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Trump Repeats Election Lies in North Carolina Speech; Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Announce Birth of Second Child; Biden Embarks on First International Trip as President; First Lady and Dr. Anthony Fauci Visit Harlem Vaccination Clinic. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 06, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

He's out of office, and out of new material. During his first official speech in months, former President Trump recycled the same tired old lies about a stolen election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: That election will go down as the crime of the century. And our country is being destroyed by people who perhaps have no right to destroy it. I am not the one trying to undermine American democracy. I'm the one that's trying to save it. Please remember that.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: For 85 minutes, it went on like that. His big lie getting a bit stale. And airing of grievances about Biden, the economy, China, immigration. He even reiterated and relitigated that much talked about moment when he cautiously walked down a ramp at West Point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So I walked gingerly down. That was on every newscast in the world, and I never went down. I never went down on my (EXPLETIVE DELETED), I tell you. I wasn't going to fall. I'll never forget that ramp. That was like a sheet of ice. It was cold, rainy, and that ramp was long and steep.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: He even lies about that. Just to our viewers, so they can see the video right here. It was not pouring rain, it was sunny. But moving on. I know it's tempting to laugh this off if it wasn't all so dangerous coming five months after a Capitol insurrection inspired by his lies Republicans. Still caught in the grips of a man who incited a mob and perhaps in a telling twist, one of the songs played before he came to the stage, the theme song to "Titanic." Only Trump is, though, king of the world. More like the iceberg these days. And joining me now, CNN political commentator, former Clinton White

House adviser, Paul Begala, and staff writer for "The Atlantic" and former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum.

Paul, the "Titanic" metaphor seems fitting. Trump the iceberg and it's like the GOP threw away the binoculars.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right. It is, and it's also a movie from long, long ago.

ACOSTA: Yes.

BEGALA: It is amazing. I didn't know he was such an environmentalist, how he's just recycling, there's nothing new there. But what is -- this is an interesting paradox. He is at once pathetic and dangerous, you know, like perhaps a neighbor who is really not up to driving anymore, an elderly neighbor. And it's pathetic. But then it's dangerous when you realize he could hit someone, he could hurt someone, he could hit a child.

Trump's really dangerous, still, even though he's really pathetic. The clips I saw of that speech were just -- they were sad. And yet he is stoking lies, division, and potentially even violence, like on January 6th. I worry that that was just the opening act for him.

ACOSTA: Yes, David, there is video of Trump, you know, floating this idea that he's going to be back in August in a video posted by the National Republican Senate Committee. Let's take a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to take back the Senate, take back the House. We are going to take back the White House. And sooner than you think, it's going to be really something special.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Sooner than you think. David, do you take this stuff seriously?

DAVID FRUM, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: I think you should take it seriously. But first, when he was actually president, he never worked in August. So why he is going to work in August of 2021 is hard to imagine.

ACOSTA: Good point.

FRUM: It's dangerous in many ways. It's also dangerous to his own party. I mean imagine that you were there in June of 1981 and Jimmy Carter were running around the country saying, I think the issue in 1982 congressional election should be the American people need to apologize to me for making Ronald Reagan president instead of me after my one term.

Carter understood after -- when you have been president for one term, and he wasn't cheerful about it. He felt that he had been unfairly treated and he suspected all kinds of skullduggery. He thought that the Reagan people were in connection with the Iranian hostage taker. And that's why -- he had a lot of grievances. But he also understood that after you lose at one term you need to get off the stage and let fresh growth come forward.

Let your party reinvent itself and let the off-year election be about the grievances that people have with the new administration. I mean, from a Republican point of view what you want 2022 to be about is this. Is everybody here completely satisfied in every way with everything that President Biden has done? And if any of you are dissatisfied in any way, and we don't care if those ways contradict each other, bring your votes to us.

And that's why they usually make progress because the out party does not need to have a coherent message, it needs to mobilize every grievance there is in the country after two years. And guess what, 300 million people, a lot of grievances. What Donald Trump is demanding is this election needs to be about me.

So we have had three elections, 2016, 2018, and 2020, in which the issue was Donald Trump. And in every one of those three elections the people who were pro-Trump got fewer votes than the people who were anti-Trump.

