-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com "outfront"next, trump pushing to reopen, the president pushing states to fully reopen despite the united states averaging more than 1,000 deaths a day. steve bannon pleading not guilty tonight, arrested for ripping off donors who thought they were giving money to trump's border wall, arrested on a rich chinese tycoon's boat. he's the 10th trump associate to be charged with crimes. new video of what we will see tonight at the convention and a preview of biden's speech. "outfront" tonight, trump's dangerous call to reopen. the president visiting pennsylvania today, near scranton, and railing against the state's governor because the

state has been cautious when it comes to fully reopening businesses. >> he's got you in a shutdown still. shutdown wolf. he can't do this. he's going to destroy your soul. it's a very sad thing to see. and the results are not good. >> the results are not good. here's some results. pennsylvania is starting to tick below the crucial 5% positivity rate in which you can allow all kinds of things to reopen like schoo schools. in lehigh valley, they reached the lowest point. this virus is still deadly and nothing is a sure thing, but pennsylvania's slow reopening, its mask mandate,ate, has slowee virus which will enable the stronger economic come back. trump then though continued to say something incredible. >> we've done an incredible job. you look at our mortality rates, you look at all the things.

>> incredible. i mean, that is an incredible thing to say. tonight the united states is on the verge of recording its 25th straight day of 1,000 deaths or more on average. yesterday, more than 1,300 lives reported lost. that is nearly one american dying every single minute. so far if trump wants to see incredible, he can look at south korea. south korea, since the beginning of the virus, has had 307 deaths. the united states, 174,051. but trump today said, oh, no, no, no, don't pay attention to that. >> south korea, it's over, it's over. big breakout yesterday, you know. it's a tough -- it's a tough deal. we've done a great job. we're a big, big country. >> here's the facts. south korea's breakout was 288 cases. on that same day the united states of america recorded

47,408 cases. his point about we're a big country. as a share of population, it is not even close. the united states is much worse. and by the way, south korea tests a lot more than we do. so far the word "incredible" successfully applying to south korea. incredible, when it comes to sad, applies to the united states, which has suffered tens and tens and tens of thousands of needless deaths. by the way, south korea, its economy is open in a way the united states is not because of masks and testing. less deaths, stronger economy. this is a dangerous and contagious virus. just today another member of congress testing positive, bill cassidy. he is a doctor, and his office says he will now quarantine for 14 days. erica hill is live "outfront" to begin our coverage tonight. erica, trump making another push to get teachers back. >> reporter: that's right.

the white house, erin, is now designating teachers as essential workers. it is the latest push by the administration to have schools reopen for in person learning. what this means is they're the same category as doctors and law enforcement officers. if they have been exposed to someone with who has tested positive for the virus, they can continue to work as long as they're asymptomatic. the president of one of the largest teacher's unions slamming the move saying it's an effort by the administration for the president to threaten, coerce, and bully teachers back into classrooms, all of this as reports of infections and exposure at schools around the country, those reports are growing. >> the good news, hospitalizations and new cases continue to decline in most states. the bad news, that trend may not last. >> it's not a sprint. it's a marathon. we have to maintain these mitigation efforts if we want to keep controlling this virus.

>> i believe -- >> the head of white house's vaccine program, operation warp speed, says the country could get back to normal if people get vaccinated. he believed a vaccine may be widely available by next spring. while the nation waits, the white house coronavirus task force warning georgia, in a report obtained by the "atlanta journal constitution" that small gains are fragile. thousands of k-12 students across the country have been asked to quarantine, including nearly 2,000 in mississippi. >> if we want to keep our kids in school, if we want to keep our colleges open, if we want to have an opportunity to have college football, we have to remain vigilant. >> a considerable number of college students in that state have tested positive, including more than a dozen athletes at ole miss. notre dame, which has announced hundreds of cases, now says five

of those are football players. colleges in at least 17 states now reporting positive cases. >> each university not only has to do entrance testing, but we talk to every university about doing surge testing. you have to do 5,000 samples in one day or 10,000 samples in one day. >> several university of connecticut units evicted from their dorms after an on-campus party where the schools says students were not wearing masks, were closely assembled, and endangering not only their health and well being but that of others. >> you're used to doing things like partying, drinking, gathering together whether on or off campus. to ask them not to do that is to ask i think too much of these young adults who basically at that age consider themselves to be invulnerable. >> massachusetts will require flu shots for all public school students starting in kindergarten up through college. a teacher's union in detroit approved a safety strike as new

