Return to Transcripts main page
New Day Sunday
Day Two: No Signs of Progress As Blame Game Escalates; Interview with Republican Congressman Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Democratic Congressman David Price of North Carolina; Calls for Social, Political Change for Women; Women's March: Movement Galvanizes Political Change for Women; Understanding the Political Power of Black Women. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired January 21, 2018 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[07:00:04] REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: What is so objectionable that it's worth holding the entire government hostage?
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Negotiating with President Trump is like negotiating with jell-o.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We look petty. We care more about party flag than the American flag.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I urge my colleagues here in the House and the Senate to make sure that we fund this government.
PROTESTERS: This is what democracy looks like! Woo, woo!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was a me too. I am aware of all the women who are still in silence!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want my girls to feel empowered.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This year was about directing that voice to action and that action being what will happen later this year -- the elections.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Sunday morning to you. Seven o'clock is the time. Glad you're up early.
And it is the start of day two of the government shutdown. Still there's no sign that lawmakers are any closer to reaching a deal here.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And those lawmakers are still getting paid despite the government shutdown. The same cannot be said for the hundreds of thousands of government workers, including military personnel who do not know when they will see their next paycheck.
PAUL: Both houses are back in session. That's happening in just a few hours. There is a new deal on the table but it looks like it has strong Republican support ahead of tomorrow morning's vote. The question is, the Democrats and whether they are on board.
BLACKWELL: CNN's Abby Phillip is live at the White House. We're going to start, though, with CNN's Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill.
Lauren, what can you tell us about this bill that's coming up for a vote? What's the chance of passing?
LAUREN FOX, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, both sides are still very dug in on Capitol Hill this morning, and no one appears ready to blink. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell still plans to bring a three- week stopgap measure to the floor and perhaps at 1:00 a.m. on Monday morning. He hopes the Democrats will feel the pressure of the shutdown and vote to pass it. Meanwhile, Democrats are saying that they still want fuller immigration negotiations. Here is what Senator Chuck Schumer had to say about where the negotiations stand at this point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHUMER: Do you know what number C.R. this is? This is going on six months. They have had a three months C.R. They had one month C.R. They had a two-week C.R.
If we do this, if we keep kicking the can down the table, our soldiers will be hurt, our children will be hurt, our disaster recipients will be hurt. Everyone will be hurt.
If this was the first time that they used this C.R. approach, the question would be reasonable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOX: Now, a bipartisan group of lawmakers have already started trying to negotiate. About 20 members met for several hours yesterday in Senator Susan Collins' office. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina emerged from that meeting and said, look, if we don't get it together soon, the American people are going to blame both sides of the aisle.
Here is what he had to say yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM: I think we look petty, we look that we care more about the party flag than the American flag. I don't know what to tell people. All I can tell them is that there are a lot of young men and women in mountain tops and jungles working really hard to keep us safe that are being denied resources because of the sequestration and C.R.s. There are 800,000 people who are working, who have jobs, teachers, people in the military, their lives are going to come undone in a matter of weeks, not months, and we're sitting up here blaming each other. (END VIDEO CLIP)
FOX: Now, we are in the second day of the government shutdown but we should remember that lawmakers are feeling the pressure because tomorrow is Monday and hundreds of thousands of government workers may be furloughed and won't be able to report to work and lawmakers say the longer this goes on, the more pain the country will feel.
PAUL: All right. Lauren Fox, we appreciate it. Thank you so much.
CNN's Abby Phillip is live for us in the White House right now.
So, she is talking there about how many people are going to be affected. Who is in charge of this shutdown?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this morning, the White House was spinning their wheels a little bit here working on a different part of the shutdown, which is the messaging about it. There's not a whole lot that we have heard in terms of what the president is doing to help negotiate an end to this, but White House aides have spent the last couple of days talking about who is to blame and pointing the finger pretty squarely at Democrats.
Now, the White House released a couple of photos yesterday of the president working from the West Wing and, you know, these photos really illustrate the president making a couple of phone calls.