[16:05:03]

Now he wants to have a fourth election, that is about do you love me, yes or no? And if that's the ballot question in 2022 then the answer will be 55 percent no, 45 percent yes.

ACOSTA: And he's been asking his advisers if he could resume the presidency later on this year, it all sounds like a cry for help the way David Frum describes it. And speaking of that, there is this other bizarre idea floating around that Donald Trump could return as speaker somehow. Let's listen to former Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz. This is serious apparently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON CHAFFETZ, FORMER REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN: Under the Constitution you don't need to be a member of Congress to be elected the speaker of the House. So put Donald Trump in as speaker of the House, he can go out, investigate everybody, and he can impeach everybody. That would be pretty fascinating.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I'm sure Kevin McCarthy loves all of this talk, Paul Begala.

BEGALA: Yes, it's like January 6th said hold my beer. We're going to put in charge of that Capitol building the man who incited an attack on it, the first attack on that building since the war of 1812. It's madness. But let's put it to the test. First off, I am a political strategist. If I were Republican, I would not want people in swing districts to hear that. David is right. This is the first time since Hoover that one party has lost the House, the Senate, the White House in just four years.

It hasn't been done in 90 years. Trump is a stone loser. So here's the test. Bring him to Virginia where I live now. There's a hot race there. The Democrats have their primary on Tuesday, Republicans have picked their candidate, Glenn Youngkin, which I think is perhaps Trumpkin because he seemed in the primary to really run as a Trump guy.

So bring Trump in to Virginia. I'll pay the bus fare from Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster or wherever he is hanging out. Try it out. He is toxic for the reasons that David states. The president's party always loses seats in their first midterm with a very few rare exceptions like after 9/11, David's boss, President Bush. This time, though, if they inject Trump into it, the lies, the grievance, the white supremacy, it will I think alienate a lot of those Republicans who crossed over to vote for Joe Biden and give him that seven million vote margin.

FRUM: And Virginia is a perfect example because Glenn Youngkin, for those who don't --

BEGALA: I think it's pronounced Trumpkin.

FRUM: Yes. For those who don't follow Virginia politics, he's a former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group. He's a business guy, he's a very rational figure. He's -- this is not his first language. This is not his native language that he is speaking. And in the same way, there is a very hotly contested Senate race in Ohio.

That's a real bellwether state to succeed Rob Portman. And the leading person there is a woman named Jane Timken, no relation to Youngkin, whose husband is CEO of one of the largest employers in the state. His uncle was an ambassador to Germany under President George W. Bush. You know, there are normal -- she was a big Romney supporter in 2012, and Kasich supporter in 2016.

These are exactly the kind of return to the well spring of your strength candidates that parties normally bring forward after they lose. They're not allowed to be the future. They are stuck in a past that was rejected three times.

ACOSTA: Just like George P. Bush down in Texas trying to appeal to Trump Republicans.

FRUM: Yes. George P. Bush. So he's up against -- he's running for attorney general and he's running against a very discredited candidate. There are a lot -- probably lots of suburban people who would like to vote for a fresh face for attorney general. But what he's asking is for voters in traditionally Republican suburbs to vote for Trump. Be mindful that the district that George H.W. Bush represented in Texas, the 7th in Houston, now has a Democrat which was won by the Bush family in 1966 and stayed Republican through Watergate, and Iran contra, and the global financial crisis and the Iraq war. That was lost in 2018 because of Trump.

ACOSTA: Right.

FRUM: So George P. Bush should figure out Trump is not working where I need to pick up seats. But they are trapped, trapped, trapped.

ACOSTA: Yes. And Paul, I wanted to ask you about this because Joe Manchin, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia I feel like in Washington these days the song has been how do we solve a problem like Joe Manchin. But he came out today and said he would vote against a sweeping voting rights bill called the For the People Act and reiterated he would not abolish the filibuster. Let's take a listen to some of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I think it's the wrong piece of legislation to bring our country together and unite our country, and I'm not supporting that because I think it would divide us further. I don't want to be in a country that's divided any further than I'm in right now. I love my country and I think my Democrat and Republican colleagues feel the same.

