hi there. i'm brooke baldwin. you are watching cnn on this tuesday. a welcome to the viewers in the united states and around the world. one step forward, two steps back. that is the trajectory of combatting coronavirus in the country as at least 36 states seeing a rise in cases. 17 states trying to reverse course rolling back the plans to reopen. massachusetts and new jersey joining the tri-state area to ask individuals traveling from hotspots to quarantine and american tourists banned entirely from traveling to the

eu. lawmakers did hear more testimony from the nation's top health officials namely dr. anthony fauci with a warning of where we are headed if americans do not take more personal spoerm to keep the virus from spreading. >> i can't make an accurate prediction but it is going to be very disturbing, i will guarantee you that because when you have an outbreak in one part of the country, even though in other parts of the country they're doing well they are vulnerable. i made that point very clearly last week at a press conference. we can't just focus on the areas having the surge. it puts the entire country at risk. we are now having 40-plus thousand new cases a day. i would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around. >> among the recommendations to turn it around? wear a mask. everyone. that critical guidance

completely in contrast with what we have seen from president trump. and any moment now live pictures there in this gymnasium of delaware, the challenger for the election, former vice president joe biden is about to deliver a blistering indictment of the president's pandemic response and we'll bring it to you live. let's begin with cnn's senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen made med headlines this week and fauci testified he has concerns of how bad things could get and his fears that the u.s. could see 100,000 new cases per day if we don't stop the spread. just stop there. 100,000 new cases per day. that is a startling prediction. >> brooke, i have been interviewing dr. fauci many years now. he does not try to scare people. he does not exercise in

hyperbole. when he says something he means it. he can see where we are heading and i will tell you in my discussion with him a dfew days ago i sense a certain urgency and even sort of sadness, how did we get to this point? we were headed in at least a somewhat kind of right direction. we are now really headed in the wrong direction. you mentioned that there's 36 states that have rising cases. i want to show you a number i think speaks volumes. right now 36 states that are seeing rising case numbers. last week only 23 states seeing rising case numbers. that was bad enough and you can see here how we are headed in the wrong direction. each time you head in the wrong direction that direction is you're heading in exponentially, not linearly and worse on top of worse and makes it that much

harder to turn things around. brooke, i have said to you many times, you don't need a phd to know when people get together more the virus has more of a chance to spread and why it's so important to wear a mask and to do social distancing as much as possible. brooke? >> yes. also sounds like hearing from fauci when you look at america it is like a patchwork quilt of states doing the different recommendations and fauci said the rise in cases has a lot to do with the facts that different states doing their own thing and ignoring what guidance is put out. why don't we have a national strategy? >> because you would need a president with a backbone. that's why. you would need a president who would say, all right guys, i don't care what this is going to cost me politically. i want everyone on the same page, everyone to do the same thing because he knows that everyone ought to wear a mask

he'll get a portion of the elect rat mad at him and he doesn't want to say that. to do the right thing and steer the ship rather than 50 or 100 or 1,000 little ships you will upset someone and so what he is doing instead is decided to do a -- practice denial and say i'm not going to wear a mask to have people think what's covid? it's over. that's what he is trying to put out there. however, the facts, dr. fauci and others, say differently. >> show the clip, dr. fauci again on masks. roll it. >> yes, of course. i think masks are extremely important. and we keep hammering home and i think what you just mentioned is as important. there's no doubt that wearing masks protects you and people protecting each other. anything that furthers the use of masks, free masks or any other mechanism, i'm in favor

of. >> i just want to echo that, senator. in my opening statement again i called on an environment that we have universal mask. i think it's fundamentally the most important thing to do. >> good. >> elizabeth, this continued push for folks to wear a mask as a new study is out there about the effectiveness of masks. tell me about that study. >> they looked at a mask -- we should call face coverings. we usually think of a surgical mask and for many people they're fabric they have made a mask so if you make a mask what this study looked at is multiple layers were a better idea and not that hard to do. multiple layers are better and the cone masks, those are also an option to use but a single layer of fabric might not do it. try to put more than one layer on there. >> thank you so much. the other piece of news just in

