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President Biden to Hold First Formal White House Press Conference; President Biden Likely to Receive Questions about Immigration and North Korean Missile Tests; Friends of Boulder, Colorado, Mass Shooting Victim Interviewed; Survivors of Colorado Massacres Victims Speak Out. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired March 25, 2021 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As many continue to mourn, there is a national outcry for Congress to act.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many more have to die? How many more officers have to face down a madman with a gun?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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. President Biden will hold his first formal White House press conference this afternoon. When this was scheduled, the White House no doubt wanted it to be about vaccinations, the huge relief bill. But as all presidents know, or at least all presidents learn, they don't get to schedule the world. Mass shootings, the surge at the border, North Korea firing off missiles, serious challenges the president will be pressed on today.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And the suspected murderer in the Boulder grocery store massacre appears in court today to face 10 first-degree murder charges. Investigators are combing through his social media and interviewing his friends and family to figure out why he might have done this. Hundreds of Boulder residents taking to the streets to remember the neighbors and the friends that they lost senselessly. We have much more on this ahead.

But first, President Biden's big press conference. Joining us now is CNN political director David Chalian. He's also the co-host of CNN's podcast "Politically Sound." David, great to see you. This is not the press conference he thought he was planning for weeks ago when he started talking about this. Obviously, in every presidency, unexpected things crop up, and now he will have to, of course, I would imagine, first on the agenda, address gun violence, address what's happening at the border. What do you think is going to happen this afternoon?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, these are how presidencies get defined, from moments that aren't scripted, right, that aren't just going out and laying out your agenda. The external events and how a president and his team manages them, this is the stuff of why the presidency is such a unique and difficult job.

And we should just note, this being his very first press conference as president, it's also just going to be our first opportunity to observe him at some length, think out loud on his feet, how he's processing all these various issues. But no doubt, he may have just wanted to spend the bulk of the time talking about COVID recovery, vaccinations, and economic recovery. But clearly with the mass shootings that we've seen, guns will be front and center, immigration will be front and center with the clear crisis that we're seeing at the border, and other issues like the North Korea missile tests. Foreign policy has not been a dominant theme yet in this administration, but again, the world doesn't wait. And so watching how President Biden deals with that will be really instructive today.

BERMAN: What do you think the unanswered questions are, David? Where do you think that the president needs to fill in some gaps here?

CHALIAN: Well, I think with these things, John, I look at them in buckets. I think they're going to be policy questions, certainly on guns. What exactly is he going to do? There's this whole sort of concern about legislation versus executive action. Hearing him take us through each of those things, we heard him briefly the other day just reference the two House passed bills on background checks and an assault weapons ban. Is there a broader agenda there? Is there something he can do without Congress? What are those things? I think filling that out will be helpful to understand.

But again, even on COVID, the reopening of schools and getting, as we see this accelerated vaccination pace, is he adjusting any timelines? But to your point, John, it's not just each of the policy. Immigration, another one. Now he's tapped Kamala Harris as taking care of the stem of the flow from the northern triangle countries and trying to deal diplomatically, deal with economic aid for those countries, setting up systems in those countries to try and stem the tide. But even the vice president herself said yesterday, that's the long-term prospect. That's not dealing with the immediate crisis at the border and the overflowing of Border Patrol facilities with these unaccompanied minors. So he'll need to address that.

But then there's the process questions, right? We have heard so much about filibuster reform. Does everything in the Biden agenda hang on whether or not the president wants to jettison the filibuster? Does everything in the Biden agenda hang on what Joe Manchin in a 50-50 divided Senate wants to do? Is he going to pursue things like he did the COVID relief bill only through a Democratic only approach, the reconciliation process? Or is he going to stay committed to this appeal for bipartisanship that we've heard much about, or does he think that's dead in Washington, D.C.? I think hearing him talk through those things in this unscripted format will be helpful.

[08:05:00]

CAMEROTA: Yes, it's really interesting, David. As you point out, there's the substance that's so important. There's the process, as you lay it out, and then we were talking to Maggie Haberman last week about the style, and what -- how he fields these questions. At times he has been a little pert in his answers with the press. What do you expect his demeanor will be?