If we continue to divide it and separate us more it's not going to be united and it's not going to be the country that we love and know. And it's going to be hard because it would be back and forth no matter who's in power.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Paul, I mean, Democrats have been up in arms about what's been happening on the state level. All these voting bills across the country. A lot of folks up on Capitol Hill on the Democratic side think some of this legislation could help mitigate what's going on in these states. Joe Manchin is not going to help them with any of those efforts it seems like at this point.

[16:10:04]

BEGALA: And this is terrible news for the Democratic Party. I think it's terrible news for our democracy. Joe -- I like Joe Manchin, he's a friend of mine. He was secretary of state and was very strong on voting rights when he was secretary of state in West Virginia. He cares about these issues. So I'm really struck and heartbroken to see him say that because these are policies he put in place in his own state when he was in charge of elections there. He's got a good record on it.

I know he's concerned about division. When the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized in 2006, George W. Bush was in the White House. He championed it, signed it publicly. It passed 98-0. Voting rights used to unify Democrats and Republicans. Now it divides us, not because of the Democrats.

FRUM: Well, yes, because --

BEGALA: It's because of the Republicans.

FRUM: Yes, because of the Democrats. I actually believe that Joe Manchin is channeling the views of a lot of his Democratic colleagues, and he's undertaken to be the face of this thing. Those two bills are first not sufficiently responsive to the things that Republicans are doing in the states and they're crammed with things that lots of Democratic incumbents do not like. For example, I think it's the House version that includes a provision that says if you run for any office, including in the primary, any federal office, and you get $200, the federal government will give you six times that amount of money.

So every Democratic incumbent contemplating a primary challenge from some would be Alexander Ocasio-Cortez says if I raise $1,000, I get $1,000. If my challenger raises $200, they get $1200 more from the federal treasury in my primary? Stop this, Joe Manchin. You're the only man who can save me. And I think that is part of what is going on here.

BEGALA: We can debate the merits which I think is a great idea, by the way, but I talked to one of the sponsors, one of the people who wrote this bill, about Manchin. And he said we're open for business. They believe Manchin is a good faith supporter of voting rights but they want to make a deal then. So Senator Manchin needs to make a deal. If there are things that he doesn't like about it he can change the legislation but we need voting rights in this country.

ACOSTA: We certainly need that, absolutely. And it's been under attack.

We'll have to leave the discussion there. They were great discussion. Thanks for leading off the show in person, in the studio. Thanks so much, gentlemen Paul Begala and David Frum, thanks.

This just in. Vice President Kamala Harris is at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland right now after Air Force Two had a technical issue we're told. Harris was heading to Guatemala City when an unusual sound was heard from the plane's landing gear. There were no problems getting the aircraft back on the ground. This was after Harris' -- This was Harris's reaction after she landed back at JBA just a few moments ago. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Everybody good?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you OK?

HARRIS: I'm good. I'm good. Yes. We all said a little prayer, but we're good.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes, happy to see everyone is OK there. But we'll get more information on all of that and bring that to you as the details come in.

In the meantime, coming up, it is a girl. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced the birth of their second child with a name that pays tribute to Princess Diana and the Queen. Plus, she is no stranger to U.S. presidents. Queen Elizabeth has seen

it all including this memorable moment, who could forget it, with Donald Trump. Next up, she meets Joe Biden. A preview ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:17:18]

ACOSTA: It's a girl. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle just announced the birth of their second child, which means little Archie is officially now a big brother.

CNN royal correspondent Max Foster joins us now from London with this exciting news.

Max, we're learning the name has a special meaning? Tell us what it is.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, her name is Lilibeth, so we know it's Lili. But the Queen's nickname has always been Lilibeth, so named after Queen Elizabeth. Also a nod to Diana. Of course Harry's late mother Diana is Lili's middle name so Lili Diana will be her name. Archie's younger sister. Archie was born in the U.K. Lili was born in the U.S. So she will be in line for the throne, number eighth in line for the throne.

But also potentially president one day as well. I know the chances, Jim, are pretty slight, and you'll bring up some constitutional questions around that, I'm sure, correcting me. But we are told that the mother and baby are doing well, they're healthy, they're back at home. So good news, the baby was born on Friday.

