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The Lead with Jake Tapper

George Floyd Memorial; Biden Sets May 1 Goal For Adult Vaccine Eligibility; President Biden Touts COVID Relief Plan. Aired 4-4:30p ET

Aired March 12, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:02]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Stanley Tucci explores the beautiful region of Tuscany in this one, from the art, the food, the culture. There is nowhere else quite like it. Again, please tune in Sunday night, 9:00 Eastern and Pacific.

That's it for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me.

Let's go to Washington. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

And we begin with the politics lead.

Last hour, President Joe Biden celebrated the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill called the American Rescue Plan. That is now law, assuring that millions of suffering Americans help has arrived, he said,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Think of the millions of people go to sleep at night staring at the ceiling, thinking, my God, what am I going to do tomorrow? I lost my health care. Don't have a job. Unemployment runs out. I'm behind on my mortgage.

What are we going to do? Well, guess what? They're going to be getting that check soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That $1,400 check could land in your bank account as soon as this weekend, President Biden said.

Democratic congressional leaders were also present to tout the plan, though not a single Republican was there, given that not one Republican voted for the legislation. Right now, President Biden is going to try to boost public support for the law, as he marks two new dates on every American's calendar.

May 1, that's when he says every adult will be eligible to get a COVID vaccine, and July 4 to mark something of a new independence from coronavirus with small gatherings with friends and family, though we should note many Americans did that last Fourth of July. Right now, about 66 million Americans have gotten at least one vaccine

dose, with an average of 2.2 million doses being administered a day.

Now, as CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports, President Biden wants to maintain and speed up that pace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I wish I could come out and shake hands with every one of you.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Moments ago, a Rose Garden victory dance for President Biden, as he touted his first major piece of legislation.

BIDEN: It's one thing to pass the American Rescue Plan. It is going to be another thing to implement it.

COLLINS: Because the plan was passed with zero Republican support, the ceremony was bicameral, but not bipartisan.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We Democrats made promises. We said, if we gained the Senate, kept the House and elected the president, we would finally get things done.

COLLINS: President Biden, Vice President Harris and their spouses will fan out across the country next week as he seeks to ensure that the American Rescue Plan lives up to its name.

On the road, Biden is also expected to tell the promises he made in his prime-time address.

BIDEN: If we do this together, by July the Fourth, there's a good chance you, your families and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout and a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day.

COLLINS: But Biden said his July 4 timeline comes with conditions.

BIDEN: I need every American to do their part. That's not hyperbole, I need you.

COLLINS: Meanwhile, his top aides are cautioning it won't be a complete return to normal by July 4.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We're not talking about a July 4 celebration on the Mall. We're not quite there yet, right? And we're not talking about soccer stadiums being filled in communities across the country.

COLLINS: To achieve his goal, Biden is directing states to make all adults eligible for the vaccine no later than May 1 with this caveat:

BIDEN: Let me be clear. That doesn't mean everyone's going to have that shot immediately. But it means you will be able to get in line beginning May 1. COLLINS: One challenge federal health officials are still facing is vaccine hesitancy, including polls showing Republicans are more reluctant to get vaccinated than Democrats.

PSAKI: We recognize, as a Democratic administration, with a Democratic president, that we may not be the most effective messenger to communicate with hard-core supporters of the former president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Now, Jake, a reminder, those stimulus checks are going to start to go out this weekend.

As for the rest of the plan, you heard President Biden say earlier the devil is going to be in the details in how they actually get this implemented. So they are going to have an event here at the White House on Monday to talk about that, though they have yet to name who it is that's going to oversee it.

They have said they are going to put someone in charge of that.

And, of course, one more thing. I would be remiss if I did not wish you a happy birthday.

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: No need to remind me.

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: Thank you so much, Kaitlan Collins. I appreciate it.

Let's discuss.

Jackie, we have seen President Biden so far undersell, presumably so he can then overdeliver. He talked about one million vaccine shots a day, though, when he took office, the pace was already at 980,000 a day.

Do you think President Biden's new goals for May 1 and July 4 are part of that strategy, underselling and overdelivering?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No, it's interesting.

[16:05:01]

I mean, experts that we spoken to The Daily Beast aren't so sure, because one of the biggest challenges in terms of distribution is that this is up to the states. And each state is handling it a different way. And so maybe some of these smaller states, he may be able to meet these goals.

