wake of the earthquake in haiti rises above 2,000, rescuers still haven't been able to reach some of those affected in the most remote parts of the island nation. but cnn's matt rivers, along with the team from the aid group world central kitchen were able to make it to one such area. here's matt's report. >> reporter: our chopper takes off with no clear destination in mind. flying with charity group world central kitchen, or wck, we want to find remote villages in haiti that still need help. a week after this earthquake, just finding out where the needs are remains a challenge. a tip led us to an island off haiti's coast. on the ground, we're told the damage is actually a bit further west. which it is, seen from above. dozens of structures were damaged and a contact in town told us no one has come to help them, yet. but we can't either. so there was damage in that town. the people there, clearly, wanted us to land.

but the problem was there was no safe area for us to touch down. and that gives you an idea of how difficult it is to access these places. just because you want to go somewhere doesn't mean that you can, at least right away. >> reporter: another tip leads us back into haiti's mountains and the remote town of mannish. destruction greets us as we land and the charity starts to assess the damage. in terms of figuring out exactly what needs what, you really need to go to the ground. >> correct. and a lot of these areas are remote. or the cell service has been knocked out due to damage from the earthquake so there is no substitute for just getting out there on the ground. >> their team fans out, and so do we. the damage is as bad as anything we've seen. entire blocks destroyed. near some damage, the distinct smell of bodies lingers. amidst all the rubble, there is grief. rose's mom died when her home collapsed. my mom was everything to us, she says, and now she's gone.

we're just waiting for help. rose is now homeless. saying the government has yet to visit her town. they've had to make do with what they have. not easy in such a remote place. that's where charities like wkc are trying to help fill the gap. people crowd around as the team drops off a few-hundred sandwiches. now that they know where to go, aid workers say thousands-more meals will likely follow soon. >> and matt rivers joins us now from port-au-prince, haiti. what about other hard-hit areas around the country? i mean, are -- are the roads passable, yet? is aid getting in? >> really depends on where you are talking about, anderson. but unfortunately, there are a lot of places that are just like manish. the place we went and even there, it's an amazing thing, right? that world central kitchen was able to identify, okay, this is a place where we want to be. they start figuring out what the

exact needs are but actually getting those substantive supplies in there to start feeding those people. that's a different challenge, entirely. essentially, what we did today are just the first-few steps. we did actually talk with the chief of the u.n. development program. he told us that he does see a lot of challenges here on the island but he also hopes that the -- the recovery efforts will speed up over the next few days as the government tells us somewhere around 60 or 70,000 structures across the island, anderson, have been affected, damaged in some way by this earthquake. >> matt rivers, appreciate your reporting. thanks very much. we'll be right back. we're carvana, the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100% online. now we've created a brand-new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old. we wanna buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, that's it. so ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana.

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for "cuomo prime time." chris. >> you know, anderson, you have a big night tomorrow night with the concert. but i'm looking at the storm track. there is a chance that you and i may be spending some quality time together on sunday, maybe even monday. depending on how hard this hits. you know, just -- >> i'd love to see you but i hope that's not true. >> well, look, we could find a better occasion. but, you know, the last real hurricane that hit, you know, was a category 3. it was in 1938. >> i know. i know all about it. and it kill add lot of people in west hampton. >> yeah. right. right. right. you know the area well. the long island express hurricane, they called it. went up into new england. it created the inlets that are now all the way down the island. you know, mo ntauk. so hopefully, this is nothing like that. but this has people on edge and we are watching it obviously and i will be watching you tomorrow night, my brother. be well. >> you, too.