We heard this from the couple on June 4th, "We were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili. She'll be more than we could ever have imagined and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family."

We did also hear from the royal family. They issued a joint statement saying the Queen, the prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwell, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been informed and are delighted with the news of the birth of a daughter for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Of course they haven't met the baby yet. They haven't seen Archie for some time either. But hopefully after the pandemic they'll all be able to meet up and Prince Charles will be able to meet his new granddaughter.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And when are we going to see Lili for the first time? I mean, I know that's always a big event over in the U.K. when we see one of these babies for the first time.

FOSTER: Yes, also broke the mold on that as well. I think Harry and Meghan will always, you know, that was one of the tensions actually with the rest of the family with the palace. They didn't want their children to become commodities. So with Archie they issued an image of his hand initially. We haven't had anything from Lili at all, any images of Lili at all. They are not doing things in the traditional royal way.

So I think, Jim, we'll just have to sit and wait for that image to come through, probably on their own Web site. But I'm sure we'll get a heads up when that comes.

ACOSTA: OK. Great. We can't wait to see that. Max Foster, thanks so much for the great news from your side of the Atlantic. We appreciate it.

This exciting news for the royal family comes as President Biden is getting ready to step onto the international stage, one that includes a visit with her majesty, the Queen, as well as Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns is keeping a close eye on the president's itinerary.

[16:20:03]

Joe, where does Biden head first? And what can we expect to see?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, it's going to start in the U.K. quite naturally with a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. And then we'll have the G-7 summit. Of course, this summit didn't even occur in person last year due to COVID. But it will this year. Then, one week from today in the U.K., that's when the president of the United States will meet with the Queen of England. He and the first lady both.

This will be the first time the Queen has hosted or met with a major world leader since the death of her husband, Prince Philip. Also, by the way, this is a queen who has now met with every United States president since Harry Truman, with the exception of Lyndon Johnson. So that simply is a matter for the history books.

The Biden trip continues on from there. He's going to go to the E.U. summit as well as the NATO summit in Brussels. And they're going to top it off with a meeting with Vladimir Putin. So a lot on the plate.

We talked to the people here at the White House, they are trying to keep it simple. And they say everything he really wants to deal with involves a word that starts with C, including cyber security, China, COVID, climate, and so on. So as I said they're trying to keep it simple, but it's a long trip and he's going to cover a lot of ground -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Well, Joe, let's talk about choreography. I assume that the White House is paying attention to the choreography of President Biden meeting with the Queen, especially after what happened when Donald Trump, then President Trump met with the Queen when he visited the U.K. Here are some of the -- here are some of the videos now.

What's the White House taking a look at, Joe, in terms of how to choreograph their meeting?

JOHNS: Well, it's clear that they are paying attention to protocols. But they have kind of kept this under wraps, quite frankly. It was, as tradition holds, the decision of the Queen on when to announce that the Bidens were meeting with her. So we don't have a lot of details on what they are going to do. But we do expect the same pomp and pageantry we've seen before. And not only Donald Trump, but if I remember correctly, even Barack Obama had a bit of a slip-up in his trip when he went to meet with the Queen. So I'm sure they're going to be very careful when it comes to priorities and protocols -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes. There are always some little stumbles along the way in this special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. But it will be an interesting meeting nonetheless.

Joe Johns, thanks for that report from the White House. Great to see you.

And how would you like to get from New Jersey to London in less than four hours? Coming up, United Airlines announces plans for a supersonic flight.

Plus, instead of walking how about swimming between buildings? This one might give you the willies like it did me earlier this week. This new sky pool that lets you take a dip 115 feet in the air. Look at that. Wow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:27:34]

ACOSTA: And New York City's Harlem neighborhood is welcoming two special visitors today. You can see them right there this hour. First Lady Jill Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci, you can see them right there visiting a COVID vaccination clinic at a church in the Big Apple.

And CNN's Polo Sandoval is there right now for us.

Polo, what can you see? What's happening? And what can you see where you are?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jim, timing working out nicely here. These are some live pictures right now from the inside of the iconic Abyssinian Baptist Church here in Harlem. And these are live pictures where you can see Dr. Anthony Fauci there in the suit, and then First Lady Biden right next to him as they visit the site here really trying to convey the importance of getting that vaccination.

