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New Day

Tensions Flare in 1st Fact-to-Face Meeting between Biden Administration and China. 90 Million Stimulus Checks Sent Out This Week. FBI Releases New Video of "Most Violent" Attacks on Officers during Riot. Aired 7:30-8am ET

Aired March 19, 2021 - 07:30   ET

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

AMBASSADOR NICHOLAS BURNS, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: He said, look, United States never claimed to be perfect, but we're transparent. And we work on our faults. And so the larger story here is that President Biden has been saying we need to stand up for democracy. We are going to compete with these authoritarian countries. You saw rounds one and two this week with the Russians and Chinese. I think this is the recalibration we needed in American foreign policy.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I think it is interesting, the Chinese more than anything seem to be upset about the fact that the United States had been trying to strengthen alliances with South Korea and Japan and other countries that may have been the biggest threat to China.

The other thing that I think is interesting is the Biden team, taking a different approach, not just in the Trump administration, but the Obama administration, as well. And maybe trying to seize what is a new, frankly, bipartisan acknowledgement of how the U.S. should approach China going forward?

BURNS: Well, I think that President Biden has also been right to suggest that the United States is going to be far stronger in the world if we embrace our allies. And that's NATO to counter Russia. And that's Japan, South Korea and Australia and our strategic partner, India, to counter China and you saw Secretary Blinken go to Japan and go to South Korea with Secretary Austin.

That's a power play by the United States to remind the Chinese that we have the benefit of this huge Alliance system of countries that think like us, that train with us militarily.

And it's a recognition, obviously, that we're competing with China for economic for trade, because the Chinese have been unfairly ripping off the intellectual property of American companies. We're competing militarily, and we want this to be peaceful, obviously. But finally, having the United States is standing up for itself after four years of not doing that. And again, I think it's been an important week to reposition the United States.

BERMAN: Very quickly, CNN and others reporting that the Biden administration is considering a six month delay in the promised troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. How wise is that?

BURNS: I don't know what decision will be made by the Biden administration. But I do think this is such a major decision after 20 years in Afghanistan with the Taliban research and strong. I certainly think that we should be prudent here not affect an early departure that President Trump had been planning on but to do the right thing by our troops, keep them secure and help the Afghan government to get back on its feet.

BERMAN: Ambassador Nicholas Burns as always, we appreciate your insight. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.

BURNS: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: So companies across the country, likely if past years or any prediction will likely see a dip in productivity this afternoon. Why you ask? You probably know. First round of March Madness, Andy Scholes is in Indianapolis with this morning. Bleacher Report, of course, you're only getting more productive for the next several days, Andy?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Hope so Erica, and I'll tell you what, you know, this really is the best two days in all of sports. You got 16 games today, 16 games tomorrow and this year all of the games are taking place here in Indiana and action actually got started last night with the first core two powerhouses facing off as Michigan State took on UCLA, the Bruins rolling back from an 11 point halftime deficit to force the game into overtime. They would end up beating the Spartans 86 to 80, the final there.

And meantime, Drake in Wichita State coming down to the final seconds, the shocker has a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but all three (ph) verse three, no good. Drake holds on to win its first tournament game in 50 years, 53, 52 was your final.

First round starts today 12, 15 Eastern that's when your brackets are due. You can watch all the action on our sister networks TNT TBS, TruTV, as well as CBS. All right the NCAA, meanwhile, trying to explain the vast discrepancy between the men's workout room here in Indi compared to the women's in San Antonio.

The men as you can see have a huge weight room set up, the women a set of small dumbbells and yoga mats. Stanford sports performance coach posted the pic saying this needs to be addressed. The NCAA responded to the picture saying it was in part due to limited space and they were working to add additional equipment. Oregon sophomore Sedona Prince was not a fan of that response. She showed on TikTok that there was plenty of space available for a weight room there in Texas.

You know, Erica a lot of people just shaking their heads that something like this still happens and, you know, we'll wait see if the NCAA can find some sufficient weights and put together a nice weight room there for the women in Texas.