york city warned its schools aren't ready for a return. the mayor pledging more detailed safety measures. >> we are going to make sure these schools are safe and ready. if we don't think they're safe and ready, they won't be open. >> reporter: we are learning about more schools moving online. announcements from north carolina state, also eastern kaur carry university and the governor of kentucky saying one in seven new cases in that state is in children, erin. >> wow, all right, thank you very much, erin burneca. "outfront" now, dr. sanjay gupta and dr. jonathan reiner who advised the white house medical team under george wochlt bush. you heard the president railing against the governor of pennsylvania, says he didn't reopen fast enough, shouldn't be going ahead and says it's not good. it's not good what's happening there. you know, look, the state is now below that 5% positivity line for the first time since the beginning of july, some areas doing incredibly well,

hospitalizations down. that is all the product of mask mandates and other things. so, they just pop reopen, well what happens then? >> yeah, right. and if you just suddenly reopen, the numbers could turn around on you in a hurry. we've had plenty of evidence of that not only in the united states but around the world. the thing that strikes me about this so much is the very cry tier that came out from the task force in terms of how you should reopen, the criteria you should look for, we could put some of these up there, almost no one has followed these criteria. and then when a governor, as they are doing in pennsylvania, actually follows these criteria, people are saying you're going too slow. as soon as the criteria came out, there was a move to liberate the states. the reason you're starting to see the positive trend lines in pennsylvania is because they are coming closer to following the criteria than a lot of other places. that is how you get this under

control. so, they're being cautious. they're in the green zone according to many of these criteria, but they're limiting large gatherings. mask mandates were all in place. those were part of the original criteria. if anything, this is evidence it can work and be a good thing. >> dr. reiner, the president went on, made his rationale. he continued to say this. >> if you look at the country. it's really -- we have states, we're thriving. we're thriving. and there's no shutdown. it's enough. we shut it down because we had to. we didn't know anything about what was happening. we shut it down. we learned a lot to protect our seniors, et cetera, et cetera. you've all heard it. but we learned a lot. then we opened it up and now we have a big v -- >> the v, he was not referring to a surge in cases. he was trying to refer to the economy. dr. reiner, how we learned enough and now we can reopen fully and he's saying the age old idea of go ahead and isolate

everybody over whatever the age might be, 65, protect our seniors, as he says. >> no. we have not learned our lesson. look, the president talks about a sharp v. he's just talking about the stock market. so, the stock market has rebounded in a sharp v. but, do you know what's also continued to rise in mortality in the united states. the united states leads the world in deaths. 175,000 deaths. it took the u.s. almost three months for 20,000 people to die. the last 20,000 people took 16 days. so, as you said at the outset, over 1,000 people a day almost for the last month in this country are dying. and it's plateaued. we -- and we've had this surge over the last few months because we've opened too early. you know, when we opened at the beginning of may, 31 states opened around that time. none of them met the cdc

criteria for 14 days of continuing decline and enough testing and tracing capabilities. none of the states made that -- met those guidelines. that's why we are where we are now. it's been an abject failure. >> so, sanjay, there's a lot of politics around schools. i want to cut to the science as you see it. the white house is formally declaring teachers essential workers. that's part of the politics trying to get them to go to work and fight the unions here. it does state though -- what it means is that teachers can work even if exposed to a confirmed case of covid if they remain asymptomatic. given what you know from the science here of asymptomatic and presymptomatic, some of those cases would of course end up falling into that category, spread, is this potentially dangerous or does it make sense? >> look, we've learned a lot about this virus. and this is the point you're

making, i think. and one of the big things that we've learned, we learned this sort of going back to mid-february, is that people can spread this virus even if they don't have any symptoms or even if they don't have any symptoms yet. i think most people in the country know that. and i think when some of these criteria were sort of developed for health care workers as essential workers, we were still learning at that point. so, the scenario is you have somebody who could be asymptomatic or presymptomatic and could still potentially spread the virus. i can tell you because we've been reporting on this for a long time and as you pointed out the school is a huge issue from a journalistic standpoint, also from a personal standpoint. this was considered in my home state of georgia. and the proposal of considering teachers essential workers was backed off because there was a recognition that it would significantly erode trust. so, my kids are going to go back to somebody and be in a classroom with somebody who may be carrying the virus without testing, without knowledge? that could be a huge problem.

