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Biden Admin Embarking on 'Help is Here' Tour; Spring Breakers Sparking Concern in Critical Moment for Coronavirus Fight; More Than 4,000 Migrant Children in Border Patrol Custody; Sen. Johnson: Might Have Been Concerned Had Capitol Rioters Been BLM, Antifa; Fauci Urges Trump to Tell Supporters to Get Vaccinated. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 15, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to be traveling the country to speak directly to the American people about how this law is going to make a real difference.

[05:59:38]

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: People are going on spring break and letting down their guard as some of these new, more infectious variants are spreading across the country.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES; By the time we get into the early summer, we really will have a considerable degree of normality, but we don't want to let that escape from our grasp by being too precipitous in pulling back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unaccompanied minors are showing up at our southern border in record numbers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a broken immigration system, and we need a holistic approach.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): This is a humanitarian challenge to all of us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Monday, March 15. It's the ides of March. I just realized that.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my gosh. You're right. It is.

BERMAN: So beware, I'm told.

HILL: I'm always a little leery sitting next to Berman anyway.

BERMAN: You're in today. Alisyn is off. Erica Hill is here. And be wearing of something.

I want to start with something that I think is amazing, OK? More than 3 million new coronavirus vaccinations were reported on Saturday. That's the single biggest day ever in this country. Nearly 3 million more on Sunday. So right around 6 million for the weekend. That's just staggering to me.

We're now averaging more than 2 million vaccinations per day for a virus we didn't know about 14 months ago. So that's a great thing. It just is.

One in five Americans has received at least one dose, 11 percent fully vaccinated. It seems when it comes to supply and logistics, the U.S. is pretty much there or close to there.

One obstacle that remains is hesitancy. People afraid or unwilling to get vaccinated. One group that's lagging: self-identified Republicans, supporters of the former president, particularly men, which is why Dr. Anthony Fauci is urging the former president to get in the game when it comes to urging people to get vaccinated.

Other news this morning: new fear that spring break celebrations could lead to a spike in coronavirus cases.

And today, the Biden administration begins its cross-country push to highlight the benefits of the $1.9 trillion relief bill. People, I think, started getting checks this weekend.

HILL: Now, the other thing that the Biden administration, of course, is dealing with is trying to contain this growing problem at the southern border. More than 4,000 unaccompanied migrant children are now in the custody of Border Patrol, many of them being held in jail- like conditions for longer than is legally allowed.

The president now ordering FEMA to help care for those kids. We're going to get you the very latest on that situation.

Let's begin with Jeremy Diamond who's live at the White House with the latest this morning. Jeremy, good morning.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica.

You're going to be hearing a lot about this American rescue plan. That $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package which President Biden signed into law last Thursday. That's because this week the White House, the president, vice president, first lady and second gentleman are embarking on this "Help is Here" tour.

That is what they are branding this effort by the president and his top officials to go across the country and sell the benefits of this $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. It is a dual-headed effort. You will see the president both trying to tout this bill for political reasons, and you will also see him talk about what is inside this bill so that Americans know the relief that they can get.

If you look at this map here, you can see that they will be fanning out across the country. It begins today with the first lady in New Jersey and the -- and the vice president in Las Vegas, Nevada.

What is notable, of course, is a number of battleground states being hit here. The vice president not only hitting Las Vegas, Nevada, where Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is up for reelection in 2022, but also heading to the state of Denver -- of Colorado tomorrow, where Michael Bennet, Democratic senator from the state of Colorado, is up for re- election once again in 2022.

They end the week, of course, in Atlanta, Georgia, and that is notable, because of course, none of this, this $1.9 trillion package, certainly not a package of that size, would have been possible without Democrats winning those two key Senate seats in the state of Georgia.

And hanging over all of this, of course, as we have said so many times, have been the lessons of the 2009 stimulus bill. President Biden felt that the Obama White House did not do enough to sell this package. And while this $1.9 trillion relief bill already has 60 percent plus support among Americans, the White House wants to make sure it stays that way, especially as Republicans begin to heat up their attacks in anticipation of those 2022 midterms -- John, Erica.

HILL: Jeremy, thank you.

Also this morning, a growing concern that crowds of spring breakers partying like it's 2019 could lead to a spike in coronavirus cases. About 100 people were arrested in Florida over the weekend as some gatherings got out of control.

CNN's Natasha Chen is live in Miami Beach this morning with the very latest. Natasha, good morning.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Well, it's really quiet now, because, Erica, I'm guessing the spring breakers have just gone to bed. But we did see a lot of crowd issues over the weekend.

