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New Day
Trump Listens to the Crazies; Overturning Election Sparks Fears of Violence; Jobless Claims Fall; Chris Bosh is Interviewed about the Olympics. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired June 03, 2021 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00]
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: It's not even -- I don't believe it's the majority of people in the Republican Party. So, remember, you have to look at the percentage of the electorate, the percentage of people who -- who are part of the Republican Party and the percentage of people who believe in that. It's not a majority of people in this country. And I just wonder if we overinflate it, if we give too much of a voice to it because Donald Trump, right now, is the wizard of Oz. He's the man behind the curtain. And he really doesn't have any power.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: You know --
LEMON: His power -- hang on, Brianna, please. His power comes from us that we keep promoting him and we keep talking about this. Sometimes we should probably ignore a lot of it because he has -- look, he was deplatformed. Look at what happened with disinformation on social media the moment he was deplatformed. And, you know, and his -- you know, "The Desk of Donald J. Trump" blog. It's gone.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Because no one was logging in.
LEMON: So -- so sometimes we should just go -- and let him be and let him have that majority of a minority that he has and then soon I think that they will probably wake up and realize there's not going to be a new inauguration in August. There's no lever in the Constitution that provides for that. They're going to have to live in reality one day. But we cannot -- we cannot let minority rule become the rule in this country, people lying about an insurrection and people also not allowing for the voting rights for people suppressing the voting rights, suppressing voting for people in this country. Too many people fought and died. Too many people who look like me fought and died for that. Too many people, Brianna, quite frankly, look like your husband, fought and died for the rights of Americans. We cannot let the POT, not the GOP, POT, the party of Trump, become the norm in this country with suppressing voting rights with minority rule.
KEILAR: Totally -- totally agree with you on that.
But I will say, you know, Don, I mean, I know people -- I love people who believe this crap. You know, and it's very hard to watch. I think that's -- it's hard to watch them believe it.
LEMON: Yes.
KEILAR: And I think that's part of the reason why I will -- I will just respectfully disagree with you a little bit on talking about these things because I will tell you, the initial information about this, that's not what these folks -- they're not getting it from us, all right?
LEMON: Yes.
KEILAR: Like we're the ones who are knocking it down.
LEMON: Yes. No, I don't -- I don't disagree with you with that. I just don't -- I think that you can be informed without being inundated. I think that you can call people out, you can expose them, but then, after that, you don't have to continue to talk about it every single day.
I -- listen, I had a conversation with someone who is -- who is very high -- who is a very big position with a social -- on a social media platform. And they said, the -- what they have learned just -- what they have learned is that just by saying, well, that is wrong, that's disinformation, that that makes people want to spread it more. And so what you have to do is offer them an alternative to the misinformation.
KEILAR: Exactly. Yes.
LEMON: And not necessarily just say, well, this is misinformation. You have to point out the right information. And the right information doesn't always include and probably -- probably doesn't include Donald Trump because he is a font of misinformation. So if you're going to give people an alternative, give them the alternative to Trump that doesn't include Trump because Trump is always -- he's always going to be a liar. He's always been a liar. He's always been a bigot. He's always going to be a bigot.
So why do we keep saying, oh, my God, I can't believe that he's a bigot. Of course he is. Oh, my God, I can't believe he's a liar. Of course he's a liar. That's who he is. (INAUDIBLE). A leopard doesn't change his stripes. He's a 77-year-old man. He's not going to, all of a sudden, change and become this, you know, magnanimous person. That's not who he is. He's a very small, tiny, unhappy man who is living in a delusion, acting like a lounge act going to, you know, the former president of the United States. Think about this. Randomly shows up at people's wedding at his estate down in Mar-a-Lago because that is the only outlet that he has to spread his misinformation. Let him have it. Leave him alone.
BERMAN: Don Lemon, we're so lucky that you wake up and talk to us on NEW DAY. It is wonderful to see you in person. It's wonderful to watch you get in trouble, sitting right next to me here. It's fantastic.
LEMON: Thank you.
BERMAN: And you can catch Don every night --
LEMON: Johnny B.
BERMAN: At 10:00 p.m. on "DON LEMON TONIGHT."
