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New Day

Trump Rules Out Third Party as He Tightens Grip Over GOP; Gov. Cuomo Apologizes Amid New Allegations of Sexual Harassment; Johnson & Johnson Ships Vaccine Doses, Injections Begin Tomorrow. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 01, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Donald Trump closed out this year's CPAC with a speech that was filled with one lie after another.

[05:59:40]

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a very sick and corrupt electoral process that must be fixed immediately. This election was rigged.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (voice-over): He's clearly the boss of the Republican Party. They listen to what he says, even when he says things that aren't true.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The House passed the $1.9 trillion COVID relief Bill on Friday, and now it moves on to the Senate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Johnson & Johnson says it has 3.9 million doses ready to go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard to compare them side by side, because they were tested at different times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's got greater than 85 percent efficacy. This is a good vaccine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, March 1, 6 a.m. here in New York.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK.

BERMAN: Nothing -- nothing strange ever happens in March, so this is going to go well. Right?

Lies, revenge and bears, oh, my. The former president spoke in public for the first time since the end of his presidency. He clung to the lies that helped fuel the Capitol insurrection. He threatened Republicans who refused to endorse those lies. But he drew this new public line, declaring he will not form a new party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have the Republican Party. It's going to unite and be stronger than ever before. I am not starting a new party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He also repeatedly dangled -- that was for you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

BERMAN: He dangled the possibility of a new run for the presidency. Who knows if he'll follow through? But the mere suggestion has very real implications for the Republican Party today.

CAMEROTA: And developing overnight, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo apologizing after a second woman, a former aide, accuses him of sexual harassment. Cuomo acknowledging, for the first time, that some of his behavior may have been quote, "insensitive or too personal," while insisting he has never inappropriately touched or propositioned anyone.

What happens next for him? Can he survive these allegations?

And this morning, shipments of Johnson & Johnson's newly-approved vaccine are on their way to states across the U.S. The new single-dose vaccine could start to be administered as early as tomorrow, as the CDC director warns that the number of new cases, which had been dropping, may now be plateauing at a very high level.

But we begin with CNN's Michael Warren, live in Washington, on Donald Trump's continued grip on the Republican Party -- Michael.

MICHAEL WARREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, the anticipation could not have been higher yesterday for Donald Trump to make his speech at CPAC in Orlando.

And despite the fact that Trump was almost over an hour late to his speech, he did not disappoint. He hinted several times that he may well run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

And he also touched on a major theme of the conferences -- of the conference, which was the 2020 election being rigged, stolen, and fraudulent. The big lie.

Donald Trump also had some choice words for Republicans who did not fall in line with him. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The Democrats don't have grandstanders like Mitt Romney, little Ben Sasse, Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins. Lisa Murkowski, Pat Toomey.

And of course, the warmonger, a person that loves seeing our troops fighting, Liz Cheney. How about that? Hopefully, they'll get rid of her with the next election. Get rid of them all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARREN: Well, Donald Trump also went after the man who beat him in the 2020 election, Joe Biden, criticizing the new president for his immigration policies and for taking credit, in Donald Trump's view, for the vaccination efforts that his administration, he claims, was behind.

There was also this big straw poll, this idea of asking attendees who they wanted to support in 2024 for the Republican presidential nominee. A lot of folks expected it would be Donald Trump far and away, and it was. Fifty-five percent of people there wanted -- picked him out of the whole group, but a surprisingly low number, 68 percent, said they wanted him to run in 2024. A lot of the Republicans even at CPAC withholding their judgment on Donald Trump in 2024 -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Yes. I mean, if you -- if you can't get more than 68 percent in the self-selecting group of CPAC, that is interesting and tells you something. Michael, thank you very much for all of that reporting.

Also developing overnight, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo apologizing for what he calls inappropriate and insensitive comments. Cuomo facing allegations from two former aides who accuses him of sexual harassment.

For the first time, the governor is acknowledging his behavior amid calls for him to be ousted.

CNN's Athena Jones live in Albany, New York, with the latest. What's happening, Athena?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

This is just the latest of several crises the governor is facing. He's dealing with a probe into his administration's counting of COVID- related nursing home deaths.

He's facing accusations of bullying and intimidation from a Democratic state lawmaker. And now not one, but two women are accusing him of sexual harassment, forcing him to address their allegations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (voice-over): Pressure mounting against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, after a second former aide has come forward, accusing him of sexual harassment. Cuomo addressing the allegations, writing in a statement, "I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended. I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that."