[07:05:01] We know he talked to Chuck -- to Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, and he also talked to Paul Ryan, but he has not talked to Chuck Schumer. What he did do, on the other hand, is record a message for this gala he was supposed to attend in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago resort and he talked to his supporters lamenting the shutdown in that he could not be down in Florida with them. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have to stay here in D.C., which are becoming, I think, pretty proficient at. We have to stay here for the purpose of shutdown. There shouldn't be a shutdown, but there is. It's caused by the Democrats. But we're going to end up winning another victory.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
PHILLIP: At the same time, we are also seeing some signs that the political arm of the White House, the Republican national committee is getting ready to really go on the offense on this government shutdown. They have released something of a very tough ad highlighting the crimes of illegal immigrants and putting the blame for that issue on Democrats.
This ad, I have to say, is not going to be airing on television as far as we know, but the idea here is to give Democrats a taste of what could be coming in some political races going down the line in 2018. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only thing that I (EXPLETIVE DELETED) regret is that I (EXPLETIVE DELETED) just killed two.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's illegal immigrant Luis Bracamodes (ph), charged with murdering two police officers.
UNIENTIFIED MALE: I wish I (EXPLETIVE DELETED) killed more of those mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pure evil.
President Trump is right. Build the wall and stop illegal immigration now.
Democrats who stand in our way will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants. President Trump will fix our borders and keep our families safe.
TRUMP: I'm Donald Trump and I approve this message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Now, the White House will say that that ad -- and Republicans will say that that ad is intended to put the pressure on Democrats to bring an end to the shutdown. But either way on Monday morning, folks are going to be waking up not knowing if they are going to be working or get a paycheck. Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney talked about shutting down the government and we will see if he will open the government on Monday morning. It's really not clear there is any work being done that will actually bring an end to this crisis -- Victor and Christi.
PAUL: All right. Abby Phillip, thank you very much for the update.
BLACKWELL: Let's bring in Republican Congressman Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Democratic Congressman David Price of North Carolina joins, he's on the phone.
Gentlemen, good morning to you.
REP. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R), OKLAHOMA: Good morning. How are you doing?
REP: DAVID PRICE (D), NORTH CAROLINA (via telephone): Good morning.
BLACKWELL: So, let me start on this proposal that's being floated in the Senate. Now, you're both in the House. I ask for your respective opinions on if the members of your party should support this. This week-week continuing resolution of funding the government for just a couple of weeks could include storm recovery funds, funds for children's insurance program and an agreement to then negotiate the elements of immigration.
First to you, Congressman Mullen, do you believe this has a chance to pass and would you push for its passage?
MULLIN: Look, everything in that bill, the Democrats in both chambers are on record supporting. So, absolutely. We support anything that moves the ball down the road and in what has been happening here is party politics has got in the way of funding the government. With the CHIP program, with reauthorization that's being placed on spending, these are the same numbers that Obama was operating underneath. Everything on this bill, not one thing on there should be controversial. And so, this bill should be able to be pass inside both chambers easily.
BLACKWELL: Congressman Price?
PRICE: I hope that's right. It's not -- the question is not the length of time so much. The question is does --
BLACKWELL: But let's start there. Would you support to pass this three-week continuation, this C.R. to then continue the conversations for immigration? While the government is open.
PRICE: I hope so. Because the question is does it move us toward a long-term resolution of this budget issue? You know, we -- we could have done this six months ago. But here, for the fourth time, we are asked to kick it down the road and not really have a budget in place the rest of the year, let alone not dealing with CHIP, not dealing with disaster relief, all of these things. So, if the bill guarantees, you know, sets us up to deal with this long term, yes, that's what we should do.
BLACKWELL: OK. Congressman Mullin, let me play something for you. Let's go back the 2013 shutdown and I want to hear -- this is three guys -- no, let's play what we had up on the screen. Let's play the president, sound bite number two from 2013. This is what then private citizen Trump said about president Obama should be doing during the shutdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And the president, in all fairness, he is the leader.
[07:10:01] He is the one who has to get nerve a room and get it done. They are not talking about Boehner and Reid and all. They are talking about president Obama and what a disaster the administration was.