So --
KEILAR: Bye, Don.
LEMON: Thank you.
Bye, Brianna.
You can always disagree with me. You don't even -- it doesn't have to be a little bit. It can be a lot.
BERMAN: Well, that was the thing, she says, I want to respectfully disagree. You -- no, no, no --
LEMON: No.
BERMAN: You guys, go at it.
KEILAR: It's among friends.
LEMON: Nobody respects me, Brianna. Go for it.
BERMAN: Go -- go at it.
KEILAR: But we're among friends here. I love the discussion. Always love the discussion with you, Don.
[08:35:01]
LEMON: I want to see you in studio. I want to give you a big hug now that we're all fully vaccinated, you know.
KEILAR: I'll see you soon. I know.
LEMON: Because Anthony -- Dr. Fauci just told you guys.
KEILAR: Right.
LEMON: You know. There we go.
BERMAN: All right, we're going to do more TV here.
Up next, fears of violence sparked by Trump supporters on newer social media sites where there are few rules and plenty of conspiracy theories.
KEILAR: And why tens of thousands of volunteers are now quitting the Tokyo Olympics.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Talk on a social media platform now popular on the far right of overturning the election and installing Donald Trump as president again has led to fears of future violence.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan with this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT (May 18, 2021): I'm saying, before 2022 something has to be done.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Former President Donald Trump may have been banned from sites like FaceBook and Twitter, but his interviews with right wing media where he continues to repeat the big lie are giving some of his supporters the false hope that the 2020 election could still be overturned.
TRUMP (May 19, 2021): Stay tuned for Arizona.
[08:40:02]
And a lot of people are watching Arizona. You know, we -- we need two states.
O'SULLIVAN: The former president pointing to a highly criticized Republican-led audit in Arizona as one way to overturn the election.
TRUMP: It's going to be a very interesting time in our country. It's going to be a very interesting time. You understand what that means because it will be, you know, I mean, how do you govern when you lost? How do you govern when you lost? So --
O'SULLIVAN: On the social media site Telegram, comments like these are sparking excitement among his supporters. Trump knows what happens. Biden administration will be removed. We, the people will take action. He just told us things are about to get very ugly all over America. These thugs aren't going to take this news very well. Be prepared.
Telegram has become popular among some Trump supports and QAnon followers since companies like FaceBook began to crack down more on misinformation.
JOHN SCOTT-RAILTON, SENIOR RESEARCHER, CITIZEN LAB: Telegram is both an encrypted chat app and something of a social network. It's been around for years. And more recently, MAGA, QAnon and others have gravitated towards this as a platform moving towards it as they move away from FaceBook and other major platforms like Twitter.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): And there's very little rules on Telegram, right?
SCOTT-RAILTON: Telegram is built around trying to resist monitoring and censorship, which means that many groups gravitate towards it for those very reasons.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): There are groups on Telegram with tens of thousands of members dedicated to the QAnon conspiracy theory and the platform is now a source of concern among law enforcement who fear, in the wake of January 6th, it could incite further violence, three congressional sources tell CNN's Jamie Gangel.
TRUMP (May 18, 2021): A lot of the success of the country is going to have to -- is really going to have to do with immediacy because by the time we get to 2022, they're going to have everything done. The way they're putting things through Congress, McConnell can't stop anybody. He can't stop anybody. If something doesn't happen fast, you know, this is before '22.
O'SULLIVAN: The reaction on Telegram, he doesn't have to wait until 2024, people, he's coming back this year. Everything is going to be reversed, says one user. It's a great day when we start seeing evidence of the plan coming together. He just told us it won't be long now, says another.
And last weekend when Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn appeared to suggest there should be a military coup here in the United States, one prominent QAnon peddler, who has more than 70,000 followers on Telegram, wrote, General Flynn says the quiet part out loud. Flynn later denied he had suggested a coup.
SCOTT-RAILTON: It is very concerning for people who tracked ISIS to watch the growth and excitement around Telegram in the far and extreme right because a lot of us ask this question, oh, no, are we back in a situation where this is going to be a really difficult problem to address?
