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New Book Details Behind-The-Scenes Drama At "The View"; CNN Reality Check: Where The GOP And Democrats Stand On Health Care; Surveillance Video Captures Rapper Nipsey Hussle's Murder In Los Angeles; President Trump Hosts White House Prison Reform Summit. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired April 02, 2019 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:33:30] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: A new book out today details all the drama and betrayal behind the scenes at the popular daytime talk show "THE VIEW."

Joining us now to talk about it is Ramin Setoodeh. He's the author of "Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View."

So this is very juicy. You have a lot of inside stories and you talked to 150 people for this book?

RAMIN SETOODEH, AUTHOR, "LADIES WHO PUNCH: THE EXPLOSIVE INSIDE STORY OF THE VIEW", NEW YORK BUREAU CHIEF, "VANITY": I interviewed 150 people over three years and I talked to 11 of the major co-hosts -- everyone from Barbara Walters to Joy Behar to Star Jones -- all the different co-hosts over the years.

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh. So we'll get into what some of their impressions are in a moment.

But first, let's talk about some of the notorious moments on the "THE VIEW," and one of them was the feud that Rosie O'Donnell began with Donald Trump, which continues to this day.

SETOODEH: It does.

CAMEROTA: It started in 2006. So let's remind people about what Rosie did in 2006 that has had all of these repercussions. So, what this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSIE O'DONNELL, FORMER CO-HOST, ABC "THE VIEW": Donald, sit and spin, my friend. I don't enjoy him. He had inherited a lot of money -- wait a minute -- and he's been bankrupt so many times.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, Rosie O'Donnell's disgusting -- I mean, both inside and out. You take a look at her -- she's a slob.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That now seems like child's play, frankly, compared to what has happened since then. But what did you find out about what was going on behind the scenes at "THE VIEW" when all of that broke out?

SETOODEH: Well, that really gave us a preview into who Trump became as a presidential candidate. At the time, he was -- no one really took him seriously. He wasn't a politician.

[07:35:00] But, when Rosie talked about him on "THE VIEW," Trump was furious that she brought up his finances. He called to the "THE VIEW." He threatened to sue ABC, "THE VIEW", Barbara Walters, personally.

And he created a wedge and all these fights on the show between Rosie and Barbara about loyalty and whether or not Barbara was siding with Rosie versus Trump, and it really caused this huge implosion on the show.

CAMEROTA: Barbara Walters was not pleased that Rosie O'Donnell had sort of gone rogue in that way, I think.

SETOODEH: She was -- she was on vacation that day and she was really worried that she would be personally sued.

Ironically, the guest that day was Hillary Clinton, who was trying to soft-launch her 2008 presidential campaign, and she was completely overshadowed by Donald Trump. So, overshadowing --

CAMEROTA: What a tangled web we weave.

SETOODEH: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Right, exactly. Little did we know that all of the seeds of the presidential campaign in 2016 were planted on "THE VIEW."

But then, there was bad blood between Rosie and Barbara and it got very ugly -- their fight.

SETOODEH: It did get very personal. Barbara came into the dressing room a few days later and tried to approach Rosie. Rosie was furious at Barbara -- stood up and was yelling at her and they had a very personal argument that got very intense.

CAMEROTA: Some of the depictions of Barbara Walters who, of course, is a legend in our broadcast journalism industry, are not that kind.

Jenny McCarthy, one of the hosts of "THE VIEW," told you on the record -- "You know, the 'Mommie Dearest'? I remember" -- "You know the movie 'Mommie Dearest'? I remember as a child watching that movie and going, 'holy cow'! I've never seen a woman yell like that before until I worked with Barbara Walters."

Is that her reputation behind the scenes?

SETOODEH: I learned that Barbara really didn't want to retire from "THE VIEW." She was in her mid-80s, she was scared about what retirement would be like, and she was really trying to cling to the show.

Barbara was also such a trailblazer and groundbreaker and she had to fight so hard for every opportunity that she had that she stayed competitive throughout her entire career, and we see that throughout the book.

CAMEROTA: And so, did they get rid of her? Why did she exit?

SETOODEH: She sold her stake in the show. And she was approaching her mid-80s and that really isn't done on live television to have someone in their 80s beyond T.V., but Barbara proved that you can do it. But eventually, she had to retire.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about "THE VIEW" nowadays because it seems to me, as a viewer, that they have really found their lane. What started as I think kind of a coffee klatch -- correct me if I'm wrong -- has become this sort of relevant political show.

Full disclosure, I'm friendly with all of the women -- all of the cast who are on there right now and it seems to me that they have their feuds in public. There are actual tense moments, obviously, between when one of the conservatives and the liberals, and they argue.

Is that true or is there also tension behind the scenes?