this amp, new york, new jersey, connecticut all of the states asking travelers from even more states to plan on self isolating if they are visiting and this is happening after the governors of all three states implementing quarantines of travelers from states topping 10% of infection rate. alexander field here in new york and so how would this work? >> we are looking at a much bigger part of the country now where people traveling into the tri-state area to quarantine once they get here. the number of states on the list doubled in the last week. we are talking about a travel advisory that affects travelers from 16 states traveling to new york, new jersey or connecticut. newly added is california, georgia, idaho, mississippi, nevada and tennessee. the threshold that's been established is 10% meaning that if you have a positivity rate of 10% or greater over a seven-day

period when you get here you have to quarantine. if you don't it is up to the states to decide what to do next. a fine or a mandatory quarantine. this is all about trying to maintain the progress that this region fought so hard for when it comes to controlling the virus but looking at the states you know that the problem is incredibly difficult coming to keeping the infection out and depends on people to obey the orders and advisory and beyond new jersey, new york and connecticut. rhode island with a rule coming from a state with a 5% positivity rate you have to quarantine. massachusetts is saying you'll have to quarantine traveling in from a state not in the northeast and how seriously they're taking this. >> talking about the tri-state, i'm thinking of new york and the conversation with elizabeth cohen putting it bluntly we

don't have a national guidance on so much because to quote her that the president doesn't have a backbone and thinking back within the last couple of days the governor of new york was calling for that. right? a number of governors saying, please, mr. president, because there's a patchwork guilt of guidance nationwide. give us a nationwide mandate. right? >> it is up to the governors in each of the state and governor cuomo able to not just flatten the curve in new york but talking about how to sustain progress here. people in new york city looking forward to the idea to eat inside of restaurants soon. >> forgive me. let's go to the former vice president joe biden speaking in delaware. >> i wanted to take a few minutes to tell you a little bit about what i think we should be doing right now and then happy to take questions. for weeks we have been seeing the warning signs.

numbers don't lie. infection rates are now going up in more states than they're going down. more than 125,000 people in the united states have lost their lives. and those numbers and new infections continue to grow at alarming rate. once again, this is confronting the simple fact that we won't be able to solve the economic crisis without a rigorous public health approach. they're not separate. despite the administration's pr propaganda their response is a cause for celebration, despite president trump's request to slow down testing because he thinks it makes him look bad, the covid-19 is still here and the daily threat to the american health and prosperity is continuing. it didn't have to be this way. month after month as other leaders in other countries took the necessary steps to get the

virus under control, donald trump failed us. month after month as many of us urged him to step up and do his job, he failed us. just look at the record. in january, i along with others sounded the alarm that -- of the outbreak. trump told the country that it's totally under control. and that everything will quote work out well. in february i warned about the failure of getting information that we needed from the chinese government. what i said was the president should demand xi produce the evidence. demand it. trump said, quote, we're in great shape. reported china's president said it was quote doing very well. in march, i set forth a detailed plan for 500 federally funded

testing sites across the country and guaranteed emergency paid leave. later that month i called for a full and immediate use of the defense production act. critical, critical for the delivery of supplies basically needed. trump accused health care workers, what was his response? stealing the masks. that's what he said. health care workers are stealing the masks. that's why we don't have them. in april i released a plan to secure the supply chain for personal protection equipment. surge nationwide testing through a preponderance of the evidence testing board. and launch a nationwide health corps to focus on contact tracing. trump suggestions? americans should inject disinfectants into their bodies. in may, i condemn the false choice of preserving public health and our economy.

i urged the administration to focus on the basic public health measures like testing to enable us to sustain the economic recovery. trump's response? he pushed for reopening without regard to safety and called testing quote frankly overrated. this month, i outlined the path to reopen our country safely and sustain bring. it provided workers, small businesses, school, state and local governments the tools, resources and guidance that they would need. trump's proposal? he set a cutoff date for federal funding and went to court to take away health care for 22 million people by trying to get rid of obamacare. and now, donald trump is in retreat. remember, back in march when i called and he called talked about the need to act like we

were at war with the virus. he called himself a wartime president. remember when he exhorted the nation to sacrifice together and quote in the face of this inevitable and invisible enemy. what happened? now it's almost july. and it seems like our wartime president surrendered, waved the white flag and left the battlefield. today we are facing a serious threat and we have to meet it. we have to meet it as one country. but the president gives no direction. and he pits us against one another. we can't continue like this. half recovering and half getting worse. we can't continue. half wearing masks and half rejecting science. we can't continue. half with a plan and half just hoping for the best.