>> i am chris cuomo and welcome to prime time. there are two things i would like to make clear. one, to all the veterans who question what this withdrawal from afghanistan's means about your incredible sacrifices. first, please know this. we have been safer because of you. thank you. i've covered this war against an idea since 9/11. i was there that day. i was scared in a way i never thought i could be. i watched you in pakistan, iraq, and afghanistan, from there and here. if i were told, in 2001, that they would not get us again in any major way for close to 20 years, i would have never believed it. but your work, your commitment, your sacrifice. you, your brothers, your sisters, your family's, was a huge pillar in the bulwark of protection for this entire country. it is hard to see how we would

have ever been this safe this long if you had not done what was done in afghanistan and elsewhere. now, it remains to be seen how the biden administration can keep america as safe without a presence there. that is worth concern and handwringing. but please, have our gratitude and know that you made a difference. you know, we have all these polls that made what's happening in afghanistan the reality, right? always get six, seven out of the of ten americans saying they want out. i wonder if the polls had asked the question this way. do you want america out of afghanistan if it means you will be vulnerable to attack at home? i wonder where we would be today. i wonder if trump would've jumped at the chance to dump the afghan government and do a deal with the taliban. i don't know. but we are where we are now. and it is not going well. and it is not on donald trump's watch.

it is on joe biden's watch. this is his problem. all week, i have been hard on the administration and president biden. i told you neither party's gonna get a pass here. i told you, wait and see. here we are. this administration has not had the urgency, nor the answers needed. they have lacked the head and, frankly, the heart. that said, people who see this as a failure are getting ahead of things. we don't know how this is going to end up. but it's just not going well. this had better be a wake-up call for joe biden. the media and his party have done him no favors this week. will the democrats have his back the way the gop had trump's back in low moments? nope. not judging by this week. so he'd better rise to this occasion. and today, once again, president joe biden did not. case in point. the defense secretary told members of congress today that

the taliban is beating americans trying to get to the airport. that squares with our reporting on the ground that you'll hear in a second. but it did not square with what we heard from the president today. >> since i spoke to you on monday, we've made significant progress. we're in constant contact with the taliban. working to ensure civilians have safe passage to the airport where we have been seeing challenges with americans -- for americans. we have, thus far, been able to resolve them. >> resolve? nothing is resolved. the concern is whether their white house has the resolve that we need right now. in fact, a concern that i voiced earlier this week has been confirmed. the white house doesn't even know how many americans are still in afghanistan, let alone how to get them all out. listen to the president's answer to an obvious question of if americans are getting through. >> we have no indication that they haven't been able to get in

kabul through the airport. we have made an agreement with the -- with the taliban, thus far. they've allowed them to go through. it's in their interest for them to go through. so we know of no circumstance where american citizens are carrying an american passport are trying to get through to the airport. the question was how can they get through to the airport outside the airport? now, that's a different question when they get into the rush and crowd of all the folks just outside the wall near the airport. that's why we had to, i guess, was it yesterday or the day before, we went over the wall and brought in -- how many -- 169 americans. so, it is a process. >> look. let's be honest. it's not a great answer. it's not really a straight answer. the straight answer is from cnn's reporter on the ground. listen. >> we had difficulty getting

[ inaudible ]. is like a rubik's cube. i can't get into the details of how we did get in but it's very difficult. crashing into each other. taliban fighters with whips pushing people back. shots being fired into the air. everyone who says that any american can get in here is, you know -- i mean, technically, it's possible. but it's extremely difficult. and it is dangerous. >> our embassy is closed. but the officials who are working at the airport in kabul keep warning americans, quote, please use your best judgment. and attempt to enter the airport at any gate that is open. keyword. attempt. but again, president biden offered assurances that all will be fine. >> let me be clear. any american who wants to come home, we will get you home. >> would you commit the same commitment -- would you make the

same commitment to bring out afghans who assisted in the war effort? >> yes. yes, we're making the same commitment. there's no one more important than bringing american citizens out, i acknowledge that. but they're equally important almost is all those who -- those sivs, we call them, who in fact helped us. >> by the way, it has taken until today for the president to say it as plainly as that. yes, all americans get out. yes, the people we made our promise to get out. should've been that way from jump. now, the reality, we're not walking the walk, right? at least he is talking the talk, now. these panicked afghans outside. they are waiting for evacuation. closed gate at the u.s.-controlled side of the kabul airport. they made it through two taliban checkpoints in order to get to where they are here. then, they arrived. the gate was closed. why? they can't handle the flow. there was a big backlog today. as many as 10,000 were processed. now, let's stop for a second. amazing work by the men and women on the ground.

