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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Gaetz Associate Says Congressman Paid for Sex with Minor in Letter Obtained by the Daily Beast; GOP Fracture on Full Display in Cheney, McCarthy Feud; White House Restricts Travel from India; Biden Continues To Wear Mask Despite Being Fully Vaccinated; Moderna Predicts People Will Need Booster Shot After 9-12 Months; Biden Rallying Support For His Ambitious $6T Spending Plan, Attempting To Get GOP Support With Infrastructure; GOP Lawmakers Push Bills In 30 Plus States Targeting Protesters; Dozen Killed In Crush At Religious Festival In Israel. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired April 30, 2021 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the third Ranking Member of Republican leadership under fire from inside her own party again for daring to tell the truth about Trump and the big lie and speaking of Trump allies. New details today about what the Feds were looking for when they raided Rudy Giuliani's office and apartment. Plus, a letter obtained by the Daily Beast in which an associate of Congressman Matt Gaetz says that the Florida Republican paid for sex with multiple women, including a minor. And we're going to begin with that letter written by Joel Greenberg, who is a central figure in the ongoing federal investigation into Congressman Matt Gaetz. The Daily Beast says Greenberg wrote up the details of their affairs after asking Roger Stone for help obtaining a pardon from President Trump.
CNN's Paula Reid has been following the story. And Paula, CNN has not actually seen this letter. We cannot verify the details of The Daily Beast story, but the details are, wow.
PAULA REID, CNN LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Wow is exactly right. And Jake, my law license is a little dusty, but it is never a good idea to put any of your crimes in writing. And in this letter, Greenberg reportedly admits that he and Gaetz paid multiple women for sex and that one of these women was underage.
Now, Greenberg claims that they thought she was 19 and then realize that she was actually underage. As you noted, though, we haven't seen these letters. But this does track with our reporting. Over the past month, we've spoken with several women who exchange money for sex with these two men. All of these women though were of age, and we've seen the receipts this completely tracks with what we've heard in our own reporting.
Now our own Chris Cuomo spoke with Roger Stone last night. Stone though says, he doesn't remember a letter. He doesn't remember Greenberg implicating Gaetz, and he says he never received any money from Greenberg and never tried to get him a pardon.
TAPPER: So, what are Congressman Gaetz and this former associate Joel Greenberg saying today?
REID: Greenberg's attorney declined to comment. But a spokesman for Gaetz released a statement saying Gaetz has never paid for sex, nor is he had sex with a 17-year-old as an adult.
They also argue that this specific story claims are shows that Representative Gaetz was long out of touch with Mr. Greenberg and had no interest in involving himself in Mr. Greenberg's affairs. That's not what this story actually reflects. And our reporting is, of course, Mr. Greenberg, who is behind bars right now he's facing 33 federal counts. Sources tell us he's been cooperating with federal authorities since last year. And he's been telling investigators about these encounters that he and the Congressman had with women, exchanging money for sex. And we could learn more about what he's told investigators as he is expected to finalize his plea deal in the next few months.
TAPPER: All right, Paula, thanks so much.
And now we go to Rudy Giuliani and the new revelations from the New York Times today about what the federal agents were looking for when they raided Giuliani's home and office earlier this week and how it all may connect to the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and to Giuliani's efforts to get her fired, efforts that aligned with the desires of various corrupt Eastern European officials. What may be in the evidence collected puts Giuliani in the middle of a growing federal investigation. As CNN's Alex Marquardt, now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): When federal agents swooped in this week, raiding the New York apartment and office of Rudy Giuliani, they were reportedly trying to zero in on the role that Giuliani played in ousting the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. According to The New York Times, one search warrant stated it was seeking evidence related to the Yovanovitch alster (ph). FBI agents seized Giuliani's electronic devices to investigate communication that he had with Ukrainians about the effort.
RUDY GIULIANI, TRUMP'S PERSONAL LAWYER: That warrant is completely illegal.
MARQUARDT: On Fox News, Giuliani denied he was acting on behalf of Ukrainians and blasted the prosecutor's decision to search his home and office.
GIULIANI: There is no justification for that warrant. It is illegal unconstitutional warrant, one of many that this department of injustice tragically has done.
