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Details Revealed in Bezos Divorce Settlement; Sanders Woos Black Voters; Democratic Candidates Court Black Voters; Notre Dame Coach Speaks About Women in Power; Trump Picks Herman Cain for Federal Reserve Seat. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 05, 2019 - 06:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:16] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The richest man in the world and his ex-wife revealing details of their divorce settlement. Jeff Bezos' ex-wife will get to keep 25 percent of the couple's Amazon stock while he retains voting control over all of her shares.

CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans joins us with more.

Why didn't she get 50 percent?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's what I said, took, but maybe it's because $35 billion is just so much money --

CAMEROTA: (INAUDIBLE).

ROMANS: And this is an amicable, you know, an amicable disillusion of a 25 year marriage.

Look, the agreement makes her one of the richest women in the world. And she tweeted this herself. She said she'd be keeping 25 percent of the couple's Amazon stock. That gives her a 4 percent stake in the company. Based on Amazon's current market value, that stock is worth $35 billion.

Now, Jeff Bezos retains the voting control over his shares and all of her shares and will also keep his interests in "The Washington Post" and Blue Origin, that's that private space company. Now, Jeff and MacKenzie both tweeting they're looking forward to the future. The couple first announcing plans to separate in January ending a 25-year marriage. The separation quickly, of course, morphed into a media frenzy with reporting on Bezos' infidelity. He published a tell-all blog post accusing "The National Enquirer" of trying to blackmail him. His net worth now estimated at $150 billion. That $35 billion settlement from MacKenzie Bezos makes her number four most rich woman in the world, behind heiresses, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, that's the L'Oreal fortune, Alice Walton, the Wal-Mart fortune, and Jacqueline Mars, that's the candy fortune. That is a lot of money.

But I'm so glad you said that about -- a lot of people said, why not 50 percent? $35 billion is just so much money. And we don't know about the cash part of it. We don't know what else is outside of the Amazon stock here.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: She was there for -- to be clear about this, she was there from the beginning --

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: And a key player in the building of Amazon from the ground up.

ROMANS: Yes. And a real partner. And they have children.

CAMEROTA: And he's given her credit for that, I mean, in pervious interviews.

BERMAN: Yes.

ROMANS: And he said in a -- in his posting yesterday, he said that he knows that going forward he will continue to learn from her, how smart she is. So their -- it's kind of conscience coupling with a lot of dollar signs.

BERMAN: It makes it a little easier I imagine.

All right, thanks, Romans.

Up next, Senator Bernie Sanders taking a new approach to win over the critical African-American vote. This was a group he did not do nearly well enough with four years ago to win the nomination. What's he going to do differently this time? That's next.

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[06:37:33] BERMAN: So, by most accounts, Senator Bernie Sanders, the front-runner in the Democratic field, certainly in fundraising in the first quarter, but he is facing criticism for not releasing his tax returns. He's promising to do that soon. We've heard that for a while.

In the meantime, Senator Sanders is focusing on winning over black voters ahead of the 2020 election. He needs to improve on his performance from a few years ago.

CNN's Ryan Nobles joins us now with much more on that.

Ryan.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John, there's no doubt that the Sanders campaign concedes that this was a problem for their candidate four years ago and they've already made big changes here in 2020. In fact, last night, Senator Sanders made a surprise appearance at the Apollo Theater. The big question, though, is, will this be successful, especially when the field he's up against this time of around is much more diverse?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NOBLES (voice over): Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign is off to a fast start. But in order to go from current front-runner to Democratic standard bearer, the Vermont senator will need to improve upon his 2016 performance with black voters.

REV. JOSEPH DARBY, NAACP, CHARLESTON BRANCH: He needs to develop a greater level of cultural competency when it comes to the black community.

NOBLES: Reverend Joe Darby is an NAACP leader in Charleston, South Carolina, a state where the black vote is crucial in the Democratic primary and a state Sanders lost by nearly 50 points to Hillary Clinton.

NOBLES (on camera): He did not do very well in South Carolina.

DARBY: No, he didn't.

NOBLES (voice over): Overall, in 2016, Sanders lost black voters to Clinton by an average of nearly 57 percentage points in states where there were exit polls.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Based on what I'm seeing tonight, we're going to do just fine here in South Carolina.

