Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

Brutal Military Crackdown in Myanmar Continues, At Least 570 People Killed; CDC: Children's Sports Likely Spreading COVID-19; Aide Tells Times Union New York Governor Cuomo Groped Her at Governor's Mansion. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired April 08, 2021 - 16:30   ET

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

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They take us to a shopping center, one of two attacked by arsonists overnight.

[16:30:05]

Like many businesses in Myanmar, they are partially owned by the military. The strong implication from our minders is that the protesters are to blame.

It's a similar story at several burned out factories.

This is the third factory that the military wanted to show us. They say it's clear proof that the protesters are violent, that they have been setting fire to businesses like this. But the protesters say they had nothing to do with it at all. And the factory owners, who we've spoken to, say they simply don't know who is responsible.

Sandra's Chinese-owned garment factory was completely destroyed. She asked we not show her face.

Do you have any sense of what you will do now?

SANDRA: Waiting for the government to give me some help.

WARD: Who is the government right now in Myanmar? Sorry, is that a hard question?

SANDRA: Yeah. I don't know.

WARD: Every moment of our visit is carefully choreographed. When protesters begin posting about our movements on social media, the military cuts off Wi-Fi across the country. Still from the window of our convoy, we catch glimpses of reality.

Some people from the balcony just flashed three fingers at me. That's the hunger game salute, which has become emblematic of this uprising. I'm speaking very quietly because I don't want our minders to know what they just did because honestly it could be a very dangerous situation for them.

We pass a small protest, rejecting Myanmar's return to half a century of oppressive military rule. Their banner calls for a spring revolution. Our minders won't let us stop. Finally, after days of pushing, we are allowed to visit a public space, an open market. We avoid approaching anyone, mindful of the fact that we are surrounded by security forces. But within minutes, one brave man flashes the three-finger salute.

I saw that you made a sign.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WARD: Tell me what you mean by making that sign. You just stand back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice, justice, we want justice.

WARD: You want justice?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WARD: Moments later, another man approaches.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not scared.

WARD: Not scared?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not weapons. We don't have no weapons. Not scared. But every day fighting, every day, just like that, just like that.

As word of our presence spreads, we hear an unmistakable sound. Banging pots and pans is a tradition to get rid of evil spirits. But it has become the signature sound of resistance.

This young teacher says she ran to talk to us when she heard the noise.

You want democracy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want democracy. We don't want military coup.

WARD: You know we're surrounded by military, like this guy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't -- I'm not afraid at all. If we are afraid, we people around here will not hit the bang and the pan.

WARD: Like many young people, she sees her future being ripped away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't want to go back to the dark age. We lost our voice. And we had democracy only for ten years. We don't have weapons. We don't have guns. Just only we have voice.

WARD: But even words can be punished here.

Not wanting the situation to escalate, we decide to leave the market, as people honk their horns in support of the protest movement.

The junta has grossly underestimated the determination of its people and the growing hatred for the military. In the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, we finally have the opportunity to confront Myanmar's senior military leadership.

MAJOR GENERAL ZAW MIN TUN, MILITARY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): I will tell you the reason why we have to crack down. The protests were peaceful from February 1st to the 8th. The reason for the crackdown was because they blocked civil servants. The security forces were given warnings. Firstly, shouting to break the crowds and then shooting in the air, and the crowds are throwing stones and using slingshots.

WARD: Are you seriously comparing stones and slingshots to assault rifles? The military is using weapons against its own people that really only belong on the battlefield.

TUN (through translator): The main thing is, they are not only using stones and slingshots, we have evidence they use gasoline and Molotov cocktails.

[16:35:07]

You have to add those, too.

For the security forces, they use crackdown weapons for riots. There will be deaths when they are cracking down the riots but we are not shooting without discipline with the rifles we use for the front lines.

WARD: So, this is CCTV footage of a 17-year-old Kyaw Min Latt going past a police convoy. You can see the police shoot him on the spot. His autopsy later said that he suffered brain injury as a result of a cycling accident, which I think we can all see that's not a cycling accident.

How do you explain this?