O'SULLIVAN: Former Republican Congressman Denver Riggleman, who has a background in the military and intelligence, says he fears the conversations happening online now could lead to future violence.
DENVER RIGGLEMAN (R), FORMER VIRGINIA CONGRESSMAN: You're seeing this same thing that happened over years and years, you know, with foreign terrorist organizations. It's the same type of methodology. All the things that you see that can radicalize people based on the fact that this is a -- this is a war between good and evil. You know, if there's a war between good and evil and there's no middle ground, you're willing to do things other people aren't to make sure that you win. And that's when you see radicalized violence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'SULLIVAN: And Telegram has not responded to our request for comment.
Also, law enforcement are not just concerned about the activity on Telegram. They are concerned about what they're seeing across social media and offline as well.
And, John, I will just say, QAnon is obviously crazy. We have heard them, you know, on Inauguration Day. They thought there would be martial law, that Biden wouldn't get inaugurated. They also thought Trump would come back on March 4th.
What I think is concerning now is, neither of those instances Trump was out there sort of endorsing those ideas. But with this whole thing about coming back this summer, he's out there. He's saying he's coming back, as Maggie Haberman reported, and then, as you heard in that package, he's trying to undermine the Biden presidency by saying, if Arizona, if other states fall, how do you govern?
BERMAN: I've got to say, Donie, it was chilling to hear his words and then see the reaction almost in real-time. Really important reporting. Thanks so much for coming in.
O'SULLIVAN: Thanks.
BERMAN: So just in to CNN, a brand-new read on America's recovery. Are more people getting back to work?
KEILAR: And why tens of thousands of Olympic volunteers now say they will not work the Tokyo games.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:48:05]
BERMAN: Good news in the labor market as the economy roars back to life.
Chief business correspondent Christine Romans with the latest jobless claims numbers.
Romans.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know this trend is so clear here. This is the lowest number of new jobless benefit filings of the pandemic, below 400,000 for the first time, 385,000. Normal times that's still too high, but you can see on the chart, John, the trend is very clear here, down five weeks in a row. We still have about 15.4 million people receiving some sort of jobless check. Those are going to start to expire heading into the fall, right? So this number is going to come down, too.
We are marking a brand-new phase of the great American reopening. COVID behind us in terms of the economic calamity it caused and moving forward to the hiring.
Another big report this morning is the ADP private sector payroll number, suggested about a million people were hired. So the hiring is actually happening.
We're going to get the government report tomorrow. It's forecast to show about 650,000 jobs added back in the month at a jobless rate of about 5.9 percent. We'll know for sure in exactly 24 hours. But you can see, we're still down about 8 million jobs in the pandemic. And it feels as though we're turning this corner where the hiring is ahead of us. Still hearing about worker shortages. A lot of hopes that that's going to start to ease as we go into the fall when kids are getting back into school, those jobless benefits expire and people -- their lives start to get more normalized and they can start looking for jobs again, John.
BERMAN: Look, the last month report, a big surprise on the downward end.
ROMANS: That's right.
BERMAN: Tomorrow, we are excited to see what those number shows. You will be back for that.
ROMANS: I will.
BERMAN: Christine Romans, thank you very much.
So just 50 days now until the summer Olympics set to open in Tokyo. There has been pressure to cancel the games. Tokyo is in a state of emergency as COVID spreads and thousands of Olympic volunteers, we learned this morning, have quit.
Joining us now is former NBA champion Chris Bosh. He's also a former Olympic gold medalist in the 2008 summer Olympics, and has a new book, which is wonderful, titled "Letters to a Young Athlete."
[08:50:01]
It's so great to have you here with us. The book is terrific.
You talk about 2008, winning the Olympic gold medal as being one of the highlight of your career, a storied career which includes two NBA titles. What do you think it would be like right now to be an athlete preparing for the Tokyo games with COVID such a major issue?
CHRIS BOSH, 2-TIME NBA CHAMPION, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: I mean, it's -- I mean it is the current event, right? It's a very complicated situation. And it differs from country to country, you know? And you do have to take into account that you have many athletes coming from all over the world.
