades. my son is a senior this year. he had difficulties focusing. he had difficulties with school due to this. and it's a traumatic experience. >> deavion what has this done so far in terms of your view of how this world is for you? and i guess i'm asking you about how you see the police but also how you feel about yourself? >> not only -- it's not only how i see police. it's not how i see the world. it's not how i see the things that went on. i can't even see a white honda

pilot without having, you know, a breakdown the same way i can't see a white officer in a uniform the same way. i can't see anything that was caused in my father's situation the same way. it makes me look at everything different, everything that was involved different. this is -- it takes a mental turn on anybody. i don't wish nobody -- i don't wish this on nobody to lose their parent -- i'm at a loss of words. i can't are -- i'm at a loss of words. >> bre, the austin district attorney's investigating. but obviously the office of professional standards at the

county sheriff's department said they acted in accordance with policies. they will present this case to a grand jury this summer. what do you want to happen here? >> justice. we want justice. it's not a pacify us with a settlement or anything like that. we want justice. you know, they took his last breath. he was in distress clearly. his face, his voice. he was losing his breath. and anybody that was on that scene physically, if they couldn't hear it and see it -- and we saw it and heard it on a video, why are they on the force? you know, for him to arrogantly say how he broke his finger -- that man said that in a way that he did not care. he did not care about the life. he did not care about the limbs or anything. and at that moment it looked as though javier's body was limp and he was already probably

unconscious or deceased when he arrogantly said how he broke his finger. so, the d.a. needs to go for the highest of charges, not a slap on the wrist. we're tired of seeing a slap on the wrist. that's all these officers get, manslaughter with two years in prison and they go out if they even go to prison. this is why it's continuing to happen because we're not getting any justice. we're not getting anybody who's getting made an example. you know, it was a black officer that accidentally shot a caucasian lady and he got sentenced to 12 years. but this young lady in dallas goes into a gentleman's appointment and she has ten years but probably only going to serve a year or two. treat them all the same when they take a life and especially when someone is begging for their life. his last words were, "please save me." so, may god have mercy.

>> it's not going to look good on the hatred. >> well, you don't need to do that. >> my dad can't even see me graduate. it was hard to graduate. it was hard to graduate. now he can't see me in my cap and gown. i can't -- you know -- >> this is the type of pain that they cause when they do this. when they do unjustifiable murders, this is the pain they cause. my 15-year-old son can barely talk on the phone sometimes. he couldn't sleep. he couldn't even sleep in the same -- in the room anymore because he was seeing his father. you know, this is the mental trauma that you are causing on our black children. do you all understand that? i need them to hear that.

stop portraying these guys as suspects. stop procedure traying thportra as bad people. same with the george floyd and arbery. they always want to make them look like a suspect. they want them to look like the bad guy. every black man, every blam woman, we're not all bad. every race has a bad apple, but you cannot go about this like this anymore. we need justice. we need equality. and we need solidarity. what's hard about that? >> bre, i thank you. and deavion, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> i'm so, so sorry to both of you, and of course to your brother, your son for your incalculable loss. >> i'm always going to love you

and we're going to keep it going. this isn't going to stop. this isn't the last stop. we're going to keep his name alive. we're going to keep his memory alive. and we're going to stay in their face to show them this. what they leave us behind with, what they leave young black men behind, this is -- you know, he's entering life. they're going to enter life. they have no father to call when they need advice. you know? think about that. your children could still pick up the phone and speak with you. your children do not mean more than my children. thank you so much, cnn. thank you erin. thank you. >> i thank you and our you vooers thank you both too. and next, a new warning from a top harvard doctor, at least a dozen states are now seeing an increase in hospitalizations due to coronavirus. plus just how close did defense secretary mark esper come to resigning? we have new details tonight.