But in some of these larger states, perhaps not. And you might -- Kaitlan mentioned vaccine hesitancy. There are a lot of factors here, which is I think why you had the president say -- using the caveats ,saying that the devils in the details, that it's up to you have to do your part, that sort of thing.

So, we will see. But it really -- it was striking that he did put these hard deadlines on the -- for these milestones, because it really does -- he's going to be held to that.

TAPPER: And, Gloria, today, the White House would not say what specific metrics they wanted to see to make that 4 four goal happen.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.

TAPPER: What do you make of that? And if we see a surge of cases, for whatever reason, including the new variants, does -- is there a risk here for President Biden? Will he be blamed?

BORGER: Yes, I think there is a risk.

And as he said last night in his speech, he said, look, if I fail, I'm going to tell you I failed. I'm going to tell you the truth. And I'm going to be honest with you.

So, we -- I think we can take him at his word on that. There's variation in the states on all of this. And I think that, if there's a surge of cases, we don't know why there would be a surge of cases. Maybe it's not only because of vaccine hesitancy, but maybe it's because, as our poll shows, 77 percent of the people think that the -- that we're through COVID, basically, and they let down their guard

TAPPER: Yes.

BORGER: There are all kinds of reasons that things can still go awry.

And I think sort of setting these deadlines was not only risky business, but I think it was a way for the White House, which has been talking about the dark winter for so long, it was a way for them to give people a little optimism, like, oh, wait a minute, it is really around the corner if we just do our part.

TAPPER: And, Jackie, take a listen to how President Biden says we're going to achieve those two milestones, May 1 and July 4.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We're going to go from a million shots a day that I promised in December, before I was sworn in, to maintaining, beating our current pace of two million shots a day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, maintaining and beating where we are right now, which is two million shots a day. Notably, he's not putting a new number on doses a day. He's not saying three million. He's not saying 2.5 million. He's just saying maintaining or beating.

That gives him a lot of wiggle room. Again, I see this as part of the underpromise and overdeliver strategy. KUCINICH: And the other thing that he can't really control is the

production of the vaccine, because, right now, that has been slower, I think, than the White House anticipated.

So, yes, they definitely need this wiggle room. Another thing I just -- I didn't mention earlier, and I should have, different states are dealing with lifting restrictions differently in terms of these factors. Texas doesn't have any anymore. Will we see spikes there, with all of these variants? That is possible.

And so, again, there are a lot of -- there are a lot of things that could go awry here. And this is a risk putting these hard deadlines on everything from schools to vaccinations.

TAPPER: And, Gloria, President Biden is only vowing that a majority of K-8 classes open up by the end of his first 100 days. But he's gotten funding for school upgrades through this COVID relief legislation.

He has prioritized vaccinating teachers. Why not make that goal a bit loftier? Or is it again part of this underpromise?

BORGER: Well, it could be, but these changes in schools take a while. They just don't happen overnight. You get the funding. And then you have to get more classrooms, you have to put dividers between students, all the kind of stuff that costs a lot of money, as you know.

And so there may be a lag in getting -- in getting this all done. And, again, you don't want to promise something to parents who want their children to go back to school, and then not be able to deliver on that.

TAPPER: Yes.

BORGER: So, I think you got to -- they're being really, really careful, some say too careful, about getting kids back in classrooms.

TAPPER: All right, Jackie and Gloria, great to see you. Thank you. Have a great weekend.

It's where George Floyd...

BORGER: Thanks. Happy birthday.

TAPPER: Thank you.

It's where George Floyd gasped some of his last breaths. But that massive memorial is also a source of tension in the Twin Cities. We're going to go inside to show you how.

Grandparents getting to hug their grandkids for the first time in a year -- the hope that normal is approaching, with a warning that the pandemic is far from over.

Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:13:56]

TAPPER: A major milestone just in the health lead, and it's a good one.

More than 100 million COVID vaccines, more than 100 million have now been administered in the U.S. since shots first started going into arms in December, this as just in the last month COVID deaths in the U.S. have dropped 48 percent, hospitalizations for COVID also trending down, with a 48 percent drop in the last month, daily cases of COVID also down 47 percent since February.

Now, despite all this, health experts are warning do not get complacent. They caution we're nowhere near done with COVID, as CNN's Amara Walker reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take off your mask.

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After one long year, grandparents finally able to hug their children and grandchildren.

EVELYN SHAW, GRANDMOTHER: My daughter and granddaughter came to my apartment tubes give me a little gift they said. And the gift was the prescription from the doctor. And it said, you are allowed to hug your granddaughter.