So, he does have a lot of pressure to get this problem solved. He's got a big problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: All right. Congressman Mullin, Senator Schumer called for a bipartisan meeting of House and Senate leaders at the White House. The White House rejected that and there were no talks yesterday. Why isn't the president doing what he suggested President Obama do back in 2013, bring the parties in the Oval Office and sit in a room and work it out? MULLIN: Well, Victor, the difference between '13 and today is Obama
wasn't talking to Republicans. I was here in 2013. He wasn't even visiting with us. He kept calling on the Congress to act but he wouldn't bring us into a room.
You saw President Trump being the deal maker that he is asking Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and the leaders to come to the White House every time --
BLACKWELL: Why wasn't a deal made?
MULLIN: Well, he was trying to make them come to the White House. He tried to work with them. But to make any deal work, two parties have to agree to work on it. Chuck Schumer, this is why the American people are blaming the shutdown on him, it's a Schumer shutdown, it's there because they want to put immigration reform in front of the American people, and the president has said these need to be two separate issues. Even though he was entertaining the conversation, he wouldn't -- Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi wouldn't allow the president to have the conversation.
BLACKWELL: Congressman Mullin, let me ask you this, how does the Schumer shutdown hashtag stick if Schumer is saying let's at least meet to talk and the president is giving him the Heisman arm?
MULLIN: Let me ask you, give me one thing on this funding bill that the Democrats haven't supported in the past? Give me one thing on this funding bill that is on record of bipartisan support. Give me one thing on this thing, Victor, yourself would support.
BLACKWELL: I'm not here -- my personal views are irrelevant here. But Democrats have said --
MULLIN: They are because the American people are seeing exactly what Schumer is doing.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Democrats have said it's not what is on this bill that they don't support it's the lack of a long-term spending plan and dealing with the other issues.
MULLIN: So, we are working with budget caps right now, but Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer will not allow us to talk about anything because Nancy Pelosi says whatever we spend on military, we've got to spend on the private side too. Military, right now, is the most important thing we can do because it's protecting our national security and we need to prop them up and make sure they have the resources they need to protect and defend this great nation. Chuck Schumer wants to talk about immigration and those are two separate issues.
BLACKWELL: Congressman Price, come back into this conversation. Schumer said on the floor yesterday he offered in this meeting with the president funding for the border wall. We've got the numbers that show 89 percent of Democrats oppose funding for the border wall. So, does he go in there with a backing of his party? Will he have
support as he goes in and criticizes the president saying it's like negotiating with jell-o? Can the Democrats make good on his word that they will get support for funding the border wall in exchange for DACA protections?
PRICE: Well, it's -- there is going to have to be a package and there's going to have some compromise. I can't believe what I just heard that we can't deal with domestic spending. That is what this is all about. It's military and domestic spending, both threatened by this Trump shutdown.
And the president absolutely is not exerting leadership here. He is not pulling people together and it's hard to see how this comes together unless he is willing to invest in the process.
So, Chuck -- first of all, Trump made this immigration issue an emergency. He is the one who created the crisis for the dreamers by removing their protected status. He says he wants a bipartisan solution to take care of that situation. He has one. He blows it up last week. And now, the Dreamers situation is super imposed on top of the budget situation.
BLACKWELL: Congressman Price --
PRICE: A real mess.
BLACKWELL: Let me ask you what -- put to you what the question was from Congressman Mullin.
Is there anything in this funding bill that you disagree with? And if there isn't, why couldn't the negotiations for the immigration package of four issues the president pointed out continued with the government open on Monday morning? There will be hundreds of thousands of workers who will go back to work without being paid and the negotiations still continue. Could that have not happened while they were being paid and this government was open?
PRICE: Listen, we know how to do this. If that is the point, yes. We know how to do this. We have bipartisan budget agreements.
BLACKWELL: So, this could have continued without a shutdown?
PRICE: We don't need to shut the government down. We need to -- we should have done this six months ago. We need to sit down and come up with a budget --
BLACKWELL: So, then, why didn't -- why didn't Senate Democrats vote to continue to fund the government if this could have happened with an open government?