once again -- once again -- this is not about our men and women in uniform. they deserve only respect. they don't have the numbers. there was no plan given to them. and they're figuring it out. processing 10,000 people today. they're doing the job. are they getting support? are they getting plans? i don't know. what i do know is no flights went out for many hours today because there was nowhere to take them until the pentagon could find countries that would accept them. however, one message we heard today from the president of the united states was exactly right, and here it is. >> the only country in the world capable of projecting this much power on the far side of the world with this degree of precision is the united states of america. >> he's right. but is america proving that right now? no. a voice in the storm calling for

calm all week has been a former-cia counterterrorism official, who played a big role in forming the now-fallen afghan government. mr. phil mudd. good to see you, brother. you used an analogy earlier in the week. don't say the race is over. it's not fair. the first couple laps have gone lousy. now, we're a bunch of laps into the race. how are we looking? >> chapter two. look. chapter one, the government was caught off guard. the -- the throughput at the airport was slow. the numbers of people not only getting into the airport but getting on airplanes. if you are talking about 2,000 people a day, that's pathetic. we have gone into chapter two over the last 24, 48 hours in two regards. number one, as you mentioned in your intro, the president of the united states is in front on this. acknowledging, in some cases, that it hasn't gone well. and more important, the throughput on the ground, the number of people in the airport, the number of people outside. you're talking 5, 6, 7,000 people. pretty good. that said, chris, that's an

optimistic look. let me give you a different perspective. we've been focused on one piece of this puzzle. how many people get into the airport? and how many people get out? not the piece to focus on. we've lost time. the piece you need to focus on is, does the sort of tenuous agreement with the taliban hold? if they decide tomorrow that they want to shut down the airport. if there is a food fight in downtown kabul. if there's a helicopter from the u.s. military that's picking up people, as we saw today, that gets fired on by an rpg, we're in trouble. the days we lost are precious. we're getting more throughput. but i just hope that the agreement on the other side with the taliban holds. i'm not sure, chris. >> question. why all this respect for the taliban? why isn't the state of play this? listen. we need the bagram -- the bagram base back. we got to get these people out. um, if you say no, we're coming back and we're coming hard and heavy.

and we got a president who's going to need this to redeem his reputation which means it's going to get ugly. and it's going to get ugly, early. what is all this will they keep the agreement? will they be nice? will they let us? >> no way. >> come on. >> no. no way. no how, no way. let me give you a couple reasons why. number one, i've flown into bagram. it is not close to kabul. >> true. >> you are going force people to make a major transit up north to territory that is owned by the taliban. number two, there are thousands of people -- i don't know how many americans that i can explain to you. i understand why the americans don't know how many people are there. there could have been people who showed up without registering with the u.s. embassy. i don't know how many americans are there. i don't know how many sivs, special immigrant visas. people who worked with the embassy or military you need to get out. as soon as you tell the taliban no, they're going to kill people. so what's your choice, chris? is your choice to deal with an organization you don't trust but hope that within the next 10 to 15 days, we get people out.

