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Symone Sanders is Interviewed about Biden's Town Hall; Atlanta Mayor Bottoms is Interviewed about Defunding the Police. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired February 17, 2021 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And it's interesting how -- how decent and incredible these folks are.

ANDERSON COOPER, MODERATOR: Is it different than you expected it to be in some ways?

BIDEN: You know, I -- I don't know what I ever expected it to be. I -- it is different in that -- I'll get in trouble here. I said when I was running, I wanted to be president not to live in the White House, but to be able to make the decisions about the future of the country. And so living in the White House, as you've heard other presidents who have been extremely flattered to live there, as it's a little like a gilded cage in terms of being able to -- but walk outside and do things.

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Look, it's really interesting. And that's coming from a guy who's lived in government housing in the vice presidential residence and the Naval Observatory. He was surprised how much less movement he had and I think freedom to get about when he moved into the White House when he said he was going to get in trouble for saying it. I don't think he wanted to say like he felt trapped. He wanted to say like he felt honored. But the fact that he'd never been in the residence.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I know. What a revelation.

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: You would think that they would just have parties up there all the time.

BERMAN: I guess they don't.

CAMEROTA: And also how, you know, that is truly Joe Biden, that he's uncomfortable with being waited on. You know, I feel like I could take to it, but he's very uncomfortable with being handed things and given things. BERMAN: Look, if you're not used to someone putting on your jacket for

you, if it's never happened before in your life, it's a strange thing when all of a sudden it starts.

All right, joining us now from the White House is Symone Sanders. She is a senior adviser and chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Symone, thanks so much for being with us.

A lot of news last night at that CNN town hall. And one of the things that the president said is he hopes and expects that K-8 schools will be open five days a week by the end of the first 100 days. I'm wondering if you can help clear something up here because the answers on this have been hard to come by.

Does the White House -- does the president think that K-8 schools can reopen even if teachers have not been vaccinated?

SYMONE SANDERS, SENIOR ADVISER AND CHIEF SPOKESPERSON FOR VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Thanks for having me this morning, John.

Yes, lots of news.

And let me just say that CNN town hall last night was excellent. I do believe I'm a little biased, obviously, given the background.

The president, I thought, was very clear last night. The vice president this morning, Vice President Harris was on the "Today" show and she reiterated. And let me reiterate yet again.

The president and the administration's position is that by the end of the first 100 days, which is around April 30th, the president and vice president do believe that the majority of K-8 schools will be able to be reopened and operating safely. How does that happen? That happens by ensuring that schools have the resources that they need in terms of mitigation measures, it happens by people social distancing, making sure that we are doing things like wearing our masks, washing our hands frequently. And I think by -- the president also noted that by the end of late summer, beginning of early fall, during the traditional school year, September, I believe it is, that it is his hope that schools would be operating and open safely all over this country.

And the way that we get there is by passing the American rescue plan.

BERMAN: Symone --

SANDERS: That -- I will just say, John, that American rescue plan I think is an important point to make because that -- that plan has money for schools to ensure that they get the resources that they need.

BERMAN: It's not a trick question and I feel like you guys have treated it like a trick question.

SANDERS: Oh.

BERMAN: I think people just want to know what the White House position is on whether or not teachers have to be vaccinated for kids to return safely to school? The CDC director, Rochelle Walensky, says the science is that teachers don't necessarily have to be vaccinated for kids to return. And I think people want to know what the White House position is on that.

SANDERS: The White House position is that -- and the president and vice president believe that teachers should be prioritized for receiving the vaccination, along with other frontline workers. And in at least 22 states and the District of Columbia, that's exactly what's happening.

BERMAN: Prioritized is one thing. And I think there's wide agreement they should be prioritized. And why not? Is it necessary, though? That's the question. It really is a yes/no question.

SANDERS: Well, John, I think the real question, frankly, if I can be frank here, is what you're getting to is, is it safe for kids to go back to school? And the president and the vice president --

BERMAN: Actually not. In this case, that's not the question. The question, is it safe for teachers to go back to school? And that's --

SANDERS: And --

BERMAN: And that's a very specific question in this case.

And, again, I'm not sure -- I don't understand why it's a hard question to answer. It may be that you want every teacher to be vaccinated. It may be the answer is, yes, teachers should, if they can, be vaccinated before they return to school, but it's not necessary.

SANDERS: Well, John, I think the president has been clear, the vice president has been clear, and I think I was really clear just now that it is the administration's position, the president and vice president believe that teachers should be prioritized for vaccinations.

[08:35:11]

And in 22 states, at least, and the District of Columbia, that's exactly what is happening.

You know, look, this is --

BERMAN: I'll try one last time. I'll try one last time.

SANDERS: OK. Go ahead.