[07:15:06] PRICE: Well, that was the condition under which we have been ready all along to deal. Look, for the first three months of this fiscal year, Republicans are preoccupied with their tax scam. They couldn't be bothered. And, look, we voted to give them 90 days, to give us all 90 days to
put this together. It's not like we started this yesterday. You could have told -- I could have told you in June, July, what we need to do. So, we have gone along with this, but we just can't keep kicking the situation into the next month.
BLACKWELL: All right. Congressman Mullin --
PRICE: Enough is enough. We need to get serious about writing a budget for the rest of the year. It's affecting our military. It's also affecting medical research. It's affecting disaster relief. So many important things.
BLACKWELL: All right. Congressman Mullion, I've got one last question for you, and this is sound bite number three, guys. I want to take, again, back to 2013. This is then-President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT: And we know that the longer this shutdown continues, the worse the effects will be.
If you're serving in harm's way, we're going to make sure you have what you need to succeed in your missions. Congress has passed, and I'm signing into law, legislation to make sure you get your paychecks on time. And the longer this goes on, the worse it will be. And it makes no sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Congressman, it's not so much important what the president said there but that he said something. That is October 1st, September 30th, October 1st respectively.
The president has not said anything to the American people, to the camera, released a video, said something. Beyond where is the leadership? Where is the leader? Where is the president on all of this? Why isn't he talking to a camera going out to speak to people during this shutdown?
MULLIN: Because when President Trump is doing is actually talking to us and working through this problem.
BLACKWELL: But he doesn't work for you! He works for the American people! Where is the president?
MULLIN: President Obama back then, the only time he ever talked was to the camera. He not one time came to Capitol Hill and worked with us.
His administration has been working with us until late in the night. I was with Mick Mulvaney until late last night trying to work out situations and here is what I expect to happen. I think the president is going to give Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell until tomorrow to figure out how to get both sides working together and then he is going to call the nuclear option because that is what should happen. We should get away from the 60-vote threshold if the Democrats are not
going to work with us because there is nothing controversial in this spending and just go the nuclear option and say, OH, fine, we are doing it without you.
BLACKWELL: OK, I hear that element but still, my question stands. Why is the president not speaking to the American people? Their government, the federal government, the government of the people, by and for the people, why isn't he speaking to the people? He may be speaking to you as members of Congress, but doesn't he -- don't the American people deserve to hear from their president?
MULLIN: I think you'll start seeing come tomorrow if we are still in this situation. Let's go back to 2013 versus today.
BLACKWELL: Why do they have to wait until tomorrow?
MULLIN: Because tomorrow is when the federal government, the employees are not going back to work. In 2013, if you remember, what did president Obama do? He shut down all of the national monuments and war memorial. We had to go out there as members of Congress and move the barricades so World War II veterans could see their memorial for the first time in their life.
You don't see any of that stuff happening. In fact, President Trump allowed the mall to be open so to the women's march could keep going on. 2013, President Obama fenced all of that off because he was doing his best so the American people would feel the pain.
(CROSSTALK)
MULLIN: What we are seeing here is you're seeing President Trump be a leader.
BLACKWELL: President Trump could come out and make that case himself.
MULLIN: He is making a case.
BLACKWELL: We have not heard from the president.
(CROSSTALK)
PRICE: -- the president is not making a case at all.
MULLIN: Let me say something!
BLACKWELL: We've got to wrap this. Hold on. We've got to wrap this but I feel like for the sake of time, I've got to let Congressman Price finish with 30 seconds here. Congressman Price, and then we'll wrap it up.
PRICE: Absolutely. The president is not only not exercising leadership with respect to the American people, he has made this worse. He has created this crisis among the Dreamers so that he throws that on the fire and --
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Let him finish here.
PRICE: What's more? The solution to this is bipartisan. There needs to be a bipartisan budget agreement. This is the first time in American history when one party has been in charge of all the three, House, Senate, the presidency, and cannot keep the lights on!
BLACKWELL: All right. Congressman --
PRICE: We need a bipartisan budget agreement to let us finish this year. We have kicked the can down the road enough.
MULLIN: This is a bipartisan budget agreement.
PRICE: We just need to come together and pledged ourselves to a process to work that out in the next few weeks.
BLACKWELL: Congressman Markwayne Mullin and Congressman David Price, thank you so much for the conversation.
