[Tapper:] In our politics lead today: Coronavirus cases in the United States have increased 75 percent compared to just two weeks ago, but you will find little mention of this deadly pandemic on President Trump's Twitter feed, where, instead, he is stoking the flames of racial division, today calling the phrase Black Lives Matter a symbol of hate, where he's defending Confederate monuments and statues, and suggesting the 2020 election is a quote "battle to save the heritage, history and greatness of our country" unquote. CNN's Kaitlan Collins is live for us at the White House. And, Kaitlan, what do we know about why the president is so focused on these divisive issues, instead of paying attention to the pandemic that is killing tens of thousands of Americans?
[Kaitlan Collins, Cnn White House Correspondent:] I think, most simply put, Jake, he just feels like it's more comfortable territory for him. And that is why that's something he's been digging in on Twitter, while he's ignoring those grim assessments that we heard from his own health officials, people like Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said the U.S. is headed on the wrong direction coronavirus. And instead of talking about that, matching that public messaging, at least, the president has instead focused on pursuing these cultural battles ahead of his election. He's talking about Black Lives Matter and the decision by New York, the lawmakers there, to slash the city's police department by their funding by a billion dollars. And he's saying that they should not be painting Black Lives Matter on Fifth Avenue. Of course, it's also painted right out in front of the White House as well. And then not only that, Jake. He's also targeting a Fair Housing Act regulation, saying he might do away with it because he believes it targets suburban people who live in the suburbs. He's also going after this defense spending bill, saying he may not sign it because it includes that provision that would allow for the renaming of those military bases that are named after Confederate leaders. So he is threatening to veto a defense spending bill that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he's fine with over this one provision that, of course, we should note passed a Republican-led committee.
[Tapper:] The politics of division. And, Kaitlan, another issue the president likes to divide the country on, he's been reluctant to wear a mask during this pandemic. He was just asked minutes ago about wearing a mask. He said he had no problem with them?
[Collins:] Yes. Even though he has refused to wear one publicly, the president said he has no issue with masks. Listen to what he just told FOX Business a few minutes ago.
[Donald Trump, President Of The United States:] I'm all for masks. I think masks are good. I would wear if I were in a group of people, and I was close...
[Blake Burman, Fox News:] You would wear one?
[Trump:] Oh, I would. I would. Oh, I have. I mean, people have seen me wearing one. I sort of liked the way I looked.
[Collins:] He says he has no problem wearing one, though he has refused, he has said it's unpresidential. He's gone to places where masks are required, and the president has not put one on. There's only one occasion when he's worn one briefly. The only reason we know that is because we later saw a photo of him wearing it. And, Jake, he's been in situations where masks have been required or they would be recommended by health experts, and he's refused to do so, though he seems to be changing his tune on that, as you're seeing more and more Republicans tell him to just wear a mask. But I want to point to something else he said, which is, back in February, the president claimed, one day, coronavirus is just going to disappear. Here we are in July, with cases reaching record numbers, and the president repeated that sentiment in this interview with FOX Business. And when he was pressed, do you really think it's still going to just disappear, and he says, yes, that one day, he believes it will.
[Tapper:] Well, existentially, Kaitlan, at some point, all of us are going to disappear. Maybe that's what he meant. Thanks so much for that report. Today, President Trump also claimed that intelligence reports that Russian officials offered Taliban terrorist bounties to kill U.S. and British soldiers are all just a hoax, made up by the lamestream media. Obviously, that's a lie. The facts are this. There is disagreement within the intelligence community about the information, but the intelligence was serious enough that sources confirm U.S. intel leaders brief their counterparts in the United Kingdom about the threat. And President Trump's National Security Council held a meeting in the spring about possible response options to the intelligence. CNN's Kylie Atwood is at the State Department for us. And, Kylie, you asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about this intelligence today. What did he have to say?
[Kylie Atwood, Cnn National Security Reporter:] Yes. Well, throughout his remarks at the State Department today, Secretary Pompeo repeatedly defended how the White House, this administration has responded and handled this intelligence, saying that they took it seriously and they responded in precisely the correct way. But when I asked the secretary if he thought, in his opinion, as the former CIA director, as a former soldier, if the president should have been made aware of this intelligence, even if it wasn't fully verifiable, he didn't answer the question. He took issue with the premise of the question, saying it was based on some assumptions. But, as you said, Jake, just earlier today, the national security adviser acknowledged that this intelligence had been received by the National Security Council. They had been working on interagency responses, if the intelligence proved to be true. And what Pompeo did in responding to the question is talk about broadly when he decides to bring threats and make them aware to the president. Let's listen.
[Mike Pompeo, U.s. Secretary Of State:] When the threat is sufficiently serious, the scale of the threat is of such importance that there's an action that I think that the president needs to be aware of, and the information that I have seen is sufficiently credible, then we make sure that the president is aware of that. The president has been consistently aware of the challenges that Russia presents to us, and he is aware of the risk in Afghanistan.
[Atwood:] Now, he said that President Trump is made aware of the risks posed by Russia in Afghanistan, but still begging the question, why wasn't the president made aware of the risks posed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan by Russia, Jake?
[Tapper:] Yes. And, Kylie, a Pentagon report released today found the Russia has been working with the Taliban, in an attempt to speed up the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Tell us more about that.
[Atwood:] Yes. So, the U.S. has long known, Jake, obviously, that Russia had been supporting the Taliban over the last few years. This report puts a bit of a finer point on it, saying that Russia was doing that in order to speed up the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Now, this is significant, given the context of the conversation we're having today, this criticism about how the administration handled this intelligence regarding Russian threats on U.S. troops in Afghanistan. And, of course, it's important, given the context of the continued U.S.-Taliban negotiations Jake.
[Tapper:] All right, Kylie Atwood at the State Department for us, thank you so much for that report. With a lack of statewide measures, the city of Sarasota in Florida is now implementing a mask mandate. I'm going to talk with the mayor, who is preparing for a visit from the vice president. That's next.