MARQUARDT: Warrants were executed against Giuliani's assistant and fellow lawyer Victoria Toensing, who also had dealings with Ukrainians. Ambassador Yovanovitch was a career diplomat who focused on anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine. Giuliani's allies wanted her out and enlisted his help. During the first impeachment of Donald Trump, Yovanovitch accused Giuliani of mounting a smear campaign against her.
MARIE YOVANOVITCH, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: I do not understand Mr. Giuliani's motives for attacking me, nor can I offer an opinion on whether he believed the allegations he's brought about me.
MARQUARDT: Giuliani's efforts worked, Trump was convinced and Yovanovitch was removed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you need her out of the way?
GIULIANI: I didn't need her out of the way. I forced her out because she's corrupt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT (on camera): Now sources have told CNN that while Giuliani was working with the Ukrainians, the Trump administration was warned that some of the information that was being given to him was from foreign intelligence. We know that one of his primary Ukrainian contacts according to U.S. intelligence was an agent for the Russian. So, Giuliani almost certainly would have been aware that there were serious concerns about the people he was dealing with. And Jake, what their intentions were.
[17:05:20]
TAPPER: All right, Alex Marquardt, thanks so much. I appreciate it. There is an elephant in the room. It's the post-Trump Republican Party where things have gotten so bad. Congresswoman Liz Cheney, maybe to defend her basic civility that fist bump she did with the President of the United States earlier this week. Cheney is the third ranking Republican, the House GOP Conference Chair and she has been duking it out with the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy over not just fist bumps but over McCarthy's embrace of President Trump and President Trump's election lies and what should be the future of the fractured GOP, as CNN's Manu Raju explains.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Congresswoman Liz Cheney facing new turmoil internally amid her feud with former President Donald Trump and his House GOP loyalists erupting after the Congresswoman responded to questions and a GOP retreat this weekend Florida, all stemming from Trump and his role in the deadly January 6 attack on the Capitol.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should Donald Trump be charged and prosecuted with everything?
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): Well, that's a decision that the Justice Department is going to have to make.
RAJU: Saying Trump is not the leader of the party.
CHENEY: I think our elected leaders, you know, are the ones who are in charge the Republican Party.
RAJU: A senior House Republican member told CNN that Cheney could be in very big trouble and expected that there could be another attempt to kick her out of leadership. The members said lawmakers were "really upset she trampled all over messaging during the party retreat." A fist bump with the current president of the United States this week, even leaving Cheney to tweet we're not sworn enemies. We're Americans. The fallout underscoring how Trump's appeal to the base still makes him the GOP his dominant figure despite his electoral defeat, many even endorses lie that the 2020 election was rigged, following her vote to impeach Trump, Cheney surviving attempt to oust her by a wide margin after House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy called on his colleagues to keep her in the number three job get the attention has only simmered the two have not appeared together at a press conference since this incident more than two months ago.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe President Trump should be speaking -- of former President Trump should be speaking at CPAC this weekend?
KEVIN MCCARTHY, HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER: Yes, he should.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congresswoman Cheney?
CHENEY: That's up to CPAC, I've been clear on my views about President Trump and the extent to which following -- the extent to which following January 6. I don't believe that he should be playing a role in the future of the party or the country.
RAJU: A source told CNN McCarthy remains furious with Cheney. This week he declined to back her up.
Is Cheney still a good fit for your leadership team, do you believe?
MCCARTHY: That's a question for the conference.
RAJU: Today McCarthy's number two Steve Scalise making clear he's not in agreement with Cheney.
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): President Trump is still a very active part of our party and a vocal leader in our party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU (on camera): So, Cheney does still have ample allies within the House Republican conference, including those who voted to impeach Donald Trump like Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, who I spoke with this afternoon. And he told me if a prerequisite for leading our conference is lying to our voters, then Liz is not the best fit. Jake.
TAPPER: Well, that's exactly the issue. Manu Raju, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
There's even more going on in the Republican Party. This isn't -- this next story is involving Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene taking a bit of a road trip. We're going to keep discussing that next. Plus, moves across the U.S. to try to limit protests, including some Republican legislators proposing immunity for drivers who hit protesters who are blocking traffic, that story ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:12:41]
TAPPER: In our politics today, Congressman Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida seemingly unfazed by allegations that he paid for sex with multiple women including a woman who was a girl at the time 17. He's hitting the road, Gaetz, with another controversial member of his caucus, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Georgia. They're planning to go after Republicans they deem insufficiently loyal to former President Donald Trump.