MULLIN: Thank you, Victor. Appreciate it.
BLACKWELL: All right. Today on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on the show.
[07:20:02] Jake also talks with Senators Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders. That's "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper at 9:00 a.m., right here on CNN.
PAUL: You know, there are thousands of people walking, chanting, holding signs high this weekend, not only in the U.S. but in other parts of the world. They're standing up for equality, social, political change during women's marches not just in America but beyond. In fact, we are taking to you London, what they are saying there, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only way we are going to make a change is if we commit to change.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing is more wholesome, to a government, a community, a society than the increased participation of women.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's important to show Congress and the president that that we need to be heard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Some of sights and the sounds there of some of the thousands who are holding up their signs and walking and talking and chanting as they take a stand for social and political change for women.
[07:25:11] We are talking about the women's movement.
And, listen, this is expansive. There's a large crowd gathered in London in solidarity with American activists morning.
BLACKWELL: CNN's Erin McLaughlin is following the events there. She's live for us.
Erin, what are the top issues that the women in London are focused on? Is this focused on issues there or the administration here? What are you hearing are the issues?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Victor. Well, first, let me just tell you where I am standing. I'm just outside Downing Street at this rally. It is absolutely I don't know if you can tell, it is absolutely pouring rain! People here are completely soaked.
Nevertheless, hundreds of people turned out to have their choices heard. You can hear behind me, the message is that time is up.
You know, I was speaking with a woman earlier and she told me she is here because she was inspired by the marches that they saw across the United States yesterday and then through the weekend. We are hearing speeches from a number of people, members of parliament and human rights activists, as well as the granddaughter of (INAUDIBLE) who led the suffrage a hundred years ago with a vote here in the U.K., guaranteeing women the right to vote.
I was actually speaking to some people who were dressed as suffrage people. (INAUDIBLE)
A hundred years later, not much has changed. Take a listen to what they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hundreds of years ago, it was a massive landmark for women and it just feels like we have moved slowly since then and it's always like we kind of got the vote and we have been coasting, but we just need to bring everyone together to have that last push and just to make sure that we kind of can live in a world where everyone is equal and women are seen on the same level as men which we are not quite there yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And some of the things they were fighting for like equal pay, we still don't have. So, it seems quite important to remind people that we haven't necessarily changed as much as we hoped by now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's also just to honor what they did and the amazing women's rights activists and everything they did for us as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLAUGHLIN: Organizers say they hope the energy you s behind me will carry forward into 2018 and we can see real change this year -- Christi and Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right. Erin McLaughlin for us there in a rainy London. Thanks so much.
Christi?
PAUL: So, political change is one of the goals there of the women's march. Women are just shy of representing 20 percent of our congressional leaders, according to the Center for American Women in Politics. There's a record number of women getting into politics. Look at "TIME" magazine highlighting last year's participants in the women's march who are now running for office.
Amy Kremer, an activist and co-chair of Women Vote Trump is with me to talk about the movement.
First of all, your reaction to the fact that really at the end of the day, last year's election, some of the things President Trump did that women do not support have propelled them into this movement to become part of the process now.
AMY KREMER, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN VOTE TRUMP: Well, Christi, I think it's good that women are involved. Honestly, this is something I've said a long time, because if you look back at the Tea Party movement where I got my start in politics, it was mostly women. And I think we need more women involved. That doesn't mean that I agree with every woman out there in her policy and you have to have good policy.
I don't think you should support a woman just because she is a woman. But I do think women should step up and lead because I think that we are great at multitasking and we don't just sit around and talk about things like what Congress does. We go out there and when we see something that needs to be done we get it done. And so, I think it's a good thing that women are stepping up and are engaging and I'm glad to see more women running for office.
PAUL: So, let me ask you this, how would you, as a Trump supporter, work with someone who vehemently does not appreciate Donald Trump?
KREMER: Well, I think you have to find where you do agree, the issues you do agree on. That is one of the things I have to say and I'm sure I will upset a lot of people when say this, but these women are out there just opposing the man. They were opposing the man before he -- I mean, right when he took office.