or is your choice to challenge 'em and have them go house to house and murder the people who helped us? i'll tell you the choice i make. you got to take a risk, and that risk is let's keep trying to see if this works. and if it doesn't, we got to go to force. right now, force is not the right option. >> um, do you believe that this is a defining moment in the presidency of joe biden? >> not yet. the question on september 1st, on september 15th, will be did we get tens of thousands of people out? american citizens, friends of america, the people who supported the pentagon and others. did we get those people out? did we get them out relatively safely? if we got out 50, 75, 100,000 people with the french, with the germans, with the uk. in a year or two's time, people are going to say that is an

incredible success. i don't remember if it took four days, eight days, ten days. let me give you one simple parallel. i'm not talking about in seriousness. i am talking about an american mindset. the affordable care act. the only conversation when that started was the website sucked and nobody could get insurance. today, the only conversation is, is universal insurance or is the affordable care act good for america? people have forgotten the disaster of the introduction to the affordable care act. people will forget this if we get immigrants and americans out. right now, i'm not sure. >> i hear you, except people not getting insurance is hardship. people getting dragged through the streets, strung up, decapitated. we know who these people are. um -- you know, we're treating them like, oh, they want legitimacy. they got to run things now. these are not people that you can trust, on any level. nobody knows it better than you. phil mudd, you have been on it. you have been right. and you have the right take. i'm testing you. that's my job. but i trust you.

and thank you. >> don't test me, chris. see ya later. >> later. all right. now, we are talking about the taliban. why do i push phil on the idea of negotiating with them? trusting them? hoping they keep their word? because they don't. in fact, there are too many of us who believe hey, look, you know, look, we got to let this country do what it's going to do on its own. a lot of these people, the taliban, are not from afghanistan. okay? the organization has a long history. you have to know and really i have been remiss but we have been in the moment. i did this when we started this war, telling you who the taliban was. showing you them in pakistan. you need to know who you're dealing with, and who's taking over afghanistan. and it's not a bunch of concerned afghan citizens. richard clark is back tonight to take us inside these groups. next. citi launched the impact fund to invest in both women and entrepreneurs of color like me, so i can realize my vision

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once again. it's easy to love a brand you can trust. it's easy to love a subaru. we are going to be dealing with what happens in afghanistan for a long time. that's the way it is. that includes the reason that we went there. al qaeda. the president saying this. >> look. let's put this thing in perspective here. what interest do we have in afghanistan at this point with al qaeda gone? >> there's always another group. the taliban gave way to al qaeda. gave way to isis. you are fighting an idea, right? terror is a function of religious extremism that is born of poverty, hardship. giving somebody a reason to believe in something about their lives which too often is animus.

that's what we're fighting. the group is almost irrelevant. so an hour later after he said that, the pentagon had to clean it up. >> we know that al qaeda is a presence, as well as isis in afghanistan. what -- what we don't think is that -- what we believe is that there isn't a -- a presence that is significant enough to -- to -- to merit a threat to our homeland as there was back on 9/11, 20 years ago. >> and he is right. john kirby's solid guy. he knows what he is talking about. straight shooter. but the reason it's tamped down is because we were there. now that we're not there, there will be festering, especially if it's up to the taliban. they have no interest in doing anything right by us. they're not a bunch of concerned citizens. so let's get into what is going to happen in the graveyard of empires, afghanistan, with a man who has advised multiple

presidents on the region. richard clark, dick, thank you for coming back. you schooled me on this when i was at abc news when we started this 20 years ago. you gave me a number of books to read when i first met you about you won't even remember because you were doing it for so many us. but the idea of what the taliban is because i was like well in afghanistan. you were like read the book. the taliban is not a bunch of people from afghanistan. you are hearing all the talks from the interpreters about them spe speaking pashtun. who is the taliban and what are they about? >> look, chris, they began in 1994 when the pakistani intelligence service wanted to get a group that could defeat all the warlords because in 1994 there were, like, six warlords in -- in afghanistan. all fighting each other. and pakistan wanted one government. and they didn't want any of the warlords to be in charge. so they found these religious fanatics that were going to some of the afghans but they were

going to religious school in pakistan. and they trained them. they equipped them. they ran them. and they gave them this technique of going into a city, negotiating with the warlords, negotiating with the troops there. paying them off. and then, moving into the city without a fight. and they did that really quickly, and they took over the whole country. sound familiar? >> very. um, now, the idea is well, you know, i heard last night from one of the main negotiators during the trump administration with the taliban. well, you know, they really want to be taken seriously now. you know, they want to run this country. they are going to be amenable to making deals. they're going to want aid. since when? >> yeah. they -- they don't -- they don't care about international standards. and what they want is to have control of their country so they can bring it back to the 14th century. and they will. they will as soon as we get out

