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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Retailers Scramble To Update Mask Guidance After CDC Change; Biden Tells Netanyahu He Supports An Israel-Hamas Ceasefire; House To Vote Wednesday On Commission To Investigate January 6 Insurrection; Summer Camps Prep For Reopening With Big Emphasis On Safety; Biden & Harris Release 2020 Income Tax Information. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 17, 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]

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Racks more artillery shells ready for firing. This is the language of confrontation, not reconciliation.

Hamas says talks to end the conflict are held up on two eyes; their demand that Israel ends what it describes provocations in Jerusalem and Israel's demand that Hamas ends firing first.

America's lead diplomat on the conflict, Hady Amr, met Palestinian officials Monday. They don't live in Gaza and don't control Hamas and want international pressure on Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED SHTAYYEH, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are flowing (ph) what is happening every second and we call on the international community to intervene to stop the aggression that Israel has so far not responded to anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: In Europe, also working diplomatic angles to end the conflict; Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sounding uncertain a truce can be had right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are ready to lend support if the parties seek a cease fire. We'll continue to conduct intensive diplomacy to bring this current cycle of violence to an end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: In the meantime, Hamas rockets still reaching Israel's residents. Three civilians injured in Ashdod, north of Gaza. Israel's navy destroying a Hamas boat and killing the commander of another militant group, Islamic Jihad. All signs here, the conflict not done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNKNOWN (through translator): We have thousands of targets of terrorist organizations. We will reach their homes, their underground hide out, their weapons depots, their manufacturing factories; where ever they produce terrorism we will create targets and attack them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: If the first week of this conflict is any measure, what's to come will be no less harrowing.

And just this evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with his defense security and intelligence chiefs and he came out of that meeting saying the directive is to continue the strikes against those Hamas he calls the terrorists. T

The Palestinians in the West Bank, the authority there has called for Palestinians to go on strike on Tuesday. And at the United Nations on Tuesday, again, nations will try to find a way to get Israel and the Palestinians to work towards peace. Jake?

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: All right. Nic Robertson in Ashdod, Israel; thank you so much. Let's bring in Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. He's the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Mr. Chairman, thanks for joining us.

SEN. JACK REED (D-RI): Thank you.

TAPPER: You're one of the 28 Democratic senators asking President Biden to support a cease fire publically, to announce it. Today, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden is aware of your letter but their strategy is quote, "Quiet diplomacy behind the scenes."

Has anyone from the White House explained to you why they won't call publically for a cease fire?

REED: I haven't had direct contact with the White House to explain that situation. We signed the letter, led by John Ossoff of Georgia because we felt it's imperative to stop the fighting on both sides.

Firing rockets into Israel by Hamas is an act of war. The Israeli's are retaliating. They have to be very conscious of collateral damage. Limit that to the least possible. But I think at this point we just have to stop the fighting.

And that's going to require. I believe the administration is determined that their best role is at this juncture behind the scenes rather than upfront leading the effort.

TAPPER: Well, I mean there is no cease fire. So I don't know how they can think its working. The White House hasn't explicitly condemned the bombing of that high rise in Gaza that housed the Associate Press and Al Jazeera Bureaus. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that multiple Hamas

targets were in the building and he suggested that Israel shared evidence for that claim with the United States, though Secretary of State Blinken says he has not personally seen it.

Have you seen the evidence and what was your reaction to the bombing of that building?

REED: I -- I have not seen the evidence. But the -- in order to justify it, the Israelis must produce adequate evidence that there was Hamas operating the building that it was a legitimate military target and that the presence of Al Jazeera and the AP Center was collateral to that issue of Hamas use of the building.

TAPPER: Civilians obviously are paying a high price here, particularly Palestinians. The Palestinian health ministry says 61 children have been killed in Gaza. I think 10 Israelis; two children have been killed by Hamas. What's your reaction to all this bloodshed by -- by innocent civilians?

[17:05:00]

REED: Well, that's most disheartening and disturbing aspect of this, the death of innocents on both sides. That's why, again, we're calling and using our voices to call for a cease-fire. The people who are suffering right now are really civilians, children, women; not as much military personnel.

So this is something that really requires, I think, people to stop the fighting and start the talking. And the result, I think, of what's been building up over the years has been a situation where the opportunity for a two-state solution, which was always the goal of our administration and many administrations in Israel was sort of pushed aside.

And Israel, I think, was acting along with the Trump administration in a much more unilateral way to forge their solution, and I think what that's done is provided a sense of desperation among the population, and one of the most indicative aspects of the desperation is the fighting between Israeli citizens, Jewish citizens and Arab citizens.

That's something that I don't recall in my memory but now it's becoming a reality and that has, I think, more disturbing long-term consequences for Israel than the current fight against Hamas.

TAPPER: The New York Times reports that experts are telling them that war crimes are being committed by both sides. They write, quote, "Hamas has fired more than 3,000 rockets towards Israeli cities and towns.