[16:15:02]

WALKER: More reunions like these are on the horizon, greater numbers of people getting vaccinated, with a he record 2.9 million vaccinations reported today.

President Joe Biden in his prime-time address to the nation Thursday setting a goal of getting closer to normal by the Fourth of July, but imploring everyone to get vaccinated.

BIDEN: I need you. I need every American to do their part. I need you to get vaccinated when it's your turn.

WALKER: The president also announcing his directed all states to make all adults vaccine-eligible by May 1.

ANDY SLAVITT, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER FOR COVID RESPONSE: Again, that doesn't mean that, May 1, everyone's going to be able to get the shot in their arm. But on May 1, you should be able to get a date in which you will have a shot your arm, if you haven't had one already.

WALKER: Beginning today, Maryland is reopening businesses, including restaurants, gyms and places of worship, at full capacity, though a mask mandate and social distancing requirements will remain in place.

New Orleans also allowing some businesses, including restaurants, to increase to 75 percent capacity, with masking and social distancing still required. It's scenes like these in Florida that experts worry will hurt progress, maskless spring break revelers gathering in crowds. Officials in Miami Beach tell CNN they expect the highest number of tourists since the pandemic began this weekend and next.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody keeps saying COVID doesn't exist down here in Florida, so...

(LAUGHTER)

WALKER: Concerns over spring break travel prompting the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools to move the district to virtual learning for one week after students return.

The TSA reporting a spike in air travel. The TSA screened 1.2 eight million people on Thursday, making it the third busiest day at American airports since the pandemic started. The CDC, however, is cautioning against travel, even for the vaccinated, saying it would consider revising its guidance once more people get their shots.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: We are very worried about transmissible variants. A lot of them have come through our travel corridors. So we're being extra cautious right now with travel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: And, Jake, you can see all around me that the spring break crowds have already begun to descend upon Miami Beach. In fact, as I was mentioning, it is expected to be one of the busiest weekend's since the pandemic began for the greater Miami area.

Just look at the numbers. I'm told by tourism officials they project a 72 percent hotel occupancy rate for this month of March. Compare that to an 88 percent hotel occupancy rate in March of 2019, yes, before the pandemic, so, when you compare the two, not really a big difference between then and now -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Amara, thank you so much, Amara Walker in Miami.

Let's bring in CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

So, Sanjay, there is nuance in the president's push to make all adults eligible for a vaccine by May 1. Even Biden acknowledges everybody isn't going to have a shot in their arm by May 1, but they can start getting in line and there will be enough vaccine for them.

Do you think that that's true, that there will be enough vaccine to meet the possible demand by May 1?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think, numbers-wise, that there will be enough vaccine. And we sort of have been trying to piece this together as well.

If you look at the three vaccines that are out there, Moderna and Pfizer, we knew there was going to be 200 million doses of each of those. And, of course, there are two shots each. So that's 100 million people for each of those vaccines.

But I think what we have learned over the last day or a couple days is the -- what was happening with Johnson & Johnson -- we knew there was me 20 million doses by the end of March. And then we were told by the beginning of July, there should be 100 million doses total. Now we're hearing the Johnson & Johnson lots be accelerated as well.

That might have something to do with the fact that they're bringing in Merck, another pharmaceutical company, to help with that production. So, numbers-wise, yes. Logistics, it's a challenge, especially to get to some of the harder-to-reach areas.

So, as you said, people can sign up, everyone, eligible by May 1. And they think, over the month, 200-250 million people, roughly, if they want it, total will be vaccinated by then.

TAPPER: Biden was also quick to clarify his optimism for cookouts and backyard parties to be safely held on the Fourth of July. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: That doesn't mean large events, with lots of people together, but it does mean small groups will be able to get together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Sanjay, we just saw in Amara's piece spring break in Florida is going to happen. There are a lot of people there that are converging on the spring break destinations. And I know that the concern about outdoor activity is much less than the concern about indoor activity.

But you see states relaxing the rules on masks. Soon, that might not apply in the workplace. What about learn -- what are we learning about a plan possibly coming from the Biden administration when it comes to when people should mask, especially at work?

GUPTA: Yes, this is really interesting.

And this was something that's sort of been being planned almost since the beginning of this administration. So, this has to do with an organization called OSHA. It's an occupational safety regulatory organization.