we won't defeat this virus with a piecemeal approach. lifting restrictions prematurely, increasing the volatility of the crisis. raising the likelihood of needing to reimpose restrictions. you know, until our science catches up to reality, until we have better treatment for those who become infected and ultimately are safe and proven widely available vaccines, we have to continue to do all we can as the people and the government to keep our fellow americans safe and healthy. today i'm releasing a plan for the steps i believe donald trump should undertake immediately to build on the road map i released back in march that would have saved lives had it been adopted. it's a plan to save lives in the

months ahead. once again, i encourage him to adopt this plan in the entirety. this is too important for politics. first, testing, testing, testing. more testing is not only how you find more cases of coronavirus, mr. president, it's how you stop the coronavirus cases. testing followed by rigorous contact tracing. quarantine. isolation protocols. for those exposed. people aren't waiting in lines for miles and miles long in baking hot cars for drive-through nasal swabs for the fun of it. they're doing it to protect themselves but even more importantly they know when they have the mask on they're protecting others, protecting others. we know we're not where we need to be in testing.

there are still hospitals and nursing homes that don't have access to the test they need. testing is how we see what's happening in communities all across the country. it's our eyes on the ground. without that testing we are flying blind. that's why it's so important to have reliable access to testing everywhere. we need to increase federal support for testing, doubling the number of drive through testi testi testing sides and keep increasing them until there's no more lines, a pandemic testing board to spearhead a nationwide campaign so every worker, every worker who's called back to the job can have the confidence that they and fellow workers are not infected. you know, experts agree that we need more contact tracers. to track the path of this virus. individual states like new york

and california already hiring and training thousands of tracers but we need to do more including hiring 100,000 federally funded workers for contact tracing and other public health tasks and should begin to be trained now. second, every single front line worker should have the personal protection equipment they need to be safe. five months into this crisis and our health care workers are still forced to scramble for supplies epa reuse the masks shift after shift. hundreds of health care workers died from covid-19. and tens of thousands have become infected. it should be zero. on both counts for these health care workers with the right equipment. you know, how are we in this many months into this and still, still don't have what we need. that's why we have a defense

production act. you know, mr. president, use your authority, mr. president. use it this week. scale up the production of n95 masks. you know, the steps you have taken so far haven't gotten the job done, mr. president. fix the shortage of ppe for the health care workers before you tee off another round of golf. we can't just look at where we are today. we need the masks and gloves and face shields for the foreseeable future and we need to be ready. we know more is coming. thirdly, we should be laser focused on treatments and vaccines. we should be leading a coordinated, global approach on the science. not disregarding experts. there's progress of treatment and vaccines but the administration hasn't been

transparent about how they plan to manufacture enough doses to make sure there's equitable distribution to scale. i hope they're doing it now. i called a while ago for $250 million for a plan now exactly how they distribute this so everybody american has access when and if the vaccine is available. they may be doing it but we have no transparency. let us see, mr. president. the white house should report weekly. we can't end up in the same scratching and distribution problems that we had in testing. we need to make sure that the customers aren't being gouged by new drug therapies and prices when they're developed. we have to immediately restore the relationship with the world health organization. for all the missteps and

shortcomings, this is why w.h.o. is created. it is essential to coordinating a global response during a pandemic. and the united states should be leading that response as we had in the past. covid-19 will likely worsen. at the outset of flu season this year so we need to put in place measures now, now, to ensure the seasonal flu vaccine is ready, available and administered to no those that need it especially for seniors. fourthly, we need real plans, real guidelines with uniform nationwide standards to help us chart our economic reopening. whatever we have been doing now is not working. the state by state approach will only produce confusion and slow any progress. you know, you all reported that the cdc tried to clear

guidelines about what stages of reopening should look like. the administration delayed and scaled back those plans. we need clear evidence, clear evidence-based steps that states can adopt now. both the standard must be met in order to safely proceed with further openings and the repositioning of social distance rules when cases begin to rise. this is not rocket science. we need to support schools and child care programs so parents if and when they can return to work are confident that their children will be safe and cared for. we should be holding and providing a sticker saying safe for shoppers, a certification for stores to minimize the risk and exposure. perhaps we need a clear message from the very top of the federal

government that everyone needs to wear a mask in public. period. period. wear a mask. s if it is not just about you. it is your family and neighbors. it is about your colleagues and keeping other people safe. helps you, yes, but it is about keeping other people safe. it is a simple measure. also one of the most effective ways we can do the right thing. may be inconvenient and may be uncomfortable but it's the right thing to do as an american. protect your co-workers and neighbors. finally, we need to protect the population's most at-risk, our seniors. our black and brown populations. native communities. that are being hit the hardest.