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from the coronavirus. a familiar face out front, dr. ashish jha warning the u.s. could see 100,000 coronavirus deaths by september and it comes as a dozen states have seen increase in hospitalizations since memorial day weekend. nick watt is out front. >> reporter: this morning miami's beaches reopened. new jersey up to 100 people can now gather outdoors. and this weekend, nascar will allow some fans back in the stands. nationally, our daily new case count is falling, but is the devil in the detail? >> if you're going to get into trouble, you'll see it in the numbers. you'll see them starting to increase. and as we sit here today, states are getting into trouble. >> reporter: hospitalizations are up in at least a dozen states since memorial day and in 19 states the average daily new case count is rising as is concern that this coronavirus is making a come back. >> we're going to get another

100,000 deaths by september. that's what we have to try to prevent. and we really do have to try to figure out how to bring the case loads down from the scary levels in some states. >> in arizona's maricopa county, county officials must now wear masks. >> we're getting reports of almost 600 cases per day in comparison to just an average of 200 cases per day about two weeks ago. >> hospitals across the state now being told if they haven't already to fully activate your facility emergency plan. >> it is prudent to start looking at the surge capacity because unless there's an intervention that comes in the next few days, i think we're on a railroad to overcapacity in early july. >> reporter: in north carolina there are more people in the hospital with covid than at any time since this pandemic began. >> you still need to wash your hands as often as you possibly can and avoid congregation in large numbers.

>> the d.c. national guard deployed to quell protests sparked by george floyd's killing said some members have sense tested positive. >> the report of the national guardsmen being infected is certainly disturbing but is not surprising. it's the kind of things that we were concerned about and unfortunately we're seeing it come true right now. >> reporter: and right now arkansas is basically a microcosm of the problems we're going to face moving forward. hospitalizations there are spiking, but unemployment is also running at over 10%. they are pushing ahead with reopening. today the governor said americans are back on the move and they cannot be restrained. but, he said, we are not out of the woods. in fact, we are still in the heart of those woods. erin. >> nick, thank you. and i want to go now to epidemiologist at stanford university and dr. jonathan reiner who advised the white house medical team under george

w. bush currently at the cardiac cath lab at g.w. so, now 200,000 deaths by september, a key forecast cited by the white house is at less than 150,000. so, do you think 200,000 is possible, and i just want to be direct about it because this is the question everyone's having around this country, is it because of the protests? >> let me just say that our death rate has sort of levelled off at about 1,000 deaths per day. and until we start to see that drop, yeah, i think 200,000 is quite possible. look, the human in me was really thrilled to see maybe change coming to the united states and the power of so many people coming out into the streets. but the doctor in me was really horrified because if you are going to reignite a pandemic, you would bring thousands of people out into the streets, you would introduce chemical

irritants to make them cough and rub their eyes, you would bring police in without masks and troops in without masks and pack them all tightly together. that's how you would reignite a pandemic, and that's what we have. >> of course. >> so, i think that, you know, we have about another week and then we'll start to see some surges in cities around the country. >> and obviously, you know, we all saw in some places masks and social distancing were more prevalent than others but as you point out not uniform by any stretch. you're looking live here at new york, one of the most masked places in the country. but people i know point back to philadelphia obviously in 1918. doctor, at least a dozen states that do track hospitalizations which seems to be a better measure of cases because testing means increased testing. they've seen increase since memorial day weekend. does that tell you anything? >> i think this is a worse sign and we need to be vigilant.

we need to be very cautious. reopening is an experiment. lockdown is an experiment. reopening is a double experiment. we have never had any prior experience with this virus in terms of what might be doing in term of a second wave, how quickly it might come, how overwhelming it might be. i want to be optimistic, but optimism alone does not suffice. you know, protests, for example, were very important. we had a major trauma in our national psyche and we need to fight against injustice and all the sense of violence and racism surrounding us. the same time we need to maintain precautions very vigilantly. and it's very likely that even though the first epidemic wave has waned, if you look across the country, there's probably still several that have a substantial number of infected people, not infected and recovered but also effective. it could range anywhere frl 1 in

a thousand to perhaps close to 1% in some cases. we don't know because our testing is not as complete as it should be. >> which is incredible we're saying that even now. dr. reiner, it also comes as we're all being told certain things we were told are no longer true and no, they are true, and i'm talking about whether you can get it by dumping something, whether asymptomatic people can get it. on monday, the w.h.o. said asymptomatic spread is rare. then they tried to walk that back. dr. anthony fauci and the u.s. came out taking the w.h.o. to task for those comments point blank. here's what he said. >> the evidence that we have given the percentage of people which is about 25%, 45% of the totality of infected people likely are without symptoms. and we know from epidemiological studies that they can transmit to someone who is uninfected