BERMAN: Does the president -- does the president feel that -- that teachers have to be vaccinated in order for schools to open safely, yes or no?

SANDERS: The president -- the president believes that teachers should be prioritized for vaccination.

BERMAN: All right.

SANDERS: His wife, Dr. Biden, the first lady, is a teacher. He knows the importance of teachers being in the classroom.

The president and vice president also know, John, that teaching for many people is not just what they do. It is who they are. It is a calling.

BERMAN: Let me --

SANDERS: And teachers want to be in the classroom.

BERMAN: Right.

SANDERS: Parents want students in the classroom. And we want to do so safely and operating according to the science.

BERMAN: All right. All right. Not going to get a yes or no on that.

Minimum wage. Curious. The president spoke forcefully for the need for the minimum wage and what he thinks the economic benefit will be to increasing the minimum wage gradually. And we heard that.

Will he sign a relief bill if it does not include an increase in the minimum wage?

SANDERS: Well, John, as the president said last night, and as many folks have said here on this program, the president feels very strongly about the need to increase the minimum wage, which is why he put it in his initial proposal in the American rescue plan.

The question really is, is that something that will stay in given the process that Congress is currently going through in reconciliation. And we're not going to get ahead of that process. We are going to let the process in Congress play out.

But it is absolutely the president's intention to fight for a minimum wage increase. It's something that he talked about on the campaign trail. He's talked about it throughout the transition. And he followed up on those commitments by putting it into the American rescue plan.

BERMAN: Last night President Biden said he's not interested in talking about the former president. That's enough. He wants to talk about the American people.

But I'm sure you can't help but have noticed that there is this back and forth between the former president and Mitch McConnell.

Who does the White House back in this fight?

SANDERS: We are backing the American people, John, and we're not getting into a tit-for-tat from anyone else today and yesterday and tomorrow and for the foreseeable future. This administration is focused on passing the American rescue plan, getting relief for the American people and making sure Americans are centered.

I think there's one point I really want to make, that last night the president went to --

BERMAN: I want to get one foreign policy question.

Go ahead.

SANDERS: The president went to Wisconsin, not to talk to Democrats and Republicans, to speak directly to Americans. And that's our focus here.

BERMAN: I want to ask one foreign policy question here.

During the campaign, President Biden, then candidate Biden, talked a lot about Egypt. And he said that it was basically unacceptable for the Egyptian regime to raid and arrest the families of activists.

Well, just this week, they raided the home of relatives -- six relatives of an Egyptian American activist. Candidate Biden said that was unacceptable. He said it was unacceptable to basically write a blank check for a dictator. That would be Mohamed (ph) El Sisi.

And then yesterday the Biden administration approved a large arms sale, $197 million for Egypt despite the raids on the families of activists.

How is that not a blank check for the Egyptian dictator?

SANDERS: Well, John, I, obviously, would take -- I disagree with your assertion here.

This is what I'll say. One, I know my good friend Ned Price will be at the podium at the State Department today and I'm sure these are -- there are a number of questions here that will come up.

But let me be clear for you where the administration stands and where Joe Biden stands. And there has been no change here. The president, I think, has been very clear about the need to respect human rights and civil rights across not just here in America but across the world and that America should be a leader on that. That America should be pushing other countries. That he said last night in the town hall, that there is no budging on human rights and that hasn't changed for Joe Biden, it hasn't changed for this administration and it's still true today.

BERMAN: Symone Sanders, a pleasure to have you on. Thank you so much. We look forward to speaking to you again.

SANDERS: Good to be here.

BERMAN: At this town hall, which you heard Symone talking about right there, the president rejected calls to defund the police. We'll talk about that and more with the Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, next.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can we be sure that we don't over legislate police officers so that they can't do their job to protect the law- abiding citizens who live in these high crime neighborhoods and yet train officers to police with compassion?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: By, number one, not defunding the police. We have to put more money in police work so we have legitimate community policing and we're in a situation where we change the legislation. No one should go to jail for a drug offense. No one should go to jail for the use of a drug. They should go to drug rehabilitation. Drug rehabilitation.

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CAMEROTA: That was President Joe Biden rejecting calls to defund the police at last night's CNN town hall.

Joining us now is Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Mayor, great to see you.

MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), ATLANTA: Nice to see you. Thank you for having me.

CAMEROTA: Let's start there.

So we all remember the calls that sprang out of the anger last summer when we saw the examples of the excessive force and death at the hands of police and the calls for defund the police. With Joe Biden's answer last night, do you think that that concept, that slogan is officially done and over?

BOTTOMS: I don't think that slogan is done and over, but I think what's been heard and understood loud and clear is that people want better relationships with police officers in their communities.

I can go into any community meeting in my city, in an African-American community meeting for that matter, and you would have seniors asking for more police officers and more resources.