>> thank you both. i appreciate it. your perspective as always. next we have new video of steve bannon leaving court today after pleading not guilty to pocketing donor money meant for the wall. he's speaking out tonight. donald trump, jr., once praised the group as private enterprise at its finest. plus we're getting a look at the video that will introduce joe biden to the nation tonight. >> for the first time, joe saw the heavy burden and it was a lesson he would never forget. >> plus i'll speak to one of biden's long-time friends congressman james clyburn. what can biden say after 44 years in washington that people don't already know?

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if and when they can return to work, are confident that their children will be safe and cared for. and finally, we need to protect the populations most at risk: our seniors, vulnerable populations with pre-existing conditions. we need real plans, real guidelines, with uniform nationwide standards. it's a simple proposition folks, we're all in this together. we gotta fight this together. we'll emerge from this stronger because we did it together. i'm joe biden and i approve this message.

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♪ ♪ ♪ just in, the first pictures of steve bannon, president trump's former chief strategist leaving court after pleading not

guilty to criminal fraud charges. bannon, who appeared by video conference was arrested this morning off the eastern coast of connecticut. bannon is accused of defrauding donors to rebuild the wall which raised more than $25 million, also accused of using donations for personal expenses. at least ten trump associates have been charged with crimes, excuse me, including paul manafort, michael cohen -- sorry, frog in my throat. this is not just any associate. bannon was the ceo of the campaign and the correspondent in the white house. kaitlan collins in scranton. evan, let me start with you. what else do you know about this alleged scheme, all the information you learned today? >> prosecutors today, erin, made out this scenario, this scheme,

essentially, that out of the $25 million that was raised from people that were trying to support building this private wall on private land along the u.s./mexico border that bannon had set up what was a shell company, a non-profit, from which he was taking a million dollars. and from there he was paying other members of the scheme, and that includes the head of the group, a former air force veteran. he led the fundraising drive. bannon was one of the people who was chief in part of this trying to get money into the scheme. now, according to the prosecutors, this money was used to essentially fund bannon and others' lavish lifestyle. that's according to the court documents. in court today, bannon appeared very sun burned. she was arrested on a yacht off the coast of connecticut and had been spending a lot of time in the sun.

he appeared in court today, pleaded not guilty. he was released on bond. when he was walking out, he said, quote, this is a fiasco to stop people who want to build the wall. this is something he said to reporters, obviously saying this is not exactly what prosecutors have laid out in court. but according to the documents we have from these charges, it appears that the investigators were monitoring their communications, they had all kinds of information about where this money was going, and in different ways that they were trying to hide where this money was hiding. >> they don't get to the point of arrest unless they have a lot to go on. evan, thank you very much. president trump today reacted to bannon's arrest by trying to distance himself from bannon and trying to deny any knowledge of the president, before admitting he did know about it. >> i feel very badly. i haven't been dealing with him for a long period of time. i know nothing about the project other than i didn't like -- when i read about it, i didn't like

it. i said, this is for government, this isn't for private people. and it sounded to me like show boating, and i think i let my opinion be strongly stated at the time. i didn't know any other of the people either. >> kaitlan, it turns out trump does know a lot of people involved with this group. >> reporter: yes, he does. and he contradicted himself by saying he did know about the group and then saying he didn't like the group. which is true, he did say in july he didn't like what they were doing. he sought to distance himself from their efforts then. you saw the white house press secretary put out a statement saying the president didn't know anyone affiliated with the group. that's not close to true. if you look at the backers and associates of the group, there are many people who know the president, have interacted with him, from pictures with him. kurt chilling, david clark. you see these people on this board that the president obviously know. and kris kobach is another one of them who told "the new york

times" in an interview last year that the president had talked about this project with them and gave him his blessing and said he should tell the media that. that is what chrkris kobach is quoted as telling "the new york times." donald trump, jr., once gave a speech praising the group. listen to what he said not long ago. >> this is private enterprise at its finest, doing it better, faster, cheaper, than anything else. what you're doing is amenopausinamazing. it started from a grass roots effort and it's doing amazing things. >> reporter: he is praising the group, praising the efforts. we heard from amanda miller. she said that is the only speech that donald trump, jr., ever gave where he mentioned we build the wall. he did not give permission to use his praise. he was only aware of what he thought he were doing.