of there and as soon as the -- the press turns its attention elsewhere. they will bring it back to the 14th century. they will, also, allow al qaeda and i know -- i know admiral kirby and i respect him a lot. but i have to disagree with him when he says there aren't enough al qaeda in afghanistan to do what happened on 9/11. it doesn't take a lot. yeah, there were 10,000 or so al qaeda in afghanistan on 9/11. but there are only 19 hijackers. the infrastructure needed to do that kind of operation is in the hundreds, not the thousands. and i think kirby made it pretty clear. we don't know how many al qaeda guys are in afghanistan today. and we won't. >> we know a bunch of them was just released. we know a bunch were just released out of the prison there by the taliban. >> you -- you stole my line. absolutely. we know one thing for sure. there are a bunch that were just

released, and are mad as hell at us for having locked them up for years. and we also know that the taliban will help them because the taliban hasn't changed its stripes since the mid-1990s. you know, al qaeda formed a military brigade, the 55th brigade, that fought, side by side, with the taliban to take over the country. these two organizations are glued at the hip. and just as the taliban has come back like the phoenix from the ashes. i bet you they have in mind al qaeda will, too. >> how long until you and i are taken back in time to 2005, 6, 7, 8, where it was all about trying to figure out what's happening in afghanistan. there are threats being targeted. there are new leaders saying we're coming for the united states. >> yeah. i think that's going to happen,

regrettably. and i think it's going to happen probably next year. and we will not have people on the ground. we will not have the kind of intelligence infrastructure that we have had for the last 20 years. i know the president says he is going to have some magical over-the-horizon capability but i know what our magical capabilities are. and they're not that good. we're not really going to have the kind of intelligence we need to stop training terrorists there or to stop plotting attacks around the world from there. >> richard clark, as always, literally 20 years we have been doing this. and we'll see how this next chapter is written. thank you for the help, as always. >> thank you. should tell you something. 20 years, we're back dealing with the same group in charge. and again, they are not concerned citizens of afghanistan who want to make the place a better place.

not who they are. not who they'll ever be. the president says he stands by his commitment to evacuate those who helped us and their families. can he? we have another former-afghan interpreter tonight who wants to tell you what it is like for the people there who are trying to get out. if you want these people to get out, you must keep the energy of caring about their stories. next. boost is the only mobile carrier to give you the power of free 24/7 access to live doctors from your phone. get a free samsung galaxy a32 5g

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these entrepreneurs have a fierce work ethic and drive to achieve - to change the game and inspire the team of tomorrow. amid the chaos, president biden continues to highlight his promise to not only get all the americans out, not that they know how many there are. but our allies, as well. listen. >> there's no one more important than bringing american citizens out. i acknowledge that. but they're equally important almost is all those who -- those sivs we call them who, in fact,

helped us. they were translators. they went into battle with us. they were part of the operation. >> he's right. my next guest is a man who interpreted for the u.s. forces in afghanistan. and he is clinging to that promise. right now, his parents, his five sisters, his brother, his 2-month-old nephew, are all trapped in kabul. he's been talking to them daily and knows the reality on the ground, and he joins us more -- now, to give us more insight into what they're actually seeing. what the reality is. okay? we're going to call him achmed to protect his identity. it's good to have you with us. >> thank you, chris. thanks for having me. >> why use a fake name when i can use no name. tell me this. what is your family telling you about the reality of their safety and what they are learning about the taliban's plans? >> well, chris, they are afraid for their lives. every day, they are living in