Let's discuss. And while we do I want to take a moment to welcome back Karen Finney. Karen, I know you had major surgery and your recovery has been amazing. And you look and sound great. Thanks so much for joining us. And we're so glad to have you back. I know you want to say something, let's wait until the end of the segment for that. But let's talk about this. This tour was announced right after the Daily Beast reported on that letter from Gaetz' Associate Joel Greenberg, he goes into detail about how Gaetz found out that one of the girls he had sex with and paid for was an underage girl, allegedly, aside from a denial from the Gaetz spokesperson. He's just acting like everything's normal.
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, well, of course he -- look, I think this situation highlights a larger problem that Kevin McCarthy has. And he may even want to take a page out of the Pelosi leadership playbook here. You know, he's got Marjorie Taylor Greene. He's got Matt Gaetz, and he's not been able to really unify his caucus behind a single idea. Instead, McCarthy's been majoring in the minors, you're going to see Matt Gaetz, and people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, continue to behave this way and create these distractions of the Republican Party. And I guarantee you, it's not what the rank and file want to be talking about right now.
TAPPER: Yeah, it might not be what the rank and file want to be talking about right now. But M.K., I'm sure Donald Trump loves it, this idea of an America first tour with Greene and Gaetz going around and attacking fellow Republicans that aren't loyal enough to him.
MARY KATHARINE HAM, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, no, I'm sure that that's right up his alley. I want to also thank you for the opportunity to read deeply into this Matt Gaetz story. You will not surprise that I'm not a fan politically or ideologically of Matt Gaetz, but I do want to -- it's incumbent upon me to be about the story and he has denied --
[17:15:01]
TAPPER: Yeah, all of it, absolutely.
HAM: -- head and there have been no indictments of him. There are of his associate and we will find out more about this as we go along. So I just want to be --
TAPPER: Totally.
HAM: -- even when I love someone, I want to point that out. And so, but him going on the road with Marjorie Taylor Greene, this is like an Instagram tour, right? It's about pumping up followers that probably don't need to be pumped up. I would say that many of them are probably enthused about their wing of the party regardless, and this is a fight that the Republican Party is going to have to have between who is the face of the party. Is it somebody like a senator from South Carolina? Tim Scott, or is it Marjorie Taylor Greene's of the world, and that fight is going to be fought in a lot of primaries, and it could be pretty damaging to the party depending on which way it goes.
TAPPER: And in that vein, Karen, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, had to actually issue a statement after she said hi to Joe Biden and gave him a fist bump. And members of the Republican caucus were upset about that. Just -- I mean, she didn't say I mean, she issued a blistering statement about what Biden was proposing, but she just acknowledged that he's the president and was a human being to him.
FINNEY: OK, I think for most people watching that, that was a positive for Liz Cheney, to be appropriately respectful. When the President of the United States appropriately shows you respect. I don't think most Americans, and even most Republicans in her own district are going to fault her for that. They're going to pay attention to whether or not she supports Biden's policies. This goes back, Jake, to what I'm saying about majoring in the minors. The Republican Party, as M.K. was just saying, it's got to figure out how do you come together? How do you unify, regardless of your differences? You've got the Trump Republicans, you've got traditional Republicans attacking Liz Cheney, attacking, you know, Kamala Harris, using a milk carton that's not putting forward ideas and policies that are going to do anything to actually tear into Joe Biden high poll numbers.
TAPPER: Yeah.
FINNEY: Or behind those ideas.
TAPPER: M.K. sources tell CNN that some members of the Republican caucus are irritated because Cheney continues to go head to head with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, continues to take a stand in favor of facts when it comes to -- and it's not how they would put it, but how I would put it, how facts would put it about what happened in the election and her opinion about how Trump shouldn't be the leader of the party. What do you think? I mean, should she stop? Or should you just hold her ground?