And you mentioned those arrests. A couple of those happened at an incident at an intersection just a few blocks from where I'm standing on Friday night. Miami Beach Police say the crowd was unruly, surrounded them. A couple of officers were even injured.

Now, city officials tell me that some of these issues are typical of spring break season, but policing visitors during a pandemic is twice as difficult.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[06:05:05]

CHEN (voice-over): Spring break is here in Miami, with people crowding the beaches and bars as if there is no pandemic. Some gatherings grew out of control. Miami Beach authorities arrested at least 100 people over the weekend, and without a statewide mask mandate in Florida, local leaders must impose their own rules, something the Miami Beach mayor says is even more difficult with spring breakers in town.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The governor has made it difficult. We have a mask mandate. We just can't fine anybody.

CHEN: Despite the CDC urging Americans to avoid travel, according to the TSA, nearly 2.6 million passengers went through checkpoints at airports across the U.S. Friday and Saturday.

GOUNDER: People are going on spring break and letting down their guard as some of these new, more infectious variants are spreading across the country.

CHEN: The threat of party goers spreading the virus isn't the only big concern for health experts. While nearly 15 percent of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated this morning, a large number of former President Donald Trump supporters are refusing shots.

According to a new poll, nearly half of people who backed Trump in 2020 say they will not get the vaccine.

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR): In Arkansas it's a very pro-Trump state in terms of the last election, and so we see that resistance whenever we are opening up eligibility for the vaccine.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): We are seeing vaccine hesitancy, and a lot of that is dealing with white Republicans, quite honestly.

CHEN: While all other living former presidents were publicly vaccinated, Trump quietly received his vaccine in January.

FAUCI: I cannot imagine that if he comes out, that they would not get vaccinated. It would be very helpful to the effort for that to happen.

CHEN: As the vaccine rollout continues, some states like Maryland are relaxing pandemic restrictions, a move the governor defended.

GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R-MD): We didn't lift the restrictions. We did raise capacity limits. We kept the most serious mitigation measures in place, which is masking and distancing.

CHEN: Dr. Anthony Fauci asks Americans to keep following personal safety measures, warning the U.S. is vulnerable for another coronavirus surge.

FAUCI: We can avoid that. If we continue to vaccinate people, get more and more protection without, all of a sudden, pulling back on public health measures.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHEN: Dr. Fauci also confirmed with CNN over the weekend a new study out of Massachusetts showing no significant difference between a 6- foot and 3-foot difference -- 3-foot distance between the next person, which could prove really critical in helping reopen schools safely to students and teachers -- John. BERMAN: If you're wearing a mask, which is a crucial part. But even

then, it is a big change or could be a big change for how schools approach this.

Natasha Chen, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

CHEN: Thank you.

BERMAN: So this morning, more than 4,000 unaccompanied migrant children are in Border Patrol custody, and now FEMA is being sent in to help.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez live in Washington. So what does this mean? FEMA is being sent to help do what?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN IMMIGRATION CORRESPONDENT: FEMA's mission here is going to be to help get the unaccompanied children in Border Patrol facilities into shelters that are suited for them.

Now, this is the challenge the administration keeps facing. There is a number of children crossing the U.S./Mexico border alone and just not enough shelter capacity to accommodate them. As you mentioned, we now know there are 4,000 children in Border Patrol custody. That's up again from last week, and it is why FEMA is being asked to tap in, so they can help move along this process and do it quickly.

John, we should also note that FEMA has been involved in the past when we have seen surges at the U.S.-Mexico border. Here, Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, is asking them to help move the process along for children.

BERMAN: What needs to happen, though, from the state side in terms of Texas Governor Greg Abbott? He needs to approve this, correct?

ALVAREZ: Well, in this case, it's happening with the Department of Homeland Security. This is separate from when DHS was offering funds to Texas so that they could test and quarantine migrants who are released from custody.

So in this case, FEMA helping within the government-wide effort to assist these kids and get them to shelters.

BERMAN: That's an important distinction right there. How about conditions inside the facilities now where these 4,000 children are being held?

ALVAREZ: Lawyers that my colleagues spoke to, spoke to about a dozen children in one of these Border Patrol facilities, and they shared accounts of children who are scared, who are worried. They also encountered children who had been there for several days and had only showered a few times or had not been able to contact their parents.

So, again, this underscores the challenge for this administration. It is -- these are not facilities intended for children, and they need to move out of those facilities quickly to avoid the situations that they're in currently. BERMAN: Any sign of which direction the numbers are headed?