he did not know what was going on and what prosecutors are alleging. we have seen this time and time again when the president's associates get in trouble with the law he seeks to distance himself from them. but it's really difficult here because not only did steve bannon work for the campaign, work for the white house and was one of his top aides for some time, it's also this interwoven structure with his biggest campaign promise which was to build the wall. so, it's not just the fact that it's -- they were defrauding -- accused of defrauding donors, but it's the president's supporters who were the main n contributors to this because it was the president's idea to build the wall. >> thank you very much. i want to go to jeffrey toobin, the author of the book "true crimes and misdemeanors: the investigation of donald trump." they go on board this yacht today, they arrest steve bannon. this is -- they've got a lot. how solid does the case look to you? >> well, i mean, it looks like a very straightforward case.

they made these representations in writing repeatedly that none of the money would go to them, the four people involved in the case. there are texts and messages, apparently, where they are conspiring about how much money they took for themselves. and apparently they took hundreds of thousands of dollars. that's fraud, telling people one thing and doing something else. now, we have to see what their defense is. but the other problem that steve bannon has is that he's the most famous of the four defendants. that is just an invitation to one or more of the others to flip, to plead guilty and cooperate because in federal court defendants are rewarded strongly for cooperating against other defendants. and bannon looks like he's got nowhere to cooperate here. >> and just to obviously make

the point clear here, trump doesn't only know bannon. he knows kobach, he chaired his investigation into whether you've got people voting illegally. he knows these people well. ten associates of president trump's have been charged with crimes. bannon is just the latest. what does this say to you? >> it's just extraordinary. there hasn't been a presidency like this since watergate, and even in watergate you didn't have a scenario like you've had here. the president's national security adviser, guilty. the president's personal lawyer, guilty. campaign chairman, guilty. deputy campaign chairman, guilty. now one of his campaign and political aides accused in an indictment. i mean, it is an extraordinary record of sleaze. and what makes this case so

revealing is that it shows the contempt with which bannon views his own supporters. he views the people who were supporting the wall. they are marks. they are suckers. they are patsys to pay money for this wall project that all they're doing, at least according to the indictment, is putting into their own pocket. >> the guy we should all remember, steve bannon, who was the chief strategist, so close to the president that people in the white house were calling him the puppeteer controlling everything the president did. that's who we're talking about now in this situation. thank you, i appreciate it. next, joe biden, he is just a couple hours away from that big speech, the biggest of his career. we're getting the first glimpse of video americans will see tonight before that speech. >> passionate argument, sympathetic listening. willingness to make adjustments

and combinations to bring people on board. >> plus trump continuing to sow doubt today about election results. >> the only way they're going to win is by a rigged election. i really believe that. >> the biden campaign responds next. ♪ sometimes you want to go

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we're learning more about the moments leading up to joe biden's speech just hours from now when he will accept the democratic party's nomination for president. he will be produced by davis guggenheim. here's a clip. >> and i watched him bring his heart to that job. it matters that you have, in your mind, the family that you're trying to reach, the neighborhood that you're trying to reach, the people whose lives are affected by what you do. >> arlette signs is "outfront" is wilmington, delaware, where biden is tonight. arlette, what can we expect? this is one of the most important speeches of joe biden's career, one he's been hoping for decades to make. >> joe biden first ran for

president 33 years ago, and tonight he will finally accept that democratic presidential nomination. while the focus a lot earlier in the week had been focus on president trump, we don't expect joe biden to really make president trump the central figure of his speech tonight. instead, the former vice president is expected to operate a more forward-looking vision of where he believes he can lead the country. from the beginning of his campaign, he has framed this for a battle of the soul of the nation. tonight there will be a video of his grandchildren. he will be introduced by his son hunter and daughter ashley. as you can see behind me, there are some cars that have assembled here. we spoke to some of those people who were promised some type of surprise. we'll see what the surprise is later this evening. biden's speech is incredibly different than most typical convention speeches as there is no audience, no one to offer applause. so, he's working with a different dynamic than the

