10/08/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! periscope the american people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country. vice pres. pence: what i want the to know, from the very first day, president donald trump has put the help of america first. by two plexiglas shields, vice president pence

and senator harris sparred last night in the only vice presidential debate of the campaign season. pence repeatedly defended the trump administration's handling of the crisis as the u.s. death toll from covid-19 nears 211,000 and millions of people remain out of work. vice pres. pence: sen. harris: almost half of american renters are worried that they're going to be able to pay read by the end of the month. this is where the economy is in america right now and it is because of the catastrophe and the failure of leadership of this administration. amy: we will air excerpts of the debate and speak to the reverend william barber of the poor people's campaign and ebola survivor dr. craig spencer, director of global health in emergency medicine at columbia university medical center. all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now!, democracacynow.org, the quarante report. i'm amy goodmaman. vice president m mike pence anad senator kamalala harris met in salt l lake city, utah, wednesdy night for r the only vice presidential debate ofof the campaign season. the two sparred on climate change, the supreme court, the economy, institutional racism, and other issues. the debate began with kamala harris slamming the trump administration's handling of the covid-19 pandemic. sen. harris: the american people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in history of our country. and here are the facts. 210,000 dead people in our country. 7 million people have contracted this disease. one in five businesses, closed. we are looking at frontline workers who have been treated like sacrificial workers.

we are looking at over 30 million people who in the last several months had to file for unemployment. amy: the two candidates were spaced over 12 feet apart and separated by two plexiglas shields after mike pence has been exposed people have been positive for coronanavirus. it is said that he repeatedly tested negative though he is still within the 14 day patient period of coronavirus. his left eye appeared red and weeping, prompting many doctors to question whether he has viral .onjunctivitis afteter headlines, we e will air extended clips of wednesesday''s vice preresidential debate and also talk about mikike pence fl, the fly that landed on the vice president's head for r 2.5 minus of the debate.

the white house as p president trump returned to the ovalal office wednesday e even thoughge is a w with cocovid-19 and l liy highly c contagious. chief of stataff mark k meadowsd his dedeputy dan scavino rereportedly wore full p personl prectiveve gear -- masks, gogow, and eye protection -- asas they met with trump i in the west wi. in a statement, trump's personol doctor painted a rosy y picturef trump's healthth, saying the presidident was off oxygen and d no fever. drdr. sean conley did d not sayt drugs president trump is currently taking or reveal when trtrump had his last negegative coronavirus test. with the campaign rallies canceled and scheduled clearar, trump was on twitter throughout the day tuesday and wednesday, firing off more than 50 tweets over one two-hour period. among other things, trump accused joe biden, barack obama and hillary clinton of a "treasonous plot" and said democrats want to shut down churches and attacked fda vaccine safety standards as "another political hit job."

on wnesday afternoon, , trump releas a a tap mesessage fromm the whe house lawn that was apparent r record onon tsday. trump rere hea makakeuand appeared short of breathtt mes.s. in the five-nunute veo, , trp clms he fes "great" and "perfect" and claimed experimealal antody cocotail he receid d was "curure"or cocovid-19. pres trump: so i think this was the blessing from god th i caughtt. this was alessing disguise. i caught it. i heard out thisrug. i id, let take it. was my suggestion. i said, that me take it. it was incredible thay it works. incredib. amy: trumpalled the drug "regegeronon" which iactually the e me of f e compmpy thatat produc it.t. e drug is still clinical tria, thoughrump said he w mang i it aiailabltoto all americans fr of char. pres. trump: i have thorized it if you are in theospital and you're feengng reayad, i thinwe're goingo o workt soso you get it and you'reoioing t geit forree and especicily

if yo're sior,r, wrereoing to get you in ther quick. amy: only 10 people in t unit s statehaveve ten thehe drug outside the will talal. trumump's s ofr of frereantibobo drs came ahe annoued an abpt end tnegotiatns over a covid-19 stimulubill unt after the electi, thoughee later paially rersed the announcent. a "new york tis"s" anasis found trump'weweeken hospalization, which was provided free c chargto thehe president, would have co an ordinary arican ov $ $100,0. vermont setotor beie s sanrs tweeted inin response -- "the excellent care you received at walter reed was at a 100% government-funded, government run hospital. for trump, 'socialized medicine' is bad for everyone but himself. total hypocrisy!" senator bernie sanders tweeted. meanwhile, the commission on presidential debates has announced the second debate between president trump and joe biden scheduled for next thursday will be conducted as a virtual town meeting, with the candidates participating from separate remote locations.