PAUL: But he gave them some ammunition and you have to admit there were a lot of things that happened during the campaign that made them feel disenfranchised and disrespected.
KREMER: The thing is that you have to be about policy. It's good that they were out there, now, let's see if it translates into actual action at the ballot box, because that's what the Tea Party Movement was good at, is that, yes, we got engaged, not over President Obama.
[07:30:01] It wasn't him that we were opposed to. We were opposed to his policies, to Obamacare specifically. That's what got us engaged and that's what we focus on. So, you have to focus on policy and not the person, because that person is going to eventually change, whether he is a president for another three or another seven years, he is going to change. But I think it's good that women are engaged overall.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump did tweet yesterday, he said beautiful weather all over our great country, a perfect day for all women to march. Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that's taken place over the last 12 months. Lowest female unemployment in 18 years.
The tweet, does it him any favors to bring it back to him when so much, so many of the voices out there are speaking to him saying, quit disrespecting us, quit holding us down.
KREMER: He is not -- he is not holding women down. And you know what?
PAUL: But there are women who genuinely feel like that, and it wasn't just to President Trump. We know that there were a lot of issues that were being addressed yesterday. There's no doubt about it.
But for him to tweet this and move it to the successes that he made --
KREMER: He is trying to lift up women and all Americans. And you know what? I mean, not all women are focused on politics. They are focused on their families, on their children, on putting food on their table, gas in their cars and paying for their kids to go to school. And so, when his policies affect women and more women are in the workforce and you're getting pay raises and bonuses, that's what matters.
I mean, all of the rhetoric at the end of the day doesn't matter when you're actually having policies that are positive and they impact people and that's what really matters. And that's what he is trying to say.
You know, these women, I would love to be out there marching but we're not welcome. I mean, if you're pro-life, you're not welcome. They hate President Trump. That's what this is about. And so, to sit there and say that it's about other things, it's not.
PAUL: Well, there were -- a lot of about the Me Too Movement. There's a lot about men in general and some of the sexual harassment and assault allegations that we've been talking about. This was about much more than President Trump, no doubt about it.
But there is always politics in the mix of all of it. So, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
KREMER: Thank you.
PAUL: Victor?
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We are one hour -- one day, seven hours, 32 minutes and a few seconds into the shutdown. And to really show you the evidence of the stagnation of the negotiations here, President Trump just retweeted himself from yesterday. He didn't even bother to write a new attack.
Democrats are holding our military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration. Can't let that happen.
Didn't even through the trouble of coming up with a new line or a new blame game here. Just retweeted what was said yesterday. Hopefully, there is some progress that matters today and hopefully ending the shutdown soon.
Next, with this fall's midterms on the horizon, can Democrats continue tapping into the power of the black female voters?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you really -- really look at black women, we really have been holding this country together and been the unsung heroes of America for generations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:37:42] BLACKWELL: All right. Welcome back.
Just moments ago, we shared with you the president's retweet of something he tweeted yesterday in an attack on Democrats in this ongoing shutdown. Well, since that moment, the president has come up with a fresh tweet now.
Let me read it for you. Great to see how hard Republicans are fighting for our military and safety at the border. The Dems just want illegal immigrants to pour into our nation unchecked. If stalemate continues, Republicans should go to 51 percent nuclear option and vote on real, long term budget. No C.R.s.
OK, if you've been watching this hour, although this is something the president has said in the past, just minutes ago, that same terminology, that same verbiage was used by Oklahoma Congressman Markwayne Mullin in suggesting that if this goes on, that Republicans should go to the nuclear option for a long-term budget. So, the president tuned in this morning and we are hearing the blame game continue. We'll see as the negotiations continue throughout the day, if this shutdown can be ended before work starts tomorrow morning for hundreds of thousands of federal workers who will not be paid.
More now on our conversation with black women voters. They were pivotal for Democrats in Virginia and Alabama. Look at the numbers. Ninety-eight percent of black women backed Democrat Doug Jones in Alabama, he is now Senator Jones. Ninety-one percent went for Ralph Northam in Virginia, he is now Governor Northam. Now, in the new Trump state of Michigan, Democratic Senator Debbie
Stabenow will need black women's support this November, but the women I spoke with in Detroit explained earning their votes takes work and some said they would even be open to voting for the right Republican in the future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: If a person wants to come here and earn black women's support or how they it earn it.