previous presidential nominees before him. >> i want to bring in kate bedingfield, biden's manager. kate, this is challenging in that crucial way. you don't have that giant convention center full of people and the balloons. it is really hard to do this without that for anyone. but vice president biden, of course, has spent 50 years in american politics. this is his third time running for president. this is the speech he has wanted to give for a long time. so, what does he want to say tonight, kate? >> look, i think in this moment, americans are looking for presidential leadership, and tonight on that stage, they're going to see a president. he is going to lay out his positive vision for how we can come together, how even in these most divisive times that we're living in we can work together to get things done. that's something that's a hallmark of his time in public life. he is someone who's always been able to work with people across the aisle, to work with people

from the most progressive part of the party to independents to republicans. he's somebody that knows how to get things done. tonight i think what we're going to hear from him is something that has been a cornerstone of his entire campaign, which is a belief that america is resilient and that we are better and that we can overcome challenges when we work together. you're really going to hear him talk about how he believes that this is a country of people who want to work together and who can find common purpose. and that's -- you know, in these times, that's a rare thing. but you're going to hear that from him tonight. i think it will be a very inspirational message for americans across the country looking for presidential leadership. >> you're talking about reach across the aisle and the presidential leadership. we do understand that president trump won't be a central figure in biden's speech tonight. of course he was a pretty significant in president obama's speech, in michelle obama's speech and others we've heard. how much will he factor into

vice president biden's message? >> well, look, i think there's a very core question that voters are going to answer in november, which is are we okay with the kind of leadership that we've gotten from donald trump that has left us with the coronavirus r ravaging across our country, that has contributed to the cratering of our country because donald trump is unable to get the virus under control, or do we want real leadership? do we want joe biden and kamala harris in the white house putting together a comprehensive federal response to this virus to get the economy back on track and get the country functioning again? so, i think that there is a really fundamental question and contrast on leadership here. i think people around the country are desperately looking for it. and it's going to be very apparent in what you're hearing from vice president biden tonight that what he's offering is a radically different kind of

leadership than what we're getting. >> president was in scranton giving his why not joe biden speech. and he once again accused democrats of trying to -- i'm going to quote him -- steal the election through mail-in voting. take a listen. >> this is just a way they're trying to steal the election. and everybody knows that because the only way they're going to win is by a rigged election. i really believe that. >> and today, kate, the white house press secretary and the vice president chief of staff refused to say whether trump would accept the results of the election if he lost. he says the only way joe biden wins is if it's a rigged election. what's your response? >> this is a fear mongering tactic. this is something that we've heard consistently from donald trump. he has actually said unabashedly out loud that when more people vote, republicans lose. i think what we're going to see from people all across this country is they are going to turn out in record numbers.

i think there is tremendous energy for joe biden and kamala harris. i think that joe biden -- we saw across the course of the democratic primary was able to turn out people from all across this country, suburban voters, african-american voters, working class voters. and i think that people are resoundingly going to show up in november. and i think we have to remember that that's the way we make real change. we don't let donald trump and the republicans scare us away from our right to vote. i encourage people to go to iwillvote.com where you can put in your information and you can make a plan to vote. you're going to have a lot of different options about the way to vote this fall, go to iwillvote.com and make a plan to vote this fall. >> i appreciate your time. next the president's embrace of the conspiracy group qanon. >> they like me very much, which i appreciate. >> and house majority whip jim

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. the final night of the dnc begins in about an hour. we are learning the final address before biden's event closing acceptance speech will come from his children, ashley and hunter. they are expected to speak after a very personal video plays which will focus on biden's family and grandchildren. joining me jieames clyburn of south carolina, long time friend of joe biden. we remember your endorsement of biden propelling biden to become the presidential nominee. you had your mind made up but didn't tell anybody. you waited because there was the last debate and you came out and made your call, and it turned that vote. it turned this primary for joe biden. so, when you look at him, a man you have known so well, so personally for so long, this country knows him well too, right? 40 years. and that's a blessing and a curse tonight. how does he give the american people something that they haven't heard from him before

tonight? >> thank you very much for having me, erin. i believe tonight is going to be a very critical night for joe because he's pursued this office for so long and it has alluded him. i think you have to take in all the campaigns, you have to take them against the backdrop of the move of the country of where the country is. and i think the people are crying out in the country today for some goodness to be restored in the body politic. i was kind of interested in this moment to read very conservative commentator. joe thinks it's time for goodness in this office. so, that's what we are trying to