CHALIAN: One of the first things I am going to take note of when the press conference comes to conclusion is, how long did he stand up there for? How many questions did he take? What was his ability to just want to stay engaged on this stuff, and how much was he sort of just reverting back to the prepared message, talking points that he rehearsed?

But this is not somebody who is unfamiliar in interacting with the press, right. So he spent 36 years up in the Senate. He spent eight years as vice president. This is somebody who knows how to mix it up with the press, deal with the incoming. So I don't think we'll see him get completely flustered by something. I think it's kind of clear what the sort of issue parameters are here.

But as you noted, whether or not he gets testy, whether or not he welcomes the challenge, these are the kinds of things that can sort of define the outtakes of this. And I'll just say as something else. There are always questions that are put in the provocative or thoughtful bucket that just are outside the realm, and how he's adapting to the job or what he's sort of thinking through on a day-to- day, what has surprised him. Those kinds of questions tend to get presidents to be a bit more thoughtful in the moment and reveal something to us about them and the way they work that is instructive going forward.

BERMAN: But one thing a president can control in a situation like this is the opening statement. Try to make some news when you first walk out. What do you anticipate there? I know Kaitlan Collins is reporting maybe a seriously raised, perhaps even a double goal for vaccinations.

CHALIAN: Right. He is going to try to keep the news focus on new markers that they can meet and point to success in dealing with COVID. You guys know this. This administration has a philosophy for these first 100 days if not first six months of this administration, which is nothing else matters than getting their arms around and beating back the spread of this virus, any of these variants that are popping up, getting the vaccination pace ahead of the spread of those variants, getting kids back in school and getting the economy going again. That -- everything else on their agenda, they believe, flows through that, because that gets the American people, who have been spending a year battling this coronavirus pandemic, on their side in the sense of an opening to then take the country through all these other things that they may want to accomplish.

So I do think we're going to see in that opening statement, and at times in the questioning, coming back to that for the president because they believe it is not just issue number one, but it's one, two, three, four, five, and beyond.

BERMAN: David Chalian, I know days like today are the ones you have circled on your calendar. So we appreciate you taking time out from your Super Bowl to join us today and talk about this.

CHALIAN: Thanks a lot, guys, appreciate it.

BERMAN: In just hours, the grocery store murder suspect is expected to make his first appearance in court. He faces 10 counts of first- degree murder. Last night, hundreds gathered to honor the 10 lives taken in the massacre.

Joining us now, Stephanie Boyles and Scott Schaefer. They are friends of Jody Waters, a fashion retail businesswoman who was one of the 10 victims. Thank you both so much for being with us. And I have to say, one of the things I've learned is that everyone seemed to know Jody, that she was a fixture in Boulder and in retail. So Stephanie, just tell me about your friend.

STEPHANIE BOYLES, FRIEND OF BOULDER MASSACRE VICTIM JODY WATERS: So the thing about Jody that to me was most remarkable was that she had these incredible green eyes. And when she put those eyes on you, you could just feel the love that she -- flowed from inside her and into you. And she also had this sense of design that we really valued, and I think other people did as well. She had an ability to create spaces that people just delighted when they walked in. And for us, she helped us with some design directions for our little company.

BERMAN: I was hoping you would talk about her eyes and the idea of how she made you feel when she looked at you. It really does speak to the depth of someone when you can talk about something like that.

[08:10:00]

BOYLES: Yes. I think if I would say what was the best memory I have of Jody, we worked together in business, but we were also personal friends. And when we would go out to dinner together, the conversations that we had were deep. She was a person that was always looking to be her best self. And so she would talk about the things she was doing to step it up to the next level. And that's something that I really valued about her and appreciated.

BERMAN: Scott, I almost hesitate to ask this, but how did you hear? How did you find out that she had been killed?

SCOTT SCHAEFER, FRIEND OF BOULDER MASSACRE VICTIM JODY WATERS: Stephanie got a text from one of Jody's other friends, and we got it early in the morning. And we were both shocked. When something like this happens, the first thought is, this is not real. This must be some other Jody or some other person or a wrong text. And then the sadness sets in.