NOBLES: This time around, he is already made changes to his approach, in part by getting personal about his connection to civil rights.

SANDERS: My years here in Chicago gave me the opportunity to become involved in the civil rights movement.

NOBLES: Sanders has filled his schedule with travel to Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, in South Carolina for the Martin Luther King Junior holiday.

SANDERS: We now have a president of the United States who is a racist.

NOBLES: He's also named black leaders to prominent roles within his campaign and made a specific push to address issues of concern to African-American voters. This month he appeared with South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn to tout a plan to increase funding to community health centers.

SANDERS: That impacts people all across this country and, in fact, it impacts people of color even more.

[06:40:04] NOBLES: Clyburn believes such efforts from Sanders are important for him to grow his support.

NOBLES (on camera): Could that resonate with them in a primary?

REP. JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): Oh, it should. I hope it does. I really believe that people ought to give just due to people who -- who do things.

NOBLES (voice over): While the Sanders' strategy shift is apparent, it's too early to tell if it is paying off. His ruckus rallies typically draw predominantly white crowds, even in places such as north Charleston, a city where nearly half the population is black. Darby's advice to Sanders, make sure his proposals directly address the concerns of black voters.

DARBY: A rising tide floats all boats. But if racial prejudice has put your boat a mile inland, it's still going to be hard to float.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES: And Sanders will continue that pitch here in New York City today. He's addressing Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Association Conference -- National Action Network Conference, I should say. He's not the only 2020 candidate that will be speaking today. Kamala Harris is also scheduled to speak, as is Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, and, of course, Cory Booker.

John and Alisyn, this is a big push for the Sanders campaign. They are taking this speech very seriously today. His aides told me they are still putting the finishing touches on what he's going to say to that group today.

CAMEROTA: OK, Ryan, thank you very much for previewing it all for us.

And joining us now is Toluse Olorunnipa, White House reporter for "The Washington Post," and Tiffany Cross, co-founder and managing editor of "The Beat DC"

Great to have both of you.

So, Tiffany, when we heard that Bernie Sanders needs to show more cultural competency, what specifically do black voters want to hear from the candidates today?

TIFFANY CROSS, CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING EDITOR, "THE BEAT DC": Well, I'd first caution the term "black voters," right? Because when we talk about white voters, we could say college-educated white voters, southern white voters, married white women voters. So I think black voters are not a monolith any more than any other group.

And when you talk about things that are of interest to black voters, I mean, we're separated geographically and, you know, our education and socioeconomic status. So I think black voters in South Carolina have certain things that they care about and want to hear from candidates, and black voters in New York may have something different.

In -- I think it's a danger in comparing this political field to 2016. This is a more crowded field. It's a different -- we're post-Trump America right now. And so I think the stakes are a bit higher. People see what happens when you can have somebody who does not have your interests at heart in the office. So I think there are different things.

Obviously the commonality among black voters is equality. Most black people have felt some form of racism or disenfranchisement in their life. But the approach to correct some of those things takes on different forms among different people.

BERMAN: You know, the other thing I think we have to be careful of is talking about the black vote, or African-American vote, like it's a segment of the Democratic vote.

CROSS: Right.

BERMAN: Where in some places, Toluse, it's the backbone of the Democratic Party. It's no longer an interest group by any stretch of the imagination. I mean it really -- these candidates need to address them because there will be states, and maybe even the entire Democratic primary, where this vote is essential.

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": That's exactly right. About one in five Democrats in primaries across the country are African-American. In specific states it gets as high as 50 percent or more. And we've seen what happened to Bernie Sanders in 2016, even Hillary Clinton in 2008, when their opponents ended up locking up the black vote and were able to win large portions. Barack Obama was able to win the vast majority of black voters in his primary win against Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton ended up winning a vast majority of black voters against Bernie Sanders. And that ended up being what was the difference in that primary. So that's why, even though we have a very large and very diverse field, all of these candidates are trying to get, at least a large share of this population in terms of getting support in order to separate themselves from the pack because, as we saw with 2016, if a candidate does not perform well among black voters, older, younger, different segments of the black population, then they're going to struggle.