SETOODEH: There's -- the thing about "THE VIEW" that's always been interesting since 1997 was that it kind of was one of our first examples of reality T.V., but it also really brought politics into daytime T.V. It wasn't common for the sitting President of the United States, Barack Obama, to go on a daytime show and he did that because of "THE VIEW."

It has found its lane. After Barbara retired it really -- in the book, I write it really struggled and people weren't sure if the show could continue. And by bringing Joy Behar back and bringing in Meghan McCain as a conservative voice -- really, the first one since Elisabeth Hasselbeck -- on the show, the ratings are up and people do watch the show. Lots of women watch the show and that's how they get their information about politics.

CAMEROTA: I mean, what's very interesting is that there is tension -- you know, it's palpable, sometimes when you watch it.

SETOODEH: It is -- it's real.

CAMEROTA: When you watch --

SETOODEH: The fights are real. It's not staged. And, in fact, Jenny talked -- Jenny McCarthy talked about how they were trying to stage fights with her and trying to make it more political and it didn't work. It's actually women passionate about politics and the fights that you see on the show aren't fake -- they're really fighting.

CAMEROTA: I mean, I think that that's part of why it appeals to people because those are the fights that some people are having at their dinner tables or with their neighbors. And when you see Meghan McCain and Joy Behar doing it, it feels familiar.

But what I've noticed is that they cut to a commercial quickly. They'll go OK, we'll be right back -- we'll be right back -- and so they don't want the fight. Sometimes it feels like it may be more than they had anticipated.

SETOODEH: Sometimes it does get too heated. I mean, the most notorious example of that was Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck's fight from 2007 that went on for about -- that one didn't cut to a commercial. That went on for about 10 minutes and they --

CAMEROTA: In a split-screen.

SETOODEH: In a split-screen. And, Rosie left the show for the first time after that because it got so heated and intense.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

SETOODEH: She also told me that when she was fighting with Whoopi, her doctor called her and said it was just too much for her health, and she left the second time because of that.

CAMEROTA: So she left because of her health, not because she was forced out -- Rosie.

SETOODEH: Rosie left -- she was on the show twice. The second time she left was because of her health and she wasn't getting along with Whoopi.

CAMEROTA: You've got a lot of juicy stuff in here, Ramin. It's "Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View." Thanks so much for previewing it with us.

SETOODEH: Well, thank you for having me.

CAMEROTA: Great to have you -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

President Trump goes all in on killing Obamacare again, but does he have anything to replace it with? And honestly, the new news overnight is when?

[07:40:05] An eye-opening reality check, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: So, in a series of three tweets overnight, President Trump again promised that his party would repeal Obamacare and replace it with, quote, "really great health care." But, he deferred that until after the election.

CAMEROTA: Well, that's good enough for me.

BERMAN: After the election. Not now, later. But what's going on here?

John Avlon has a reality check -- John.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: This really does cry out for some reality checks.

All right, look, guys, if you thought we were done debating Obamacare after the GOP tried to kill it more than 70 times, I've got bad news for you. The health care wars are back on and your plan could be in the crosshairs.

Now, to the delight of almost no one in the Republican caucus, last week, the Trump administration went all in to kill Obamacare again in a court case, which includes getting rid of popular preexisting conditions coverage which affects around 100 million Americans.

Now, this contradicts GOP campaign claims and Trump's own State of the Union. But, hey, his acting chief of staff said no worries, there'll be a plan. They just haven't gotten around to it yet. And as of late last night, it looks like they won't until after the 2020 election.

So where exactly do we stand in all of this, on the left and right?

So, no surprise -- Donald Trump loves talking big about health care. During the campaign, he even backed universal coverage.

[07:45:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, THEN-CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Everybody's going to be taken care of much better than they're taken care of now.

SCOTT PELLEY, CORRESPONDENT, CBS NEWS "60 MINUTES": Well, who pays for it?

TRUMP: The government's going to pay for it but we're going to save so much money on the other side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: OK, note that this is far more socialist than anything Barack Obama ever pursued. After all, he based the ACA on a conservative think-tank plan first implemented by Mitt Romney in Massachusetts.

Trump still doesn't have a plan and last night, he punted again until after the election, which won't help folks who might lose their insurance if their court case is successful.

Trump's real passion seems to be gutting Obamacare and trying to cripple the ACA through bureaucratic maneuvers and court cases. After years of Republicans promising repeal and replace, the replace part's been really thin with plans like Graham-Cassidy, which essentially turns control of the health care markets over to the states, never even coming up for a vote.

At the same time, Obamacare's gotten a bit more popular. It's cut the number of uninsured by some 20 million and 36 states have now embraced Medicaid expansion, including several ruby-red states.