it is not yet known whether the candididates will accept t those terms. the numberer of people connenecd to the white house coronavirirus clusteter is nowow at 34 -- much higher than prpreviously k know. that's according to a federal emergencncy management agency mo obtained by abc news. press secretary kayleigh mcenany said sunday the trump administration would no longer rereport on the number of infections linked to the white house outbreak. mcenany went on to test positive for coronavirus. meanwhile, bloomberg reports the head of the white house security office crede bailey is gravely ill with covid-19 and has been hospitalized since september, though the white house did not disclose bailey's illness. california democratic congressmember salud carbajal says he developed covid-19 this week after a likely infection by his next-door neighbor, utah senator mike lee. lee tested positive for coronavirus last friday after he

was filmed hugging guests at a september 26 rose garden celebration for supreme court nominee amy coney barrett. attorney general william barr returned to his office at the justice department wednesday according to a spokesperson who said barr has tested negative for coronavirus six times since friday. barr was filmed wiping his nose with his hand and then shaking hands at the rose garden event, where he was in close contact with kellyanne conway and other infected people. in new jersey, former governor chris christie remains hospitalized with covid-19, with no word on his condition. president t trump's attorney ruy giuliani said wednesday he's taking the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to ward off a covid-19 infection after spending hours last week with president trump, chris christie, and other officials who've since tested positive. hydroxychloroquine was once touted by trump as a miracle cure, though clinical studies show it has no effect treating covid-19 and has potentially lethal side effects.

giuliani is not quarantining and says he'll take another coronavirus s test on friday. on tuesday, he appeared maskless as he addressed a crowd of dozens of people at a gop fundraiser in manhattan. a day earlier, giuliani coughed his way through an interview on fox news. "thehe daily b beast" reports te white hoe quietly inform a a teteransroupup tt famimi members of fallen u. s soldiss y haveveeen expod to roronavis atat aevent hoed preside trump and vice prident mi p pence doze of goldld star family member many ofhehem elrly,y, papackedhe east om on th whit hououse -- paed the east room for thevent -- seated septber 27 shoulder-to-ououldernd not wearg masks. acssss thenited states, coronavivirucases coinue t t clclimb,ith h mo than 5200 newew infefectns repepted on wednesy.y. e dedeattoll is proachchg 212,000 and nearlyalalf a millioion u.s. residents have bn hospitalized with covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. wisconsin governor tony evers

s issued a an emergency order limiting indndoor gatheringsgs a massive outbreak in eastern wisconsin n threatens toto overm hospitals. boston officials have suspended the reopening of public schools after a rise in new cases. here in new york, leaders of the orthodox jewish community clashed with governor andrew cuomo over newly issued coronavirus restrictions on houses of worship. in brooklyn, mostly unmasked groups of orthodox men took to the streets in protests that turned violent, lighting fires, waving donald trump flags, and attacking a jewish journalist. for the first time in its 208-yeyear history, the new england journal of medicicine hs weighed in o on a u.s. election, calling on voters to reject donald trump. the journal's editors wrote -- "our current political leaders have demonstrated that they are dangerously incompetent. we should not abet them and enable the deaths of thousands more americans by allowing them to keep their jobs."

meanwhwhile, the former director of the centers for disease control and prevention called on current cdc director robert redfield to orchestrate his own firing in order to expose the trump administration's incompetent handling of the pandemic. in a letter dated september 23 and obtained by "usa today," william foege asks redfield to apologize to cdc employees for acquiescing to donald trump and to publicly repudiate his administration. foege writes -- "the failure of the white house to put the cdc in charge has resulted in the violation of every lesson learned in the last 75 years that made cdc the gold standard for public health in the world." he added "when they fire you, this will be a multiweek story and you can hold your head high." on the campaign trail, republican candidatetes for thte house anand senate a are increasingly distancing themseselves from donanald trum.

in arizona, republican senator martha mcsally -- who o trails democratic challenger r mark key byby double e digits in recent s -- refused to answer a debate moderator tuesday night who asked her if s is prproud of her support for trtrump. > senator, the question was, aryouu proud of your support for president trump? >> i am proud to be fighting for arizona evevery single d. cloak so you're proud of yourur support t for the e presidenent? >> y you look at the legislalatn weutut on esidide's dedesk. > and sounds like she is prod -- >> i am proud to be f fightininr arizona.a. amy: texas' supreme court has ruled that officials in harris county may not send mail-in ballot applilicationons to all 4 millllion registstered voters. harris county is home to houston anand is texas' mosost populous region, with a f far greater proportion of democratic voters than other parts o of texas in northern california, the august complplex fire has become

the first "gigafire" in state history, consuming more than a million acres across seven counties, an area larger than the state of rhode island. the san francisco bay area has extended a "spare the air" alert through today with the air quality index forecast to top 100, an "unhealthy" reading due to smoke from the nearby glass fire. new climate data show surfrface air temperatures around the globe set an all-time high for the month of september, edging out the previous record set last year. satellite data show the average extent of arctic sea ice was at ththe second lowest level ever recorded last month, as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere climbed to 410 parts per million, far above pre-industrial levels.s. in greece, an athens court ruled wednesday that the neo-f-fascist party golden dawn was a criminal organization, tying the party to a series of attacks on migrants and left wing activists. the ruling concluded a five-year