BERMAN: You mean they can turn their heads like two degrees to see the sufficient space that exists there?

HILL: It's ridiculous that. When I saw that tweet when I woke up this morning, first of all, I was like, good on you Sedona Prince for putting that out there but it is -- it really does put for me it's a Madison March Madness like, what is that?

BERMAN: Also the madness and March Madness is the SOX, right? I promise you --

HILL: Yes.

[07:35:00]

BERMAN: Sister Jean Socks from Loyola, Chicago. Here they are.

HILL: John Berman delivered this morning.

BERMAN: First of all, my almost physically impossible ankles, you get to see them, right.

HILL: They're so spelled.

BERMAN: I know. It's all -- you almost would think it's not humanly possible. How can I stand up? Unclear, unclear, for years it's been unclear but some of Sister Jean's face fits on at least part of my ankle right there.

HILL: I love those socks.

BERMAN: Happy March Madness, and you can all worry about my ability to stand for the rest of the day.

HILL: We'll get into that later.

BERMAN: The President Biden's sprawling coronavirus relief law. Could have a big impact on your wallet, whether you get a stimulus check or not, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:23]

HILL: Question in, if our government is supposed to be representative, then why is it possible to block something nearly every American supports? If you guess the filibuster, you went on a Friday morning. John Avlon, also winning with your Reality Check this morning and the answer in case that was not your guests.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know what? We're going to make it come alive for air. All right, listen, the killing of eight people in Atlanta area Asian spots has spurred a much needed conversation about rising violence against Asian Americans in the wake of COVID-19. But we should also be talking about guns.

Seeing is how gun homicides happen here more than any high income country in the world. The suspect legally bought his nine millimeter pistol this week. We can't know whether gun stricter, gun laws might have put a speed bump in front of them. But consider this background checks are supported by nearly 90% of Americans, 90%. So that should be an easy place to look for bipartisanship in Congress, right?

Of course, the answer is no. That the House passed a bill expanding background checks last week, but it's considered dead on arrival in the Senate. So much for representative democracy which brings us to another needed conversation, filibuster reform, note the word reform not getting rid of it altogether.

But first a little bit of history. So the filibuster was not in fact part of the founders' vision. They set the Senate in the House to operate on simple majorities. It was made possible by disgraced vice president Aaron Burr 1805 shortly after he killed Alexander Hamilton.

Now, the House ditched their filibuster in the 1890s. But it persisted in the Senate, though rarely used. You might remember Jimmy Stewart, Mr. Smith goes to Washington speaking until he collapsed to try to stop a corrupt land deal. In reality, it was more like Dixiecrats, Strom Thurmond trying to block a civil rights bill in 1957.

But if you think that's an abuse of power, look at how it got twisted over time. From 1917 through 1970, there were just 58 cloture motions, that's the mechanism used to override a filibuster. Some years there were zero from the 1970s through 2000, things got heated up with the end of the talking filibuster, allowing senators to put a silent hold on a bill but it still just averaged around 24 a year.

And things went really off the rails this century, with 340 under George W. Bush, and a stunning 632 under Barack Obama to a whopping 529 in just one Trump term. You can look at that curve and say defending the status quo is about Senate tradition. It's a massive break from tradition. The filibuster has become a tool of reflexive obstruction with little cost for senators, but a huge cost a representative democracy.

So what are our options? Democrats who want to do away with it entirely would probably sing a different tune when they're in the minority. President Biden thinks the Senate should go back to the talking filibuster. Some folks have suggested suspending the filibuster to protect voting rights.

Political scientists, Norman Ornstein, former senator Al Franken, though suggests flipping the script to require 41 votes to maintain a filibuster putting the onus on the minority rather than the majority, as they sensibly say, this kind of simple change would not eliminate filibusters, it would restore their original purpose for the minority to demonstrate when it really cares about something maybe even leading to constructive compromises when a concept.

Whenever the prescription though, it should be clear that reforming the filibuster is needed to restore faith in a functioning representative democracy. Would that pull that? And that's your Reality Check.

