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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Former President Obama Speaks Out On Importance Of Defending Democracy; Harris Faces First Diplomatic Test, Tackles Migration To The U.S.; New Audio Of Rudy Giuliani Pressuring Ukraine To Investigate Biden. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 08, 2021 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We didn't see that. Now, you know, I'm still the hope and change guy and so my hope is that the tides will turn, but that does require each of us to understand that this experiment in democracy is not self-executing.

It doesn't happen just automatically, it happens because each successive generation says these values -- these truths we hold self- evident -- this is important. We're going to invest in it and sacrifice for it and we'll stand up for it even when it's not politically convenient.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's bring in CNN political commentator Ashley Allison, former national coalition director for the Biden-Harris campaign. So nice to see you this morning.

And it was really just a thoughtful and long conversation last night between Anderson and the former president. You heard him say there, Ashley, that democracy is not a given. How do you protect it, though, in a world where we really struggle to find what he calls shared stories -- shared facts, even?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER NATIONAL COALITIONS DIRECTOR, BIDEN-HARRIS 2020 (via Cisco Webex): Well, good morning.

You're absolutely right. One of the things that President Obama really talked about -- yes, he's the hope and change candidate, but he also talked about what leadership looks like, particularly in his post- presidency days as he works with young men and young women about being leaders of the future. And part of being a leader is that you have to want to hear other people's stories, but you also have to tell the truth.

And so, a couple of seconds before the clip that you showed, he talked about how he never thought Republicans would go so far -- would put winning their own personal election over our own democracy. And the way you protect our democracy, the way you protect our elections is telling the truth. And the former president, Donald Trump, is not telling the truth about what really happened in 2020, and his Republican counterparts in the Senate and some in the House are not telling the truth.

And so we have to, as voters, as Americans stand up for our democracy regardless of your political party. We need to make sure that we are passing laws like the John Lewis Voting Rights Act that should have been passed or restored very many years ago, even during President Obama's election -- or tenure as president.

But we also have to stand up against these attacks around voter suppression -- these anti-protest bills, which is so counter to the First Amendment that so many Republicans are pushing in the states.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Ashley, speaking of that John Lewis Votings Right -- Voting Rights Act, President Obama also spoke about the war on voting and sort of the broader issues surrounding it. Take a listen to this clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I think we have to worry when one of our major political parties is willing to embrace a way of thinking about our democracy that would be unrecognizable and unacceptable even five years ago or a decade ago.

When you look at some of the laws that are being passed at the state legislative level, where legislators are basically saying we're going to take away the certification of election processes from civil servants -- you know, secretaries of state and people who are just counting ballots -- and we're going to put it in the hands of partisan legislatures who may or may not decide that a state's electoral votes should go to one person or another.

And when that's all done against the backdrop of large numbers of Republicans having been convinced wrongly that there was something fishy about the last election, we've got a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: So, Ashley, I think what he's getting at there is you've got 47 states right now with bills to curb voting. More than a dozen have already passed them. You see these bogus audits going on in places like Arizona. And a big concern is these state laws curtailing national elections.

I mean, how do -- how do you make sense of sort of the lay of the land? Is the answer the John Lewis bill on the table or is the answer maybe something a little bit further -- sort of, you know, the bill that Joe Manchin doesn't want to strike down the filibuster over?

ALLISON: Well, I think we have to have comprehensive reform that is going to ensure our elections continue to be safe and accessible for all eligible voters. Let's just take -- I mean, it wasn't too long ago in November when we had an election problem -- one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. We saw young people, people of color, first-time voters come out in record numbers. That is what our democracy should look like. We want more eligible voters to be able to vote.

[05:35:11]

And so, I do think we need H.R.4, which is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. I used to work at an organization that wrote the original bill in 1965, so I fundamentally believe.

And when you think about what was going on there, that was the civil rights movement. That was expanding --

JARRETT: Right.

ALLISON: -- the franchise, expanding the opportunity to vote to Black people, to people of color in this country that it always has not been guaranteed to.

And so -- but the voting rights act is one step but we also have this bill that you mentioned that Joe Manchin opposes that I really want to push back on the notion that H.R.1 or S.1, which is called For the People Act is a partisan bill.

JARRETT: Yes.

ALLISON: Partisan bills are not bills that actually expand access to voters regardless of whether you're a Republican or Democrat. That is what H.R.1 will do for the People's Act.

But these bills -- these audits that are going on that are not legitimate that are passing in the states are partisan bills. They are intentionally targeted at young people, Black people who really believe in our democracy -- maybe many for the first time in 2020 -- and stood up and fought for it. And they're trying to say no, no, no, we don't want you to have a place. And they're doing suppressive tactics that we cannot stand for.