Now, let's turn our attention to the Democrats because a big crop of 2020 hopefuls has embraced some vision -- version of Medicare for All, which is basically a rebranding of single-payer. Medicare for All and Medicare apparently polls better than government-run health care. People are funny that way.

And some of its core provisions are popular, like eliminating premiums and cutting out-of-pocket costs. But when folks are told about the trade-offs, like possible delays in care and higher taxes, support plummets.

In particular, positions like eliminating private insurance, which was initially back by Sen. Kamala Harris, are really unpopular with just 37 percent approval.

And we haven't even gotten into the cost of such plans yet. Various projections range from a rosy $14 trillion to a 'buy gold and head for hills' $36 trillion.

So, the gap between Trump's GOP and the 2020 Dems is stark on health care but in some ways, presenting a false choice because there is agreement about reforming the ACA. The idea of a public option similar to Medicare, which Sen. Tim Kaine just proposed on NEW DAY gets around 74 percent support.

President Trump and liberals in Congress both say they want to bring down prescription drug prices, while medical malpractice reform, which was once supported by President Obama in his second term.

So, the real question is whether Washington will revert to type and simply try to kill the other team's plan or whether there's anything resembling enough bipartisan political will to stop fighting and start fixing our existing health care system.

And that's your reality check.

BERMAN: I'm not so sure I would bet on bipartisanship.

AVLON: Why would you say that?

BERMAN: I am not so sure that's been a good bet the last few years.

AVLON: All right.

CAMEROTA: OK, mister jaundiced approach.

BERMAN: Just say it.

AVLON: Just say it. She's been paying attention.

BERMAN: Just say it.

CAMEROTA: OK. I mean, John Avlon and I are eternal optimists.

AVLON: Yes. CAMEROTA: But, OK, John Berman.

BERMAN: Fine.

AVLON: Why we can't have nice things.

CAMEROTA: Thank you very much for the reality check.

All right. There is a manhunt on this morning after the murder of Grammy-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle. Van Jones is here, next, on this tragedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:51:54] BERMAN: The manhunt is intensifying this morning for Grammy nominee Nipsey Hussle's killer.

CNN has obtained security video capturing the deadly shooting. We do want to warn you this footage is graphic. It shows the rapper being gunned down in front of his store -- a Los Angeles -- in a Los Angeles strip mall.

Hussle was just 33 years old.

Joining us now to talk about his legacy and also much more, Van Jones, CNN political commentator and host of "THE VAN JONES SHOW."

Van, this was a loss. You wrote, "A tremendous loss for humanity." You say, "Awful -- this brother was just getting people --

(Audio gap)

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, HOST, CNN "THE VAN JONES SHOW": A lot of people may not know who this young guy is but he's somebody who has really leveraged his position in the community to start businesses.

He was promoting the sort of gospel of kind of ownership and entrepreneurship and not in the sort of bling-bling -- I'm going to like be the best rapper and buy a yacht, but literally starting businesses in the community, hiring artists, hiring people from the community.

And you have this now social uplift gospel. You know, tough, edgy, but really about something positive. He's really -- he was doing all the things.

He would say why don't some of these young rappers take their money and invest it in the hood? That's what he was doing. Why don't some of these young rappers take their position and use it to promote something positive? That's what he was doing.

And so, to have him gunned down -- and in fact, it's so crazy. He was literally about to organize a whole summit around -- with Roc Nation -- with both represented by Roc Nation -- Jay-Z's organization. He was about to organize a summit for peace on the streets. So this guy was literally unbelievably -- you can't even describe the loss. And it's so discouraging when you have someone like him rise. He made it a few years longer than Tupac did but he doesn't make it either.

And, I mean, what -- are you supposed to leave the hood? Are you supposed to stay in the hood? What are you supposed to do? This guy put it all on the line and he lost it all, and it's just -- it's an unbelievable tragedy.

CAMEROTA: You bring up Tupac. When I first heard about Nipsey's murder, I thought -- I imagined it was a drive-by. But when you see that video, that's an assassination.

JONES: Yes.

CAMEROTA: I mean, that's somebody walking right up to him who knows exactly who he is and shoots him at close -- in close range. So he even alluded to the fact that he had enemies.

JONES: Yes. I mean, there is -- it's unfortunate just in life all of us have your rivals, you have your allies, you have your competitors, you have your enemies. Unfortunately, in this situation, these things can turn deadly very, very quickly.

I just want to say to anybody who is watching this, I think the most important thing we can do in terms of caring for his legacy -- one of the things he was trying to do was bridge the gap between technology and hip-hop culture. He pointed out over and over again that it's great to be an athlete, it's great to be an entertainer, but the technologists are the ones who are really going to forge the future.