fear. they are getting different rumors, different reports the taliban are searching houses. finding out the people and helping united states government, especially the armed forces, in last 20 years. you know, they are getting them out. and there are reports. there are, you know, news around. they are getting all kind of these reports and -- and also news from different people that they are searching for people. they're really, really concerned, and i am concerned here day and night. so -- >> you are in the united states. explain to people why you have the -- the type of fear that you have for yourself, that you are wearing a mask not because of covid. you're wearing a mask to conceal your identity. why? >> that's correct -- correct, chris, because we know who talibans are and who -- what they have done in the past. you know? we're not going to just fall into their games or their game

that they say you know what? we are not going to punish or harm anybody because we took over the power and, you know, everybody's safe. they can live their life. i will say this, chris. this is a lie. we know who talibans are. they have been beheaded -- you know, soldiers who hand over themselves to them 20 days ago. you know, they put their weapons down. part of their promise. they shot all of them dead. so we cannot trust this regime. we cannot trust this terrorist group at all, period. >> that's what you heard about what happened to afghan soldiers there? >> correct. that's what i heard. >> um, what do you think about what the united states is trying to do right now? >> um, you know, the -- um -- what -- what i am hearing, what i'm seeing is evacuation is great. but i think we need to find a better way of evacuating these people. all those crowd that we see out there. there are two different type of

people or three different types. citizens, immigrants, and the people who they have approved cases. but then, we have got the fourth type of people that they have no documentations, no nothing, they just want to get out of the country. so we -- we have to have a better way to take care of those people who really helped the united states of america. their families are in danger. we have to act soon. find out ways we can help them out. >> what is your biggest nightmare for your family that are still there? >> not being able to see them again. that's my biggest fear. >> and how real is that fear in your mind? >> oh. real. 100% real. i -- i -- in the last couple days, i have had just a little bit of sleep. every night, i sleep only two or three hours. i am -- keep calling them nonstop to find out how they're doing. >> listen. i've been saying this, and i mean it every time. thank you for your service to this country. i hope the country keeps its

promise. and i know they told you when you said that you'd help, that don't worry, we know they'll come for your family. they're part of the package. they'll help you, as well. um, i hope they keep their promise and i hope it happens and i will cover it all the way through. and i'll give you my number so you can check in with me and let me know what's happening. okay? >> thank you, chris. >> all right, brother, we'll do it in the break. i'll be right back. on the covid front, the fda is about to announce news that could get many-more people vaccinated. all right. so stick for that. plus, we have a fresh dose of covidiocy. a very smart politician, who could have a huge future, is making a bet that i just don't understand. next.

good news. white house insiders tell us full approval of pfizer's covid vaccine could happen as early as monday. why does that matter when, you know, you will hear all these experts on this show and others say we know everything we need to know. it's safe. it's safe.

because it matters to people. in every bit of polling i ever seen, it's almost 50% of people who are vaccine hesitant who say if it were fda approved, it would make a difference. and that's especially true when it comes to giving it to their kids. of course, it's been a long time coming. more than 91 million people have already been fully vaccinated with the two-dose pfizer shot. so let's discuss what this could mean, how big the impact could be. dr. leana wen, thank you for joining me, especially on a friday. what would it mean to you in terms of how it could drive acceptance of the vaccine among adults, kids, and for a booster? >> i think this is really huge news, chris. and it's a long time coming. i think a lot of us have been wondering why has it taken the fda so long? and i really hope this is true that on monday they are going to announce that the vaccine is, finally, officially, formally, fully approved. um, there are two main reasons why this would really help. one is that there are businesses, colleges, schools

that are still a bit hesitant about requiring vaccinations. they are uncertain about the legal aspects. they keep on saying, well, when we have full approval, we'll go that step. so, it'll help them to increase vaccinations that way. and the other thing, too, is to your point, we do have a lot of polls showing that people are somehow this label of emergency use. they are uncertain about. and perhaps, if now we have a label, that full approval, we can say this vaccine should be treated no differently than any other vaccine that we routinely get, anyway. >> what does the pfizer approval mean for people like you who got the j&j single shot? >> well, it doesn't mean anything officially. but i think it could actually mean a lot practically. what i mean is that right now under emergency-use authorization, a physician technically cannot be prescribing the vaccine to our patients off label. for other medications even if our patients don't meet the exact qualifications of that