vulnerable population with preexisting conditions. this continued growth is causing fear and anxiety. people especially older americans and those with loved ones in nursing homes, i get calls all the time. they're scared, frightened. this is not just taking a toll on the physical health. it is an emotional cost, as well. we can't expect vulnerable populations to quarantine indefinitely without support. i want them to know that their health and safety will be my responsibility if i'm your president. and i will not abandon you. you know, these are five fairly straightforward steps that are going to help defeat this pandemic. and if you suspect that a lot of

these steps are the same sorts of things i was talking about in march when i released my first covid-19 response you would be right. and it feels like you're hearing the experts talk about the same issues for months, you would be right. these have always been the steps the government needed to put in place to meet the threat. statewide lockdowns and so many americans lived under for months were intended to buy us time to get our act together. instead of using that time to prepare ourselves, donald trump squandered it. here we are. more than three months later. we're hardly better prepared than we were in march. infections are on the rise. the threat of massive spikes that overwhelm the capacity of our health care system is on the

horizon. americans anxious and out of work are fearful for their lives and their livelihoods and donald trump is going next to nothing about it. mr. president, the crisis is real. the crisis is real. and it's surging, mr. president. your promises and predictions and wishful thinking pulled out of thin air are not only doing the country no good, making them lose more faith in their government. america knows the crisis isn't behind us even if you don't. they see what's happening. even if you refuse to, mr. president. they know we need a coordinated national plan. we need it now even though you don't, mr. president. and won't do it. you called yourself a

cheerleader. we don't need a cheerleader, mr. president. we need a president, mr. president. a president who will level with the american people, a president to tell us the unvarnished truth. a president that will take responsibility instead of always blaming others. a president that will listen to the experts, follow the science, allow them to speak. a president will lead. be an example for the nation. wear a mask. keep your distance. limit the size of crowds. mr. president, this is not about you. it's about the health and well being of the american public. american people don't make enormous sacrifices over the past four months to just waste their time and you could waste all the efforts they have

undertaken. with your midnight rantings and tweets. they don't make the sacrifices so you can ignore the science and turn it into a political statement and certainly do it, mr. president, so you could wash your hands and walk away from this responsibility. maybe there are times that this nation needs a cheerleader. now is not one of them. america needs a president. whatever trump does or does not do, we can't know today what the state of the covid-19 pandemic will be next january. but i'm almost certain, i hope i turn out to be wrong, almost certainly it won't be over. and if i should have the honor of being elected president on the day i'm sworn in i'll get

right to work implementing all aspects of the response that remain undone. i'll have more to say about my day one covid-19 agenda in the weeks to come but my response will begin well before i take the oath of office and will start as soon as the election is decided. i'll be a president who respects scientists, who won't censor their ability to speak to the american people, i'll reach out to dr. fauci to ask him to continue his incredible service to the country. and i'll have from day one and ready to go the best medical experts and scientists to advise on our response. maybe most importantly i will listen to them and let them speak freely and i'll work with the governors and mayors of both parties from every state, territory and tribe.

it's a simple proposition. we are all in this together. we have to fight this together. we'll emerge from this stronger because we did it together. and i'm confident we can. may god bless you all and may god protect our troops. i'm happy to take questions if you have them. they gave me a list. i'll recognize alex ap? i couldn't tell with the mask, alex. >> i'll work with that. all right. we reported yesterday that president trump was briefed that russia ordered or offered bounties to the taliban for the killing of u.s. soldiers. you called his inaction on this issue a betrayal. so broadly, what consequences do you think the president should face for that betrayal and specifically what do you think congress should do?