trial that could have implications for thear-right throughout europe. "the guardian" called it biggest trial of fascists since nuremberg. thousands rejoiced at the news. this is greek prime minister kyriakos mitsotakis. decision by the three-member criminal court of appeals and the actions of golden dawn, a dramatic cycle and the publix life of the country comes to a close. it's political dimensions has, fortunatelely, than judged by te victory of the republic, which formation fromzi parliamement. now the independenent judiciary t t its own n answer. amy: back in the u.s., jacob blake has left the hospital in milwaukee more than six weeks after the black father was shot seven times in the back by the kenosha police, paralyzing him frfrom the waist dowown. blake's lawyer said wednesday he is still in recovery. to see our intnterview with his fafather, also named jacob blak,

you can go to democracynow.org. dederek chauvin, the white formr minneapolis police officer who killed george floyd, was released from custody wednesesdy after posting a $1 m million bo. chauvin faces a second degree murder charge for pressing his knee into floyd's neck for more than nine minutes in a video seen around the world. minnesota governor tim walz called out the national guard wednesday evening as hundreds marched on minneapolis' fifth police precinct to protest chauvin's release. american poet has been awarded the 2020 nobel prize in literature. on wednesday, the nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to jennifer doudna and emmanuelle charpentier for their work on a gene editing tool called crispr -cas9. it's the first time the award has gone to two women. and in b breakining news, presit trump has rejected the committee on presidential debabate decisin to conduct next thursday's debate as a virtual town meeting

withth the candidatetes participating from separate remote locations. in a video posted to t trump's twitter feed my trump said "i''m not going to do virtual debate with democratic challenger biden." is infected with the coronavivirus. and those are someme of the headadlines. this is s democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. whene come back, we will air excerpts of last nights s debate and speak to the reverend william barber of the people''s dr.aign and ebolala survivor craig spencer, director of global health and emergencncy medicine at columbia university. stay w witus.. ♪ [music break]

y: "i can n see clearlrly no b y jojohnny nasash. nash passed away tuesdsday at te age of 80. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman.n. i am amy goodman with nermeenen shaikh remotely here in new york city as well. hi, nermeen. nermeen: welcome to all of our lilisteners and viviewers from around the country and around the world.

amy: vice prpresident mike penee and d senator kamala harris metn salt lake city, utah, wewednesdy night for the only vice presidential debate of the campaign season. separated by two plates of plexiglas, they sparred on climate crisis, the supreme court, the economy, institutional racism, and other issues. the debate began with kamala harris slamming presidentt trump administration's handling of the covid-19 pandemic. sen. harris: the american people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country. and here are the facts. 210,000 dead people in our country in just the last several months. over 7 million people who have contracted this disease. one in five businesses closed. we're looking at frontline workers who have been treated like sacrificial workers.

we are looking at over 30 million people, who in the last several months, had to file for unemployment. and here is nothing thing. on january 28, the vice president and the president were informed about the nature of this pandemic. they were informed that it's lethal in consequence, that it is airborne, that it will affect young people, and that it would be contracted because it is airborne. and they knew what was happening and they didn't tell you. can you imagine if you knew on january 28, as opposed to march 13, what they knew, what you might've done to prepare? they knew and they covered it up. the president said it was a hoax. they minimized the seriousness of it. susan: the u.s. death toll as a percentage of our population is higher than that of almost every other wealthy nation on earth stuff for instance, our death

rate is 2.5 times that of canada next-door. you had the administration's coronavirus task force. why is the u.s. death toll, as a percentage of our population, higher than that of almost every other wealthy country? vice pres. pence: our nation has gone through a very challenging time this year. but i want the american people to know that from the very first day, president donald trump has put the health of america first. before there were more than five cases in the united states, all people who had returned from china, president donald trump did what no other american president had ever done. and that was he suspended all travel from china, the second largest economy in the world. now, senator joe biden opposed that decision. he said it was xenophobic and hysterical. but i can tell you having led the white house coronavirus task force that that decision alone by president trump bought us invaluable time to stand up the

greatest national mobilization since world war ii. and i believe it saved hundreds of thousands of american lives. because with that time, we were able to reinvent testing. more than 115 million tests had been done to date. we were able to see to the delivery of billions of supplies, so our doctors and nurses had the resources support they needed. and we began, really, before the month of february we started to develop a vaccine and to develop medicines and therapeutics that have been saving lives all along the way. and under president trump's leadership, operation warp speed, we believe we'll have literally tens of millions of doses of a vaccine before the end of this year. the reality is, when you look at the biden plan, it reads an awful lot like what president trump and i and our task force has been doing every step of the way. and quite frankly, when i look at their plan that talks about advancing testing, creating new ppe, developing a vaccine, it looks a little bit like plagiarism, which is something