JARRETT: Yes, and you have to wonder why. Why not have more people vote? Why not -- why not have the most amount of people vote, right, and just sort of put it to the test?

ALLISON: Absolutely.

ROMANS: It may be because they don't think that they can win if more people vote.

JARRETT: Well then, they should try harder.

ROMANS: Yes, try harder.

All right, one thing is --

ALLISON: Right, and stop pushing -- stop pushing bills and worry about -- the president said last night -- or former president said -- he'll always be my president -- but the former president said last night stop pushing concerns and lies about critical race theory and put together policies --

ROMANS: Yes.

ALLISON: -- that will lift the American people.

That's how you get voter -- everyone wants to pretend like there's some secret sauce to how you get the people to vote -- no. You run for office, you put policies forward that you say will improve your life, and then you actually put them in place.

But Republicans, under President Obama and under Joe Biden right now -- they just want to be obstructionists and make it harder for people like me to participate in the system.

ROMANS: It does feel like it's more about personality, not policy. It's more about waging culture wars, not fixing potholes at this point, which is what government and leadership is supposed to be.

Quickly, one thing that struck me here. The president points out this is going on elsewhere and democracy can crumble quickly. Let's listen to this sound bite.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: All of us as citizens have to recognize that the path towards an undemocratic America is not going to happen in just one bang; it happens in a series of steps. And when you look at what's happened in places Hungary and in Poland that obviously did not have the same traditions -- democratic traditions that we did -- they weren't as deeply rooted -- and yet, as recently as 10 years ago were functioning democracies and now essentially have become more authoritarian.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: So if the creep away from democracy is slow, how do you make people care enough to reverse it now?

ALLISON: Well, I think you do what we did in 2020 -- is that you go and you talk to voters despite there being a pandemic. You do what President Obama did in 2008 and 2012. So many first-time voters. You meet people where they are but you cannot take it for granted.

And I know sometimes it's hard to believe that America could -- democracy could ever be really at risk, but President Trump actually was very clear in laying out how he was going to undermine this democracy. He continues to do it by this last week pushing a lie that he'll be president again in August. It's absurd.

But I think you have to continue -- you have to hold them accountable when you hear lies. You have to speak against them, you have to call them for what they are, and then you have to people know the truth.

There's a lot of disinformation out there that can be confusing for people who are just trying to keep a roof over their head because --

ROMANS: Yes.

ALLISON: -- they don't want to hear the nonsense. But we have to be honest brokers of our democracy and truth and continue to -- and not -- and not be afraid of telling the truth even when sometimes people seem like they have very strong political power.

JARRETT: Ashley Allison, it's so great to have you on EARLY START. We hope that you'll come back really soon.

ROMANS: Thank you. Nice to see you.

JARRETT: Appreciate it.

ALLISON: Thank you so much.

ROMANS: All right, major progress in the fight to crush COVID. Moderna's CEO says its vaccine will likely be available for children as young as five in early fall. Appropriate dosages for small children still being worked out.

And according to the CDC, less than three percent of the U.S. population now lives in a county with a high COVID transmission. That's an estimated eight million people. Two weeks ago that number was four times higher.

JARRETT: Wow.

[05:40:00]

With all this progress, New York City is planning a largescale concert in August in Central Park, calling on legendary 89-year-old producer Clive Davis to pull it all together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "Thunder Road."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: And the Boss is returning to Broadway. Bruce Springsteen is reviving his solo show later this month. All audience members will need to prove that they are fully vaccinated.

ROMANS: All right. More evidence that workers have the upper hand in the recovery. Employers scrambling to find workers are offering new perks -- signing bonuses. Retail, grocery, convenient stores -- even Amazon offering one-time payments for new hires.

It's an effort to fill the hundreds of thousands of open jobs -- 878,000 job openings in retail March; 348,000 in the warehouse sector.

Amazon offering a thousand bucks -- a signing bonus for new warehouse workers. Same at Ollie's Bargain Outlet for new hires at its distribution centers. Sheetz convenience store offering $500 for store workers.

We know people are not rushing back to jobs for a number of reasons -- finding child and family care, health and safety concerns, jobless benefits that will start to run out here. Employers prefer these signing bonuses instead of raising wages because bonuses are temporary and cheaper in the long run.

We'll be right back.

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[05:45:25]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border. Do not come. Do not come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That's Kamala Harris in Guatemala tackling the first major diplomatic test of her vice presidency. She's trying to deal with the root causes of migration to the United States. And she just arrived in Mexico overnight for the next leg of her foreign trip.

