"THE 11th HOUR" WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS STARTS NOW.
>>> AND GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN.
DAY 1,334 OF THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION
AND IMPORTANTLY, THERE ARE NOW
EXACTLY 50 DAYS TO GO UNTIL THE
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
TONIGHT AS THE CANDIDATES
INTENSIFY THEIR BATTLE FOR
VOTES, MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ARE
FACING MULTIPLE EXISTENTIAL
THREATS.
THE CORONAVIRUS HAS NOW INFECTED
OVER 6.5 MILLION AMERICANS AND
NOW OVER 195,000 OF OUR FELLOW
CITIZENS HAVE DIED
PEOPLE ALONG THE GULF COAST
TONIGHT ARE BRACING FOR
HURRICANE SALLY, A RAPIDLY
STRENGTHENING CATEGORY 2 STORM
IT WASA TROPICAL STORM JUST
LAST NIGHT
AND AUTHORITIES IN CALIFORNIA,
OREGON, WASHINGTON STATE
FIGHTING TO CONTAIN MEGA
WILDFIRES.
IN THEIR SIZE AND SCOPE, THEY’RE
UNLIKE ANY OTHER FIRE SEASON IN
MODERN HISTORY
TRUMP’S THREE-DAY VISIT TO THE
WEST INCLUDED A STOP NEAR
SACRAMENTO TODAY
HE MET WITH CALIFORNIA’S
GOVERNOR AND FIRST RESPONDERS
BATTLING THE FIRES, WHICH MOST
SCIENTISTS, BY THE WAY, ARE
CONVINCED ARE A RESULT OF
CLIMATE CHANGE
HERE IS TRUMP’S ADVICE TO THEM
>> THERE HAS TO BE GOOD, STRONG
FOREST MANAGEMENT.
WHEN TREES FALL DOWN AFTER A
SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, ABOUT 18
MONTHS, THEY BECOME VERY DRY
THEY BECOME REALLY LIKE A
MATCHSTICK, AND THEY GET UP --
YOU KNOW, THERE’S NO MORE WATER
POURING THROUGH, AND THEY BECOME
VERY, VERY -- THEY JUST EXPLODE.
THEY CAN EXPLODE
ALSO LEAVES.
WHEN YOU HAVE YEARS OF LEAVES,
DRIED LEAVES ON THE GROUND, IT
JUST SETS IT UP.
IT’S REALLY A FUEL FOR A FIRE.
I WAS TALKING TO A HEAD OF A
MAJOR COUNTRY, AND HE SAID,
WE’RE A FOREST NATION.
WE CONSIDER OUR SELF A FOREST
NATION
THIS WAS IN EUROPE
I SAID, THAT’S A BEAUTIFUL TERM.
HE SAID, WE HAVE TREES THAT ARE
FAR MORE EXPLOSIVE -- HE MEANT
EXPLOSIVE IN TERMS OF FIRE --
BUT WE HAVE TREES THAT ARE FAR
MORE EXPLOSIVE THAN THEY HAVE IN
CALIFORNIA
>> AT A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
NOT LONG AFTER THAT IN A MOMENT
INSTANTLY REMINISCENT OF WHEN
THE PRESIDENT PREDICTED COVID-19
WOULD DISAPPEAR, TRUMP ADDED
THIS
>> OKAY.
IT WILL START GETTING COOLER
YOU JUST -- YOU JUST WATCH.
>> I WISH SCIENCE AGREED WITH
YOU.
>> I DON’T THINK SCIENCE KNOWS
ACTUALLY
>> "THE NEW YORK TIMES" NOTES
THIS
QUOTE, MR. TRUMP AND HIS SENIOR
ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICIALS HAVE
REGULARLY MOCKED, DENIED OR
MINIMIZED HUMAN-CAUSED CLIMATE
CHANGE AND THAT TRUMP HAS SOUGHT
TO ZEALOUSLY ROLL BACK
ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS.
THIS AFTERNOON FORMER VICE
PRESIDENT BIDEN BLASTED TRUMP’S
ATTITUDE TOWARD CLIMATE CHANGE
>> DONALD TRUMP’S CLIMATE DENY L
MAY NOT HAVE CAUSED THESE FIRES
AND RECORD HURRICANES, BUT IF HE
GETS A SECOND TERM, THESE
HELLISH EVENTS WILL CONTINUE TO
BECOME MORE COMMON, MORE
DEVASTATING, AND MORE DEADLY
IF YOU GIVE A CLIMATE ARSONIST
THIS WAS SOMEONE WHO KNEW THE
DEPTH OF WHAT THIS VIRUS MEANT
>> PETER BAKER, THE AMERICAN
WEST IS TONIGHT YET AGAIN LIT UP
IN ORANGE OF WILDFIRES, YET IT
SEEMS THE PRESIDENT LOOKS TO THE
WEST AND SEES ONLY BLUE.
STATES FROM WASHINGTON TO OREGON
TO CALIFORNIA UNDER DEMOCRATIC
CONTROL.
SO WHAT WAS TODAY’S CALIFORNIA
VISIT REALLY ABOUT
>> WELL, TODAY’S VISIT WAS A
NOD, A PERFUNCTORY VISIT TO
CALIFORNIA, AS YOU SAY, A BLUE
STATE HE’S NOT GOING TO WIN,
HE’S NOT COMPETING IN.
HE HAD BEEN CRITICIZED FOR NOT
MAKING MUCH ATTENTION TO THESE
WILDFIRES FOR WEEKS ON END, SO
HE INTERRUPTED BRIEFLY HIS
CAMPAIGN SWING OUT WEST TO MAKE
A ONE-HOUR AND 50-MINUTE STOP IN
SACRAMENTO TO BE BRIEFED ON IT
AND EVEN THEN, OF COURSE, YOU
KNOW, TO DISAGREE WITH THE
CALIFORNIA OFFICIALS OVER WHAT
WAS REALLY AT STAKE THERE.
HIS POINT ABOUT THE FOREST
MANAGEMENT ISN’T WRONG IN THE
SENSE THAT FOREST MANAGEMENT IS
AN ISSUE
EVEN GOVERNOR NEWSOM, THE
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR OF
CALIFORNIA, AGREED WITH HIM ON
THAT
BUT WHERE THEY DISAGREE WAS THE
ROLE OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THAT
YOU SAW GOVERNOR NEWSOM VERY
POLITELY TODAY, VERY
DEFERENTIALLY BUT FIRMLY MAKE
THE POINT THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IN
HIS VIEW WAS A SUBSTANTIAL
FACTOR IN WHAT HIS STATE AND
WHAT THE OTHER STATES OUT WEST
ARE SEEING
HIS SECRETARY OF NATURAL
RESOURCES WAS EVEN BLUNTER, AND
THEN YOU PLAYED THE PART WHERE
THE PRESIDENT RESPONDED,
BASICALLY BRUSHING IT OFF,
SAYING, NO, CLIMATE CHANGE IS --
YOU KNOW, IT WILL BE COOLER
SOON, AND THE SCIENTISTS DOESN’T
KNOW WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT
HE COULDN’T HAVE HAD A STARKER
CONTRAST OF COURSE WITH FORMER
VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN, WHO USED
TODAY TO GIVE A SPEECH WHERE HE
CALLED THE PRESIDENT A CLIMATE
ARSONIST I THINK THE COUNTRY IS PRESENTED
I THINK THE COUNTRY IS PRESENTED
WITH A PRETTY STRONG CONTRAST.
A CHALLENGER IN MR. BIDEN WHO IS
SAYING, NO, CLIMATE CHANGE IS