TUN (through translator): If that kind of thing has occurred, we will have investigations for it. We will investigate it, if it's true or not. There may be some videos which look suspicious, but for our forces, we don't have any intention to shoot at innocent people.

WARD: So this 14-year-old Tun Tun Aung, who was killed by your forces, what do you say to his mother? You say that he was a violent protester? Or what would you say to the father of 13-year-old Htoo Myat Win also shot dead by your forces?

TUN (through translator): We have heard about the deaths of the children, too. There is no reason we will shoot children. This is only the terrorists that are trying to make us look bad.

WARD: But the lies are paper thin. According to the U.N., as of March 31st, at least 44 children have been killed.

Back to Yangon, our minders take us to another market in a military area, keen to show they have popular support. But the ploy backfires.

I understand. A man just told me, we want democracy, as he walked past, but he was too scared to stop and talk. Others are more bold.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please save our country.

WARD: Save your country.

These people are not activists. They are ordinary citizens, and they live in fear of the military. You have goose bumps, like shivering.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are not -- they are not human.

WARD: Yeah, they are not human?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

WARD: They are desperate for the outside world to know their pain. One girl approaches us, shaking.

I feel like you're very nervous. Are you okay?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, yeah.

We are not safe anymore. Even in the night. There are shooters and the shooters shoot the children.

WARD: I don't want you to get in trouble. I don't want you to get arrested, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, thank you.

WARD: All right?

She knows her bravery but this is a resistance built on small acts of great courage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WARD (on camera): And, Jake, I have to tell you, that woman was arrested just after she ran away from us, along with seven other people, who were arrested. Their only crime was talking to CNN, expressing their fears, expressing their hopes for a better future.

Thankfully, they were all released after a couple of days, all eight of them. Really, this is just an illustration, Jake, of how threatened the military is by this popular movement. The military does not have the support of its people. And also an illustration of how extraordinarily brave these men and women are, risking their own security to make the voices of the people heard -- Jake.

TAPPER: Their courage is just unbelievable.

And, Clarissa, Myanmar's special envoy to the United Nations has called for tougher sanctions. What impact would that have?

WARD: Well, there are already sanctions levied against the junta by the U.S., the U.K., and European union. The reality is, sanctions don't give the kind of leverage that is really needed now to have a meaningful impact.

And so far, we just haven't seen that meaningful, united response from the international community, singing from the same song sheet, demanding an end to this military rule. And that's exactly why you saw those people take those risks and come and talk to us, even though we were standing there saying, listen, we are surrounded by security. Be careful.

That's the desperation of a people who don't have any other options and who are desperate to have the world pay attention to what is happening in Myanmar, Jake.

TAPPER: Well, we thank you for helping to bring attention to their plight. We wish that our world leaders were as brave as these common folks, risking everything just to hold up their three fingers and say, we want democracy.

[16:40:04]

Maybe our world leaders can get some courage from these people.

Clarissa Ward, another incredible report. Thank you so much.

WARD: Thank you.

TAPPER: New concern about the pandemic and kids, children who play sports.

Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our health lead, good news, bad news. Good news, about a quarter of all adults in the United States are now fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. But bad news, health experts continue to warn of a potential surge, now putting their focus on younger people, younger adults who have not yet been vaccinated, as well as children who they say are spreading the virus through sports and even through daycare.

[16:45:06]

And as CNN's Alexandra Field reports for us now, with the highly transmissible U.K. variant, now the dominant strain in the United States, it is a race against time to get shots into arms.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. LEANA WEN, EMERGENCY PHYICIAN: Ii actually think that we're in the middle of a fourth surge right now.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): About a third of Americans have received at least one shot that health officials warn we need to move faster, much faster.

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH & POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: We're just not going to be able to get enough people vaccinated quickly enough to keep the rest of the country from experiencing what we're seeing in the Upper Midwest and Northeast.

FIELD: Alarming surges and new infections even as vaccines reach so many of the most vulnerable. Nearly 77 of people over 65 have received at least one shot. But COVID-19 is taking its toll on younger people, not just spring breakers, also school children.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: Clusters of cases in daycare as well as school sports, particularly team sports, which people engage in close contact without masks. I think that is what is explaining these surges of cases in young individuals.