joe biden knows a little bit about. susan: senator harris, would you like to respond? sen. harris: whatever the vice president is claiming the administration has done, clearly, it has not worked. when you're looking at over 210,000 dead bodies in our country, american lives that have been lost, families that are grieving that loss, and the vice president is the head of knew on force and january 28 how serious this was. and thanks to bob woodward, we learned that they knew about it. and then when that was exposed, the vice president said, when asked, "well, why didn't you all tell anybody?" he said, "because the president wanted people to remain calm." susan: well, let's -- sen. harris: no. but susan, this is important. and i want to add -- v.p. pence: susan, i have to weigh in here -- sen. harris: mr. vice president, i'm speaking. v.p. pence: i have to weigh in. sen. harris: i'm speaking. susan: you can have 15 more seconds, and then we'll give the vice-president a chance to respond -- sen. harris: thank you.

so i want to ask the american people, how calm were you when you were panicked about where you were going to get your next roll of toilet paper? how calm were you when your kids were sent home from school and you didn't know when they could go back? how calm were you -- susan: thank you -- sen. harris: when your children -- susan: thank you, senator harris -- sen. harris: couldn't see your parents because you were afrfrad they could kill them? amy: we begigin today's show wih dr. craig spencer, director of global health in emergrgency medicine at columbiaia universiy medidical center. in 2014, he contracted ebolala whilile fighting the outbreak in africa and is now a doctor in new york city where he has been treating coronavirus patients. before we get your response to the debate that we just heard, dr. spencer, we wanted to get your response to the latest breaking news, the infective president of the united states, president trump, has covid-19 come has just said he will not go along with the commission on presidential debates decision to have a virtual second presidential debate next week

because of the deep concern of how many more people would be exposed to president trump, who has covid. can you respond to what he is saying? not to mention what is happening threat this weekend, president trump in the white house breaking isolation, going to the oval office, talking about the miraracle cure of this regeneron cocktail and saying that covid is a gift of god? >> i don't think this is a gift from god for anybody. as you pointed out, we have nearly 212 thousand people that have died. we have increasing cases across the country. i don't think this is a gift to anyone. regarding having a presidential debate in person, i cerertainly would not t stain on stage with someone who wasas recently infected with coronavirus. there are guidelines for when someone is most likely no longer contagious, but we wou need to

have some transparency from this administration on the president's health and how he is testing, what symptoms he is actually having. we have not received that today. i think what we saw this week and when he was hospitalized, we were told one thing and the next day we were told something different. we're getting more information from short video clips that we are from the doctor. i don't feel comfortable and i certain would not feel comfortable for myself, for vice president biden, or anyonene ele to be on the debate stage with president trump without knowing some key details. amy: and how he has behaved this weekend from being in that hermetically sealed car to way to supporters with secret service having to be around him in that car as well to breaking isolation in the white house? >> absolutely. i think it is c clear this is something that we have seen since really early on, this president and this administration have flouted

really all well-known public health principles about how you prevent this disease, about how you presesent -- prevent the spreread. they've undermined sciences thee day one but which is what w we have thehe world's worst outbrek of covid, the most of any country in the world. i d don't trust president to mae the right decisions come nott only aboutut his health, b but e healalth of otheher americans ad those h he may expose. the antics from this weekendnd, the joyryride, completely unnecessary -- maybe for political theater was s held whe -- helpful. spencer, trump has said come as you just talked about earlier, that he has refused the proposal for nextxt week's debate to be virtual. that many people raised concerns also a about lasast night's debe given some uncertainty about whether vice president pence may have been exposed to the virus.

and several peopop pointed o out the plexiglas that they put up between kamamala harris and vice president pencece would do virtually nothing t prevent airborne transmission.n. could you respond to t that and what kindsds of measures wowould needed to be taken to prevent airborne transmission in a context like last night? >> first, i want to clarify, the vice president was exposed. we do know from his own reporting he was in the company of the president at the time when many others in the whwhite house had been exposed and were falling ill. absolutely, the vice president should have quarantinened. i don't think last night's debabate should have been held n person. testsf we know that daily negative, it does not mean hours after you test negative you can't test positive. that is the way this works.