DANIELLE MCFALL, FORD FACTORY WORKER: You can't, all of a sudden, want to be a supporter of black issues. Where were you ten years ago? Right. I need to know that you had -- you have some history, that you have some understanding, because with that history comes understanding and empathy what is going on.
JANICE WINFREY, CITY CLERK FOR DETROIT, MICHIGAN: And if you're able to connect with me. As an African-American woman I value hard work. I value hard work and I value loyalty.
And if you can work hard and you can connect with my entire community, not just those of us that you think are important, not just those that you want to stand next with you and take a picture, but all of us.
[07:40:10] The working class. The unemployed. Our men. Our children. Our seniors. All of us need to be important to you in order to get my support.
CHANEL TAYLOR, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: With the candidates and what Debbie Stabenow, conversations like this is so important and important for candidates to make sure they are having those conversations with their constituency to make sure knowing that the issues that are important to them and making sure that they are having a diverse team to really represent the different ideals.
BLACKWELL: Is there a possibility you could vote for a Republican?
MCFALL: I could vote for a Republican but it definitely has to be a Republican that I felt was on the ground, boots on the ground, doing the work, actually out in the community talking to African-Americans, having empathy for our issues.
APRIL ANDERSON, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER, GOOD CAKES & BAKES: And I work with side people and we are both making the same or they might be making more than me because they have been there for ten plus years and they are Republicans. How could you be -- he is not for you? He is not working for you. He is not looking out for you.
BLACKWELL: He says he is for the forgotten man and woman.
ANDERSON: No. For which one? I want to see. Can you show them to me?
BLACKWELL: You don't think that forgotten woman looks like you?
ANDERSON: No, absolutely not. No.
MCFALL: So, you don't think there might be a Republican that might believe in the physical aspects of being a Republican but also can relate to your issues as a black woman?
ANDERSON: If one someone wants to, like I said before, gain my trust and I actually seen that they are really concerned about the issues that I have or the issues that are going on in my community, absolutely. Absolutely, you would. But right now, I'm standing firm on no.
BLACKWELL: Where are the black statewide candidates? There has never been a black woman elected governor in the history of the country. There have been only two black women elected to the U.S. Senate.
WINFREY: Oftentimes, we are ignored. That's our history. And that is why I think we are speaking up and we are proving ourselves to be worthy and ready to lead.
BLACKWELL: Senator Kamala Harris of California could run for president in 2020. I don't want to ask a cliche question is the country ready for a black woman as president, but I feel like I'm forced to. Is the country ready to elect a black woman as president?
TAYLOR: I think it might be in the country's best interest based off of her qualifications and if you really look at black women, we have really been holding this country together and really been the unsung heroes of America for generations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
WINFREY: I think that African-American women, we have learned how to lift the Democratic Party. I think we still have to learn how to lift each other.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right. I'll be talking about the issues they raised now with Symone Sanders and Maria Cardona. We're going to do that on the other side of the break.
Stay with us. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:46:26] BLACKWELL: All right. Back now to our conversation about and with black women voters and how the power of their vote is now being understood, appreciated. Could both sides tap into, Republicans and Democrats, tap into black women's votes in the midterm?
Joining me now to talk about this, CNN political commentators Maria Cardona and Symone Sanders.
Good morning to both of you.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Victor. BLACKWELL: So, Simone, let me start here with this question that I put to the ladies in Detroit. And again, thank you to those ladies for speaking with me again. For obvious historical reasons, there were not black women senators, black women governors for the majority of the country's history.
But where are they now considering the strength of their vote that they bring to the Democratic Party? Stacy Abrams is running in Georgia. But, Symone, where are the black statewide female candidates?
SYMONE SANDERS, CNN POLTIICAL COMMENTATOR: Victor, you posed an excellent question that for obvious reasons (INAUDIBLE) white supremacy and other reasons. There is a lack of black women that have been elected statewide. What I think we are going to see a wave and Stacy Abrams but I think we are seeing women who are gaining momentum in the state (INAUDIBLE) was elected as first African-American female mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. You see the mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, the first female African-American mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana.
