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New Day
Op-Ed: Cuomo Mirrors Trump, Gaslighting Over Probe Into Him; Black Officer Pleads With Americans: "Not All Of Us Are Bad"; CNN Gets Rare Access To Ukrainian Boat Challenging Russian Navy. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired May 05, 2021 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[07:33:00]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo maintains that he has done nothing wrong and that he will not resign despite the scandals surrounding his handling of the COVID crisis in nursing homes and allegations of sexual misconduct. But he's also raising doubts about what the ongoing investigation by state Attorney General Letitia James will reveal.
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GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: I did nothing wrong and -- period, and I'm not resigning and I'm doing my job every day. I'm not telling anyone to have faith in anything. I didn't tell the Assembly to have faith in anything. Everybody makes their own decisions.
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KEILAR: Now, here is the governor just two months ago praising the attorney general.
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CUOMO: What is determinative is what the attorney general finds. That's the factual finding. And the attorney general has to do her job and she's very competent to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Now, my next guest compares his approach to the repeated gaslighting of America by Donald Trump. So let's bring in CNN political commentator S.C. Cupp.
S.C., your new op-ed is in the "New York Daily News" and it calls Cuomo's behavior blatantly Trumpian. This is a very good column, by the way. Explain what you mean by that. You lay your case out with various points.
S.C. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (via Cisco Webex): Well, it's a very obvious comparison I think, if you've been watching the way Cuomo has deflected and distracted over the course of these dual investigations into the nursing home scandal and into the allegations of sexual misconduct.
For the nursing homes, he's called it, essentially, a partisan witch hunt concocted by Donald Trump. It's a very Trumpian thing to do.
And in terms of the sexual misconduct investigation, he's thrown everything but the kitchen sink at it. He's had his team reportedly try to discredit one of his accusers. He's blamed cancel culture for the scrutiny of him.
[07:35:03]
And most recently, he's questioned the integrity of not just the investigation but the investigator, Tish James -- a woman he once endorsed and supported -- almost hand-selected to run for A.G. Now, floating up a really uncorroborated rumor that she just wants his job.
So if we put it another way, the idea that he would defend himself against allegations of sexual misconduct with women by discrediting, by the way, the first African-American and first woman to hold the position of attorney general, saying well, she really just wants my job.
It's a new level of gross and despicable but again, it's very Trumpian. We saw Trump basically use the same playbook through multiple lawsuits, allegations, accusations, and somewhat successfully.
KEILAR: Yes. You even mention, like, the bickering, right? The name- calling is very Cuomo as well.
CUPP: Yes.
KEILAR: But you also say he seems unencumbered by the truth, which is a hallmark of Donald Trump.
CUPP: Yes.
KEILAR: You say, "For Cuomo, like Trump, truth is merely theoretical now, malleable, and downright bendable. He may as well just preemptively call the conclusion of the investigation 'alternative facts.'"
CUPP: Yes. I mean, when you say I'm not telling anyone to have faith in anything, everyone makes their own decisions. Well, I'm sorry -- what's the point of an independent investigation if not to get to a truth? If in the end, everyone gets to make their own decision, well then it's meaningless. And you really are undermining the entire idea that there is a truth to get to and you're doing it right before the results even come out -- both undermining the investigation and the investigator and telling people not to have faith in this system.
It's one of the most deleterious things we think Trump has done. And here is a sitting governor of a very big state, a member of the Democratic Party, once thought he'd run for president, and he's really doing all of the worst stuff Trump did over the course of his presidency.
KEILAR: S.C., thanks for being with us. You really just lay out the facts in this column and it's a very interesting read.
CUPP: Thanks, Bri.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, as more people are flying, it turns out more jerks are flying. The FAA says they are experiencing an uptick in people behaving badly on planes and in airports.
CNN's Pete Muntean live at Reagan National with much more on this -- Pete.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, more people are flying than before the pandemic but the numbers are still much lower than usual, and the FAA says more problem passengers are among them.
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MUNTEAN (voice-over): It is the newest issue facing pandemic-era air travel -- flyers flying off the handle. The Federal Aviation Administration says the number of in-flight incidents are soaring. Its latest data, 1,300 reports of unruly passengers in the three months alone. The FAA says it typically gets one report every few days. Now it says multiple incidents come in every single day.
BRITTNEY MOHAMMADI, AIRLINE PASSENGER: I know we all do some messed up things and the alcohol gets in us.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): A California woman apologized after she was caught on video trying to attack an airline employee by jumping the ticket counter in Miami.
The FAA says it's cracking down on passengers not wearing masks, assaulting flight attendants, and illegally drinking alcohol on board. Federal regulators' new policy is zero-tolerance for bad behavior while flying, a change spurred because of problems on flights carrying Capitol rioters.
STEVE DICKSON, ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: We will not address these cases through warnings or counseling.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): The FAA says it's even investigating an Alaska state senator who was banned from Alaska Airlines for refusing to wear a mask --
STATE SEN. LORA REINBOLD (R-AK): I've got to on the flight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need you to put your mask up or I'm not going to let you on the flight.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): -- though she claimed to have an unspecified exemption.