your negative until you are positive. we don't know ultimately if vice president pence will ultimately test positive. i hope her sap doesn't but regarding the debate last night, the plexiglas was your theater from a public health and disease transmission p perspective, it does basically nothing. we do know -- i was just going to say we do know the majority of transmissions occur in closer contact from respiratory droplets. the cdc has recently changed its wording on its own website to say there is some component of airborne transmission post remember, that was put up a month ago and hastily taken down. there's a question of whether this was meddling with the process.c asses we do know there is a risk of the vice president was infected, he could be contagious and that some of those airborne particles, some of that airborne virus could potentially infectct

others that were in the same room. amy: numbeber of p people -- >> like having a box fan. amy: thehe number of people connected to the white house coronavirus outbreak is now at 34 -- much higher than previously known. many of those infected attended ceremony thaten happened inside and outside, reception inside, where president trump nominated amy coney barrett to the supreme court. during the debate last night, moderator susan page asked vice president mike pence about this. susan: you were in the front room into rose garden room 11 days ago, what seems to be a super spreader event for senior administration congressional officials. no social distancing, few masks, and now a cluster of coronavirus cases among those who were there. how can you expect americans to follow the administration safety guidelines to protect themselves from covid when you at the white house have not been doing so?

vice pres. pence:, my wife karen and i were there and honored to be there. many of the people who were at that event, susan, were tested for coronavirus. it was an outdoor event which all of our scientists routinely advise. the difference here is president trump and i trust the american people to make choices in the best interest of their health. joe biden and kamala harris consistently talk about mandates, and not just mandates with the coronavirus, but a government takeover of healthcare, the green new deal, all government control. we're about freedom and respecting the freedom of the american people. sen. harris: let's talk about respecting the american people. you respect the american people when you tell them the truth. you respect the american people when you have the courage to be a leader. v.p. pence: which we'velways done. sen. harris: speaking of those things that you may not want people to hear, but they need to hear so they can protect themselves. amy: so that is the debate andeen vice president pence

kamala harris last night. dr. craig spencer, if you could respond to what they said and what it means to model behavior and even at the end of the debate when the spouses of the vice presidential candidates husband kamala harris' come as was ordered to everyone in the room, was wearing a mask , the secondnce lady, was not wearing a mask? -- the whiteletely house has had more cases than the country of yemen recently, then vietnam, then new zealand. our white house has m more cases thanan countries. how can we expecect the white house to keep the usa for can't keep the white house safe? vice president pence does say we were outside, which is

considered safer. absolutely true but it is not just one of these things. and as multiple things in combination. it is being outside and distancing and wearing a mask. choose one of a multiple choice and expect that to protect you. i think we have seen that with the outbreak going on now. i also think it is important vice president pence said that we trust the american people to make decisions about their health. that is great if the amerco people are getting the information they need to make those decisions. we know to date this administration has undermined and really muzzled the cdc, the organization most responsible and helpful in helping the americans make those decisions. we know this administration has misinformation and disinformation, much of it coming from the presidents on twitter feed where he has to be muzzled by twitter for sharing the lies about things like the risk of covid versus the flu. i agree people should be able to make decisions about their

health but they need to be given the right information and this administration actively has made it difficult for people to do so. nermeeeen: dr. spencer, one of e cite for the u.s. having sucuch high numbers i ise insufficient contact t tracing that happen here early on and even now, and the white house itself, despite this outbreak, hass been fact rejejected a an r by the cdc to help with contact tracing and many people who have been put a at risk sayhey haveve not been contacted. if y y could r respond to that d explain the importance of contact tracing, and then also bys u unprecedented editoririal the editors of the leading medical journal, the new england journal of medicine, criticizing the trump administration for the handling of the pandemic? >> absolutely.

on contact tracing, that is such a critical part of disease detection. not just for coronavirus, but for any of it. with any infectious disease we want to controlol community to test and trace and isolate. you need to find anyonone that s beenen in potential contact of someone whwho could have beeeen infectious. you need to make sure they are quarantine. need to make sure they have access to getting tested. you need to continue to follow their symptoms so if thehey get sick, confined the people who have been exposed potentially by them as well. this is something the cdc does extremely well. it is unconscionable that the white house is not doing this. you saw there was really a crowd source in usa today with the google doc to try to get names and identify people who are at the rose garden. this is something the cdc does and this is what their job is. it is another instance in which the white house is basically saying, good public health has been established over the past few centuries is a crucial here.