Now the main reason why they're coming here is obviously because there's this massive initiative that's been in place here. This Choose Healthy Life Initiative that actually has been in place here. What it does is basically seeking to ensure that churches do have that necessary training and they do have the resources to be able to face this pandemic. And as a result, what you see here is also this -- they're recognizing that churches are not only the oldest but also some of the most trusted institutions, especially in black communities.

So one of the main reasons why they're here is that to try to get that message across. Just a few moments ago, just a little while ago, you actually could see First Lady Biden was with a young man that was getting his Pfizer shot for the first time here. So again, they do understand that these images certainly count. One of the leaders in the church here was telling me a little while ago, just off camera that what they hope this -- the message that will be really received by the community is that the community matters. That they have not only a lot to gain but also potentially a lot to lose if they don't get that vaccine.

In terms of the numbers that they've actually been seeing here in Harlem, the numbers have fluctuated a little bit. This particular site here has been one of the ones that's been in place since early in the vaccine rollout. They have seen a spike in interest but then like much of the country, Jim, that interest began to drop. And so that's one of the reasons why you see here not only the nation's top infectious disease expert, but also the first lady visiting this particular site in Harlem so that the rest of the community actually sees this and will hopefully be motivated to come and get that vaccine.

They do know that those numbers continue to drop. Those vaccination rates, and this is one of the reasons why we're seeing this, Jim. Back to you.

ACOSTA: Yes, Dr. Fauci pretty close to his old stomping grounds. He's from Brooklyn. He's in Harlem right now with the first lady and trying to get at that issue of vaccine hesitancy. You know, nearly 42 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated right now. The Biden Administration has set a pretty high goal of increasing that substantially over the next couple of months.

And so, they have to send out the big guns, Dr. Jill Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci there in New York right now. Those pictures just coming into us here at CNN. We'll continue to monitor this and we'll get back to all of that. And, Polo, if the developments warrant that. Polo Sandoval, thanks so much.

In the meantime, after more than a year stuck idle at ports, cruise ships will soon set sail once again. Royal Caribbean says it will welcome back passengers next month and vaccination will not be required for passengers leaving ports in Florida and Texas.

CNN's Natasha Chen has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The cruise industry is getting ready to set sail once again. But a political storm brewing on land, one between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Centers for Disease Control suggest it will be anything but smooth sailing.

Right now, most cruise lines are advertising new summer sailings with vaccination requirements. But Royal Caribbean abruptly changed course on Friday. Only its ships departing from Seattle and the Bahamas on or before August first will require passengers 16 and older to be vaccinated. But no vaccination requirements for its sailings from Texas or Florida. Florida where businesses can be fined for requiring customers to show proof of vaccination.

MICHAEL WINKLEMAN, MARITIME LAWYER: I was surprised by the blink (ph), because I think they're on the better side of it. And I think they're better off staying on team CDC rather than team DeSantis.

CHEN: Michael Winkleman, a cruise industry expert and maritime lawyer in Miami, says the situation on cruise ships is unique, and the CDC is trying to keep people safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There appeared to be a waiting pattern here.

CHEN: Last year, a number of cruise ships remained unable to dock when Coronavirus spread through tight quarters. After the CDC issued a no-sail order, ships sat idle for 15 months.

Now, the CDC has laid out a framework to get them back in motion. Either have trial sailings with volunteers before opening up to paid passengers or abide by certain restrictions with the most latitude on ships where at least 95 percent of passengers and crew are vaccinated. DeSantis has sued the CDC over this with no end of the legal battle in sight.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: But just make no mistake, had we not done what we did -- and I think a lot those cruise lines will -- would admit this. Had we not done what we did by suing, you would not be talking about sailing right now. There's not been a single elected official in this country who's done more to liberate the cruise lines, from a bureaucracy that is totally out of touch.

WINKLEMAN: In my opinion, this has nothing to do with helping a business. It has nothing to do with keeping people safe. It has to do with him playing to a very small but vocal base of his supporters in an effort to win in 2024.

CHEN: Winkelman says DeSantis won't likely win this lawsuit. A sentiment echoed by a "Miami Herald" op-ed, saying the cruise industry wants to go back to work. The CDC isn't the issue here. The badly conceived vaccine passport law is.