[06:10:02]

ALVAREZ: John, the numbers, again, from last week are already up. It shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. The paces are accelerating, and they're moving fast.

BERMAN: Priscilla Alvarez, thank you very much for your continued excellent reporting on this. We'll talk to you again.

A U.S. senator with a shocking claim about the Capitol insurrection. And by shocking, I mean it's being called wildly racist. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: So every now and then, the kids like to note when someone says the quiet part out loud. Well, this morning, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson is saying the racist part out loud.

Listen to how he explains why he was not worried about the Capitol insurrectionists and what would have concerned him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): I know those were people who love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, and so I wasn't concerned. Now, had the tables been turned -- and Joe, this could get me in trouble -- had the tables been turned and President Trump won the election, and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So if you're keeping score at home, people chanting "Hang Mike Pence," the guy wearing a Camp Auschwitz sweatshirt, people literally beating law enforcement with flag poles, Ron Johnson puts them in the "love this country" column. But Black Lives Matter, whoa! Now he's worried.

It's what could be called a single entendre. What other way is there to read it than Johnson saying largely white protesters promising death and violence and democratic upheaval, not bad' but largely black protesters, really bad?

Johnson, you might remember, is that guy who read a statement into the congressional record that called the invaders "jovial." Does that mean they wanted to hang Mike Pence with a smile? Like. what's the friendly version of a Camp Auschwitz sweatshirt?

Of course, dozens of police officers were injured and one killed during the riot. More than 300 people are now facing charges connected to the siege.

Joining us now, CNN political analyst Seung Min Kim. She's a White House reporter for "The Washington Post."

One open question from Senator Johnson. He said his racist comments could get him into trouble. Any sign of that, Seung Min? And with that, I mean among Republican leadership or officials?

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: We haven't heard anything from Republican officials yet, and they've been silent on the kind of remarks that Senator Johnson has been making lately, because this isn't -- It's probably one of the more extreme comments that he's made, but it isn't the first thing he has made as it -- particularly as it relates to this January 6 insurrection.

And his office has not clarified in his comments. I'm sure Senator Johnson will be asked about this later today.

But it's just really hard to square what he has said. He acknowledged that this might get him in trouble. It's hard to square what he is saying with just the images that you were just showing.

These were not people who love law enforcement, to be clear. I mean, you saw the images of police officers who protect the Capitol every day being beaten, being, you know, crushed in doors. It's just these horrific images.

And -- and Senator Johnson is kind of defending them here. And it just follows this long -- I mean, clearly, these comments are a more extreme example, but this is kind of a long part of what we've seen from Republicans, kind of creating this false equivalency between the Black Lives Matter protests -- protests over the summer, which some did get violent, to be clear. But trying to equate that with what happened on January 6 at the Capitol, which is completely on a different level and a huge attack to our democracy.

HILL: Well, to your point, it's this continued false equivalency, Seung Min. It's this revisionist history that we're seeing, right? And I think goes back to what we heard lo those many years ago, what you're seeing and hearing is not really happening. I mean, this is what's continuing. That's the messaging that is being put out.

And to John's point, we haven't really heard about, you know, Senator Johnson, "This might get me in trouble." I mean, I don't know what the chances of that are at this point.

KIM: We will definitely be asking Republican senators later today, particularly the Republican leadership, and also asking Senator Ron Johnson to clarify those comments.

But it also is a reminder about where there are other kind of problems in the fallout over the January 6 insurrection. Or we remember that 911-style commission that Nancy Pelosi has proposed. That actually has gone nowhere. It is middle of March. She proposed this sometime last month, but there is still disagreements over, first of all, how many Democrats, how many Republicans to appoint to the pane.

And definitely a disagreement over the scope of the commission. You know, Nancy Pelosi, Democrats want to expand the -- expand scope of the commission to look at domestic terrorism.

Mitch McConnell says if you bring that in, then we're going to try to investigate the Black Lives Matter protesters. And I just think that's just -- it's another example of just how, on something that was just a shocking and should be potentially unifying as an attack on Congress itself, it's creating these deeper and deeper bipartisan divisions.

BERMAN: I'm going to send some -- Ron Johnson some history books, right? Because that Confederate battle flag didn't mean the people carrying it wanted to love America in the Civil War. They actually wanted to overthrow and defeat America. So he may want to check the record on that.

Seung Min, what's happening at the border, we now have 4,000 unaccompanied minor children in custody. And these numbers keep on rising. One of the things the Democrats in the Biden administration says, is this is all the more reason to pass comprehensive immigration reform. And there's the beginnings of action on Capitol Hill this week on that subject. What kind of roadblocks will this face?

