[Opal Tometi, Co-founder Black Lives Matter:] Are realizing that things aren't going to change unless they get up off the sidelines. And that their silence is complicity. And we're seeing a sea change in this moment and it's really heartening.
[Michael Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] A warm welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. And coming up here on CNN newsroom. In denial. President Trump claims with a straight face the coronavirus is going away. It is not. And "traitor and liar." That's what one member of the Trump Administration says of a former member of the Trump Administration. We'll tell you all about it. And coronavirus cluster. A major food market in Beijing being linked to new cases. We'll look at the market and restrictions in place to contain the outbreak. Welcome, everyone. As coronavirus cases in the United States surpass two million, the country finds itself struggling to control the spread. Nearly half of the states across the nation are seeing an increase in infections. On Thursday, Johns Hopkins University reporting nearly 26,000 new cases. And yet, President Donald Trump claims the U.S. has largely beaten the virus.
[Donald Trump, President Of The United States:] If you look, the numbers are very minuscule compared to what it was. It's dying out.
[Holmes:] Only that's not true. It isn't dying out. Oklahoma has recorded its largest increase in new cases since the pandemic began, up 110 percent from last week. This as Trump supporters are lining up in Tulsa ahead of Saturday's planned rally. Masks will be handed out at the event but people won't be required to wear them. Many of them just won't. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration firing back at former national security adviser John Bolton. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling him a traitor who told lies and half truths about the president in his new book. Bolton details a series of allegations claiming the president was motivated by one thing.
[John Bolton, Fmr. National Security Advisor:] There really isn't any guiding principle that I was able to discern other than what's good for Donald Trump's reelection.
[Holmes:] It has been a trying week for President Trump. From that uptick in coronavirus cases to political slams and supreme court setbacks. CNN's Jim Acosta takes a look at the latest turmoil the president is facing.
[Jim Acosta, Snr. Cnn White House Correspondent:] With 2020 shaping up to be a re-election nightmare, President Trump appears to be in denial when it comes to the string of crises overwhelming his administration. Take Mr. Trump's response to concerns about the coronavirus at his rally this weekend in Oklahoma.
[Trump:] No. Because, if you look, the numbers are very miniscule compared to what it was. It's dying out.
[Acosta:] But that's not true as the virus is spiking in states across the south in places like Florida.
[Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, University Of Alabama At Birmingham:] The potential for the virus to take off there is very, very nerve-wracking and could have catastrophic consequences.
[Acosta:] The president is even questioning the value of testing for the virus, telling the "Wall Street Journal" No wonder one of the administration's top health experts, Dr. Anthony Fauci, worries about an anti-science bias in the U.S.
[Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases:] One of the problems we face in the United States is that, unfortunately, there is a combination of an anti-science bias that people are for reasons that sometimes are inconceivable and not understandable they just don't believe science. And they don't believe authority.
[Acosta:] Besides the virus, Mr. Trump's presidency is in a tailspin on a number of fronts. From the unrest in U.S. cities to losses at the supreme court to the biting comments from his own former aides. Like John Bolton. After the supreme court ruled against his administration's plans to scrap the DACA program that shields young undocumented immigrants from being deported, Mr. Trump tweeted Doesn't sound like the winning he promised voters in 2016.
[Trump:] We're going to win so much. You are going to get so sick and tired of winning. You're going to come to me and say please, please, we can't win anymore."
[Acosta:] As for Bolton, who's just the latest ex-aide to slam the president, the former national security adviser is alleging in a tell- all book that Mr. Trump sought China's help in the 2020 race. And even blessed Chinese concentration camps for ethnic minority Uighurs.
[Bolton:] I don't think he's fit for office. I don't think he has the competence to carry out the job.
[Acosta:] The president, who once said he only hired the best people, told the "Journal"
[Trump:] In terms of Bolton, he broke the law. He was a washed up guy; I gave him a chance.
[Acosta:] The president is also defending his Lafayette Square photo op where he held up a bible after protesters were pushed back with force. Saying Incredibly, the president is claiming success for raising awareness about the Juneteenth holiday dedicated to remembering the end of slavery as that was the original date for his Tulsa rally before he postponed it. Saying The president insists his rally will be safe.
[Trump:] No, we'll go there. Everyone is going to be safe, they have to be safe. They want to be safe.