I think it's going to take time but you will see women who step up and decide to put their name on the ballot. So, yes, Stacy Abrams is one of those folks, Kamala Harris (INAUDIBLE).
I do believe that in the coming years, we will see black women step up, put their names on the ballot for the statewide position. It's unheard of because, you know, I mean, frankly, there have been real systemic barriers to black women serving in these offices.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Well, let me come to you, Maria, because we are having a bit of an issue with audio with Symone.
So, based on the conversation at least and the percentages we saw in 2016, we saw in the most recent elections, Democrats may not be losing black women's votes to Republicans en masse but they may be losing them to dissatisfaction, right? They may just stay home. How do Democrats prevent that loss? And is it possible that as we heard Republicans could take some of those votes?
CARDONA: Sure, Victor. Those are great questions and congratulations on your chat with these women. It was great.
And I actually think that's an example of what Democrats and Republicans who want to get the black women vote or frankly the women vote and women of color vote is to sit down and talk to them, to sit down and make those personal connections. That is probably one of the most important things that we can do. And, frankly, the election in Alabama was the one that really showed what can be done.
Doug Jones did it, right? I mean, we never thought that a white man could get more black women vote than President Obama did and that's exactly what happened and the way it happened is because he and his team did the work on the ground. He had a history with the African- American community. He had a history of reaching out to these women. And as we heard with the very eloquent women you spoke to, that is what matters most. You have to have a history. You have to have a connection. You can't just show up two days before the election and pretend that you can earn that vote.
And I think that that goes with most voters in this country, especially with most women of color and my Latina sisters -- brothers and sisters actually feel the very same way.
[07:50:06] And I love that black women are blazing the trail in terms of making sure that you are the one that has the power to represent your community, that your vote actually really does matter. And that politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, if they put the work into it, they can earn that vote.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
All right. Maria Cardona, Symone Sanders, thank you both.
Quick break. We'll be right back.
CARDONA: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIANNE SHELZI, DEEP BREATHING PRACTITIONER: I manage about 40 rental units.
If someone came to me with a problem, I was consumed by it. When issues happen, I would feel personal about them. That's when I realize, I don't want this taking space in my head.
The deep breathing is helpful. This allows me to stop and just be quiet.
DR. DARSHAN METHA, BENSON-HENRY INSTITUTE FOR MIND BODY MEDICINE: Just simply take a pause and just say, ha, let me just take a few deep breaths. It's shown to have improvement in anxiety and sense of panic.
SHELZI: Imagine that you're blowing up a balloon in your belly and when you release your breath it's just like releasing air from a balloon.
METHA: When someone is anxious or stressed, their breathing rate gets faster. Take some slow deep breaths. The rate of breathing actually goes down. We have a reduction in our blood pressure. We also have reduction in our heart rate.
SHELZI: You can be anywhere standing and going to the post office rather than flipping out about the line. This is an opportunity to relax.
[07:55:01] It's so handy. It's available, 24 hours a day. (END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: So, I hope you get a chance to take a few breaths this week. We could all use a little bit.
And then you make good memories today.
BLACKWELL: Yes, "INSIDE POLITICS WITH JOHN KING" is up at the top of the hour.
PAUL: So, as we go to break, we have to run some "Saturday Night Live" for you.
They were taking a look at president's -- the president's health. Of course, this is just days after we learn that the results of his physical exam. Here you go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now on to the most important news of the week. I have again asked White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson to come out here and tell you about how not fat the president is, OK. Dr. Jackson, get them --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. All right.
Once again, this is the president's unbiased 100 percent accurate health assessment. At the time of examination, the president was 71 years and seven months young. His resting heart rate was a cool 68 BPM. His weight, a very svelt 239 pounds. He has a gorgeous 44-inch Coke bottle waist. His has 75 inches, with the legs that seem to go on forever. Size 12 shoes so you can fill in the blanks there.
And it's my expert medical opinion that the president's got a rockin' bod with the perfect amount of cushion for the pushin'. And if given the chance, I would. Are there any questions?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