The statement in response to a former aide, who came forward and recounted to the "New York Times" instances where she says the governor inappropriately questioned her about her sex life in a June conversation.

Charlotte Bennett says Cuomo asked her such questions as if she was monogamous in her relationships and if she had sex with older men. Bennett tells "The Times," "I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared," adding she "was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job."

Cuomo denied Bennett's allegations in a statement Saturday. Bennett told "The Times" she reported the conversations to the governor's chief of staff and was transferred to another job. She left the governor's office in November.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There should be an independent review of these allegations. They're serious. It was hard to read that story, as a woman.

JONES: Bennett's allegation came on the heels of former aide Lindsey Boylan's accusation last week. In a post online, Boylan says Cuomo asked her to play strip poker on his taxpayer-funded jet.

In another instance, after a one-on-one briefing with the governor in 2018, she says she got up to leave and walked toward an open door. He stepped in front of her and kissed her on the lips. She writes, "I was in shock, but I kept walking."

Cuomo denied Boylan's accusations in December when they first surfaced.

Cuomo initially tried to appoint an independent reviewer to look into the allegations, but New York's attorney general, Letitia James, rejected that, insisting on an independent investigation by an outside law firm with subpoena powers.

Several high-profile New York Democrats also rejecting Cuomo's effort, arguing that he should have no role in shaping the probe.

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): If she's investigations bear out, it really starts to, I think, call into question the leadership that we currently have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Now, CNN has reached out to Bennett for comment on the latest accusation but has not received a response. CNN has not been able to corroborate the allegations. And when for further comment, Boylan, who was running for Manhattan borough president, replied that she was letting her Medium post speak for itself -- John.

BERMAN: All right, Athena. We're going to have much more on this in just a little bit. Thanks so much for that reporting. This morning, shipments of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine on

their way to states across the country. The first doses of the new vaccine could be in the arms of Americans as early as tomorrow.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with the latest. This is the third vaccine on the market. This will make a difference.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It will make a difference. The more vaccines we have out there, it will help. Because supply has really been an issue.

So we're all familiar by now with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. Let's take a look at the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

In their U.S. trials, it was found to be 72 percent effective. Not as effective as Moderna or Pfizer, but still, 72 percent is a good number. Many experts and health officials coming out saying, I would take it, and you should take it.

It is only one shot. It is not two. And that is certainly helpful in getting this rollout to speed up even more. Also, it doesn't need to be frozen when it's shipped or stored, and that is also helpful in making things happen and get out there.

Now let's take a look at the rollout plan. Three point nine million doses expected immediately, 20 million total by the end of March. Most doses are going to state governments to do clinics and the vaccinations on their own. Also, to pharmacies. Vaccines are expected to be delivered as early as Tuesday. So we should -- we should see shots into arms very soon -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much for that.

So I'm going to try this again, because I don't think you reacted quite enough the first time.

CAMEROTA: Is this a dangle? Because --

BERMAN: The dangle was good.

CAMEROTA: The dangle was good.

BERMAN: But this was better, OK?

CAMEROTA: Is this Shakespeare?

BERMAN: Almost. Lies, revenge, and bears, oh, my.

CAMEROTA: Well done.

BERMAN: OK, thank you.

What did the former president just do to the Republican Party? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:13:28]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have the Republican Party. It's going to unite and be stronger than ever before. I am not starting a new party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That's the former president, ruling out the formation of a third party. That was his first public speech since leaving office.

Joining us now, CNN political commentator, Errol Louis. He's a political anchor for Spectrum News. Also with us, CNN political analyst, Rachael Bade. She's a political reporter and co-author of "The Politico Playbook."

And Errol, actually before we start, I want you to know that -- that our thoughts are with you. I know you lost your father last week, Edward Louis. You know, decades-long service as a New York City police officer. You called yourself his sidekick, wrote a glowing tribute to him in "The New York Daily News." And I have to say, you are a walking tribute to what a decent and good man he was. So we're sorry for your loss.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you very much, John. Thank you.

BERMAN: The former president talking at CPAC yesterday, talking about the future of the Republican Party. And to my mind, making clear that the foundation of the new Republican Party -- he says he's not forming a third party, a new party. He doesn't have to, because the Republican Party, in a way, is a new party. It's the Trump party. And the foundation of that party is the lie about the election, which he spouted from the CPAC stage. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We will take back the house. We will win the Senate. And then a Republican president will make a triumphant return to the White House. And I wonder who that will be. I wonder who that will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:15:07]

BERMAN: So -- so what he said that I found so interesting is, actually, as you know, they just lost the White House, the Democrats, but who knows? I may be even to decide to beat them for a third time, OK? So he says that Biden lost the White House. Says he's going to beat them for a third time.