particular medication, we're able to prescribe it. we are able to use our clinical judgment. and as long as there is a medication that's fully approved by the fda, we can prescribe it to our patients. when these -- um -- when these vaccines are officially approved, fully approved, by the fda, we can actually treat those the same way. and so, a patient who got a one-dose johnson & johnson vaccine could, in theory, then be prescribed a pfizer second dose by their doctor. right now, we know that tens of thousands of j&j recipients have already gone out, and have gotten a second dose. but they have had to sneak around. sometimes, they had to go find different pharmacy chains or even cross state lines. now, they can go to their doctor. their doctor can use their clinical judgment, and prescribe this medication. >> i want -- i want you to listen to what florida's governor said today. >> i think it absolutely was something that was underutilized. people don't know or not as many know of the people that have been admitted to hospitals for covid. over 90% of them didn't get the monoclonal antibody treatment.

and so, i think that if -- if all of them had done it or most of them had done it, you know, i think those admissions would -- would've been much less. >> your take? >> well, the governor is not wrong in some respects. although i think that his point is -- is -- it actually shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how medicine works. so monoclonal antibodies are a type of treatment. they are really helpful for a small subset of patients. people who have mild to moderate disease early on in the course of their illness. if they get this infusion treatment, it prevents them potentially from being severely ill, ending up at the hospital. so having this treatment available is really good. the thing is, though, that's not what's going to stop the surge of covid-19. this is a highly-contagious disease. treatment, alone, is not enough. you have to prevent people from getting this disease and spreading it to others. >> equating -- >> how it works in this case are masks and vaccines. >> equating the antibody treatment with the vaccine is

wrong? >> absolutely. one is prevention. that's the vaccine. the antibody treatment is treatment. somebody already got infected with covid-19. maybe, they infected a whole bunch of other people during the time that they were contagious. i mean, you got to do both. if somebody is ill, of course, you have to treat them. but at the end of the day, what's going to stop the surge are exactly what governor desantis is not doing, which is mandating indoor masks and requiring vaccinations. >> yeah. i really don't understand his play. and again, people underestimate desantis, the same way they did trump. but really, desantis has a hell of a better pedigree. i mean, this guy is a veteran. you know, he served at a high level as a lawyer. he is ivy-league educated. not a dumb guy, he is a smart guy. and i am really wondering what is his play here by saying things like this? dr. leana wen, th thank you forr take. appreciate you. >> thank you, chris. so look. you want to talk a little politics? it's friday. why not? pandemic. afghanistan. bad for biden's approval

numbers. why? and what does it mean? how does it compare with where former presidents were -- um -- when it comes to, let's say, a war exit? let's bring in the wizard of odds because this is a big moment in this administration. next.

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when this is finished we will complete our military withdrawal and finally bring to an end 20 years of american military action in afghanistan. >> he's not even dealing with the hard part yet. this was supposed to be the easy part. the hard part is keeping america safe without a presence there. 20 years since 9/11 this september we haven't had another major attack. can we keep that going? the president may be remembered for accomplishing something his past predecessors could not, getting out of afghanistan. but how will that be judged? let's bring in the whiz harry henton. i know the president would like everybody to with hold judgment but that's not how the politics work especially in this environment. it was historically steady in the mid '50s through the first six months of his presidency.