[Acosta:] The president concedes there is a chance a small percentage of the people at his rally in Tulsa this weekend may contract the coronavirus. As it turns, out the topic of his rally did not come up at the latest meeting of the coronavirus task force, the one place where experts would have told aides to the president an indoor political event in the middle of a pandemic is a bad idea. Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
[Holmes:] Nearly half of the 50 U.S. states are seeing sharp increases in new coronavirus cases. Ten states are seeing record new numbers over the last week. And the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute believes that we're going to see a lot more unless there are some serious policy changes. According to Johns Hopkins, more than 118,000 people in the U.S. have died so far, more than 2.1 million have been infected. State and local leaders weighing what to do. Some are mandating that masks must be worn in public, others sending police to enforce social distancing regulations. In several states where new cases have spiked, like Florida and North Carolina, hospitalizations are on the rise too. Epidemiologists says that is a sign that the new numbers don't simply come from more testing. And Dr. Jorge Rodriguez practices internal medicine and is a viral specialist who joins me now from Los Angeles. Good to see you again, Doctor.
[Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, Internal & Viral Specialist:] Thank you.
[Holmes:] So, yes. Wednesday in the U.S., June 17th, 25,610 cases. That's up seven percent over the previous 14 days. As we've been saying, 23 states have increasing numbers. Clearly, despite what the president and vice president say, the situation is getting worse not better. What is being done wrong?
[Rodriguez:] Well, you're absolutely right. The situation definitely has not gone away. He said that this is not a second wave, he's correct. It is the continuation of the first wave. And unfortunately, there are hotspots throughout the country and we travel now throughout the country. So we are spreading this virus from Florida to Arizona to Las Vegas to California. What's being done, unfortunately, is not a concerted effort. I believe that not until there is a federal strict guideline as to what every state should do are we going to contain this. It just doesn't make sense that we have these hodgepodge states and communities all giving out completely different recommendations. It's just not going to work.
[Holmes:] Yes. Yes, indeed. One place with rising numbers, as we were just saying, is Tulsa, Oklahoma. You look at where big spreads have happened throughout this pandemic meatpacking plants, church services, student graduation parties, reopened bars. And yet, the president wants to put 20,000 people together in an enclosed place for a political rally where you sign a waiver you won't sue if you catch it. What is your take on that rally even happening?
[Rodriguez:] Well, my take is that not only is it ludicrous, I think it's borderline, if not completely, criminal. People are being asked because of political reasons to put their life at risk. We don't have major sporting events for this reason, we don't have concerts for this reason. We know that there are two things that spread the virus more than anything. And not only is that being in close proximity to someone who is infectious but being in close proximity for a prolonged period of time. This rally is basically asking for trouble. And it's going to get it. There's no way that people are going to come out of there unscathed and will not spread it. It's just not going to happen.
[Holmes:] The president said, quote The vice president said there are embers of the virus. Said there's no second wave, as you pointed out, we're not done with the first wave. What are the risks of that kind of messaging to the American people?
[Rodriguez:] Well, it's very detrimental. And unfortunately, this pandemic in the United States has become politicized. People are already lining up in Tulsa. People are it's sort of here in the U.S., the basketball games are skins and shirts. It's now the two teams are masks and no masks. And that is a shame. So people are using not wearing a mask almost as a MAGA hat. And since the president says that there's nothing wrong, I'll be damned, some people are going to go out there and prove that there's nothing wrong. Give me liberty or give me death. I'm afraid they're going to get both; the liberty to do what they want and deadly results from it.
[Holmes:] What do you make of that small study that was published in the "Journal of Nature [sic] Medicine" on Thursday? And we're just hearing a report about it found that a group of three dozen COVID- 19 patients from Wuhan, basically asymptomatic carriers, were infectious longer than those with symptoms, and produced fewer antibodies. It's confusing. Does that show how little we do know about this thing?
[Rodriguez:] Exactly. That was going to be my point. The good thing about a study like this is that we are learning. Michael, we have to keep in mind, that humans have never been infected with this virus before. So we don't know what is going to happen. This study showed that people that didn't get a lot of virus, probably the ones that are asymptomatic, didn't develop a lot of antibodies. And if they did, those antibodies, 40 percent of them, had lost them within two months. So this should be a cautionary tale for people that have antibodies and assume that they are forever going to be protected against the virus. We don't know if that's the case, we don't even know for how many months you're going to be protected. So the bottom line and the final and the message is that until we have a treatment or a vaccine, we need to wear facial coverings, use extreme hygiene, and social distancing. Because we still don't have all the answers.