i think that is the reason was the uncontrolled spread in the white house. on the second point of the new england journal -- nermeen: please, go ahead. >> around the e new england journal of medicine, as you pointed out, this is an unprecedented step. i think what this highlights is that for months and months and months, people have been saying that people like myself, physicians and public health scientists that are getting up and talking about how poor this administration's response has been, have been telling us that we are political. publicot political when health professionals and physicians and scientists talk about how poorly our politicians have handled our public health response. it is our job to do soso. i think the nenew journal glintf medicine making thatat stance is justst anotherer critical l voie adding to that mass of people who have been incredibly disappointed in how badly we have handled this. amy: i would to go to last

nights's debate moderator susan page to ask senator campbell hears about the trumpet administration's rush to approve a vaccine. susan: if the trump administration approves a vaccine before or after the election commission americans take it and would you take it? if. harris: if dr. fauci, the doctors tell us we should take it, i will be the first deadline to take it. absolutely. donald trump tells us we should take it, i am not thinking. v.p. pence: we will have it in less than a year. we have five companies in phase three criminal goal trials -- clinical trust we're producing tens of millions of doses. the fact that you continue to undermine public confidence in a vaccine, if the vaccine emerges during the trump administration, i think is unconscionable. and senator, i just ask you, stop playing politics with people's lives.

nermrmeen: dr. spencer, can you respond with both candidates said last night when pence said that will be a vaccine and a record time, you tweeted in response that you u frequently criticized this administration for public heaealth response but operation warp speed is one of the best investmentsts they have made. >> absolutely. i think it is a horrible name but i think it is an incredible initiative. ii h have been very critical of this administration for its inability to do things like contact tracing and testing and help with ppe, but the huge financncial investstment in operation warp speed has been critical. i'm also optimimistic we will he a vaccine in record time. wewe may have multiplele vaccin, many of them are in scientntific research right now. and i agree. i signed onto a letterer in the past few weeks basically say to come this like pfizer that we need to make sure that these are safe before they are announced

because we have had multitiple episodes of this administration undermining or muzzling our public health agencies, undermining agencies like the fda. we saw just a couple of days ago the white house were used to accept thehese guiuidelines that were p proposesed by the fda to ensure safety rurun any possible new vaccine. i'm concerned there is a push to get an announcement out before the election. ththat could absolutelely undere public confidence. and what could be really good vaccine candidate, we have the potential to help in the pandemic with a good vaccine orr a couple of good vaccines if we get enough doses by sometime e n the middle of next year. we also have the potential of undermining the faithh in vaccines if w we roll thihis oue wrong w way, if there are complications, if there are side effects that are tied to a vaccine that was not adequately studied. we need to do this right.

because it is not just short-term repercussions, anands long-term as well if we don't. amy: i want to go back to 2014 before trump was president who repeatedly attacked you, dr. craig spencer, after you became the first ebola patient in new york contracting the disease while you were treating patients in africa but did not show symptoms for 36 hours after returning to new york. this is trump. pres. trump: i consider that doctor extremely selfish who came back and then he toured new york. he went on crowded subways, had dinner in brooklyn, went to a bowling alley, and went all over the place. i think he is a very selfish person. >> that would be dr. craig spencer. cuomo and chris christie -- amy: that was donald trump on fofox news in 2014 talking about you breaking the rules. the president who has broken almost every rule that has just scientist have put forward around containing an illness.

can you respond to what he said? >> sure. i join to get into tit for tat with the president because i don't thing he will follow any public health guidance, but what was clear is s at that time i followed all public health protocols as we knew them. thinkn look back and i time has proven that my actions were responsible and in line with public health guidelines. i don't know the president himself will be able to say he didn't infect anyone. nermeen: before we conclude, another question on another topipic that neither of the two vice president a c candidatetes responded to last night, namelyy the one of presidential succession given that whoever wins, trump p or biden at next month's election, they will be the oldest president in u.s. as she e will be the oldest presidt in u.s. history. what are your concerns abobout having our presidentnt either in

trump's case, 74, or binds case, who will be 78? i it would probably need younger leadership in this country regardless. i think we need some fresh ideas. but for both of these candidates, there's absolutely concerns. we know f for one, trump is certainly not out t of the wood. his own physicians have said that. he still had a severe case of coronavirus. even if he is looking and feeling better, does not mean he is completely out of the woods.. i similalar concerns for vice president bideden. we don't not just with covid, but many other health issues the likelihood of having severe and negative impacts when you're older is certainly much higher. i have very semi-concerns with everyone else and i really want to push for younger representative leadership in this country. amy: dr. craig spencer is

director of global health in emergency medicine at columbia university medical center. when we cocome back,k, reverendd barber will join us for the swing state of north carolina to talklk about other issues r raid arouound the issue of racial jusustice, the aca, obamacare, d presidentt trurump attttemptingo overtuturn i it. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: wilson picickett's "nininy nine and one half." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quaranante report. i'm amy goodman. vice president mike pence and senator kamala harris met in salt lake city, utah, would say not for the only vice presidential debate at the campaign season on the issue of the economy, pens argued it had been growing too slowly under the obama/biden administration and made no mention of the economic collapse during the coronavirus crisis. this exchange begins with senator kamala harris. sen. harris: on the issue of the economy, i think there cannot be more fundamental difference between donald trump and joe biden. joe biden believes you measure the health and the strength of america's economy based on the health and the strength of the