The politicking and rule changes have left passengers confused. But this travel agent, who specializes in cruises, says most people hoping to get on a cruise soon are already vaccinated or planning to be before they board.

ELAINE EDWARDS, TRAVEL AGENT, DREAMS UNLIMITED TRAVEL: I think people are just so excited. They didn't get to cruise last summer. They didn't get to cruise this winter. That they are willing to -- whatever the cruise line needs me to do, I will do it, because I want to get on that ship.

CHEN (on camera): I checked with the Florida governor's office. The state law does allow businesses to ask customers if they are vaccinated but the customer doesn't have to answer and that cannot be a condition of entry.

The CDC says, right now, anyone getting on a cruise, even if they're fully vaccinated, should be tested before and after the trip. And those who are unvaccinated should quarantine after the cruise, even if they test negative.

Natasha Chen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And joining me now is the old friend, The Points Guy, Brian Kelly. Brian, let's talk about this cruise industry, because it was absolutely ravaged by the COVID outbreak.

And you saw what Natasha was talking about there in her piece, about getting back out on the -- on the open seas. There were people stuck on cruise ships, though, for long periods of time because of COVID outbreaks.

Do you see people going on these cruises and being vaccinated is not a requirement? I suppose some people will go for it, but a lot of folks are going be worried about that.

BRIAN KELLY, FOUNDER, THEPOINTSGUY.COM: Absolutely. I mean, the last headlines that we knew, as the pandemic was kicking off, were those horrible stories about people caught on ships. We know the virus transmits on cruise ships quite effectively. Who knows with these new variants.

So, yes, I don't this it's a pop -- I was shocked to hear Royal Caribbean reversed course on the vaccinations. Time will tell but I think most consumers who -- especially who have kids who are not yet vaccinated. They're going to want to have most adults on that ship vaccinated to feel safe cruising.

[16:35:00]

ACOSTA: Yes. Let's talk about air travel. United Airlines just signed a deal to buy 15 supersonic jets, that travel twice as fast as a normal commercial jet. We haven't had supersonic planes for some sign -- some time now.

These planes can fly from Newark to London in three and a half hours, Newark to Frankfurt in four hours, San Francisco to Tokyo in six hours. I mean, that's pretty remarkable. But we saw what happened with the concord. Is this going to work, do you think?

KELLY: I think it will. You know, based on how boom supersonic is making their planes. I think what's most interesting is it's going to cost the airline roughly the same as what modern planes do today, 787s. And they're also going to be net carbon zero which is kind of shocking.

You know, the concord, which retired in 2003, that was very inefficient to run. And also, it was kind of not good for passengers either. Even though it was a cool experience, it was hot in the cabin and cramped. The boom supersonic planes look really nice. But, at best, it's going to be 2029 before we see them.

ACOSTA: Those planes look cool. How many people can you fit on one of these supersonic jets? Is it a lot?

KELLY: It's not a lot. I believe it's about 50 seats. They haven't really released how they're going to configure it yet. You're probably not going to get as much room as a full business class suite on a larger plane. But, you know, time is money. And, for business travelers especially, to cut down the travel time in half to places like Asia, it's going to be a game changer.

ACOSTA: And after you get off one of those supersonic jets, it feels good to jump in the pool, I guess. Before we go, I have to ask you about this incredible swimming pool. I don't know, have you guys seen this? This is unbelievable, the sky pool in London that straddles two buildings 115 feet in the air. I thought this was a joke on Twitter, when I saw this last week. But this is real. What can you tell us about this? And I have to ask, Brian, would you take the plunge?

KELLY: You know, I actually -- funny enough, I have a little bit of a fear of heights. But I would totally do it. You know, I've been to the hotel pools, you know, at The Ritz Hong Kong, 100-some stories high. The Marina Bay Sands. You could say it's the golden age of hotel pools, even though this pool, in particular, is a residential one. But, you know, today, it's all about the Instagram shot. And, you know, what better pool Instagram shot than that one in London?

ACOSTA: And if I come running and yelled, cannon ball, how would that go over, do you think, Brian? Just, you know, I don't know if that would go over too well.