HAM: Yes, she shouldn't stop. Cheney has made very clear that she's going to be very clear about her position, right? And I think that is the right thing to do. And when you're elected, you should take the opportunity to speak the truth and speak it forcefully, when given the chance. And if you think your party's headed in the wrong direction, which she does under the leadership of a more Trump like figure, and you want the party to find somebody who might bring these two coalitions together, which I think is the healthy next step for a Republican party. And I'm not sure that person can be Trump, then you need to be speaking about it. And I think Karen is exactly right. That acting like a human while interacting with Joe Biden, President Biden can actually or, criticisms of his policy more powerful, because that's what you're actually talking about. You're not talking about him. And so I think that's helpful to the party. And I think she's also right about McCarthy. If you don't put down a foot with the Marjorie Taylor Greene's and Matt Gaetz' of the world doing these rallies or things that you don't want emphasize. They will -- they'll do exactly what they can do. And he has not shown the ability to put his foot down on that.
TAPPER: Yeah. M.K., it's great to see you. Karen, before we say goodbye, I just want to give you an opportunity to say something. I know it's been a long road for you recovering from your surgery, and we're so glad to have you back.
FINNEY: Well, thank you, Jake, so much. As you know, in February, I actually had brain surgery, I have a tumor removed. And it's just when I tell you that I am grateful to be here, I mean that from the bottom of my heart. And I want to say thank you to you, the team at the lead, my CNN family, my family, my friends, for your support, and your prayers, I would not be here today without that.
TAPPER: Well, we're so glad.
FINNEY: So, thank you.
TAPPER: And we love you and we love M.K. and we're glad you're both here. Thank you so much.
HAM: Awesome to see to Karen.
TAPPER: Yeah.
FINNEY: Thank you, you too, M.K.
TAPPER: Coming up, the White House now announcing it will start restricting travel from India to the United States as the COVID crisis escalates there. Stay with us.
[17:20:06]
TAPPER: In our health lead as the Situation continues to deteriorate in India, hospitals overrun and out of supplies, crematoriums piling up bodies. The Biden administration is planning to restrict travel from India starting Tuesday in an effort to contain the spread there, while the U.S. continues to see progress, of course. More than 100 million Americans are now fully vaccinated, and deaths are down in the U.S. 80 percent since just January. Unsurprising, as that's when vaccinate efforts here really ramped up. But with vaccine hesitancy still a major issue. The CDC says they are now laser focused on convincing Americans who are still hesitant to get shots into arms, including almost half of Republicans according to polls, as CNN, Alexandra Field reports.
[17:25:18] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A major milestone in America's fight against COVID.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: With 100 million Americans fully vaccinated as of today, we continue to move ahead in our progress to end this pandemic.
FIELD: As more people get vaccinated the average daily number of deaths falling down by 80 percent since the peak in January when 3000 Americans were dying daily, the average number of daily new cases at the lowest level since October.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, (D-NY) NEW YORK CITY: What we've seen in the last weeks has been stunning progress in terms of reducing the levels of COVID, greatly increasing the numbers of vaccinations.
FIELD: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says he's hopeful that one of the country's first COVID epicenters could fully reopen by July 1, Chicago already loosening restrictions that will allow for a return to festivals and bigger events.
MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT (D-IL), CHICAGO: Chicago is safely open for business and play.
FIELD: Kentucky preparing to welcome 50,000 people to the stands for this weekend's Derby. Delta Airlines putting passengers back in middle seats and the return of cruising is on the horizon, as soon as this summer according to the CDC, most critically by fall, President Joe Biden suggests all children should be back in classrooms.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Based on science in the CDC, they should probably all be open.
FIELD: More teens could soon have vaccines too. Moderna is aiming to have its vaccine authorized for children aged 12 and up by summer according to its president. Pfizer's authorization for the same age group could also come soon.
Right now, though, the country's average number of vaccinations has sunk to its lowest level in weeks, 2.6 million daily, and a new CNN poll shows 26 percent of American adults don't plan to get a shot that as so much of the world suffers and struggles to get more vaccines.
In India, just 2 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, their capital city running low on firewood needed to burn bodies.