BERMAN: What's that like? I think it's tragic that too many Americans now know what this is like to go through this, to have someone you know taken like this. But when it does happen to you, how does that make you feel this morning?

SCHAEFER: Well, it's funny -- it's not really funny, but it's interesting to see your own range of emotions evolve from kind of shock and disbelief to deep sadness. And I think personally, I'm now in kind of a reflection, thinking about Jody and the stories and experiences that we shared with her. I remember being at a trade show. She and I worked at a trade show in Denver, and it got off to a slow start. And Jody waited about 10 minutes, and she said, well, this isn't going to work. And she got up and took that personality of hers and went out in the bigger room and wrangled up a bunch of prospective buyers, and pretty soon we had a little crowd in front of our booth. That was the kind of personality she'd project and the kind of energy that she had.

BERMAN: Stephanie, what do you think it is that Jody would want to have come from this?

BOYLES: I think that, that -- I don't know. We've got so much mental illness in our country, and we need to figure out how to sort through that and stop these acts of senseless violence.

SCHAEFER: I think Jody was a problem solver at her core. She liked to -- whether it was her career or family or self-development, whatever, she was a problem solver. So I think she would want us to take this event and make it part of solving this repeating problem.

BERMAN: Scott, Stephanie, thank you for coming on and sharing memories of your friend here. It's so important to remember what we've lost, and hopefully it will serve as an inspiration going forward to try to prevent things like this from happening again. Our heart goes out to you.

SCHAEFER: Thanks for having us.

BOYLES: She was an inspiration. That's for sure.

SCHAEFER: Thanks for the opportunity to share.

BERMAN: So the debate over what Congress will do is heating up after back-to-back mass shootings. We're going to speak to survivors of the Aurora and Columbine massacres about solutions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:17:34]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The massacre in Boulder is just the latest mass shooting to hit Colorado. In May of 2019, we sat down with two survivors of other mass shootings to discuss America's epidemic of gun violence.

Here is what Zach Cartaya, a survivor of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, told us then.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZACH CARTAYA, SURVIVOR OF COLUMBINE SHOOTING: As this continues to happen, I find myself more and more frustrated. Columbine was really the first. And there were screams and cries of never again and that was how it was supposed to happen, and that's how it was supposed to be. But here we are 20 years later and this continues to happen. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: We are two years later and it's happened again.

Here's an astonishing statistic. Since just the start of 2019, when we had that interview, according to the gun violence archive, there have been more than 1,100 mass shootings, meaning 4 or more people shot at once. Something is horribly wrong.

Joining us again is Zach Cartaya. Also with us is Kaylan Bailey, she's a survivor of the Aurora movie theater massacre in 2012. You saw here in that interview with John Berman as well.

Guys, it's nice to see you, but I'm sorry that we have to see you again. It's just this horrible death cycle that we seem to be in, and I know that folks like you spend so much time trying to figure out how we get out of this.

And so, Zach, let's start there. I mean, you know, you talked two years ago about what needed to happen and now when you heard about what happened again in Boulder, what were your thoughts?

CARTAYA: Yeah, good morning, Alisyn. Thank you for having me today.

You know, there's always a part of me that goes back to being that 17- year-old kid that walked out of Columbine just absolutely shell- shocked. And I'm even more disheartened that once again, we are having this happen in our great state here in Colorado because we're so much more than this and so much stronger than this.

And so, it's absolutely disheartening to have this at home. And then to, you know, the last time we were on this show, it was a shooting at an elementary school, the STEM school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. So, the recurring cycle is heartbreaking. And echoing what I said two years ago almost is that we were greeted with screams and cries of never, ever again 22 years ago and yet, here we are, just two years later, and as you alluded to, 1,100 mass shootings have taken place.

[08:20:09]

And then finally, I would also just say that, you know, we're in a place where inaction is no longer an option. We've come through so much and gone through so much and this just continues to perpetrate itself and happen. So I'm just disheartened and sickened and watching the last segment with your last guest, I remember the feeling of, this can't possibly happen to my friend or this can't possibly happen to my -- this person and this can't possible happen in our community.

And here we are with the shocked faces on TV yet again. It's absolutely disheartening and sickening.