[Holmes:] Yes. Dr. Fauci commenting on what he calls anti-science bias among many in America. Some people in the country, they just won't believe the science even when it's compelling and put right there in front of them. Do you agree, and what s the danger?
[Rodriguez:] I agree with him 110 percent. This is something that's been happening for a while in this country. And listen, if I'm going to get and I already have, I guess, very political is I think that the amount of education in this country has decreased. If you don't understand science, how can you believe in science? And institutions are also being questioned. I don't see people questioning how an airplane flies, right, they still trust that it does. But something has happened. In the fact that now we get snippets because of mass information through the Internet and we sort of use that information to validate what we believe. As opposed to understanding science that has been around forever. So, I hate to say it, I think we've gotten dumber therefore we don't believe people that we think are smarter. I don't know if that's fair to say but I do believe that he's right.
[Holmes:] It's staggering, isn't it? Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, great to talk to you, as always. Thanks so much.
[Rodriguez:] Always.
[Holmes:] And do stay with us here on CNN for our "
[Global Town Hall:] CORONAVIRUS FACTS AND FEARS," with Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta. That's next hour. 7:00 am if you're in London, 2:00 pm in Hong Kong. Dozens of new cases reported in China, setting back officials' claims of success in the fight against coronavirus. Some of these cases are linked to a major food market in Beijing. A top health official says the outbreak is under control and praises authorities for stepping up restrictions. More than 350,000 people connected to the market are reportedly being tested. CNN's David Culver reports.
[David Culver, Cnn Correspondent:] Beijing health officials have labeled this most recent cluster under control but it's come with widespread testing. We're talking hundreds of thousands of people in just a few days' time. It's also coming with a return of the closures to things like gyms and restaurants and other public spaces. And we're seeing physical barriers go up, particularly around the market where this most recent outbreak began. In fact, we drove past it staying in the car for obvious reasons but we can give you an idea as to what we saw driving by.
[Culver:] I'm going to give you a little look right here through the window. This is the outskirts of the market. You can see there are some folks back there with hazmat suits on. All of this is shut off. The reason we're not stepping out of the car actually, let's keep driving because I don't want to draw too much attention is because, if we were to cross into this restricted zone, we would then be potentially flagged and be put into government quarantine. How do they know that? A few ways. One is they could physically stop us and get our information, another is they would see the tags of the car and they would mark that down and track us down. And another big data that we've been living by here, they would trace you through your cell phone. We've heard several reports of people being flagged because of where their cellphones were located geographically within those high-risk areas. And then being contacted and told they essentially need to be sealed off from the rest of the world.
[Holmes:] And CNN's Anna Coren joins me now live from Hong Kong with more on this. That test and trace operation is remarkable, 300- or so thousand. But, obviously, still a worrying moment for the country.
[Anna Coren, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, absolutely. China can do this because they have an authoritarian regime in power and can tell people what to do. But it is extremely effective. Hence they have tested 356,000 people that they think have come into contact with those who were working at the Xinfadi market. And there are tens of thousands of people who were working there before it was shut down on the weekend. But even though authorities are saying they have this under control, the number of cases have been rising. Today the number's 28 new cases, 25 of those in Beijing, taking the number in the capital to 183 stemming from that Xinfadi food market that David was just outside. That food market supplied 80 percent of Beijing's fresh produce fruit, vegetable, meat, seafood. And interestingly, Michael, it was detected on a chopping board that was used for imported salmon. Now authorities have come out and said that the salmon is not what was the host of the coronavirus, there's no evidence of that. But as a result, salmon sales have absolutely plummeted in Beijing. It's not being served in restaurants and obviously not being sold in any supermarkets. But the CDC in China said that the reason that the patients who work at the seafood and meat stands contracted the coronavirus is because of the conditions. Low temperatures, high humidity, is favorable to the spread of coronavirus. So that is why they are saying that the majority of the patients were working at those stands. Beijing is in soft lockdown. It is virtually impossible now to get out of the city unless you test negative for the virus within seven days. Schools have been shut, public institutions have been shut like museums and parks. They are taking every single precaution to ensure that they don't see a repeat of what happened in Wuhan earlier this year when millions fled that city before it went into lockdown. And, of course, by millions of people leaving Wuhan, it allowed the virus to spread around the world. So Beijing is making it a top priority to contain this latest outbreak Michael.
[Holmes:] All right, Anna. Thank for that. Anna Coren there in Hong Kong. And, in fact, we do have some breaking news out of Beijing to bring you.