do. >> so, this comes as yesterday when president trump was speaking he refused to denounce that fringe conspiracy a cult, qanon. it's a group that among other things trump is here to stop democrats and hollywood elite from running a satanic pedophile trafficking ring. the fbi has labelled qanon a potential domestic terror threat. here's what trump said. >> i don't know much about the movement other than i understand they like me very much which i appreciate. i've heard these are people that love our country. >> um, how concerning is this for you? there are a lot of people who may say they love the country who have done some horrific things, right? but here he is giving that tacit embrace. >> well, with donald trump, it's all about him.

he seemed to like me very much. the fact of the matter is the president is about the country. it's about the american people. it doesn't have to be about any one individual. and that's what separates him from people like joe biden. joe biden just happens to be the nominee. there are a lot of other really good people that are in this country, and some of them are not democrats. but in this particular instance, this president seemed to feel that irrespective of what may be going on around him, it's always got to be about him and not the other person. i think that the country has seen this week watching this convention, they have seen the goodness in this man. and i believe that that's why he is going to be a very successful candidate and he will be sworn

into the presidency come january because it's time to restore goodness in the office of the president and decency and respect around the world. we have been held out as a beacon for years, decades. here we are now being laughed at by the powers surrounding because our allies don't know how to trust us. we have to restore dignity, respect and goodness in the office of the president, and i think that's what we get with joe biden. >> congressman clyburn, i appreciate your time as always, sir. thank you. >> thank you. next, counting down to joe biden's speech, we have new details about what he will say, right, in this night where he finally gets to give this speech in this office that lhas allude him for so long. this crucial speech, what will be in it?

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joe biden to make his case tonight against four more years of president trump. his video will suggest that one argument will be how he helped the nation recover from the last great economic crisis, the great recession. >> joe biden was handed the task of going to get those three republican votes. >> joe returned to the place where he had been so effective. >> passionate argument. sympathetic listening. a willingness to make adjustments and accommodations to bring people on board. >> when the law finally passed, the president tapped his partner to run the program. >> all right. outfront now, my guests. so david, as jim clyburn just

eloquently said, this is the office joe biden has wanted, which has eluded him, clyburn's word, for decades. this is the speech of his career. what does he need to do tonight? >> yeah, he's been seeking this office for a third of a century. this is a real culminating moment for him. i think he has to do a couple of things. despite the longevity on the national political stage, he's no longer barack obama's number two, no longer that long-serving senator. it's new context, so he doesn't have to introduce himself to the american people, but he does need to become better known in this context. so i think there's that biographical piece of who he is, connected to where he wants to take the country. i think that if he can do a reintroduction with america in this context, and give the positive prescriptions for not just the immediate course correction on dealing with the pandemic, and the economic fallout, but where he wants to

take the country over the long-term, less to do about president trump. he will have gone a long way into what he needs to accomplish. >> oh bakari, biden is the top of the ticket. he has to frame himself in the context of being the commander in chief, not the second in command, he's the main event tonight. but he's not viewed in the same way as barack or michelle obama when it comes to giving speeches, right? they are both unbelievably gifted at doing that. they happen to be married to each other, but they are, right? and that's not what he is known for as much. is it okay if his speech does not match theirs? >> yes. i mean, look, you know, with all due respect to congressman clyburn and even my good friend, david, i don't have that necessary high level of expectation tonight because he doesn't necessarily need to reach that. but joe biden does reach -- he always reaches these moments when the lights are shining the brightest. however, tonight he's just -- he

just simply has to show america, speaking to a divide country, speaking to a country that's going through so much anguish. he simply has to show that he is capable of being commander in chief. that is his standard. he has to be presidential tonight. this is not a partisan speech. this is not about bringing in more independents or bringing in more republicans. tonight's speech is simply about being a president. something this country has thirsted for, for the last 3 1/2 years and we have not gotten it. so this is not the speech of a lifetime. this is not, you know, compared to barack obama or michelle's oratory, this does not even compare to the oratory of jill and kamala harris. tonight, be president. that's what we want. i think he'll do that extremely well. >> governor, many of us are familiar with joe biden's life story. he bears his soul, you know, to the town hall with him in iowa late last year, he's able to connect with people. whether it's talking about the