the last few months we've seen a decline even before the withdrawal of afghanistan. within the last 20 days, the approval rating in the average drop two points and if you look at individual polls, you'll see a larger drop so there is no question in my mind as we look at the data that the american reaction to this has been negative and it has been hurting biden's approval rating. >> look, first, it was benefitting from low expectations because he was coming off trump. five points isn't that big of a deal but as you say, it had been steady and the question is where does it go from here? how might the crisis in afghanistan affect him in terms of eight, ten months down the road? >> one of the things we have to keep in mind is that the american mind can move on to different issues very, very, very quickly. so you know, if you look at biden's foreign policy approval rating right now, it stands at 41% and that's after the withdrawal from afghanistan but you look back at other withdrawals from iraq with barack obama. it was 48%. not that high. he still won reelection. remember when george h.w. bush, we won the gulf war. his approval rating was 83%.

he didn't win reelection. you might recall when ronald reagan withdraw peace keeping troops. in february of 1984 he easily won on to win reelection. the thing i would keep in mind right now is yes, biden's approval rating is dropping but that doesn't really mean too much a year from now or eight, ten months down the line. a lot of things can change. the american mind can move very, very quickly from one issue to another. >> if you want all the different chefs in the kitchen with afghanistan, ronald reagan is in the beginning of the list in terms of who started putting money in the situation. biden's handling of covid. now, how is that a balancing fact for him now in the midst of afghanistan? >> this to me is interesting because biden's biggest strength was his reaction to the coronavirus. remember, it was his number one issue over donald trump last year in the election and his

approvalness is so high. it was 60, 61, 62% most of this year. look at it now. it been declining. it's at 52% in the average. so what you essentially have is sort of this dare i say use the term, the hurricane force of multiple different issues that are coming together where you have the withdrawal from afghanistan, which people don't approve of, where all of a sudden you see the approval rating on the coronavirus is dropping and i think those two combined is creating a storm where by his overall approval rating is dropping. so the recent drop, i wouldn't prescribe to the withdrawal of afghanistan but partially has to do with people not approving as highly of biden on the coronavirus. >> in terms of quick fixes, covid is going to be really his opportunity. if he were to be stronger on mandates, stronger on going after the governors, would it matter? >> it could. it could. and i tell you right now, you know, the number one factor in my mind when i keep looking at things that are driving people's

opinion on the coronavirus is fear. it's fear, chris. and you can see right here what you see is the percentage of americans who are extremely very worried about getting a covid-19 infection is up significantly since june. it's nearly doubled. we're basically back where we were at the beginning of the biden administration at 43%. anything that biden can do to help drive down the fears, keep those fears at a lower level i think can raise his overall approval ratings and this to me is the number one thing going forward because the coronavirus consistently over the last year has been a top issue, even once the situation in afghanistan, hopefully we get to a better place there. the coronavirus is not going away. that to me is the thing that i would keep my eyeballs on and more than that, we know that case -- the case levels are continuing to rise. so once afghanistan goes away perhaps as an issue, coronavirus will still be there. >> that's why the fear is going up because the delta variant is all over the place. it's 99% of transmissions and cases are popping all over the

place. remember when i said, harry, if you speak to the people who are afraid, most of them are vaccinated, that's the new constituency and the us and the them in this country. the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. that's who needs to speak to. have a good weekend. stay out of the storm. >> i'll stay out. you stay out of the storm and i'm keep you up to date with the forecast. i'm an armature meteorologist. i went to weather camp back in the day. >> my job is to be the storm or be in the storm. see you. we'll be right back.

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we are tracking tropical

storm henri that is strengthening and could strike new england in 30 years, the strongest. we don't know that will happen. we'll know better tomorrow. of course, if you live in the area, as i did, pay attention to the local officials. they'll know best. do what you have to do. better safe than sorry. right now, we see sustained winds of 70 miles an hour. could bring flooding. 6 inches, 10 inches. we don't know. we'll know better tomorrow but we do know this. we're not very sponging out east. right? on long island. we get wet and get wet fast. i'll be on the air as henri bears down. stay with cnn for the very latest. again, we will know better tomorrow what's happening but you must prepare as soon as possible. better safe than sorry. thank you for watching. it's been a hell of a week. the catchup right now with "don lemon tonight," you're lucky, you get the upgrade. laura coats.