KELLY: I think -- I think you'd be fine, though.

ACOSTA: Well, the guys in the studio here are shaking their heads, no thank you. But, Brian, thanks so much. Great to see you. Maybe we'll see you poolside in the future. Thanks so much.

KELLY: Thanks.

ACOSTA: All right, and coming up, searching for the truth on UFOs. A government report finds no evidence of aliens, but officials still can't explain those mysterious close encounters in the sky.

[16:37:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Are we really alone? CNN is learning new details about an upcoming declassified report on UFOs. Here's Brian Todd.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Outside their cockpit windows, veteran Navy fighter pilots apparently see objects that surprise them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a whole fleet of them. Look on the ASA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My gosh. They're all going against the wind. The wind is 120 knots to the west.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that thing, dude.

TODD: This video is from a U.S. military training mission off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida in 2015. The objects are UFOs. And American military pilots have seen so many of them in recent years that the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community have undertaken a large-scale investigation.

CNN has learned U.S. intelligence officials found no evidence to confirm that those objects are alien spacecraft, but they also cannot rule out that possibility. That's according to five sources familiar with an upcoming report to Congress.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (retired), INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE: There is a lot they cannot say. A lot they don't know, from a scientific standpoint. But, also, there may be classification issues.

TODD: In recent years, CNN has spoken to former Navy pilots who could not explains objects they saw on training missions. Ryan Graves, who flew FA18 Super Hornet fighter jets, was on the same mission off Jacksonville which spotted this object.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that thing.

TODD: Graves told us this object was similar to what he saw on training missions off the southern coast of Virginia throughout 2014 and 2015. He said the objects showed the capability of staying airborne for long periods and could move laterally quickly.

LT. RYAN GRAVES (retired), FIGHTER PILOT, UNITED STATES NAVY: Now, a lot of times, we would be flying around these objects, and they would tend to exhibit movement. So, as we approached them, they would kind of move out of the way.

TODD: Another former Navy fighter pilot, David Fravor, told us he saw a UFO during a training mission off San Diego in 2004 on a clear day. What surprised him, the object had no visible propulsion and was much more agile than a plane or a helicopter. He said it looked like a 40- foot long tic tac with no wings.

COMMANDOR DAVID FRAVOR (retired), FIGHTER PILOT, UNITED STATES NAVY: This was extremely abrupt, like a ping pong ball bouncing off a wall. It would hit and go the other way and change directions at will.

TODD: One source tells CNN, U.S. officials cannot rule out the possibility that these mysterious objects were operated by America's enemies, like Russia and China, who experts say are developing hypersonic weapons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were we confronted with missile systems, weapons systems from either Russia or China that are far better than our defenses are? And if that's the case, then we have a long way to go to protect our country.

TODD: Or could we actually be confronted with aliens?

PROF. HAKEEM OLUSEYI, ASTROPHYSICIST, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: To me, it looks terrestrial. It does not like alien. If it's anything humanlike at all, that's my smell test for aliens. So, what do humans do? We build vehicles. We build crafts. We fly around the sky.

TODD (on camera): Several sources they don't expect the U.S. intelligence community to release a lot of specific information at all in the report to Congress. Why? Because if these sightings are next- generation technology operated by Russia, China or another U.S. rival, intelligence officials don't want to tip them off on what the U.S. has seen.

[16:45:04]

TODD: Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

ACOSTA: By the year 2025, people of color will be the majority in America. What does that really mean? W. Kamau Bell looks for answers, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: On tonight's brand-new episode of "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA," W. Kamau Bell looks ahead to the year 2045, when census experts say the United States will become a majority minority country. He visits Philadelphia, where people of color already outnumber white people, to take a look at what's happening as the country becomes more racially and ethnically mixed.

[16:50:02]

ACOSTA: Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ten years ago, when I started, it was a thing to convince the students that, like, white privilege was the problem. Like, that's where we started. We were, like, yes, white privilege exists. Let's talk about how you see that, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then, five years ago, the starting point with new, young people coming in is, like, white supremacy is the problem. Right?

W. KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST, "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA": Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then, this last year, with our latest cohort of young people, where they are starting is, we have to eat the rich. Like, they are the problem. I am saying, like, yes, absolutely. Eat the rich. Like -- and then, where do you go from there?