even when they're without symptoms. so, to make a statement, to say that's a rare event, was not correct. >> okay. but that statement came from the world health organization, dr. reiner, and we all saw it. and a lot of people were texting me saying wait a minute, do these people know what they're talking about. how big a problem was it that that was coming from the w.h.o.? >> all this disinformation really erodes the message that we've been trying to propagate over the last few months. the world health organization has been wrong about a lot, and they're wrong about this. we know that about 40%, up to about 40% of people with the virus may have very little or no symptoms at all, and there's really some very solid data out of places like italy that have shown that people who are asymptomatic have substantial viral loads and do indeed transmit the virus. so, i think that was unfortunate, incorrect, and i'm glad dr. fauci corrected the

record. >> dr. ioannidis, they're estimates .4 of 1%. dr. fauci thought it could be 1%. he testified ten times greater than the flu. i say this to make the point we don't know but that the numbers have come down. you made a big splash early on when you said the numbers could be exceedingly low, in fact so low we wouldn't be able to beat this because it would be everywhere and it wouldn't be that deadly. .4% is within your range. you said .025 to .625%. do you feel at all vindicated or would that be the wrong way to describe it? >> i think when it comes to such a serious problem, any sort of vindication or proving right or proving wrong is really a very minor detail. what matters here is to save lives. and i think that science has made a lot of progress since

these early estimates were circulated and all of us were struggling to come up with some estimates. what we know now is that it is a serious problem. we know that it can spread very widely. we know it can create very rapid epidemic waves. and we know also its infection rate can vary a lot depending on how we deal with it. if we manage to avoid massacres in nursing homes, in hospitals, in deprived populations, in disadvantaged populations, then probably we can do pretty well. if conversely we don't get to protect people who are at high risk, it can be a complete disaster. so, we're still learning. i think that we have some reason to be optimistic but also enough to be cognizant of the need to remain vigilant. >> all right. i appreciate your time dr. ioannidis, dr. reiner as well. if you're looking at .4% if you want to see that lower than forecasted you have to couple that up to 200,000 americans

being dead with that by the end of august. out front next new details about how close secretary esper was close to resigning on the crackdown over protesters. trump's campaign demanding cnn apologize for a poll, the poll showing him trailing joe biden by 14 points and you'll want to hear our networks response. ve o. but it's even nicer knowing that if this happens... ...or this.... ...or even this... ...we've seen and covered it. so, get a quote today. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪

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. tonight president trump dismissing any discussion to rename u.s. military bases bearing the names of confederate soldiers tweeting my administration will not consider the renaming of the plimilitary institutions saying they stood for winning freedom. "outfront" now general joseph odell, a refired four star general and served under president obama and trump. i appreciate you taking the time to be with us tonight. when we knew you were coming on and that is before the president made the comments and that is how is goes. you've been at fort bragg and

benning over the course of your career, do you think there should be a discussion about renaming them. >> erin, it is great to be on. i think there is. i don't have an emotion attachment to to the bases but i have an emotional attachment to the community. fort benning has columbus, and great american communities and at fort bragg you have fayetteville and southern pines and pinehurst and other great communities right there that are just very, very supportive of the military and i do have an emotional attachment to that. >> which makes sense. it is about the people and they're bravery, not about the names or the history. so we're reporting tonight that, general, that secretary esper thought about resigning over using active duty military to crack down on protesters. what is your reaction to that?

>> i don't have any unique insight into what might have gone on behind the scenes there. i would just say that i remain confident in our military leadership. i think they're focused on their north star and serving the country and making sure we're ready and prepared for the challenges that we face and i think that is where we have to focus our efforts. >> and general you wrote an op ed last week and i want to quote part of it. recent events at lafayette square in washington, d.c. have been a stark reminder of how easily the public's trust in military could be lost and in so doing they have renewed the public's focus on the need for an apolitical military. how do you think the weeks have played into public trust in the military? >> well, i think, as i mentioned, it is brought it to the attention of the public here.