>> well look. first of all, congress and the intelligence committees on the congress both parties should demand the facts. this seems to be a moving story. as i was leaving i had the television on as i putt on my shirt and i understand there's even some more information that's come out today about what was known. this president is -- talks about confidence building. he doesn't seem to be aware of what is going on. he reads and or gets briefed on important issues and forgets it or he doesn't think it's necessary to need to know it. but the fact is that at a minimum, at a minimum the discrepancy allegedly between evidently the intelligence community reported some thought

it was more certain and others thought it was less certain and should be resolved. the president should have on day one said i want you to come before me in the situation room and lay out the differences and discretion. who is saying what? let's get to the bottom of this. number one. number two, it's clear to me, i don't know whether he did, he should have immediately contacted our joint chiefs of staff, gotten them all in one room and said, okay, what are we doing to prevent this? what are we doing to prepare to deal with this if this is happening? how are we doing this? what are we doing? thirdly, he should have at a minimum have picked up the phone and said, vladimir, old buddy, if this is true and it doesn't seem to me you have a big problem. a big problem. and make it clear, get to the

bottom of this. it appears as though from what i have -- i don't have okay sestito classified information anymore but if what i have heard over the last week and the recent reporting that it was in the presidential daily brief, the presidential daily brief is something i read every single day as vice president. the president read it every day. i was briefed every morning before i got to the white house and then again. so the idea that somehow he didn't know or isn't being briefed, it is a dereliction of duty if that's the case and if he was briefed and nothing was done about this that's a dereliction of duty. i guess the best way for me to end this is i was talking to jill. my wife jill. and i don't see her get outraged very often but she started asking, joe, what would you have done? if bo was still in harm's way.

and this information came out. and the president, bo was my son who was -- i'm sorry. i apologize. who served in iraq for a year, was in the army: if he was in afghanistan, what would you have done, joe? what are the parents thinking out there? what are those sons and daughters? husbands and wives? it's an absolute dereliction of duty. if any of this is even remotely true. so i think the president has a lot to answer for and should answer quickly, quickly. >> what consequences should he face if the reports are true? >> if these allegations are true, and he did nothing about any of this, then in fact i think the public should -- unrelated to my running, conclude this man is unfit to be president of the united states of america. >> do you think -- >> i was told, nbc mike?

mike, great relief, doesn't have to follow me every day. >> we saw you on the campaign trail still locked in a difficult nomination battle. the polls though today show you with a sizable national lead, a lead in a lot of the states critical in the electoral college. where do you think the race stands at this moment? what keeps you up at night as you look ahead? can you maintain this advantage without campaigning in a traditional way, especially this fall when voters begin to really tune in? >> you know, this is the most unusual campaign i think in modern history. in that -- but i start with the premise, mike, that i'm going to follow the doc's orders. not just for me but for the country. and that means that i am not going to be holding rallies. i am not going to be, for example, you all are here but thank the school put the circles

around for social distancing. esch has masks on. i'll put mine back on. and so it's all been almost all virtual and have gone to houston and pennsylvania. i have gone to -- i have had travel but when i do i get in, make my case and leave, take questions and leave. and so, but you know me. i'd much rather be out there with people because that's where i get the greatest feel. i can get a sense of what the -- by the look in their eyes, by the plaintiff voices their and what they're concerned about but notwithstanding that, i have been surprised, the irony is we probably reach more people directly on one on one. you all particularly those of you with the television stations. you all know that we are on -- you have a one to one

conversation with someone out there because one person on the tv looking at you. they tell me 200 million people have watched what i have done from home and the half a dozen things we have gone out and done and so the irony is i think we're probably communicating directly in detail with more people than we would have otherwise. but i'd much rather be doing it in person. so far it remains to be seen. i don't want to jinx myself. i know the polling data is very good and really early, much too early to make any judgment and we have a lot more work to do. i plan on laying out detail the economic plan to recover from this, plan on dealing with foreign -- working out in detail what i'm going to do if i am elected president so people know what's coming. so i don't know if that answers your question, mike. >> quick follow up. have you requested a classified

briefing as you would be entitled to as the nominee? has the administration offered you a classified briefing? >> they have not and as this proceeds i may very well do that. i've been talking to -- i have a significant foreign policy staff as you know that matter of fact does -- so i had a long meeting with my former national security advisers, former secretaries of state and et cetera and got in their read so far but if this -- if it doesn't get cleared up quickly then i'll seek and ask if i can be briefed. >> have you begun to prepare for debates against president trump? >> i can hardly wait. >> thank you. over the weekend princeton decided to remove wood row