The head of the largest association of flight attendants says help from the federal government is essential. Flight crews are often the first to deal with this growing problem.
SARA NELSON, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS, CWA: It means everything to have that backing and to send a very clear message to travelers that these are the rules and these are the consequences if you don't comply.
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MUNTEAN: The punishment includes fines as high as $35,000 -- even jail time. The FAA says its zero-tolerance policy will remain in place as long as the transportation mask mandate stays in place. That deadline now extended into September -- John.
BERMAN: You know, sit back, relax, watch a movie, listen to some music. I mean, honestly.
Pete Muntean, thank you very much for being with us.
[07:40:02]
Up next, hear from the officer whose emotional defense of police racked up two million views on TikTok.
KEILAR: In just a short time from now we will learn whether Donald Trump will get his Facebook back or if he'll have to stick to his blog. A preview of what to expect from Facebook.
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KEILAR: A police officer in Georgia has gone viral after posting this TikTok video saying that he's tired of hearing all the negativity surrounding law enforcement in America.
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MAJOR KELVIN DINGLE, OPERATIONS COMMANDER, MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE'S PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICE, ATLANTA: I'm tired. I am so goddamn tired. I wake up every morning and kiss my family goodbye knowing that there's a possibility I won't come home.
[07:45:04]
I am tired of every time I wake up in the morning there's someone else polarizing the fact that maybe law enforcement is just not a good thing.
All of us are not bad. I am not as they are. Most of us are not. There are bad people in every career. I am so goddamn tired, tired, tired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(Audio gap) times.
And joining me now is the man that you see in that video, Major Kelvin Dingle. He is the operational commander at the Morehead School of Medicine Department of Public Safety. Sir, thank you so much for being with us.
I think this resonates with people because they feel what you're saying. Tell us what led to this frustration and explain how your experience as a police officer has changed here in recent years.
DINGLE: Well, first of all, this is extremely humbling.
What happened was not -- it was not one thing that was isolated for that day. What it is is that collectively, for the last year or so, law enforcement has really been getting truly shooken (sic) up, honestly.
Also, the fact of the matter is that just going to and from my home, a lot of times I see a lot of negative stares of people actually frowning, people actually doing something to get my attention that's not positive. People actually flipping me off.
And it's just -- you know, it's just -- it's just heartbreaking now. And when I first started in law enforcement in 2001, it was nothing like this, but it is now. And I don't know or I'm not exactly sure how to fix it but I believe it needs to be fixed.
KEILAR: You're someone who's also served your country in the military. You say that all law enforcement is not bad. You say that in the video -- most law enforcement is not bad.
But you've seen Americans who have watched everything from the video of George Floyd being murdered to the video of Second Lt. Nazario being pepper-sprayed in Virginia while he was in uniform. And they look at these things and they lose trust.
How do you see the role of good law enforcement officers in rebuilding that trust?
DINGLE: Well, I believe that in rebuilding the trust, first of all, a conversation has to happen. It really does. I don't think that nothing on no one or no career is actually being held. It should be held to a holistic point.
I think that everything is based upon an individual. You've got to remember, we are law enforcement officers but we all have our own individual characters. So just because you're seeing bad things now in the news, I guarantee you that there's more good than bad happening. It really is. So if you take an officer at an individual basis at that moment, that time, in that space and in that incident, I think that you'll get different results.
But a conversation has to happen between the community and law enforcement. And I'm not just talking here where I'm at, I'm talking about globally across America. We need to sit down and we need to talk. But we need to listen not to respond, but listen to understand. If you do that, I guarantee you it becomes a better place for all of us -- law enforcement, just as well as our citizens and our communities.
KEILAR: Do you think law enforcement needs a culture change? DINGLE: I think law enforcement, like anything else, needs to be heard. I believe that the conversation is not just on one side. It's never been on just one side.
There's a lot of things that law enforcement officers deal with on a daily basis that they don't have or don't nobody (sic) know exactly what it is that their mindset is. What they're thinking and what they're going through. The truth of the matter is that everyone needs to be heard from each side.
So, no -- honestly, should it be revamped? I believe that education is the key to most things and that's just what it is. If you teach somebody right from wrong, which we all know, I believe that right most likely will prevail over anything wrong. That's what I think.
But it's individual-based and it's actually incident-based, which means it can happen in an instant.
KEILAR: Well, Major, look, I appreciate you having this conversation with us. Your message on TikTok clearly resonated with so many people. I know that your three kids told you that you are too old for TikTok but I suggest you are having a little laugh at them today as you have gone viral.
Sir, thanks for being with us.
DINGLE: Thank you, thank you, and I hope it makes a difference. God bless you.
KEILAR: You, as well, sir.
As confusion swirls around coronavirus guidelines, the director of the CDC will join us live, ahead.