Bernie Sanders did actually pretty well with younger black voters and he's trying to build upon that in 2020. But there is a much bigger field, as Tiffany said, and it's going to be much more difficult to have any specific candidate win a lock of the black vote. And that's why you see them trying so hard to make sure they're pitching their message directly to this community.

CAMEROTA: On that subject of Bernie Sanders, since he is the fundraising front-runner, why hasn't he gained more traction with the black community?

CROSS: Well, because it's a more crowded field at this time. So, again, like we really don't know.

I think the litmus test for all of these candidates is typically South Carolina, so we're -- a week in politics is an eternity and we're still months and months away from, you know, Super Tuesday. So we'll have to see.

I think one of the things that he's done differently this time around, which I think is wise, is to have more black staff. You know, in 2016, his staff did not reflect America. And I think that's something that all the candidates learn. You cannot have people go out and tell -- who don't look like the community, tell you how to speak to the community. People want to know that you love the people if you want to lead the people. And you have to have a diverse staff to help you figure out ways to do that.

[06:45:09] He's done that this time around. At his launch he had Shawn King (ph), huge social media following, very active on police brutality issues and inequality issues. I mean that's major for him and that resonated with a lot of people. But in South Carolina you could certainly have a situation, Joe Biden has deep roots there, Senator Kamala Harris resonates with voters there, Cory Booker, you could have a situation where they all split a vote and Sanders, you know, may rise to the top. So you really -- you know, it's hard to say at this point it's so early.

CAMEROTA: Fair point.

Yes, OK, thank you very much for all of the insight. We'll be watching very closely what happens, Tiffany and Toluse.

All right, a top college basketball coach going viral for powerful comments about women leadership in sports. We'll tell you what she says, next.

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BERMAN: This morning, Notre Dame's basketball coach says it's time for more women to be in positions of power in all walks of life.

Coy Wire with more in the "Bleacher Report."

Good morning, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Muffet McGraw is in her ninth final four as Notre Dame's women's basketball coach. She's won two national championships, including the thriller last season.

Well, yesterday, she used this year's big stage to speak power to women, giving an impassioned plea.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUFFET MCGRAW, NOTRE DAME COACH: We don't have enough female role models. We don't have enough visible women leaders. We don't have enough women in power. All these millions of girls that play sports across the country, they could come out every day -- and we're teaching them great things about life skills -- but wouldn't it be great if we could teach them to watch how women lead. This is a path for you to take to get to the point where in this country we have 50 percent of women in power, we have less -- less now -- right now less than 5 percent of women are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: For the last seven years, McGraw has had an all-female coaching staff. In last year's final four, she was the only female head coach. This season, three of the four are women. The action tips off tonight with Notre Dame facing their rival Geno Auriemma's UConn in a rematch of last year's semi-final. Baylor and Oregon play in the other final four matchup. Muffet McGraw is 63 years old. She's been the head coach of Notre Dame for 32 years. I think you can see and feel why she's one of the greatest leaders in college sports.

[06:50:25] CAMEROTA: All right, Coy, thank you very much for that story.

All right, President Trump wants former pizza magnate Herman Cain on the Federal Reserve board. Why Cain's own checkered history could be problematic for this. "Reality Check" is next.

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[06:54:55] CAMEROTA: Must I say this.

BERMAN: Do it. Do it now.

CAMEROTA: President Trump is raising Cain.

BERMAN: Was that that hard?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

The president wants the former pizza CEO Herman Cain to have a seat on the Federal Reserve. Is he qualified for that we ask? John Avlon has our "Reality Check."

John.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It really depends on what your definition of qualified means. So yesterday President Trump proposed this guy to be on the Federal Reserve board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN: Bottom line, folks, 999 means jobs, jobs, jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: Oh, that's right, Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, who briefly charmed GOP audiences during a 2012 presidential run is back. Never mind that his campaign hit a few snags. For example, questions about the self-described leader not a reader in his command of world facts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAIN: When they asked me who's the president of Ubecky-becky-becky- becky-stan-stan, I'm going to stay, you know, I don't know. Do you know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: And then there were the four women who came forward with detailed allegations of sexual harassment. Cain denied the claims.