Matt Rivers is in Mexico City. She meets with the Mexican president today. What's, I guess, the deliverable for this vice president? What does she need to get? What is she to achieve today?

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT. Yes -- you know, Christine, what we heard from the vice president's office is that this is officially being called the fact-finding mission about the root causes of migration, which is kind of just a fancy way of saying the administration is trying to figure out how to get less migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border.

That mission started yesterday in Guatemala -- meetings with the Guatemalan president where you heard the vice president talk a lot about these root causes. Things like chronic violence, chronic poverty, chronic corruption, which is kind of a sensitive subject given that the corruption that is being alleged in this part of the world -- you know, that's going to be within the countries -- the governments that she has to deal with there.

But clearly, the administration is putting its emphasis on these longer-term solutions. However, in the short term, they also know that they have a problem right now that they're trying to fix and that's why you heard that tough talk from Kamala Harris there, basically telling migrants do not show up to the southern border.

I've spoken to a lot of migrants one-on-one over the past couple of months, Christine. I can tell you many migrants are not going to listen to that because the conditions on the ground with those chronic things like corruption and poverty are so bad that they're going to go to the United States no matter what the messaging is coming out of the White House.

Now, here in Mexico, this is also a big deal here because the number of Mexicans arriving to the U.S. southern border -- it's not just Central Americans, it's Mexicans as well, so this is an issue here.

She's going to meet with the Mexican president today. They've got a signing ceremony of some deal that we don't have the details of yet, at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. eastern time. So we're going to see how things play out here in Mexico City today, Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Matt Rivers. I know you'll keep us posted. Thank you.

JARRETT: All right. Now to a CNN exclusive. New audio revealing just how far Rudy Giuliani went to help Donald Trump get reelected. You're about to hear the former New York mayor, for the first time, pressuring a Ukrainian official to investigate baseless conspiracies designed to damage then-candidate Joe Biden.

Let's go live to London and bring in CNN's Matthew Chance. Matthew, we knew from reporting that Rudy had put on a hard sell with some of these officials, but it's different to hear it on tape.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Laura. We've seen transcripts of this call. We've heard people in testimony talk about what transpired on this and other calls when it comes to -- when it came to members of the Trump administration putting pressure and trying to cajole Ukrainian officials to engage in these -- in these kinds of investigations.

But this is the first time -- you're right -- that we can actually hear the words of Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, saying to Ukrainian officials on the other end of the line -- look, you need to open an investigation and announce it publicly into then-President Trump's political rival Joe Biden and into these kind of baseless conspiracy theories about Ukraine being involved in 2016 presidential election meddling.

And you can also hear him say that if you do that, then there are going to be positive consequences for the relationship. It's going to be a better diplomatic relationship between the two countries.

Take a listen to the exact words that Rudy Giuliani used to cajole and to intimidate the Ukrainians on the other end of the line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERSONAL ATTORNEY: If he could make some statement, at the right time, that he supports a fair, honest law enforcement system and that these investigations go wherever they have to go -- it's going to be run by honest people -- that would clear the air up really well.

And I think it would make it possible for me to come and make it possible, I think, for me to talk to the president and see what I can do about making sure that whatever misunderstandings are put aside. And maybe even -- I kind of think that this could be a good thing for I think a much -- a much better relationship where we really understand each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:50:03]

CHANCE: Well, Ukrainians I've spoken to on that call say that they were very upset by the fact that they seemed to be sucked into American domestic politics. They're fighting a war, of course, then as now, against Russian-backed rebels in the east of the country and heavily dependent on American support for that.

They didn't launch those investigations in the end and, of course, they paid a price for it as well because President Zelensky of Ukraine never got that invite to the White House. That changed actually just yesterday when the Ukrainian president said he'd finally been reached by the U.S. president, Joe Biden, and invited to the White House for that face-to-face meeting in July -- Laura.

JARRETT: All right, Matthew Chance. Thank you so much for that reporting.

ROMANS: All right, a truly incredible crime bust revealed overnight.

For three years, criminals around the world thought they were using an impenetrable messaging app to plot their crimes, from drug trafficking to murder. It turns out that encrypted app was a fake covertly controlled and monitored by the FBI and Australia's federal police the entire time. The results, hundreds of arrests and tens of millions of dollars in asset seizures.

Australian police say the whole idea came up over a few after-work beers. Officials say suspects were arrested in 18 countries with more to come. That is some amazing police work.

JARRETT: Sometimes good ideas come from after-work beers.