and it's brought it into our public discussion and i think our nation has been well served by apolitical military and if you look back in our history and the founders and the writers of the constitution looked at it this way and were careful to make sure we didn't have an army or military that would be in a position to trample on the rights of our citizens. so this is been safeguarded in our constitution and in our laws. and the posse comitatus act that you've heard about makes the presumption that military shun play a leading role in local law enforcement. and the insurrection act provides an exemption in exceptional circumstances as our secretary of defense said last week. it is a last resort. perhaps we should consider that. >> but, general, you and so many

colleagues have had to speak out and i know you don't like to do and come out and make headlines on things but yet you felt it was important to say this. this is a moment that was worthy of that. why? >> well, in my -- i'll speak for myself. in my particular case i was invited to speak out for the center of university of law and they made the blog available to me. i didn't want to do any personal attacks, i didn't want to critique my former colleagues. i didn't want to make things harder for them to do things and i wanted to have my focus be on providing information and creating understanding and clarity for what has been a very, very complex, i think, topic here. and so that is my reason for writing. >> general, i appreciate you taking the time and being with us. thank you. >> great to be with you. >> and also new tonight, cnn

rejecting a request from the trump campaign to apologize for a poll that showed joe biden leading president trump. the poll shows biden leading trump by 14 percentage pointed, 55% to 41% and disapproval on par with the approval for jimmy carter and george h.w. bush at this point in their re-election years. now responding to the cease and desist letter, our general counsel said in part, quote, to my knowledge this is the first time in the 40-year history that cnn has been threatened with legal action because a campaign did not like the polling results. to the extent we have received legal threats from political leaders in the past, they have typically come from countries like venezuela where there is little or no respect for independent media. it is yet another bad faith atem by the campaign to threaten litigation to muzzle speech. it doesn't want voters to read or hear. your allegations are rejected in

their entirety. "outfront" now political analysis john avalon. let's start with have you ever seen a campaign demand an retraction or a apology over a poll? >> no. absolutely not. and certainly not a president. because it is absurd on its face. it is silly. it is sad. it is desperate. and it is not a little pathetic but it is consistent with the president's impulse. february 2017 he tweeted out any negative polls you see are fake news and this is his impulse and railk against data he doesn't like and his staff is trying to please the boss. it is pathetic. >> and then candidate donald trump said, quote, you know i'm a poll maven, which he is, that is why this let came, because he cares so deeply. really it is one poll, who should care, there is a new one every day and said i believe in polls. but only, i guess, in so far as this. from march 4th, 2016.

>> i love those polls when they're go. now if they're no good, i don't report them. >> and the los angeles time has us six points up nationwide. a good poll. >> if we're doing badly, i don't know. >> when we do badly, i don't know about polls, right. but we're doing well, i know about polls. >> so now you get this reaction now. a cease and desist letter which os he thinks it plays to certain people and it probably does but he's also doing it and this is a person that i've covered for a very long time because deeply matters to him. he's deeply upset. why? >> because it makes him look bad. because there is no credible polling that shows him beating joe biden at this point. we're a long way out. polls are not determined. the only poll that matters is on

election day. to take this step i think the president is trying to show he could be tough. but think about this. the president is ordering his staffers to do this because he is furious and thin skinned so his lawyers try to yes him to death and do it but guess what mr. president, they're laughing at you behind your back because they know it is absurd. you're the clients. you're the audience of one. but it is a sign of weakness, not strength that he's doing this today. >> right. just to make the obvious point. sending a cease and desist letter over a poll is an absurd thing and the lawyers who wrote that letter know that. they're not clueless or unintelligence people to state the obvious, right. >> that is right. it goes to show he's not a war with media, he's at war with reality. >> john avalon, thank you very much. i appreciate it. as always. great to see you at this time of the day. and thanks to all of you for

being with us. "ac 360" with anderson cooper begins right now. good evening today on a day that saw heartbreaking testimony from the brother of george floyd, the president of the united states staked out a position on race in this country that falls short of what protesters are demanding. short of what lawmakers are now contemplating, short of where the national football league went in a remarkable last week and where nascar went today. the presence of the confederate flag runs contrary to a welcoming environment for all fans and the display will be prohibited from all nascar events and properties. the president as you know claims to be a big nascar fan. today he tweeted his opposition to renaming military bases named after men who fought under that very same flag. quoting now, the united states of america trained and deployed our heroes