stuttering he suffered, or the loss of his son in deeply personal ways. people do know these stories. how much of that should he focus on tonight, and i say that in the context of, you know, that he is going to be deliver thing without that live audience, without those thousands of people in the room. >> yeah, listen, everybody knows this. people love joe biden. and people know about his compassion, his empathy. they know that. and he'll address that tonight and the videos around it will do it. he has one mission tonight in my mind. there are millions of americans sitting home tonight, they have been affected one way or the other by the covid crisis. 5 million people in america have gotten it. tens of millions have seen jobs obliterated. all they want tonight is for joe biden to look them in the eye and say, i'm going to unite this country, i'm going to heal this country. and most importantly, i'm going to get this country back again. better than it's ever been before. i am going to help you.

i'm going to create a great economy, education system, i'm going to make transportation work. i have a $2 trillion infrastructure package. they just want the government to work. that is joe's job tonight. people are done with president trump. and trump's whole speech will be about attacking biden. joe biden will be above that tonight. tonight, he speaks to americans about what they go through every singlehurting today and they just want a politician to say yes, i'm going to lift you up. >> you have all this context, karen and you have what biden is dealing with within the democratic party, which is those who celebrate reaching across the aisle and want to see leadership and pragmatism, and those who want a totally new system, okay? and i don't know that you can have it all, right? but this is what the guy is trying to do. maybe you can. so today, the head of biden's transition team warned that a

biden treasury is going to be bare. then you have alexandria ocasio-cortez, she came out strong, tweet thing is extremely concerning, the pantry is not bare. to adopt gop deficit hawking now is irresponsible. i know biden's not going to get at policy in terms of spending, but this gets at the very core of what he has to deal with. how much does he need to focus on progressives tonight, to tip his hand to them? >> you know what it is? not just progressives, but it's our values. we are the democratic party. it is fine to be reaching out to independents and republicans. but i think as others have said, he has got to make the case for why joe biden is the right person in this moment. it's not just voting against president trump, but vote for me because here's my vision for where this country needs to go. he started out beautifully at the beginning of this campaign,

talking about hearing the soul of this country. and my god, things have gotten worse in ways that we could have never imagined from when he first said that. so it's talking about how we heal this country, bring the country back together. but speak to our values as democrats. we've got to make things better when we talk about health care, when we talk about the environment, when we talk about jobs and the way that people are able to live their lives and handling a crisis obviously is part of that. so it's not a litany of policy and it's not going to be the grab bag for everybody, and people couldn't be listening - think he needs to speak to we are democrats. he does have a vision for this country. what is that vision that he's going to bring with him into the oval office with kamala harris on day one? >> all right. when we speak of kamala harris, david, of course she is now the standard bearer for the democratic party after joe biden. he's very much positioned it that way. but he's a transitional figure

whigt when he had all these young up and comers. so he is 77 years old. if he wins, he'll be the oldest ever elected president. prior to him, the oldest person elected was donald trump. so it will be joe biden if he wins. is this something he should address head on tonight? >> i don't think he'll have to address it. he'll make get at the bridge to the next generation, the torch passing to the next generation. but every time he's asked about this on the campaign trail, he says, watch me. that is what america is going to do tonight. and it's a fair thing he says, and he's right, to judge him on. america will watch and assess whether or not his age is a factor. that will be on the stage tonight. >> all right. certainly he has said that again and again. that he thinks it's fair. i appreciate all of you very much. thank you. we'll all be watching tonight with the rest of the country to see what joe biden does indeed

thrive deliver. cnn's special coverage of the democratic national convention continues right now. ♪ tonight, democrats celebrate america's promise and their hopes for the presidency, capping an extraordinary convention. soon, joe biden accepts his party's nomination, laying out his vision for healing a nation in crisis. welcome to cnn's coverage of the democratic national convention. i'm anderson cooper. former vice president biden has been building for this night over a lifetime of public service, and we're told he does not want to make it all about president trump. bide season the closer on this one on a critical night. >> this is the democrat's best chance yet to explain to a nationwide audience who joe biden is. the headliner tonight, the nba superstar steph curry. he and his wife just