FIELD: More than 75,000 new cases reported Wednesday. Hospitalizations are up in 18 states since last week, and climbing higher, particularly among younger people.

But new research published by the Journal of the American Medical Association shows an overall declining death rate among hospitalized COVID-19 patients is likely not due to their age, but due to better treatments. Giving hope perhaps to the families of the sick, while so many others are coping with loss.

GLORIA SALAZAR, SALAZAR FUNERAL HOMES AND CREMATORY: As if the emotional part of it wasn't enough, to shell out that much money is just incredibly tough.

FIELD: That part will get better. On Monday, FEMA will start providing up to $9,000 per funeral for COVID deaths.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (on camera): And, Jake, we are seeing intensifying emphasis on vaccinating younger people, the Biden administration is saying any senior citizens who have not been vaccinated should make that a priority right now. To that end, we're seeing New York City open up two dozen more vaccination walk-up sites, anyone who accompany a senior citizen to one of those sites can also get a vaccine without an appointment -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Alexandra, thanks so much.

CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now.

Sanjay, as we're getting those new numbers, Sanjay, one in four adults in the U.S. are fully vaccinated. The CDC is also warning that children may be spreading COVID through after-school activities such as contact sports partially because of these highly transmissible new variants like the U.K. variant.

Right now, kids cannot get vaccinated. So, how do we contain the spread?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the basic rules still apply here, Jake. This is a more transmissible variant. I think the way that, you know, it's often described is that things that you kind of got away with over the past couple of months, maybe you were diligent but not as diligent as you could be, this virus will be less forgiving in those regards.

But the basic still apply. Masks still really are quite effective. You're right about the vaccines. It's only 16 and older for the Pfizer vaccine, 18 and older for the other vaccines.

We can show you the age breakdown in terms of who is getting vaccinated. Made perfect sense to vaccinate those people who are older and more vulnerable first. But if you get younger and younger, if we have the graphic, you can put it up. The percentage of people between the ages of 18 and 29 a much smaller percentage, overall, of those people getting vaccinated.

That hopefully will change now. The situation they're trying to avoid is vaccine fade, where you're basically saying things look better, the weather is getting warmer, I don't need a vaccine. I think that that's the mistake. Hopefully, those people will continue to get vaccinated.

TAPPER: As a parent, would you let your kids play sports right now with a mask, without a mask? What's your position?

GUPTA: Not indoors, not without a mask. Not big team sports. I mean, I think schools still, as you and I have talked about quite a bit, can be safe. We've shown that schools can open safely and those same mitigation measures should be effective even with these variants.

But I think the problem with indoors and particularly without masks is the same problem. It's a real breeding ground for the virus. Outdoors with the mask on, things like tennis, where it's not a team sport, is much safer.

My older daughter plays tennis, for example. Again, this particular variant is less forgiving. You've just got to be more diligent than you have. And keep doing the good basic public health practices. Just make sure you don't slip up.

TAPPER: Should schools that are reopening or working toward reopening, should they wait until this new variant is better under control?

GUPTA: Yeah, I don't -- I don't necessarily think so. I mean, there's communities around the country where you have very high viral transmission. And I think, you know, you've got -- probably be a little more careful in those places because there's just so much virus out there.

[16:50:04]

But, Jake, you know, we have shown -- again, you and I have discussed these studies that have shown even in places where there's moderate viral transmission, schools can open safely and often times have lower viral transmission within those schools than the surrounding community. I should also point out that with this particular variant, B.1.1.7, the U.K. variant, the immunity that people get from having previously been infected and the immunity from vaccines is good. It seems to work well against that variant. There is that safety in terms of not getting very sick or dying from this particular variant if you have immunity.

TAPPER: Sanjay, Georgia is lifting all the remaining restrictions today, Governor Kemp declaring Georgia open for business.

What do you make of that? Is that premature, does it make sense?

GUPTA: It's been every step of the way here. I mean, we do things prematurely. We pay the price. I mean, we're so close, we feel the light on our face now in terms of getting to a much better place with this pandemic, and we're going to sort of slow ourselves down.