wilson's name from their school buildings. president trump yesterday called that decision incredible stupidity. what do you think about princeton's decision and the president's comments and then more broadly as the nation is in this moment of reckoning coming to race seeing the removal of statues, also the removal of names from institutions and schools. do you think that this is the right approach to come to terms with the nation's history and leaders? >> well, i think there's sort of three categories. one, any institution that choebz chose a name and wants to jettyson it is up to them. i presume the trustees made the decision. i don't know. it was made within the constitution of an institution that chose that name.

and i think the president's -- well, secondly i think there are -- there is a distinction between the -- as the former mayor of new orleans said, a difference between reminders and remembrances of history and recovering from history. and so, the idea of comparing whether or not george washington owned slaves or thomas jefferson owned slaves and somebody who was in rebellion committing treason, running trying to take down a union to keep slavery i think there's a distinction there and the idea of bringing down all those confederate monuments through confederate soldiers and generals that strongly supported cessation and the maintenance of slavery and

the statues belong in museums and not public places and with regard to those statues that are and monuments like the jefferson memorial, whatever, i think there's an obligation that the government protect those monuments because they're different than -- that's a remembrance and it is not a dealing with, you know, revering somebody who had that view. they had much broader views, maybe things in the past now and then distasteful but that's a judgment for the -- for example, taking down toppling christopher columbus statue, george washington statue or et cetera, that is something that is the government has an opportunity and a responsibility to protect. from happening. >> on a different subject you have been doing these public events for the past month which has put you in contact with more people. have you been tested for

coronavirus? and if so, how frequently are you doing that? >> i have been not protected. i have not been tested for the coronavirus. for two reasons. one, i have had no symptoms. as my mother would say, knock on wood. number two, i haven't wanted to take anybody else's place in the process. but the secret service all get tested. they're around my home and anyone who comes into my home and including staffers are tested to determine whether they have the virus. i expect what i'm going to do so it doesn't look like i'm moving to the front of the line here is be tested relatively soon. my daughter has been tested. she was in florida as a -- she is a social worker working with boys & girls club and came home and before she could she is tested twice. so to make sure she is clear and quarantined. she lives in philadelphia but i

haven't yet. i have not been tested yet yes? i'm sorry. i have to make sure i get the wilmington newpaper here before i leave or i'll be dead. >> thank you, vice president. good to see you. we all hope that you continue to do this through november as often as possible. >> we will. the more i have an opportunity i will do it. >> two quick questions. one to follow up on russia. you talked about what our president has done but yesterday you said at a fund-raiser regarding vladimir putin i'll confront him, strengthen nato, make clure to have a price to pay for interference in the democratic processes. specifically can you tell us what you would do to putin? if this is true and in general for what happened in the past? >> i can but i will not but i'll

tell him. here's the deal. the idea that putin or any other foreign leader can engage in attempting to manipulate a presidential election, the idea that he continues his activities in central and eastern europe that he is doing, the idea that it can be done without any consequences is not going to happen if i'm president in my administration. that ranges from everything to making sure we go to the united nations security council to imposing sanctions that would be commiserate with the action he's taken that's inappropriate but i have had some very blunt, straightforward conversations with president putin when i was vice president and before that. and i think one of the reasons why it appears as though he doesn't want me to be president he knows we will have more blunt conversations. >> another issue in the news last week, this week, probably

next week, the supreme court. president said he'll issue an updated list of potential nominees to the court. you said you would put a black woman on the court should a spot open up but there are groups calling for you to release a list of names. >> one thing i hesitate to do is follow anything the president to do at all because he usually does it all wrong. we are putting together a list of a group of african-american women who are qualified and have experience to be on the court. i won't release that until we have gone further down the line and just like logical questions of vice president. i'm not releasing the names of all the vice presidential potential nominees. there are a number of women of color, there are latino women, there are asian, there are across the board and we are just

under way now in the hard vet of going into the deep background checks that take anywhere from six to eight weeks to be done and the committees have been informed. >> august 1 is the target announcement? >> early august. can't guarantee august 1 but before -- several weeks before the convention i believe. >> next question. >> yes? >> thank you, mr. vice president. this is a two parter to follow up again on russia. do you believe that if those reports are true that trump is guilty of violating his oath of office? and on your vp choice, you've said that you want your running mate to be ready on day one to do the job. do you think someone without national experience or foreign policy experience can be ready on day one? >> yes. that depends, look.