BELL: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That whole saying of, like, people are never

left unorganized. It's just who organizes them first to understand the context of this country. You can organize them one way to understand that, like, this country was founded on slavery and genocide. Or it's the other way, that Columbus discovered this country. And then, you just pick up your bootstraps and dust off your refugeeness (ph) and then you're good. If you just put in 80 hours a week. Everyone does this.

BELL: Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And the host of "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA," W. Kamau Bell, joins me now. Kamau, before you start talking about the racial makeup of the country in this episode, you go back to square one and talk about the consent of race, itself. What is important for people to know about the idea of race, do you think?

BELL: Well, I think that we sort of think race has always existed. But race, as we understand it, is really an American phenomenon, a way of categorizing people. And, like everything in this country, it all goes back to separating the white people from the people who are not white, initially, from the enslaved Africans. And so, if you look at the history of the census, you can see sort of the racial and racist history of this country.

ACOSTA: And people sometimes refer to these demographic changes you're looking at as the browning of America -- the, quote, unquote, browning of America. And, unfortunately, there is a significant sector of the U.S. population that is not happy about this process. Talk about that. Let's talk about that.

BELL: Well, yes, I think that there is -- certainly, there are -- there is that sector. But I think, even more importantly, there is a sector of people who think that once America does become more brown than white, then that means that, like, a new day dawns and a new power structure is created.

And what we talked to activists in Philly about, that Philly has been a majority-minority city for a long time, but the power structure is in place, are still about supporting the dominant in Philly or the culture that created this culture which is white people in Philadelphia.

ACOSTA: Right. And so, what did you see happening on the ground in Philadelphia, that can give us a window into what will happen in the U.S., as we hit that majority-minority mark?

BELL: Well, I think what she just said. The younger people in this country are becoming more aware of things that they were not so aware of. I mean, right now, all this sort of talk about critical race theory. What that is going to do -- despite the fact that critical race theory is not taught to young people, that young people are going to go, oh, what's critical race theory that you don't want me to learn about? So, I think if you said, people that are not unorganized. It's about

who gets to organize them. And there are lots of activists on the ground in Philly who are looking to organize the young people so that when their turn comes, they can actually transform the power structure.

ACOSTA: Sound fascinating. All right, W. Kamau Bell, thanks so much. An all-new episode of "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA" airs tonight at a special time, 10:15 p.m. Mark that, 10:15 p.m., right after the story of late night. Be sure to tune in.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, some researchers estimate that food insecurity has tripled among U.S. households with children. When this week's CNN Hero had to shut down her supper club amid COVID, she redirected her love of cooking to provide free, delicious meals to those at risk of going hungry in their Chicago community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHEF Q. IBRAHEEM, KIDS WITH CO-WORKERS: I've witnessed that people are literally a paycheck away from not eating. That's heart breaking. That's unbelievable but is so very real. And it's continuously happening.

We have served over 60,000 meals in the past 14 months. I'm inspired to keep going because the need has not stopped.

We've got goodies.

It's a great feeling to know that I'm able to ease the burden, if just a little bit. That's beautiful. Oh, my gosh, that's the okra, too.

I'm giving them a sense of understanding that we are in it together.

You all enjoy.

A sense of knowing that people in your community do care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And to see the whole story about her ongoing work to ensure people don't go hungry during the pandemic, go to CNNheroes.com. And while you're there, nominate someone you think should be a CNN Hero.

[16:54:35]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: A stunning upset at the French Open. Number seven seed, Serena Williams, lost to number 21 seed, Elena Rybakina, in the fourth round of the French Open. The 23-time Grand Slam champion was looking to the -- tie the Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slams but will now look to do that at Wimbledon later this month. Williams last won a Grand Slam title in 2017. The 21-year-old Rybakina will now head to the quarter finals on Tuesday. Some exciting action there. And in the men's tournament, Roger Federer announced earlier today, he is withdrawing from the French Open. The 20-time Grand Slam champion cited health concerns, writing in a statement, in part.

[17:00:01]

ACOSTA: After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation, it's important that I listen to my body and make sure I don't push myself too quickly on my road to recovery.