I'm still optimistic that we are going to get to a much better place over the next few months, but we are going to slow ourselves down and there will be people who get sick, hospitals will become full or at least more patients will be in the hospital than before with COVID than necessary.

So, I mean, the frustration, Jake, it's been a frustration for the long time, is that so much of this doesn't need to happen. There's an urgency. People want to get out and about, I understand that.

But we're going to -- we're going to -- there are going to be people who get sick that don't need to and maybe even people who die that don't need to as a result of these decisions.

TAPPER: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, good to see you as always. Thanks so much.

A female staffer for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo publicly shares her claim that Governor Cuomo groped her. It's an account the governor once called, quote, gut wrenching. And that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:56:07]

TAPPER: In our politics lead today, we are getting troubling details from a staffer who says she was groped by her boss, New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo. In the first detailed description from the aide herself, she tells "The Albany Times Union" newspaper she was alone with the governor in his office when Cuomo inappropriately touched her. She spoke to "The Times" anonymously so CNN has not been able to verify the specifics of her account.

These allegations surfaced a month ago, and they played a big role in prominent Democrats calling for Cuomo to resign. When the account first came to light, Governor Cuomo called it, quote, gut wrenching. He said he'd never done anything like that, and quote: I am not going to speak to this or any other allegation given the ongoing review but I am confident in the result of the attorney general's report, unquote.

CNN's Brynn Gingras has been reporting on this story. She joins us now.

Brynn, what is she saying happened?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Jake, well, these are the most damning accusations we've heard against the governor. And keep in mind, this is coming from a woman who still works in the governor's office.

She actually started working there in 2017, and she thinks and she believes in her account to "The Albany Times Union" that she was groomed by the governor for two years. She says it was around 2019 when the governor's conduct got more aggressive, in her opinion, the hugs lingered a little too long, the kisses were happening. She actually says that the governor groped her or touched her inappropriately on more than one occasion.

But the latest one, she recalls or talked about, was in November when she says she was summoned to the governor's mansion to help him fix his iPhone, which, of course, we have heard that before from other aides who have come forward with allegations against the governor. She says the governor in his office slammed the door shut and started to inappropriately touch her in, quote, a sexually aggressive manner.

She tells the reporter she didn't say, stop. She said, you're crazy, and essentially she believes that that was a hit to Cuomo's ego, because he did stop and basically didn't talk about it with her again, or have any more inappropriate behavior with her again.

However, it did come back up, Jake, according to this reporting, soon after one accuser, the first accuser, Lindsay Boylan, came forward with her accusations. She said she was working with the governor and he sort of made these comments to her that she couldn't talk about what they have talked about in private because he could get in big trouble. She sort of took that as a threat from the governor, which made her uneasy.

And then, of course, this all did just explode and come out, like you said, a month ago when women came forward, like Charlotte Bennett and then the governor basically said, I didn't touch anyone inappropriately. She essentially started crying, hearing his response to these accusations. And a colleague of hers actually brought it to the attention of a senior staff, and then it went to the New York attorney general's office.

So, this has been sort of a process that we have seen unfold. But, again, the most damning accusations that we've seen yet.

TAPPER: Yeah, because it's not just sexual harassment, the allegation. It's sexual assault, really. The governor is responding. What is he saying?

GINGRAS: Yeah. So, the governor's lawyer is responding, essentially saying that the governor has repeatedly made clear he never made inappropriate advances or inappropriately touched anyone. The attorney general's review of this claim and others including evolving details and new public statements by complainants or their surrogates must be the thorough, fair and provide the truth. And it's important to note, Jake, that we are understanding that she

has also spoke to the New York attorney general's investigators as that investigation is still ongoing.

TAPPER: All right. A very, very serious allegation. Though the governor, obviously, has essentially denied all of the allegations.

GINGRAS: Yeah.

TAPPER: Brynn Gingras, thank you so much.

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @JakeTapper. You can tweet the show @TheLeadCNN.

Our coverage continues right now. I will see you tomorrow.

[17:00:00]