DR. FARAH HUSAIN, HEAD OF COVID ICU UNIT, LOK NAYAK HOSPITAL: What we are seeing is nothing short of an apocalypse. We've had patients being rushed in almost wards getting filled up overnight, 90 patients in less than 12 hours.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIELD (on camera): Truly a stark and horrifying contrast between what you're seeing in India and the scenes of normalcy that you're starting to see across the U.S. But Jake, requirements and restrictions are not being lifted everywhere. The TSA announcing today that they are extending their massive mandate for travelers, at least through September 13. Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Alexandra Field, thank you so much.
The Dean of Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Ashish Jha joins me now. Dr. Jha, what do you make of New York City's plan to fully reopen on July 1, or the Kentucky Derby packing their stance tomorrow, Disneyland opening up to Californians today? We do have this amazing milestone of 100 million Americans fully vaccinated. But that's less than a third of the U.S. population. Do you think this is too much too soon?
DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Yeah, so Jake, thanks for having me on. I think some of those things sound pretty reasonable July 1 for New York City feels very reasonable. I think by that time, which is still a couple of months away, we're going to make a lot more progress. Packing in stands right now feels it's not just a feeling, I mean, because we have a lot of infection spreading, it seems to me that that's less prudent. And I would wait on that a little bit longer. But certainly, we are headed in the right direction. Infections are falling, vaccinations have to continue. I think we're going to have a really good summer, but we've got to speak a little bit more careful against the big stuff right now.
TAPPER: COVID deaths are down 80 percent since January, which is of course when vaccinations began ramping up. It seems like a pretty clear indicator of how effective these vaccines are.
JHA: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the vaccines just work. They protect you. They prevent you from spreading the virus to other people. I think, you know, we have not really appreciated how lucky we are that we have three terrific, very safe and highly, highly effective vaccines.
TAPPER: The CDC now says that they estimate roughly 35 percent of all of the American people were infected with COVID. That's roughly four times what's been reported. What might that mean for herd immunity?
JHA: Yeah, and you know, we've been tracking this very closely. So that means that probably the half of Americans who have not gotten vaccinated, about a third of that half, probably has immunity from infections. And that gets us into the sort of 60, 65 percent of Americans probably have immunity right now. That's great. It does mean that we're not going to necessarily need to get 90 percent of people vaccinated. But we're going to have to do better than we have are right now, probably another 10, 15 percent before we really see the numbers crash, the way we did in Israel, when the numbers came way, way down.
[17:30:01]
TAPPER: So, President Biden, he's fully vaccinated, but he continues to wear a mask indoors and outdoors, even if he's around only other people who are fully vaccinated. The CDC's messaging is that the vaccine is a path to normalcy. But I wonder about this rule and the example the President is setting, continuing to wear a mask might that make people reluctant to get vaccinated, because they see that and they think that guy's vaccinated, everyone around him is vaccinated, they're still wearing masks? What the heck. Why should I even bother getting a shot?
JHA: Yes, so this is interesting, right? Because I think in the beginning of his presidency, it made a lot of sense, even though he was fully vaccinated. He wanted Americans to be wearing masks, and we all did. And so, I think modeling good behavior was a really good idea. At this point, with vaccines so widely available, infection numbers coming down, I think, certainly outside that the President can feel comfortable dropping the mask. And, you know, in things like the State of the Union Address that he had the other night, again, I think dropping the mask is going to be really important as a signal to people that vaccines are the path out of out of this craziness that we're in.
TAPPER: Moderna says that those who have been vaccinated with their vaccine will likely need a booster shot anywhere from nine to 12 months after they were fully vaccinated. Does that mean because the vaccine is going to lose efficacy around nine months, or is it because like with the flu? I know it's a different kind of shot. But they're updating it because of new variants. What's the reason for it?
JHA: Yes, you know, we've heard this both from Moderna and Pfizer, it's possible, we might need a booster at nine to 12 months. My best sort of estimate looking at the data on vaccine efficacy is these vaccines should last at least a year, if not longer. So, there are two reasons, it may be that you start getting some waning of immunity, that's one reason you might need an earlier booster. It may be that there are enough variants around starting to cause some breakthrough infection, so we want to get a booster. But I think it's a little early to be talking about boosters. Like, I think at this point, we just got more people vaccinated. I'm not worried about most people needing a booster until 2022 at some point,
TAPPER: And earlier in the show, Sanjay was on, Sanjay Gupta, and he told us about his personal connection. He has lots of family and friends in India. He just lost an uncle to COVID, Fareed Zakaria, his mother died in India from COVID. Your Indian American, you have a lot of friends and family still in India, what are you hearing from them? Are they OK?