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And then I could go into another room with a group of younger people who may ask to defund the police. So this is -- this issue is something -- the sentiment is understood. The sentiment is that people want to have officers who want to have good relationships with law- abiding citizens in our communities. And in Atlanta we have looked at it and we are moving around money in our budget from our corrections department, not our police department, but from our corrections department, moving away from mass incarceration and moving to a model that the president has spoken about, and that's making sure that people have the resources that they need.

CAMEROTA: But, I mean, it sounds like he was basically saying defund is a misnomer.

Do you agree with that?

BOTTOMS: Well, I think that when you say defund the police, it is a nonstarter for productive conversation in a lot of rooms. So, again, I think that we have to understand what the sentiment is. The sentiment is, we want officers who respect our communities. I think that's something that everyone can agree with. When there's crime in our communities, we pick up the phone, we call 911 expecting an officer to respond.

But what I'm most encouraged by the Biden administration is that in his strengthening America plan, he talked about putting $20 billion into states and cities that move from mass incarceration to prevention. That's what we are already doing in Atlanta and we are very much looking forward to receiving support from that funding at the appropriate time.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about how Atlanta is handling vaccinations, coronavirus vaccinations. I know you went to the White House on Friday. You had meetings there. And you were asking for help. What specifically do you need help with?

BOTTOMS: It was a very productive meeting with governors and mayors across the country, a bipartisan meeting. The biggest source of my frustration, obviously, with so many -- like so many others, we don't have vaccinations in our communities at the numbers in which we need them. Morehouse School of Medicine, on the west side of Atlanta, already has a waiting list of 6,000 people. Fulton County, where Atlanta is, 35,000 people on the waiting list.

But beyond that, I can't tell you who's received this vaccination because we're not tracking it by zip code in our state. So what I asked specifically was that we be allowed to have local flexibility to the extent that more vaccines are coming into community health systems and to the extent that our state is not in agreement, give us local flexibility so that I can prioritize our teachers, I can prioritize our sanitation workers who are riding four to a truck so that we can make sure that we're tracking the numbers closely in our cities and that we have the flexibility to get the vaccinations where they are needed.

CAMEROTA: And, very quickly, did they give you that?

BOTTOMS: We were heard. And that -- that is a far cry from what my experience has been over the past several years. So we were heard. We -- we were -- we were understood, more importantly. So I did not get a commitment, but it certainly was my request. And I know that more vaccines are coming into our state. But my fear is that they are not going into the communities that are willing to receive them and need them most.

CAMEROTA: You just brought up your experience with the White House over the past few years when Donald Trump was president. As you know, the Fulton County D.A. has launched an investigation, or is planning, I guess, to impanel a grand jury in terms of looking into that phone call between former President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

What are your thoughts on this?

BOTTOMS: Well, finally, Willis is an incredible attorney and I know that she's new to the job as district attorney. But she's an experienced prosecutor and she's very thoughtful.

So to the extent that she is launching a grand jury investigation, it certainly is appropriate. We all heard the tape. There was a direct effort to interfere with a lawful election in the state of Georgia. And it's appropriate that an investigation be launched. And I can't think of a better person to lead that investigation than Fani Willis.

CAMEROTA: Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, thank you very much for taking time for NEW DAY. Great to talk to you.

BOTTOMS: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: OK, "The Good Stuff" is next.

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BERMAN: All right, time now for "The Good Stuff."

A restaurant owner in Wisconsin helping the competition. Adolfo Melendez opened his restaurant just weeks before the pandemic hit. Now he's spending more than $2,000 out of his advertising budget on gift cards at seven other restaurants to raffle off in his restaurant's Facebook page.

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ADOLFO MELENDEZ, OWNER, EL MEZCAL: If you help one person, one person will help another business, that will help a lot.

Most of us there's like just single family owners and there's nowhere you can go anywhere to ask for help but ourselves.

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BERMAN: He's giving away gift cards to the competition. And the other restaurant owners say they really appreciate the generosity. But I think it goes to show what a lot of small businesses and local owners are doing now, they're just trying to get people to come in and spend money and to feel safe about doing it.

CAMEROTA: I'm doing my part by eating as much as possible from restaurants right now.

[08:55:02] BERMAN: We order all the time.

CAMEROTA: Me too. Me too. And we feel very good about it, you know, like it feels different now.

BERMAN: Yes, that -- that's how you explain it that way.

CAMEROTA: Yes, exactly.

BERMAN: I need the extra cheese. I need a burger tonight because it's helping the economy.

Our coverage continues right after this.

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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto.

President Biden making some big promises. He says that 600 million vaccine doses -- 600 million -- will be available in this country by the end of July. That is enough for just about every American who wants a shot to get one.

[09:00:01]

The caveat, things still might not get back to normal in terms of mask wearing, going out and so on until Christmastime.