And so, he had a whole program going about that in terms of getting young people -- you know, in some ways, hip-hop and computer coding are the same thing. You're making something out of nothing. You're taking a beat and a sample and turning it into some -- a piece of art. Coding is very similar.

[07:55:08] He -- I mean, he was so far ahead of his time in terms of what he was trying to accomplish at such a young age and he was having real success. He had formed relationships and partnerships with key, key business leaders -- major business leaders in the L.A. area.

I mean, it was literally all set up for him to do something just incredibly extraordinary and I just -- I just can't -- it's just impossible to put words to what it means to lose somebody like this because he had already beaten so many odds and he was literally on the verge of having a whole different model.

I don't know. It's -- I don't know.

BERMAN: It's deflating.

JONES: Yes.

BERMAN: I mean, it's just flat-out deflating and -- JONES: I wish I had something positive to say. I mean, I feel you always try to have -- end on a positive note. He set a model.

If other young people want to do good by the hood, study him. Go on YouTube, listen to his interviews, not just his music. His interviews are unbelievable. And he laid out a pathway for himself that others, I hope, will follow.

BERMAN: Well, let's move from something disheartening and deflating, if we can, to something where there has been some progress -- and you've been part of it, Van.

And we're talking about the FIRST STEP Act criminal justice reform. There was an event at the White House. You're in Washington --

JONES: Yes.

BERMAN: -- because you were at the White House yesterday --

JONES: Yes.

BERMAN: -- which always feels like a Nixon in China moment to me --

JONES: Yes.

BERMAN: -- celebrating the passage of the FIRST STEP Act and also doing some strategy for what to do next on criminal justice reform.

JONES: Yes.

BERMAN: Take us behind the doors there. What happened?

JONES: Well, it's one of these remarkable kind of, for lack of a better term, ceasefire moments on criminal justice reform. It's the one issue where people say OK, we're not going to fuss and fight about things that are key and important for both parties. It is a ceasefire moment. People can go to the White House from both sides.

We had Vivica Fox and Isaiah Washington and folks from black Hollywood were there.

But most importantly, people who had been let out of prison because of the FIRST STEP Act passing last year in a massive bipartisan vote got a chance to stand up and speak. And, Trump shocked everybody. He ignored the teleprompter and just gave them the microphone, which was not planned, and they spoke from their hearts.

It was one of those touching moments and you realize whether you're talking about addiction or mental health or criminal justice or anti- poverty or maybe even infrastructure, there are issues where we could do more together, and criminal justice reform is one.

The president did announce that there will be a Second Step Act. It shocked a bunch of us. We were happy to hear it. And that's going to be focused on reentry and -- so people --we stayed around, again, to strategize about how to get people home better, how to bring in businesses.

#cut50, an organization I helped to found, was a part of that discussion also. I lead the reform alliance. We were all there talking.

And listen, after an hour, you forget who's a Republican and who's a Democrat because these problems are so tough to solve and it requires so much effort in terms of policy and business to get someone home safely that some of those distinctions disappear. Of course, as soon as you leave the building you're back into the fistfight, back into the food fight.

But I do want people to know that at least on this issue, which for so long has been neglected by both parties, there is a possibility of continued forward movement.

We've got to implement the FIRST STEP Act correctly. The president did correct -- there was a funding mismatch there that he take steps to correct, which is good. But this is something that is a source of hope.

And listen, these neighborhoods -- you know, we've got to continue this fight. We've got to have fewer funerals, whether it's police shootings, street shootings. We've got have more graduations. And that's the whole point of my life and I appreciate getting a chance to talk about it.

BERMAN: Van, we know you're working hard on that. Stick around if you will. We have a lot more to discuss with you.

And, of course, don't miss "THE VAN JONES SHOW," Saturday, 7:00 p.m., only on CNN.

CAMEROTA: If there is anybody who's walking the walk of bipartisan action, it is Van Jones.

Meanwhile, President Trump changes his mind again on health care.

NEW DAY continues, right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC SHORT, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: The president will be putting forward plans this year.

CAMEROTA: President Trump backtracking on health care reform, putting it off until after the 2020 election.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By kicking it off, he's basically handed Democrats a talking point of what is to come if they reelect Trump.

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D-MD), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: To have people who have top secrets and they have not been cleared, that should alarm every American.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Democrats had to push forward subpoenas as part of their investigation.

JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I've been accused of all types of things and all of those things have turned out to be false.

BERMAN: Police have identified a suspect in the murder of rapper Nipsey Hussle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're calling upon whoever killed Nipsey to turn yourself in. Nipsey was our hero. He's a role model to our youth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, April second, 8:00 in the East.

Up first, President Trump doing an about-face on health care. Now he says the Republican plan to replace Obamacare will not be announced until after the 2020 election.

Just last week, the administration agreed with a judge's ruling.

END