JHA: Yes, it's a pretty horrible situation, Jake. I have cousins who are infected and one who's very, very sick. It's just -- it's awful. It's affecting every part of India. I know people who have died, people that I've known for a long time, it's just -- it's a very bad situation.
And you know, one of the things about being an American is all of us have some connection to some other country. It's a reminder that this -- there are many reasons to care about the world. This is one of them.
TAPPER: Dr. Ashish Jha, I'm so sorry to hear that. My prayers with your cousin. Thank you so much for talking to us today.
JHA: Thank you.
TAPPER: President Biden visiting a very familiar place today as he makes his pitch to spend trillions of tax dollars. That's next day. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:37:22]
TAPPER: In our politics lead, President Biden, the $6 trillion man, he hit the road again today to try to convince the American people to get behind his ambitious and quite pricey agenda. His $2 trillion American Rescue Plan already passed the House and Senate, but Biden has to sell the next two behemoths tackling infrastructure and so much more. The American Jobs Plan a 2.3 trillion and the American Families Plan at 1.8 trillion. A couple trillion here a couple trillion there. Pretty soon you have real money.
Jeff Zeleny now has more on how Biden hopes to dodge the partisan roadblocks ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to build back better. And today we have a once in a generation opportunity
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Philadelphia today, President Biden rallying support for his ambitious plans to revive and transform the American economy
BIDEN: And like the rest of our infrastructure. We're way behind the rest of the world right now. We need to remember, we're in competition with the rest of the world.
ZELENY (voice-over): The President standing in the shadow of 30th Street Station to mark the 50th anniversary of his beloved Amtrak.
BIDEN: That's an Amtrak.
ZELENY (voice-over): He famously took the train every day from Wilmington to Washington for more than 30 years as a senator.
BIDEN: My name is Joe Amtrak Biden.
ZELENY (voice-over): Biden is asking Congress for $80 billion to improve rail service, a small slice of a sweeping economic plan. Now at the heart of negotiations between the White House and lawmakers.
BIDEN: There's so much we can do. And it's the biggest bang for the buck we can expand.
ZELENY (voice-over): The visit is part of the President sales pitch for his two-part economic agenda. The American Jobs Plan, a $2.25 trillion package aimed in part at fixing the nation's infrastructure. And the American Families Plan, a $1.8 trillion proposal to expand access to education, childcare, and more.
BIDEN: To make investments that can help America get back on track, no pun intended.
ZELENY (voice-over): It's a heavy lift with skepticism from a handful of Democrats and most all Republicans who oppose raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans to pay for the plans. A new CNN poll finds not only a deeply divided country, but one where 70 percent of Republicans believe Biden was not legitimately elected. Yet Biden is seeking bipartisan support. And as invited GOP Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia to the White House to try to find common ground, at least on infrastructure.
BIDEN: We had a good conversation, and I invited her, you know, to come with anyone she wants to bring with her to the White House.
ZELENY (voice-over): The White House is increasingly focused on selling the plan to the American people outside Washington. A group of Buynow-us (ph) launching a new advertising campaign today touting his achievement and praising his approach.
[17:40:05]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You won't hear him yelling or sending angry tweets because for Joe Biden, actions speak louder.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY: Now those ads are part of a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign trying to rally support out in America. But, Jake, the question is, what effect will it have in the Congress? Will any Republicans come on board with this big spending plan? Infrastructure is one area where they do believe they can get some Republican buy in, but likely, not for the entire plan.
And, you know, the question also, can they keep Democrats together? So next week, there will be meetings at the White House, I'm told. This is the central challenge and test facing this administration in the coming months. Jake?