CAMEROTA: It is. I mean, those are the feelings that all of us have across the country. Everybody feels disheartened and sickened and we haven't -- most of us lived through it the way you both have.

And so, Kaylan, when you hear about something that happens at either in Atlanta last week or Boulder, what happens? Does it all come flooding back for you?

KAYLAN BAILEY, SURVIVOR OF AURORA MASSACRE: You know, that seems to be what everyone thinks that my response is, but when things like this do occur, myself is the last thing I'm thinking about. I've had my time to deal with the trauma. I've had my team to heal and every time a massacre like this happens, my number one thought and concern is those new fresh survivors. Those new fresh victims and what they are facing and what they are battling.

And I can only imagine the thoughts going through their head from the experience of the thoughts that went through my head. So, yes, it is -- it is triggering, but it's not something that keeps me up at night. What keeps me up at night is the fact that there's now hundreds of more people that have to learn how to live through something like this. And it's becoming a new normal.

CAMEROTA: I'm so glad you brought that up, Kaylan, because in the last hour, we spoke to a 20-year-old man who worked at the grocery store. He was a barista. He had to hide his co-worker. He hid her behind garbage cans and tried to find a garbage can for himself to hide in. He lost his best friend who was shot.

He saw someone. He saw one of his co-workers get shot. And we're just, you know, however many hours away from that happening, and he, of course, can't process it yet.

He's just 20 years old. I mean, his life is forever changed. What does -- what is in store for him, Kaylan? I mean, since you've lived through it, what will happen with him and these emotional scars?

BAILEY: Without sugarcoating it, it's going to be hard. There's going to be the battles of what's already been talked about as far as why me or why my friend, why here, why this store? Why this particular time. What could I have done different?

There's going to be the battles of the "what-ifs." What if I moved five seconds faster or didn't go to work that day. And that's going to be one of the biggest struggles to come over the next days, weeks, months, even years.

I mean, it's been nine, almost ten years that it's coming up on at least my personal tragedy's anniversary, and I still -- I still have to catch myself in those thoughts and reverse and realize that it's not anyone's fault and nothing could have been done differently.

The living in the what-ifs is not going to change what happened. So it's going to be --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTAR: Certainly not the victims' fault. There's nothing the victims could have done differently. I mean, we all search for what can be done differently.

Zach, do you have any answer? What do you think is the answer today? CARTAYA: You know, I think the biggest thing we have to do is start

treating this gun violence epidemic as a public health epidemic. We're coming off of just a historically horrible and scary year where we've taken extraordinary measures to ensure our public health and safety. And we're on the cusp of going back to some semblance of normal life but what is it worth if people are afraid to leave their homes because of the pandemic of gun violence? If they can't go to the grocery store or municipal center or send their kids to school?

All these things should sound very familiar because that's what we've been dealing with, yet here we are treating this differently than we have anything else. So, what can be done, I think, is just a strong, national level of gun violence prevention measures that would be taken at the federal level to prevent people who have criminal histories from getting guns. That allow background checks for gun purchases and the closed gun show loopholes and all those sales of guns.

All those things can make a giant impact. I mean, that would make a really progressive change toward ensuring the public health and safety of our citizenry.

CAMEROTA: We'll see what President Biden says about all of that today at his press conference.

Zach and Kaylan, thank you. We really appreciate we can call upon you, and we're so sorry again that you have to relive this, it seems, every year.

[08:25:05]

Thank you so much for being here.

CARTAYA: Thanks for having us.

BAILEY: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Why are Republicans trying to pass restrictive voting measures in a majority of states now across the country?

A top Democratic leader in the Senate joins us to say what they're going to do about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just hours from now, state lawmakers in Georgia will vote to advance a bill that restricts voter access with ID requirements and other provisions. Several states now on the move to pull back on voting rights.

In response, the Democratic-led Congress is trying to create new guarantees, and the debate is getting heated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MAJORITY LEADER: Instead of doing what you should be doing when you lose an election in a democracy, attempting to win over those voters in the next election, Republicans instead of trying to disenfranchise those voters. Shame on them.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: If anybody ought to be feel anything shame around here, it's turning the FEC into a partisan prosecutor, the majority controlled by the president.