american worker and the american family. on the other hand, you have donald trump who measures the strength of the economy based on how rich people are doing, which is why he passed a tax bill benefiting the top 1% and the biggest corporations of america, leading to a $2 trillion deficit that the american people are going to have to pay for. on day one, joe biden will repeal that tax bill. he will get rid of it. and what he'll do with the money is invest it in the american people. vice pres. pence: you just heard her say, on day one joe biden is going to raise your taxes. it is remarkable. right after a time we're going to pandemic that lost 22 million jobs, we have already added back 11.6 million jobs because we had a president who cut taxes, rolled back regulation, unleashed american energy, fought for free and fair trade and secured $4 trillion from the congress of the united states to give direct payments to

families, save 50 million jobs through the paycheck protection program. we literally have spared no expense to help the american people and the american worker through this. sen. harris: the american people know what i'm talking about. you know. i think about 20-year-olds. we have a 20-year-old. 20 something-year-old, who are coming out of high school and college right now and you're wondering, is there going to be a job there for me? we're looking at people who are trying to figure out how they're going to pay rent by the end of the month. almost half of american renters are worried about whether they're going to be able to pay rent by the end of the month. this is where the economy is in america right now. and it is because of the catastrophe and the failure of leadership of this administration. amy: that is kamamala harris and mike p pence. we spend the rest of the hour with dr. william barber, cochair of the p poor people's campaign and president of repairers of the breach.

can you talk about the framing of not only the vice presidential debate, but the presidential debate -- not only that, what these candidates are willing to talk about when it comes to issues of poverty? i don't know if that word was mentionened even oncnce last ni. another economic crises that people are facing? >> one of the things that continues to bother us and the wait menu which the moderators don't even bring up an issue thatat before covid-19 was impacting for 3% of the station, 140 million people, before covid were poor and low wealth. 62 million people working for less than a living wage. and since covid, we know millions have been added to the poverty and low wealth numbers. well over 50%. because of the newport. we know we had 87 million people before covid that were uninsured

now some 2 29d and peoplele have been added because of people who have lost their interests -- their interests, lost their jobs. the framing -- it is amazing. athink senator harris didid tremendousus job in pointing out the economic adjustments, but one thing i would say is we have to stop saying things were well before covid. it is almost as if we give that to trump and pence. reality isis, wall s street is . those who got the tax cuts were well. the reality is that before covid, they were trying to overturn health care. before covid, they were blocking living wages. before covid, we were nonot addressing the issue of poor and low wealth people. we have to find a way to say that. i wish the moderators would talk about that and open up, amy,

because 64 millionon poor and lw wealth people were eligible to vote in the last election. that is nearly one third of the electorate. 34 million did not vote. a study we recently did called unleashing the power of poor and low wealth voters said the number one reason that poor and low wealth people did not vote namesy never hear the called, the issues come the lack of transportation and they can could off the job, and voter suppression. but that is very group that in 15 states if just 1% to 20% vote , he could fundamentally shift the electorate. they deserve to no longer be marginalized but to be heard and to be talked about in these races. nermrmeen: reverend barber, i wt to ask you about onene aspect tf what this wispread povoverty

before the pandemic and after the pandemic hahas inducece namy food insecururity according to e departrtment o of agriculture, e level of hunger in u.s.s. households has tripled since 2019 and the proportion of american children who sometimes dodon't have enough to eat is nw as much as 14 times higher than last year. so could you talk about that particular issue, and your assessment of the biden-harris plan, their anti-poverty proposal? when pence talk last night, first cares act committee through percent of the money went to corporations and banks, did not go to the people. when we look at covid-19, we know the fishers of systemic racism, poverty, has allowed

this pandemic to have a greater hold on our american society. death, we talked about poor people are dying. people who make less than $50,000 he are dying. black -- white, whether it be white, black and indigenous people. covid as good more pple and the u.s. than america were killed and five of our most recent wars. is what we're talking about. we're talking about the devastation that is happening among poor and low wealth people. then we talk about the residual, the other impacts. 13 million people one study says that make under $50,000 a year, one in five don't know where they're going to get their next food. they don't know how they're going to eat. upwards of 40 million people facing eviction. one of the things i like about the fact of the biden-harris

plan is that, number one, they're not talking about taking people's health care. trump-pence say, elect us and we will take your health care. they're talking about giving more money to the wealthy. plan, pence, mcconnell they won another $200 in tax cuts, what money f for fighter jet, and they want to protect corporations from liability when those corporations do not protect their people from coronavirus. so what we have is two different worlds. pence with a straight face lying,g, basically saiaid vote r us and we will take your heaealh care and undermine -- we will block the been wages. we will not protect the environmenent. vote for us, vote for us and wee wiwill put people e on the supre court who will be againstst your health care, against labor

rights. one of the things people forget about with this nominee is that she voteted against peopople geg ovovertime pay. so we're living in two different worlds. not only wilill pence and trump not acknowledge racism when it comes to police violence, they are not eveven acknowledgining e disparity of racism and economics. on the onene hand, while biden they're innot be -- the world of wanting to do more. they're wanting to increase, in the sphere of wanting to make sure the people have what they need as opposed to wanting to only secure the wealthy. it is tragic. and it think that someone -- you talk about disrespecting the people. number one, not only to lie to them, but to be so bold that you literally look people in the eye and say, in essence, vote for me and i will t take f from you.