That to me is the foundation of the new Republican Party, Errol.

LOUIS: Well, let's hope, for the sake of the governance of the country and the leadership of the Republican Party, that that is not the case. Let's keep in mind, John, this is a faction of the Republican Party.

There are other power bases within the Republican Party.

CPAC has been especially prominent over the last several cycles. They may have thrown away, frankly, that leadership role with what they just did this last weekend, because just as you suggest, this is not anchored in reality. We now know the country is more interested in reality than in this fantasy world that Donald Trump has created for them.

And frankly, his so-called third time, it better be a little bit more successful than the second time. You know, you can't lose by seven million votes and then say, Let's do that all over again and expect a favorable outcome.

Not to mention that Donald Trump has a lot of legal problems that lie ahead of him. So by the time we get around to both the midterms and the re-elect four years from now, he's going to be somewhat damaged, legally for sure, and possibly politically, as well.

CAMEROTA: Rachael, just hearing his voice again, just hearing his logic again, you realize how different this past month without it has been.

And even the people at CPAC, OK? The most self-selected group of passionate Trump supporters ever, it sounds like, are not completely sure they want to hear all that again for four years. Here's the latest poll.

Among CPAC attendees, should President Trump run in 2024? Only 68 percent say "yes." More than 30 percent say, no, or they're not sure if he should. What does that tell us?

RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean, clearly, there are Republicans who are second-guessing. You know, did they want this guy to run again in 2024. What does this portend for Republicans trying to take back not only the White House, but the Congress?

But look, even with those numbers, it's very clear that Trump is going to be a big problem for GOP leaders in the coming months and years.

And I mean, I think, you know, him coming on stage and, you know, touting the big lie less than two months after his followers stormed the Capitol, killed five people, tried to murder lawmakers, was really jarring, I think, for a lot of people watching across the country, perhaps not in that room.

But this is going to cause a big problem for Republicans. They're worried that it will decrease voter turnout by depressing voters. It puts them in this really awkward spot of having to say, Trump is wrong, when he's very popular with the base. Or refusing to answer, which a lot of them do, and then they look spineless and like they're not willing to stand up to somebody who's clearly spouting conspiracy theories.

And my other big takeaway from last night, regarding GOP leaders in Washington, is that they're going to have to choose their own rank- and-file members or Trump. Because he made clear that he's coming for revenge last night. He name-checked every single Republican who voted to impeach him, and he said, Let's get them out.

And so that's going to put leaders like Kevin McCarthy, who have tried to stay on his good side, in this position of having to decide, are they going to defend their rank-and-file members and their right to choose, their vote of conscience when it came to impeachment, or are they going to cater to Trump, who clearly wants revenge, not unity.

BERMAN: It's dangerous. I mean, it's dangerous in the real world. We saw what happened with the Capitol insurrection based on that lie. And it's also dangerous politically, because as Rachael says, he's now set the standard. He name-checked those Republicans who had the gumption to stand up and say, the former president is lying. And now they are politically endangered.

And Errol, as Alisyn said -- and we've played that sound before -- the president also dangled the possibility of running again. I don't know if he's going to run again, and I'm not trying to handicap the 2024 race today.

But by dangling the possibility he's going to run, it has an impact today, not even down the line. It does have a political force on what the Republican Party is.

If nothing else, look, they barely talked about. He didn't talk about at all the $1.9 trillion relief plan. He's almost ceding government action to the Biden administration.

LOUIS: That's right. That's exactly right. In fact, Democrats could not have hoped for better as they launched this new administration. They get to kind of run the field. They try to battle the coronavirus pandemic, and they're unobstructed.

Because if CPAC and the Trump forces are going to be off in some corner, lying about the last election that they lost and pursuing all kinds of, I guess, clickbait, for lack of a better term, sure, if they don't want to be the party that governs, you know, good luck taking that into the midterms. We'll see how that works out.

[06:20:07]

And again, keep in mind, there are these other bases within the Republican Party. Think about all of the groups like the National Association of Manufacturers, who called for Trump to step down in the wake of the attack on the Capitol.