KIM: There's a passage of two smaller, targeted bills. It is a pathway to citizenship for those DREAMers, those young, undocumented immigrants who came here as children, and also a legalization path for undocumented farm workers who have been doing a lot of the work, particularly essential workers in this pandemic, getting food to the tables of Americans.

[06:20:23]

And while that is expected to pass, those bills are expected to pass the House, we know those bills will face an uncertain future in the Senate.

And all -- you know, kind of clouding all over this debate is that crisis at the border and the rising number of migrant children. I think Republicans would point to that as they argue against immigration bill this week and future immigration reform efforts as signs that we can't give any more signs -- any more signals that -- that these immigrants -- or that these immigrants would qualify for these bills, which they will not, first of all.

But they say the Biden administration should not be sending signs that it is a good time to come here, which they've tried to make clear, but obviously, they are -- they are struggling with that at this moment.

And, you know, we're talking about 4,000 children in custody as of yesterday. The Biden administration has not answered yet if it would need additional funding to deal with the crisis at the border, whether it's additional HHS funding for shelters or other CBP funding, and that's something that we should be definitely watching for.

It is something that was requested under the Obama administration during the border crisis that they felt that President Obama felt. And it's certainly something that the Biden administration could be looking to this time around, as well.

HILL: Seung Min Kim, appreciate it, as always. Thank you.

Vaccination rates are soaring across the country, especially over the weekend, and yet there is still one large group of Americans who are hesitant to getting their shot. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:26:20]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: He's a very widely popular person among Republicans. If he came out and said, Go and get vaccinated. It's really important for your health, the health of your family, and the health of the country, it seems absolutely inevitable that the vast majority of people who are his close followers would listen to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Dr. Anthony Fauci there urging former President Trump to encourage his supporters to get vaccinated. A push that comes as CNN's latest poll shows 46 percent of Republicans will not try to get the vaccine.

Joining us now is Dr. Peter Hotez. He's the co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital and the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

Dr. Hotez, always good to have you with us. That vaccine hesitancy which we're seeing not just among Republicans but as we've heard from leaders, including the governor, Brian Kemp, this is really among white Republicans, is a major concern.

How much do you think it would change things if former President Trump came out and said, I got the shot, it's safe; do your part?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Yes, absolutely it would be a game-changer. And here's why.

I mean, this is an evolving story that we've seen since 2015, Erica. What happened was -- the backstory is the anti-vaccine movement to re- energize found a way to link itself to political extremism on the right: to the Tea Party and to the far right component of the Republican Party.

It started in Orange County, California, but quickly moved to Texas and Oklahoma where it really amplified. And political action committees started to form around the anti-vaccine movement. This when they really started going after me, because I'm a vaccine scientist in Texas.

And -- and then -- and I have a daughter with autism and have been writing about why vaccines do not cause autism. And then it spread throughout a number of the red states. And then, in 2020 it also piled on protests against masks and social distancing. So what was an anti-vaccine movement now is an anti- science movement. So anti-science is now a mainstream platform of the Republican Party. And that's why we're seeing so many members of the U.S. Congress now refusing to take vaccines.

So what we need to do is we need to find a way to de-link anti-science from the Republican Party. You know, it never used to be that way. Remember, the National Academy of Science was started by Lincoln, and Eisenhower started NASA. And George W. Bush started PEPFAR. You know, the Republican Party was never anti-science until now.

And now we've got to figure out a way to -- to decouple it. Otherwise, it's going to have deadly consequences.

BERMAN: Yes. Especially as we're starting to get more and more vaccines into people's arms. It would be a shame if the main obstacle is the hesitancy, is the anti-science feeling you're talking about.

On the subject of anti-science, in Texas, Dr. Hotez, we saw this video from Galveston, Texas, where a woman went into a bank, refused to wear a mask. Now, there's no mask mandate any more in Texas, but private businesses, which is any business, can still require people to wear a mask. But as you see, this woman refused. Watch what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to go and get a mask, and then take your money out. You're not allowed to do --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I've been waiting here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, listen. We're going to do this the easy way or the hard way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you going to do? Arrest me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, for intruding on premises.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's hilarious. You've got some issues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got issues?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you're taking away people's human rights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. Let's go outside. Let's go outside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you really -- are you shooting people? Going to shoot me for trying not to breathe. Come on, dude.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't do that. Oh, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do not touch me. Who do you think you are?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands behind your back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My hand is behind my back, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn over on your stomach. Put your hand behind your back. Relax.