TAPPER: All right, Jeff Zeleny in the great city of Philadelphia, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
One activist says it's an attempt to prosecute black Americans for calling out systemic racism. We're going to take a look at what's going on with all these laws to limit protests across the country. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:45:30]
TAPPER: In the national lead today, a driver who hits a protester with a car might be legally protected because of laws and at least states now, and this, Republicans and 30 others push what they call anti- rioting bills proposed since massive protests last summer after George Floyd's murder, many of which turned violent. The lawmakers of these laws argue that their bills encourage peaceful demonstrations, but some critics told CNN's Leyla Santiago that they believe these bills don't get at the roots of the problem and instead are aimed at trying to silence voices.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOWSON, MEMBER, BLACK LIVES MATTER ALLIANCE: Their gas comes out, the beanbags come out. And it's really hard to understand like, why, why did this happen?
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly a year later, Michael Howson still struggles to make sense of what happened here in Fort Lauderdale, when police violently clashed with the Black Lives Matter protesters following the murder of George Floyd. Now, another worry, a new state law that he believes targets just these kinds of necessary protests.
HOWSON: I believe this was about prosecuting black people for having the nerve to stand up and call out systemic racism and fight against it.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): In Florida, the so-called anti-riot law prohibits damaging memorials or historic property. It prevents defunding police and increases penalties for crimes during a riot, which it defines as three or more individuals whose shared intent to engage in disorderly and violent conduct results in imminent danger of property damage or personal injury or actual damage or injury.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): It is the strongest anti-rioting pro-law enforcement piece of legislation in the country. And there's just nothing even close.
SHEVIN JONES (D), FLORIDA STATE SENATE: Deal with the real problem, deal with the systemic racism in this problem, deal with the real issues before you start legislating against a group of people who are speaking out.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): Florida is not alone. Republicans in more than 30 states have introduced more than 81 bills targeting protesters in the 2021 legislative session. That's according to the International Center for not-for-profit law.
Since the murder of George Floyd sparked protests across the country last year, they tell us more than twice as many bills had been introduced and more are on the way.
ELLY PAGE, SENIOR LEGAL ADVISOR, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR NT-FOR- PROFIT LAW: Fundamentally anti American to respond to protests by seeking to silence them. It seems like state lawmakers are reaching for a tool that's commonly reserved to repressive governments.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): In Indiana, GOP lawmakers want to penalize people for funding protests. Another bill in Minnesota would cut off many public benefits like state loans or assistance to a person convicted of an offense during a protest. And in a move that critics say evokes painful memories of the deadly 2017 car attack on peaceful protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, Republicans in Iowa have proposed granting immunity to drivers who hurt protesters convicted of unlawful assembly or blocking traffic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black community.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS (in unison): Black, black.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black community.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS (in unison): Black, black.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): Democrats where we the new Florida laws broad language could lead to peaceful protesters being detained and silenced. Republicans here cite some of the more violent demonstrations in recent years in other states, in praise the measure for halting violence and protecting police.
SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA: Look at Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis. That's no way to treat the community. That's no way to treat those they've put their entire life into building their business.
HOWSON: Well, that's interesting because, you know, we don't want to be killed by police officers.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): The new law is being challenged in court in Florida.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black Lives Matter.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS (in unison): Black Lives Matter.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): For now, the Black Lives Matter Alliance says it will focus on educating protesters about the new law.
(on-camera): This is nothing (ph)?
HOWSON: It's nothing to stop. No, because we know what our First Amendment rights.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANTIAGO: And Jake, the Black Lives Matter Alliance here in Fort Lauderdale tells me that they plan to spend the next few days reaching out to local law enforcement even sending letters asking them not to enforce this new law.
[17:50:03]
TAPPER: All right, Leyla Santiago in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Thank you so much.
Let's bring in W. Kamau Bell, he's got a new season of a show "United Shades of America" kicking off on Sunday. Kamau, congratulations on the new season. Your reaction to this wave of new Republican legislation in more than 30 states to try to change various laws around protesting. What do you think?
W. KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST, UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA: I mean, this is all just a reaction to the fact that black people, black activists, a lot of black women activists were the engine behind the Democratic Party, electing Joe Biden. And this is a way to strike back against him as far as I'm concerned. And, you know, this anytime black people sort of claim a bigger section of our citizenship in this country, there is a backlash from the right of this country.