BERMAN: All right, time now for CNN Business. The Treasury Department sent out 90 million stimulus checks this week. The first part of what is at historic rescue attempt of the U.S. economy. Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans is here with more. Romans.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Essentially the largest tax relief for American families in generations is unrolling here. Even more important than those checks is the expanded child tax credit. That's a guaranteed income for the year for low income families, regular direct deposits from the government.

John this law is sprawling tax breaks for child care and elder care subsidies for health care premiums. Money for agriculture, including $5 billion that will benefit black farmers, housing aid plus-up food stamp benefits through September, money for vaccine distribution, money for schools and an extra $300 a week in jobless benefits through the fall. The first of that $10,200 is tax free.

Now there's money for states. There's a pension fund bailout, John. I could go on and on and on, all this money, vaccine progress pent up demand all of that expected to usher in a boom this year. The Federal Reserve now expects the economy to grow 6%. That's the strongest since the Reagan administration. You're seeing government bond yields rise on all this optimism that's bringing up mortgage rates with them, John, the 30 year fixed rate now more than 3%, the 15 year 2.4.

[07:45:20]

There is now this nagging concern the economy could overheat causing inflation, inflation of course, higher prices that hurts consumers and companies purchasing power. But, John, for now, that risk is hypothetical. And the job market pains still very real for people the virus not yet vanquish. So we are in the early innings of this rescue of the American economy I'd say.

BERMAN: You have to be at bond yields.

ROMANS: Did I?

BERMAN: You know how I feel --

ROMANS: You love a good 10 year note quote.

BERMAN: Christine Romans thank you very much. OK. Disturbing new video from the FBI shows capital rioters attacking police officers, gruesome stuff, more on the manhunt underway, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:26]

BERMAN: Former President George W. Bush is speaking out on camera for the first time about the Capitol insurrection, sharing what he felt as he watched the attack unfold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I was sick to my stomach and to see our nation's capitol being stormed by hostile forces. And it really disturbed me to the point where I did put out a statement. And I'm still disturbed when I think about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: This is coming from a president or former president who chooses his post presidency words incredibly carefully. And you don't hear them often. CNN's Lauren Fox live on Capitol Hill, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, of course, these are very significant comments. And like you said, this is the first time we're seeing the former President speak on camera about that January 6 riot. He said, look, this really undermines the ability of Americans to peacefully protest in the public square. He also really condemned any question that the election was rigged. He immediately said, no, it wasn't when asked about it, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was the election stolen or not?

BUSH: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you believe that our own government in any way was putting our democracy at risk?

BUSH: No, I think we're putting democracy at risk is the capacity of people to get on the internet and spread all kinds of -- all kinds of stuff, but democracy checks and balances work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And he said again, that he was disturbed and disgusted by what he saw at the Capitol on January 6: We should know, he put out a statement, John, as that capitol riot was happening, condemning it, arguing that this is not what the country stood for that the politics of the moment should not dominate any kind of violence on Capitol Hill, obviously, the former president very, very frustrated by what he saw, and very sickened by it, John.

HILL: All right, Lauren, thank you.

Joining us now, Andrew McCabe, CNN's Senior Law Enforcement Analyst, former Deputy Director of the FBI.

Andrew good to see you this morning. You know, those words from former President Bush, as John pointed out, we don't hear from him often. He's very deliberate in any comments, and very, I think thoughtful in his timing, often, he doesn't want to weigh in the fact that he was so clear. Is there a message that that sends? And are the people who need to hear it actually going to listen?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN'S SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, there's definitely a very pointed message that he is trying to send right now. I think it's, as you mentioned, it's always a significant moment when former President Bush steps forward and takes a position on a current issue. Clearly, this is one that motivates him, and affects him deeply.

And I think it's incredibly important that conservative voices, like the former president, get out in front of these lies, and these myths that are creating, aggravating a really volatile situation in our country, with domestic violent extremists. And so I would assume that he feels the same way.

Now, whether or not that group is hearing his message today that's something that we'll wait and see as the as the weeks unfold.