But when a combination of controversies torpedo his campaign, Herman Cain decided to go out on his own terms, quoting the "Pokemon" movie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAIN: Let me leave you with this. And I believe these words came from the "Pokemon" movie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: And that was pretty much the last time most of us heard from Herman Cain. For the last few years he's been an occasional talking head on Fox News, otherwise known as the auditioning ground for the Trump administration.

Now, Trump's been fighting with the Fed a lot lately, frustrated with its mandated independence when it comes to things like setting interest rates. He'd seem to like it if they took more direction from a president seeking re-election. So, in March, Trump took heat for nominating conservative pundit and former CNN contributor Stephen Moore to the Federal Reserve board. Critics who valued experience said Moore was unqualified as a matter of economic literacy and past attacks on the independence of the Fed. They said he might function more as a Trump ally than an independent arbiter. But that may have been a feature, not a bug.

And with Cain's nomination, Trump seems to be saying, you thought Moore was unqualified and controversial. Hold my beer.

Supporters say Cain was the chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve board back in the 1990s, a position often given to local business leaders. Critics say his campaign's signature economic plan, 999, 9 percent personal income tax, 9 percent federal sales tax, 9 percent corporate tax was catchy but nonsensical.

Now it's up to the U.S. Senate. They might have thought Trump was joking about nominating supporters he sees on TV to the Fed, but Trump appears to be doubling down. And when it comes time for a vote on these folks, it will be interesting to see which Republicans stand up and say, 999, in the German sense.

And that's your "Reality Check."

BERMAN: All right, John --

CAMEROTA: That was a particularly good one, John. So much so, you can walk over here.

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: You've earned a seat at the table.

AVLON: Ah.

BERMAN: As you stroll over here, we are also joined by our chief business correspondent Christine Romans.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, guys.

BERMAN: This is an important job, right?

ROMANS: It is. It is.

BERMAN: They do important things, make important decisions. So his actual experience and views matter here.

ROMANS: They should matter. But the president seems to be thumbing his nose at what he thinks are the establishment elites who are on the Federal Reserve board.

Look, this is a -- the shock absorber of the American economy, it's supposed to be independent of the White House because every president would like to have lower interest rates heading into an election, right? And we have seen in the past where Nixon persuaded his Fed chief to cut rates before an election. He did and then you had inflation later on. That was bad for America and American families.

So you have to have the independence of the Fed. The president clearly here wants to put loyalists and Fed critics right there in the heart of that independent agency, which is so important.

CAMEROTA: John, I'm so glad that you said Fox News, also known as the auditioning ground for President Trump's, you know, orbit. I mean --

AVLON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: I mean that is where they get his attention, that's where he sees them and is impressed and then hires them. And I know a lot about Herman Cain because, in 2011, I was at Fox. In fact, I -- John has to bring it out here.

AVLON: Just parenthetically --

CAMEROTA: One of the main characters in "Amanda Wakes Up" was inspired by Herman Cain and the, let's say, lack of vigorous coverage that Fox, at the time, was giving to him, particularly the Me Too stuff.

BERMAN: He was forced out of the election because of scandals.

AVLON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Of course.

AVLON: Look, in some ways, though, a prodo (ph) Trump, a leader not a reader, you know, somebody who had a great way with slogans, but not so much on the substance.

Look, Donald Trump is trying to get his own people on the Fed irrespective of experience. And this matters, folks. It's not just about assailing independent organization that hold a president accountable. This is a big deal.

BERMAN: He's trolling also the Fed chair.

AVLON: And trolling.

BERMAN: He's trolling the Fed chair. He wants --

ROMANS: Who he chose.

BERMAN: Yes.

ROMANS: Who he chose and regrets now. Has complained about it ever since.

BERMAN: All right, Christine Romans, John Avlon, thank you very much.

And thank you to our international viewers for watching. For you CNN "TALK" is next. For our U.S. viewers, President Trump's week of about- faces, as I call it the three f's of the apocalypse, flipping, fighting and fibbing, that's now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We haven't seen the Mueller report. We haven't seen the summaries the staff prepared of the report. We're very concerned.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Bill Barr is a straight shooter. He's going to release as much of the report as he possibly can.

[07:00:04] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's inevitable that Mueller's going to testify.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last eight presidents have released their tax forms.

END