BERMAN: Plus, CNN getting rare access as the Ukrainian Navy challenges the mite of the Russian military at sea. That's next.
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[07:53:55]
BERMAN: Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Ukraine today -- a show of support for Ukraine's government against Russian threats. Russia has most recently engaged in a military buildup along its border with Ukraine and in the waters off Crimea.
CNN's Matthew Chance boarded a Ukrainian patrol boat to see the risks firsthand.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a first glimpse of Putin's latest armada, bristling with weapons in disputed waters between Russia and Ukraine. The Kremlin says these are just naval exercises. The missiles are real and for Ukraine, so is the threat. Ukrainian vessels on the strategic Sea of Azov have been warned to steer clear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready to get on board?
CHANCE (on camera): I'll do it. I'll do it.
CHANCE (voice-over): But we gained rare access to a Ukrainian coastal patrol setting out in high seas to challenge what they say is Russia's illegal naval court (ph), something Moscow rejects.
In recent weeks, the Ukrainian Navy says its boats have been harassed by Russia, with Moscow shifting its military focus.
[07:55:07]
CHANCE (on camera): And so, we've come out here to the very rough Sea of Azov, you can see. As Russian forces pulled back their troops from the border of Ukraine, they're redeploying naval forces here into this Sea of Azov, raising concerns in Ukraine and around the world that the military pressure they're applying on Ukraine from the land has now moved to the seas.
The commander of the patrol boat tells how Russian forces are increasingly behaving aggressively, blocking access, he says, to what should be shared -- even stopping what are routine coastal patrols.
On cue, the Russians make radio contact. This is boat 444, says the message, reminding you to keep a safe distance. Confirm you're receiving, the Russian voice commands. We see you, a Ukrainian sailor responds. We're proceeding according to plan.
CHANCE (on camera): All right. So we've come to a stop now. You heard the captain there say there's a Russian ship on the horizon. You can just see it over there. It's a Russian Coast Guard ship. We're about two nautical miles away, which is just over two regular miles.
And we can't go any closer because if we do, there could be some interception by the Russians to us. And I think the Ukrainian Coast Guard want to avoid that.
CHANCE (voice-over): It wouldn't be the first naval clash in the region. This is the extraordinary moment the Russian Coast Guard rammed Ukrainian tugboats in the area back in 2018. Russian ships also fired on Ukrainian naval vessels, seizing three and escalating tensions in the seas off Crimea, annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
American ships have been challenged, too. This, a low pass by a Russian warplane witnessed from the deck of a U.S. destroyer earlier this year.
Now, tensions on the seas are ratcheting up once more.
There's heightened alert on dry land, too, at the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, we saw these Marines on forced protection drills. Naval officials say new Russian deployments at sea are forcing them to step up security and plan for a Russian attack.
CAPT. ROMAN GONCHARENKO, UKRAINIAN NAVY: In the last two weeks --
CHANCE (on camera): Yes.
GONCHARENKO: -- it became more dangerous.
CHANCE (on camera): More dangerous?
GONCHARENKO: Yes because the Russian Federation sent it to the Black Sea --
CHANCE (on camera): Yes.
GONCHARENKO: -- several landing ships from the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
CHANCE (on camera): So the Russians have sent landing ships --
GONCHARENKO: Landing ships.
CHANCE (on camera): -- into the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea?
GONCHARENKO: Yes.
CHANCE (on camera): They're saying that that's for exercises, though, yes?
GONCHARENKO: Officially, it's exercises --
CHANCE (on camera): Yes.
GONCHARENKO: -- but these ships are still here --
CHANCE (on camera): Yes.
GONCHARENKO: -- in this area. And in our vision, that it can be dangerous for --
CHANCE (on camera): Yes.
GONCHARENKO: -- this area.
CHANCE (voice-over): Back on the coastal patrol boat we change course, safely away from the Russian fleet.
CHANCE (on camera): What happens if we don't turn?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not good. I don't -- I don't care for --
CHANCE (on camera): Not good, not good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's maybe not good.
CHANCE (on camera): Yes.
CHANCE (voice-over): Not good at all when Ukraine feels so threatened on this turbulent sea of trouble. (END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE: Well, John, because of the size of these naval exercises that the Russians are staging, they say they're sealing off that entire area for the next six months until October, which has been greeted by Ukrainian officials, you can imagine, with absolute outrage.
I've just been speaking to the Ukrainian foreign minister. He's called that Russian Navy buildup a grave threat to his country and described it as a creeping occupation of the area. All that, of course, on the eve of the visit of the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Ukraine -- John.
BERMAN: Matthew, I have to say you have literally taken us to the trenches of the Ukraine-Russian border and now you're taking us on naval patrol. It's extraordinary. Why do you think, very quickly, the Ukrainians want you and us to see this?
CHANCE: I think they want to take the opportunity to show the new Biden administration the challenge they are facing when it comes to the Russian threat. And, Antony Blinken and President Biden have spoken repeatedly about how they're going.