BERMAN: Yeah. I mean, by the way, he was just stating facts. You know, good for him to speak out. But it's a low bar, right? He was just merely acknowledging what he saw with his own very eyes. And it was good to hear him say that. Andy, the FBI, chose to release new videos from the capitol insurrection, which we're going to put up so people can see the types of things that have now been released. What do you see in these? And why is the FBI putting them out?

MCCABE: Well, John, I think what we're seeing is the overwhelming significance, the power of crowdsourcing, the identification of these individuals, the FBI has learned over, you know, in the wake of numerous crises, when you don't have someone's identity in your own warehouse of information it's very effective to go to the crowd, to go (inaudible) help.

What they released yesterday and these videos, you can't describe it as anything other than just an absolutely sickeningly violent hand to hand combat attack, in which you have law enforcement officers, you know, brutally beaten by a crowd that's clearly out of its mind. And I would point out the fact that these are folks who profess to be supporters of law enforcement, they very clearly are not anyone engaged in those sort of attacks is no friend to the people in blue to the people who carry badges and protect all of us.

[07:55:11]

HILL: How effective nowadays is this crowdsourcing of information? Is it -- I mean, is it working better at this point do you think more quickly?

MCCABE: Oh, I definitely think so. I think as the bureau gets better in communicating these messages out, so not just, you know, putting that up on their own website, but actually producing videos like you saw yesterday from the current assistant director of The Washington field office, packaging them in pieces that are easily picked up and replicated and sent out over social media, it gets more effective each time they do it.

I think also investigatively what you're seeing now is a focus really on the absolute most culpable, those folks that are engaged in the worst acts of violence, they may, in some cases be the hardest to identify. So that's why you're seeing the FBI focus on those folks now. BERMAN: I can shift gears, Andy to a little bit, to what we're seeing around the country. Again, the rise in anti-Asian hate crime, there was this hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday, or Republican members. It was supposed to be about Asian Americans and what they're feeling and the threat that they feel like they're under in the numbers are indisputably going up.

They turned it around and try to make it about their free speech rights, their rights to criticize the nation of China. And I want to know, again, because we talk so much about the effect of speech on the actions we're seeing, in the fear that the intelligence community tells us the rise of domestic violent extremists. What do these extremists hear, when there are politicians who refuse to very clearly condemn this type of attack?

MCCABE: When we have figures of significance in our national leadership, so folks on the hill, the former occupant of the White House, pointedly refusing to embrace this sort of language that victims and communities under stress desperately need to hear the other side, the domestic violent extremists, those folks who are, you know, harboring racially motivated animus towards others.

They hear that as acknowledgement as of validation of their points of view. And it emboldens them to go further to kind of step out of the shadows into the light and take more aggressive actions.

There's - we are seeing the clear repercussions of that now, particularly in a racially motivated extremist categories, the militia motivated extremist, those folks are far more bold and far more out in the open far more aggressive today than they were four years ago, that is at least partially the result of having been essentially groomed by the president, the former president United States over the last four years.

Hill: Words matter. Andrew McCabe, we always appreciate you joining us with your insight. Thank you.

MCCABE: Thank you.

Hill: A New day continues right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is New Day. Alisyn is off. Erica Hill with me, we made it all the way.

HILL: We did well, we have one hour to go Berman.

BERMAN: Almost, almost all the way.

HILL: So how about you not screwed up?

BERMAN: All right, I'll do my best. So this morning, President Biden and Vice President Harris head to Atlanta to lend their support to the Asian American community still reeling from the shooting spree of three area spas. Eight people were killed, six of them Asian women. There is an indisputable rise in violence against Asian Americans and that was supposed to be the subject of a house hearing Thursday. Again, it was supposed to be the subject but for Congressman Chip Roy, he turned into a hearing about him. He took the time to stand up for his criticisms of the nation of China. He also made a bizarre reference to lynching.

HILL: Meantime, today when we look at what's happening on the COVID front, the Biden administration will meet its goal of 100 million shots in arms in 42 days ahead of schedule. So the U.S now averaging 2.5 million vaccinations reported the day. And as of this morning nearly 35% of the population is either partially or fully vaccinated.