There are, you know, CEOs of major organizations -- of major corporations who have said, We want nothing else to do with this man.

I think some of the people who maybe want to follow Trump into whatever wilderness he wants to lead them are going to find that donors are going to close their books. A lot of people who were sick of losing elections aren't going to be thrilled about it. Republican mayors and governors, who actually need some relief and are

going to probably get some of it from the Biden administration, are not going to be that interested.

It's a very divisive message. And I don't think it's going to have political payouts of the kind that Trump may have anticipated.

CAMEROTA: Errol Louis, Rachael Bade, thank you both very much.

Now to this. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo apologizing after a second former aide accuses him of sexual harassment. "The New York Times" reporter who broke that story joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:24]

CAMEROTA: Embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo apologizing after a second former aide accuses him of sexual harassment. The governor's new statement reads in part, "At work, sometimes I think I am being playful and make jokes that I think are funny. I do, on occasion, tease people in what I think is a good-natured way. I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended. I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation."

Joining us now is Jesse McKinley, the Albany bureau chief for "The New York Times." Jesse broke this story about Andrew's second accuser. He spoke to her and reviewed all of her text messages and e-mails.

Jesse, thank you very much for being here.

So here is part of what you write, just so that people understand what Charlotte Bennett, who's 25 years old. She was a former aide. Here are some of the things that she told you.

"Bennett, who had just turned 25 at the time, said Mr. Cuomo had also asked her about her feelings about age differences in relationships, saying, 'age doesn't matter,' according to a text she sent to her friend. 'He asked me if I believed age made a difference in relationships, and he also asked me in the same conversation if I had ever been with an older man.'"

And of course, there's more, Jesse. So -- so just tell us why she felt comfortable coming forward and why now?

JESSE MCKINLEY, ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, this came in the wake of another sexual harassment allegation last week by Lindsey Boylan, who was another Cuomo -- former Cuomo administration official who said that the governor had kissed her in 2018.

Subsequent to that, I had reached out to Charlotte, who I'd seen had re-tweeted that initial story. And then Charlotte and I had lengthy conversations on Thursday and Friday about her experiences. She shared, as you pointed out, text messages contemporaneous to her -- her experiences, which lent credence to what she was talking about.

And as you pointed out, these are very serious allegations that she levied. You know, things like asking if she had slept with older men, her positions on monogamy. And the governor indicating a willingness to sleep with women in -- in their 20s. Charlotte herself is 25.

All of that, in toto, basically sent a message to Charlotte that the governor was essentially propositioning her for a sexual advance.

BERMAN: I will read another quote from her in the article, in her own words, because Charlotte Bennett had the courage to come forward; and let's give her the strength of those words.

She says, "I understood the governor wanted to sleep with me and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared and was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job."

Now, Governor Cuomo has apologized, which is rare for him. But it's an apology with a lot of ifs, ands, or, I apologize if she felt this way, or if I left people with the impression of "X," "Y," and "Z."

My understanding, Jesse, he's not disputing any of the statements she has made, any of the facts that you lay out in this really deeply well-reported piece. So there's an agreed set of facts here, correct?

MCKINLEY: Yes. He's not denied any of the specific statements and details that she offered up. And the statement he made last night was, as you point out, John, kind of a broader, kind of very couched statement saying, you know, If I offended anyone, I'm truly sorry; if these comments were considered inappropriate. You know, perhaps it was a playful flirtation that basically was misinterpreted.

But keep in mind, Charlotte, after this event on June 5 and was -- and a previous one in May, she had actually gone to Governor Cuomo's chief of staff, had lodged a complaint, had then been transferred to another job inside of state government, and then again went back to Governor Cuomo's chief of staff and one of his lawyers and once again memorialized this, so this was documented and known inside of the Cuomo administration.

So I think some of the calls for investigation that have been coming forward, Tish James' prospective investigation, which will probably get launched this week, those things are going to be looked at very closely, as well. Not only Charlotte's allegations, but how the state responded.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I mean, Democrats have historically handled these things much differently than Republicans. And certainly, when people -- when women came forward about Donald Trump, you didn't -- you didn't hear, you know, Republicans calling for investigations. But now state Democrats are doing so.

Here is just a small sampling. State Rep. Antonio Delgado: "These are serious and credible sexual harassment allegations."

Kathleen Rice, congresswoman, "This is no joke. The accused cannot appoint the investigator, period."

And then, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, congresswoman, "Extremely serious and painful to read."