i will take health care even in .he midst of this death, there's something wrong deep down in the soul the republicans have decided to hold on to these and moral, constitutional inconsistent, economically insane, a form of necro politics, the politics of death, that is contrary to everything we say we believe on paper like life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. amy: near the enend of the deba, mike pence refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power if biden was the election and instead commented o on thee trut administration's legal efforts to restrict mail-in voting. vice pres. pence: i think we're going to win this election. we are fighting every day in court houses to prevent joe biden and kamala harris from changing the rules and creating this universal mail-in voting that will create a massive

opportunity for voter fraud. we have a free and fair election, we know we're going to have confidence in it and i believe in all my heart that president donald trump is going to be reelected for four more years. amy: let's talk about the trumpet administration's efforts to stop voting andnd also what u are e doing but the signinificae of thihis. >> i come from unique place, north carolina was the scene of the crime of the worst voter after the case of alabama with the supreme court gutted section 5 and ruth bader ginsburg said that is like putting away your umbrella most of the shelby case. putting away your i'm bella in a rainstorm. in north carolina, amy, when it was done for ththe republican --d, noww that the problem the headache has been removed,d, we can do what we want to.

guess what? evererything pence just said, we heard in 2013 and they try to roll every p progressive wayay f voting. theyey actually went to the booksks look at how it would benefit black and brown people and young people, andnd those we the roles they try to rollback. and the said it was -- the court said it was surgical racism. what i saw a north carolina, what we filed suitit against in rth carolina, snonow it trump and pence are talking about. surgical racisism with surgicacl precision. i wish the monitor had drilled down on that vototing rights bebecause pence and trump don't believe in the voting rights act. republicans don't believe in blackck one,even the tim scott, they don't believe in it. they know they can't win if eveverybody votetes. poor,e terribly afraid of low wealth, like, and brown. we are saying you have to vote. we have a campaign called "we must do moer."

we have mobilized more than 5000 persons to make over a million calls to poor and low wealth people in states where we know the percentage of poor little will people that need to turn out to change who sits in the senate, who sits in government, general simile come is under 20%. we are mobilizing all over the country. we are putting our people to be pulled watchers. we have a relationship with forward justice and the naacp legal defensee fund creating voting p protection so that peoe know where to call, where they -- what theieir legal rights ar. 1000 temples,ing mosques, congregations that will organize 1000 people in t their congregations, over a million people. we are asking each one to reach out to 100 people and to get them to the polls and vote. we a are telling people to votey

absentee ballot. in north carolina where we have 16 days of voting early, vote early. if y you vote on election day, inputs -- put your mask o on, pt your gloves on. pack you a lunch. get you a folding chair. at some water in that lunch bag and vote. if they want to come watch as vote, let them watch millions of peopople becauause we're not sc. we're not giving away this democracy. let them come and watch. stop saying trump won the last temples that he was selected by the electoral collegege becausef 80,00000 votes. we have to end this mythology he has some kind of superpower. the fact of the matter is, 100 million people did not vote. amy: reverend barber, at one point during the debate, a fly landed on pence has had for nearly two and a half minutes. pumping widespread commentary online. professor ibram x kendi, author of the best-selling book "how to be an antiracist," tweeted -- "as soon as pence started denying the existence of

systemic racism, the fly got him!" and you have a record last night, a ceiling shattered. senator kamala harris made history as the first black woman to d debate a white man in a presidential or vice presidential debate. she was the first b black woman, indian-american womoman. the significance of this in ee last 20 seconds we have? >> she was huge in politics. she was a second black woman to be vice presidential candidate. in the book of exodus, i is as f you don't let my people go, i will causese fires to come as a sign of what is wrong. but i won't let -- the fly will be a symbol that you''re just wrong. let my people go. trump and d pence neeeed to lete pepeople go. they have been holding court in thwewealth peoeople hostage,, social wororkers tossed the dust hostage. amy: dr. reverend william

barber, thank you for being with us, speaking to us from raleigh, north carolina. to see the full debate at democracynow.org, go there and you can see the 90 minutes. president trump says he refuses to participate in a virtual debate. we will bring in latesaiog

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