a thing you try to do, i talked at length over the years with president obama about this. you try to find people who have a background and an expertise you may not have. so one of the reasons president obama picked me is because i had considerable experience getting things done in the congress and secondly i had considerable experience in foreign policy and national security. and although he had clear views of what in fact he wanted to do and what his strategy was in terms of america's role in the world he was looking for someone that had day-to-day experience and knew a lot of those world leaders. i think that although that's a helpful thing to have, it is not necessary because i start off with the two places still have expertise are in both those places and uniting the country and the congress and foreign

policy. and so, it is almost all of the women i'm considering have had some exposure to foreign policy. and national defense issues, security issues. but that is not a minimum requirement. the requirement is that they have the intellectual capacity as well as the temperament as well as the leadership qualities that lend to you -- everyone to believe that they would be ready on day one to be president of the united states of america. with regard to whether or not the president -- depends on exactly what he did and what he knew and at a minimum, at a minimum either doesn't understand his job and is having difficulty sitting down and being able to read a report because a lot of those reports come across that he says that, you know, i didn't read it or see it or know it.

i don't know how he could not see and know so many different things coming up over the last three years. and so, but it is clearly a dereliction of duty and it is clearly something that i think everyone including my republican friends and my republican opponents in the house and senate worry about, as well. thank you. >> last question. >> all right. where is the wilmington newspaper -- the delaware state news? delaware news journal, i should say. that's my hometown team. >> how are you, mr. vice president? >> how are you? >> delaware your home state is seeing an increase in coronavirus cases. do you have a message for delaware officials, state and local governments how to handle the pandemic so far, how to handle it so far? >> they have handled it pretty well so far but now the governor

is making adjustments because there's been an uptick, not tremendous but there's been an uptick. it was one of the states that was -- i get briefed every day by a group of leading docs around the world, around the country. every day i get a printout. i have it in the books here. of the states that are doing better and doing worse. up till now, there has been a decline. and now it's opening up slightly. and i don't -- i have not spoken to the governor today, but my guess is that he's going to be looking very closely what happens on the delaware beaches now, how that occurred and restaurants and bars. i don't know enough to know that, though. the good news is that it's flattened out. the bad news is that there's a slight uptick. and i have not gone into the detail with the governor, nor

have i -- i speak to him not infrequently but a couple of time times a month. three, four times a month. and so i don't have any advice for him yet because i don't know where it's popping up. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i'm going to get in trouble. fire away. i know, i know. tell them i'll be late, just a little bit. okay? all right. >> thank you, mr. vice president. >> i always get in trouble on the last question, but go ahead. >> we appreciate it. the response to this pandemic has become very politicized, even wearing a mask has become political. if elected, how are you going to get americans on the same page? and can your plan be successful if they aren't? >> well, i think the way to get on the same page is to -- i'm going to try to say this

politely -- is to lower the rhetoric based on division. stop appealing to the, uh, the less healthy side of society instead of, for example, when a golf cart goes by yelling white supremacy and the president tweets it out, don't do things like that. bring the country together. we're giving a portion of the population who has responded to the sort of race baiting that the president has engaged in, a sort of a free pass. and it generates divisions. we're also talking about it in terms of the president talks about, you know, manhood, you

know, and being strong, and you don't need the mask. i think we need to start appealing to the better side of human nature by pointing out that that mask is not so much to protect me. it's if i have an undiagnosed -- i have it. it's to protect you against me. it's to protect other people. and it's called patriotism. it's called responsibility. it's called making sure you look out for the other person. and we've spent too much time. as you noticed, the president puts everything in terms of him. i'm not being facetious. everything is him. i don't think or i don't take responsibility, or i didn't do that, or i believe that. i mean, it's not about i. it's about us. and i think changing the tone of an administration across the board, allowing scientists to