And in their position, it's just -- it's just super tough. You have to continue to train as if the games are going on and everybody's kind of uncertain -- in an uncertain place right now. But that's one of the things that I always try to talk about and that's one of the reasons I wrote this book. Your daily training is your daily training. You have to continue to put the work in regardless of the things you can't control.
So, you know, we'll see what happens. But, you know, to all the athletes, they have to continue to prepare, continue to, you know, do the regular work that they do and train as if, you know, the gold medals will be handed out this summer.
KEILAR: So tell us about this book. It is to young athletes. And I wonder what you would have told a young, young Chris Bosh -- you're still -- you're still young --
BERMAN: Yes.
KEILAR: But a young, young Chris Bosh, what would you have said to yourself knowing what you know now?
BOSH: I would have -- I like to say just keep going. It's nothing that you can do to change the challenges coming ahead. If you're aspiring to do something great or even just something, there will be obstacles that will come. There will be situations that you cannot control. But the things you can control is your attitude, your work ethic and really your dedication to your craft. And those are the things that I would tell my younger self.
And those are the things that I tell younger athletes and really everyone as well. I try to encourage people to know that, yes, it might get hard, it probably will get hard. And when it does, you have to have the proper tools to continue to keep going, you know. So those are the things. You know, and one of my favorite words with that is perseverance. You know, if you -- if you work on your perseverance, you'll be able to rise to the occasion when that moment of truth comes. But, first, you have to continue to work. You have to continue to practice. And, really, you have to continue to believe in yourself and know that you're going to make it happen when it's time.
BERMAN: Yes, figure out who you are and be the best version of you that you can be. That's sort of what you write about, figure out your why.
I want to talk about one of the ugly things that we're seeing right now in the NBA, just this ridiculously bad behavior from the fans.
BOSH: Yes.
BERMAN: You know, what do you -- what do you make of that, and how much of it do you think is racially motivated?
BOSH: You know, there are racial undertones. Let's, you know, be frank about that. This is America. This country was founded on slavery, you know, and we have to -- we have to understand that in order to go forward. So you can say that it is racially motivated in a sense.
But, you know, I just want to make sure that we're respecting the game. Respect the game. Respect the players. That's what it comes down to. We all want to have a good time. At the end of the day, it's entertainment. It's a game. And the players out there are doing their jobs and what they're supposed to do.
And, you know, we all want to enjoy it. And it's especially disappointing to see that sort of behavior after coming from an instance where there were no fans in the game. You know, it's kind of messing it up for everybody. And I don't want those instances to, you know, pretty much spoil the bunch of great fans that come and support their teams, that come and support their players and their communities.
You know, and with that said, I hope that when people go to these games, they think about their actions. They think about the example that they're setting. And, you know, just think about everyone else because we want to enjoy these things. Basketball is a game that brings people together. We should be celebrating these things. You know, we should be having a good time. And if we're not, you know, that's not going to be good for anybody.
So hopefully, you know, the NBA does -- continues to do a better job of cleaning that up. But we all have this social responsibility to ourselves and, you know, our neighbors to make sure we're acting right. We know how to behave. These are things that we tell preschoolers, behave, don't throw, you know? We're grown-ups. We should be able to comprehend and do that and be on our best behavior.
KEILAR: Got to have respect.
And last question, maybe the most important one, will your former Miami teammate LeBron James be eliminated tonight?
BOSH: Well, I have to tell you, it is going to be a tough game. It's not looking good.
BERMAN: Wow.
BOSH: Let's -- that's one of the things, you know, you have to be up front and honest.
[08:55:04]
It's not looking good. You know, they've been dealing with injuries and continuity. They've been trying to get out (ph) the block for the whole season. But, you know, when you have LeBron James on your team, you've always got a shot.
KEILAR: Yes.
BOSH: So, you know, we'll see how they respond tonight. They're at home on their home court. We'll see if they can defend it. But it will be a tough game.
KEILAR: Chris Bosh, it is wonderful speaking with you today on so many topics. Thank you for being here with us this morning.
BOSH: Thank you very much. I appreciate you guys.
BERMAN: Always wished you'd played for the Celtics. If only.
KEILAR: And up next, brand-new CNN reporting on another investigation tied to the sex trafficking investigation involving Congressman Matt Gaetz.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