All right. In a controversial decision, the FDA has approved the first new Alzheimer's drug in nearly 20 years despite there being no conclusive evidence that the drug works. The medication was developed for patients with mild cognitive impairment -- not severe dementia here. And it's intended to slow the progression of the disease, not just ease symptoms.

One study showed no benefit to the drug while a second study showed a 22 percent reduction in cognitive decline, leaving the question whether the patient would notice a change to their quality of life.

ROMANS: All right. It turns out this weekend's gun violence was even worse than we knew. Eight people are dead and 45 injured after mass shootings in now 10 different states, adding Portland, Oregon, Cleveland, and Oakland, California to the seven cities we told you about yesterday. Several of these attacks were at graduation parties.

And details, right now, are coming in about an incident overnight. Several people were also shot at a Houston club overnight.

JARRETT: There were two others Monday, including a third mass shooting in a week in the Miami area. That brings the total to 258 mass shootings so far this year. By comparison, that's almost the total number of shootings from 2014 and it is only early June -- not good.

ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this Tuesday morning.

Taking a look at markets around the world you can see that Asian shares have closed slightly lower and Europe has opened up a little bit. On Wall Street, stock index futures also barely moving here.

Stocks closed mixed on Monday. The Dow fell 126 points. The S&P also fell. The Nasdaq managed a small gain.

Investors will have another look at the labor market with job opening data for April. That comes out at 8:30 a.m. There were a record 8.1 million job openings in March. The Chamber of Commerce has said the labor shortage is real and is getting worse by the day.

All right. The world's richest man is heading to space. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said Monday he will be on the first crewed flight of the New Shepard. That's the rocket made by his space company Blue Origin. His younger brother Mark will also join that flight.

The flight is set for July 20th, exactly 52 years after the U.S. landed on the moon and just 15 days after Bezos resigns as CEO of Amazon.

Bezos will be executive chairman when he blasts off, leaving some to question what that trip could mean for his businesses. Imagine, you've got the executive chairman who is rocketing into space.

JARRETT: Yes, it seems a little risky. But you know what, maybe he's just a risk-taker.

ROMANS: He is.

JARRETT: All right. The U.S. Navy denies a football star's request to delay his commission to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL.

Andy Scholes has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Laura.

So, Cameron Kinley served as team captain and class president for the Navy. He even introduced Vice President Harris at graduation. He went undrafted but signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Bucs and participated in the rookie camp with the Navy's permission.

But Kinley requested to delay his service so he could live out his childhood dream of playing in the NFL, but that request has been denied. Kinley says he was also denied the chance to appeal and was not given a reason why. A 2019 policy directive allows for graduates pursuing a career in professional sports to delay their service if approved.

In a lengthy statement on social media, Kinley says he understands his service commitment but also deserves an opportunity to live out one of his lifelong dreams.

The Navy responding this morning, saying every midshipman attends on the same terms and each has the same responsibility to serve. Exceptions to that commitment have been, rightfully, rare.

All right. In the NBA, no James Harden, no problem for the Nets in game two against the Bucks. This game got ugly quick. The Nets, at one point, led by 49 points. They would end up winning by 39.

The Suns, meanwhile, beat the Nuggets in game one of their series final 122 to 105.

[05:55:02]

Finally, two weeks ago, former NFL Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen shared the news on Twitter that his 8-year-old son T.J.'s heart was failing and he needed a transplant. Well, he got that transplant on Friday, eight days after going on the list.

And yesterday, Olsen shared a message from his son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

T.J. OLSEN, HEART TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT: Hey, everybody. Thank you for thinking of me. Thank you for praying with me, and congrats on the win. We love you guys. Bye.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Such an awesome message. And here's hoping T.J. has a speedy recovery and things continue to go well. So amazing, guys.

JARRETT: Absolutely. Yes, absolutely -- wishing that family the best. Glad to see that he got that heart.

ROMANS: Yes, that's amazing.

SCHOLES: Yes.

ROMANS: All right, 55 minutes past the hour. Thanks, Andy.

Thanks for joining us this morning. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Brianna Keilar alongside John Berman in real life.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Alongside, alongside.

KEILAR: Really, truly alongside on this new day.

And just in, the first report of its kind on January sixth reveals new details about the security failures leading to the insurrection, but it completely leaves out Donald Trump's role in what caused the attack.

BERMAN: Plus --

KEILAR: Plus, candid revelations from Barack Obama. What he says about the insurrection, the fate of America's democracy, and Republicans who failed to be a guardrail.

BERMAN: Vice President Kamala Harris with a stern warning to migrants.