speak, making sure that people understand the facts, good, bad and indifferent. when a mistake is made to say, i made a mistake. i was wrong. shouldn't have done it that way. we should do it this way. all those things change the atmosphere. let me conclude it by saying this. i apologize. you've heard me say it before. the words of a president matter, no matter who the president is. no matter how responsible or irresponsible a president is. a president, whoever he or she is, can take us to war or bring us to peace, can have markets rise or fall, appeal to the senior side of humanity or to our better angels. it matters. it really matters. and it goes across the board. i know i was criticized, legitimately criticized during

the primary when i said i plan on uniting the country, bringing democrats and republicans together. we have to do that. if we can't do that, we can't function. we have to bring the country together. and i think on this piece, if, in fact, we stand up -- by the way, you have -- don't hold me to numbers, please. you can correct me on this. i think something like 70, 74 or 75% of the american people think you should wear a mask. the overwhelming number of people think you should take these precautions and so on, should open more slowly. well, i think that, you know, we should be talking to our better angels and actually making people indirectly feel guilty for not doing the right thing. appeal to their better nature. i know that sounds almost idealistic, but it's not. remind people, you don't wear

this mask, you end up hurting someone or you get infected, you take it home to your child, your mother, your father, your husband, your wife. you have a moral obligation because it really is. it really is. thank you. guys, i really do have to go. i apologize. i'm going to get in real trouble. i'm probably already in trouble but thank you. go ahead. what's the last? i'm sorry. >> good to see you out and about, mr. vice president. i'm a little confused about the delineation, about the destruction of monuments. you talked about the fathers of this country, washington, jefferson are worthy of preservation. are confederate monuments worthy of preservation? should they be torn down in the manner they are without the vote of local elected officials? >> i think it's very different. i think it's better if they're taken down like they took the confederate flag off the mississippi flag.

that's the better way of doing it. but i can understand, i can understand the anger and anguish that people feel by having, for years and years, been under the statu statue of robert e. lee if you're an african-american. there's always better to do it peacefully. there's a distinction between those monuments and -- i shift responsibility, and i'm not -- i think the elected officials where those statues are have a responsibility to move, put them in museums, get them down. but don't expect if you have sitting in front of you after all these years and we finally, finally are going through another phase of maybe responding to the systemic racism in america and what we've seen happen is don't be surprised if someone pulls down the statue of jefferson davis. it's better that they do not but

it's fundamentally different than pulling down the statue or going into the lincoln memorial and trying to pull, you know -- not lincoln memorial. that's a bad example. the jefferson memorial and grabbing jefferson off his chair. >> two quickies. will you commit to three debates? >> oh, yes. >> three? >> yeah. i commit to them. look, i am committed to following the debate -- the national debate group that sets up these debates, who they pick as the moderators. three of them. it's been this way for a long time. the first one is one-on-one debate with a moderator. the next is a town meeting setting and the third one is a normal debate again. i commit to those. i'm looking forward to it. >> last question real quick, some has speculated -- >> you're a lying dog. >> that you are subject to some degree of cognitive decline. i'm 65. i don't have the word recollection i used to have.

i forget my train of thought from time to time. you've got 12 years on me, sir. have you been tested for some degree of cognitive decline? >> i've been tested and i'm constantly tested. look, all you've got to do is watch me, and i can hardly wait to compare my cognitive capability to the cognitive capability of the man i'm running against. thank you so much. >> okay. he took many a question. let's talk all through everything we just heard from the vice president, there he is in wilmington, putting that mask back on. talk about drawing such a sharp contrast between the vice president, joe biden, and how he would handle covid as a president, what he would call for versus how this current president has done that and, of course, also drawing such a contrast and all the questions about the intel and what's coming out in terms of russia bribing taliban militants on killing coalition forces, and

his thoughts on that. he did make a little bit of news, saying he hadn't been tested for coronavirus but is a-okay so far, he talked about the veep states how they're in the process of black women, asian women, latino women, should have an answer for everyone as far as who they select some time early august and may even put out a short list of potential supreme court justices, african-american women justices. let's talk about all of what we just heard. david chalian, mj lee. david chalian, first and foremost, what do you think? how did he do? >> this was a blistering critique of the president's management or as joe biden would say, sort of lack thereof when it comes to battling coronavirus. we know, we've heard joe biden for the better part of a year, brooke say thematically the campaign, the rationale for his candidacy is for the battle of the soul of the nation. what you hea