[16:20:04]

And they regulate lots of different both private and public workplaces. So, the situation is this, Jake. The federal government may say, we're recommending masks through the CDC. States, obviously, 16 states at least have lifted their mask mandates. Now this third organization may come in and say, OK, that's fine, but when it comes to the workplace, not only do you have to wear a mask, but you have to wear a specific type of mask, a certain filtration of mask, standardization of that process. And if you don't, there may be fines. So it gets a little bit

complicated, Jake, but we will see. We will hear about this on Monday whether or not that sort of regulation may come into play.

TAPPER: Coronavirus has Americans putting off other important medical care at alarming rates.

Today, the CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said that during the pandemic orders for pediatric vaccinations have dropped by about 11 million doses. So children may be less at risk for COVID. But how much are they more at risk for other diseases because they're not going to hospitals to get these immunizations?

GUPTA: Well, I mean, this is a significant concern.

You may remember, Jake, before we were talking about COVID, a year- and-a-half before that, there were measles outbreaks around the country. Now, a lot of that was because of vaccine hesitancy, an issue that we're talking about now -- it's not new -- because people were hesitant about those childhood vaccines as well.

But these are very preventable diseases that may have resurgences because of the fact that people aren't getting vaccinated, not -- again, not because of hesitancy in this case, just because they haven't been going to the doctor's office during this pandemic.

So we will see. I mean, it may take some time to understand the full impact of that. But measles is a good example of something we may see recurrences of.

TAPPER: I hope not, but we will see what happens.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much. Have a great weekend.

A year after the shooting of Breonna Taylor, her mother is still waiting for justice and talking to CNN.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:40]

TAPPER: We're back with our national lead.

This afternoon, a seventh juror was selected in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on the neck of George Floyd for nearly eight minutes in May 2020. Today, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a $27 million settlement with Floyd's estate, which had sued the city for fostering a culture of excessive force, among other things.

Meanwhile, the site of Floyd's death has served as a memorial and a place for prayer since last May, but now it's surrounded by barricades and increasing violence, as CNN's Sara Sidner reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The place where George Floyd took some of his last breaths is both sacred space and at times a battlefield.

JEANELLE AUSTIN, GEORGE FLOYD GLOBAL MEMORIAL: We are a grieving community.

SIDNER: On any given day, at any given hour, the situation changes here. When we arrived, caretakers were cleaning up. There was nothing but calm and black joy.

But this past Saturday, gunshots rang out. A man was killed steps away from where Floyd suffered. Business owners and some residents complain the sound of gunshots are not uncommon.

SAM WILLIS JR., OWNER, JUST TURKEY: They can have any time. Yesterday, like we had mentioned, it happened that -- it was 1:00 in the afternoon, over 20 shots fired.

SIDNER (on camera): In order to get into George Floyd Square, which is what they have dubbed the area where George Floyd took his last few breaths, you have to pass through barricades on every single side.

(voice-over): There are also resident-appointed guardians of the square, sometimes refusing entry, none of it sanctioned by the city.

AUSTIN: It's predominately white neighbors who they weren't -- they weren't allowing the police in because they were protecting the black community, because they saw what happened three weeks earlier.

SIDNER: Resident Jeanelle Austin has spent nearly a year collecting and preserving every single memento for a George Floyd Global Memorial art installation. She says no trust has been built between the community and police there.

While she and others like Billy Briggs are busy making a space for art, other citizens have taken up the role of policing and even medical services in the area.

BILLY BRIGGS, SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS RESIDENT: The square is open to anybody that wants to come. We don't dictate free will. But we are going to look out for the safety of our community members, of the visitors.

SIDNER (on camera): What do you say to people who say, look, this is the police's job, this is the EMS' job?

AUSTIN: We work with EMS. EMS, we work with.

SIDNER: And the police?

AUSTIN: The police, they need to work on themselves. There is a distrust. They have not corrected themselves. The way -- the police work for some people and not for others. SIDNER (voice-over): The police chief, who last May prayed at the

intersection while the city raged over Floyd's death, says it's time for the square to open up again.

MEDARIA ARRADONDO, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, POLICE CHIEF: If there's anyone who can -- who's over in that space who's saying that that is truly about uplifting that intersection in his name, but yet the violence is continuing, the homicides are continuing, I would disagree vehemently with that position.

SIDNER: That will not happen easily. The community has given the city 24 written demands in exchange for opening up the square.

AUSTIN: If you lift those barriers, without first providing restorative justice to the community, people are going to forget about the harm and the trauma caused to this community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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