TAPPER: Your show this season takes a look at lots of things, but policing in America is certainly one of them in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. In Episode 1, you looked at policing in your home city of Oakland, California. Let's roll a quick look of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: Is this moment different as far as like where we are in America, and specifically around law enforcement?
For me, it's just this moment of being a black man in a police uniform, right? And there are some problems, a systemic problem that's been in policing for a very long time that you know, needed to be routed out. And so you sit in this place where you like, do I fit in, right? Sometimes you even ask the question, do I fit in? I'm a black man before I put on a uniform.
BELL: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when I take it off is, you know, I'm not ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anywhere (ph) why you got it all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Now, the Bay Area have the high-profile Oscar Grant case in 2009. That's the black men killed by a BART officer. Tell us about your takeaways from that case, and whether you thought it had an echo nationwide.
BELL: Well, yes, I live -- was living out here then and that was one of the things that's responsible for my career right now. It really activated me as a citizen and said that we needed to raise up the voices of black people being killed by cops. The Oakland took that very seriously and very personally, and at the time, it was pre- Twitter being the engine of the news and pre-Black Lives Matter. But Oakland lifting up that case, helped push the discussion that got us to Black Lives Matter, and is still part of the discussion right now of how we talk about when black folks and Latino/Latinx folks are killed by cops.
And right now, we have a case out here with Mario Gonzalez who was a drunk guy in the park. People call 911 on him. The cop showed up and they killed him. So, we're still in the middle of this which is why the episode is focused so much on alternate ways to police and create safety for our communities.
TAPPER: W. Kamau Bell, thank you so much. Congratulations again. The premiere of Season 6 of the "United Shades of America" this Sunday night, 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Coming up, it's been called one of the worst disasters in Israel's history, a massive crush at a religious festival. How paramedics describe the disturbing scene, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:57:31]
TAPPER: In our world lead today, things went terribly, terribly wrong in a religious festival in northern Israel for the holiday of Lag B'Omer overnight. At least 45 people, some of them children were killed, and many others injured. What's being described as a crush or a stampede. Let's go right to Israel and CNN's Hadas Gold. Hadas, what happened?
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, this is being described as one of, if not, the worst civil disasters in Israeli history. Last night at 1:00 a.m. as the bonfires, singing and dancing of the Lag B'Omer festivities were well underway, something terrible happened on one of the passageways leading out of one of the grandstands. I was up there earlier today. It's a rather slippery ramp leading towards some stairs. Something happened that led to people falling all over each other, a tangle of bodies, went to 45 people's death, more than 150 people injured.
In the last few hours, we've actually heard from the U.S. State Department, they are confirming that U.S. citizens were among those killed. An official telling CNN that they expect about five U.S. citizens were among the list of those killed.
We've been on the site all day and the shock from last night is turning into anger. There's anger at how this could have happened. How tens of thousands of people could have crowded into this festival especially during coronavirus times. And seemingly what happened to the crowd control, because, Jake, this festival actually happens every year. This is the first time this festival has happened.
So, perhaps what was different this year or perhaps not, how did something this terrible not happen already. Because in the previous years, there have been tens of thousands of people crowding out this festival. Now the Attorney General is launching investigation and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling on Sunday for a national day of mourning, Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Hadas Gold in Mount Meron, Israel. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Before we go, we want to take the time to remember one of the 575,000 lives lost with coronavirus in the U.S. Today we remember Roger Dean, he was just 31 years old. He was a firefighter and a paramedic in Seguin, Texas, which is near San Antonio. His department says Dean was diagnosed with COVID back in December. He died of complications, a week ago today. An Honor Guard lined up at the hospital to pay their respects, fellow firefighters stood in the rain the salute the procession as Dean's remains were moved. His funeral is tomorrow.
To all his friends and family, may his memory be a blessing.
Be sure to tune in the State of the Union Sunday, I'll be joined by White House Senior Advisor Anita Dunn, Republican Senator from Maine, Susan Collins and Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Senator John McCain. That's at 9:00 a.m. and noon on Sunday. Until then, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at JakeTapper. You can tweet the show at TheLeadCNN.
I will see you on Sunday morning. Our coverage continues now with Wolf Blitzer. He's right next door in The Situation Room.