"A clear war crime and Israel, although it says it takes measures to avoid civilian casualties, has subjected Gaza to such an intense bombardment, killing families and flattening buildings that it likely constitutes a disproportionate use of force. Also a war crime," unquote. Do you agree? What should the U.S. do about that, if anything? REED: Well, first, it's quite clear that Hamas by indiscriminately firing over 3,000 rockets aimed at civilian areas is conducting a war crime. It's also clear under international law that Israel has a right to defend themself and then it goes down to the question of are they taking means that do not unnecessarily endanger civilians?

That is going to be determined as all the facts are assessed going forward just as we talked about hitting the building with the AP and Al Jazeera, but both sides should be aware. And I think Hamas is a terrorist group. They're -- they -- they operate under the principle of terror.

Israel as a nation state, I think, has a higher burden as proof to show that these are necessary military raids.

TAPPER: The White House is placing enormous stock and efforts by the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to broker some sort of end to the violence. Do you think that President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, you know, some sort of special envoy, although we don't have an ambassador to Israel right now, someone -- someone in the United States should take the lead instead?

REED: Well, we've dispatched a special envoy there. He's arrived and as your reporter indicated he's already had discussions with Mahmud Abbas, who's head of the PLA on the West Bank but no discussions really within Gaza, which is run by Hamas.

Egypt and Qatar are, I think, very good interlocutors. The Egyptians have, with the Israelis, have been in contact continuously with respect to the Gaza Strip since it lies between their territory and, again, we can't simply depend on them to do it alone.

We have to take every step possible, and I think what I'm seeing is the administration beginning to build up more and more pressure, I hope, on both sides to concede and commit to a cease-fire.

TAPPER: Chairman Jack Reed of the Senate Armed Services Committee, thanks for your time today, sir. Appreciate it.

REED: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: Coming up next, new accusations about the behavior of one of the world's richest men. The new reports about Bill Gates that's next. Plus mask confusion. How the retailers are handling the abrupt changes in guidance from the CDC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:10:00]

TAPPER: In our politics lead, a former tax collector with close ties with Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz today pleaded guilty to six charges in a Florida federal court, including that he knowingly solicited and paid a minor for sex.

Joel Greenberg who is facing 33 charges made a plea deal with federal prosecutors in exchange for cooperation in the wide-ranging investigation, which includes an investigation into Congressman Gaetz. Prosecutors are now looking into whether the controversial congressman broke federal sex trafficking, prostitution and public corruption laws and if he had sex with a minor.

Gaetz continues to deny any wrongdoing. CNN's Paula Reid joins us now from Orlando, Florida.

Paula, what -- what charges did Greenberg plead guilty to?

PAULA REID, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In court today, Jake, Joel Greenberg pleaded guilty to sex trafficking involving a minor, stalking, multiple counts of identity theft, fraud and conspiracy, and as part of this plea agreement he admits that not only did he have sex with a minor, he admits he introduced this child to other adult men who also paid her for sex.

There's the big question in this case now. Who were these other adult men? Now Greenberg remains in jail but his defense attorney, Fritz Scheller, came out and spoke with reporters, and he was asked whether his client has implicated Congressman Gaetz. Scheller would only say, wait and see.

[17:15:00]

TAPPER: And -- and Paula, I thought we were going to run a byte there. Paula, tell us why is this plea deal so significant for the Gaetz case. I mean, does this definitely mean that Greenberg has information on Matt Gaetz that will be used to prosecute the congressman?

REID: Well, at this point, of course, the congressman, he has not been charged. He has denied any wrongdoing, but there is this big question of what information Greenberg has given to investigators. We know he likely has a lot of information about Gaetz's activities.

We know that, of course, from a confession letter that he wrote, but the fact that he's a close associate now cooperating with federal investigators is not good news for the congressman so it's not surprising that his team has now shifted to attacking Joel Greenberg's credibility.

Look, it's fair to point out he's now an admitted felon. One of the things he actually pleaded guilty to today was falsely accusing a teacher who challenged his tax collector seats. He falsely accused that teacher of being a pedophile, so clearly Joel Greenberg, yes, he has credibility problems.

But, Jake, we know from our sources that investigators looking into Congressman Gaetz, they're not just relying on Joel Greenberg. They have hundreds of other documents. We've also learned they have other witnesses. That are not just relying on Greenberg but because Greenberg has so many credibility issues it's likely that he's not only sharing information with investigators but he also has an incentive to corroborate it.

TAPPER: All right, Paula, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Federal and white collar criminal defense attorney, Caroline Polisi, joins us now. Caroline, thanks for joining us. Because of this plea deal Greenberg only had to plead guilty to six of the 33 charges against him. What does that signal to you about the kind of case prosecutors are building on Congressman Gaetz?

CAROLINE POLISI, FEDERAL AND WHITE COLLAR CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You're right. Well, right off the bat, two things just jump out at you from these papers. The first is just the sheer magnitude of the factual predicate that the government is laying out here. Clearly they've invested resources and time into this prosecution and investigation, and it tells me that Greenberg is not the end game here.

With respect to the -- the -- the deal, absolutely. It is a sweetheart deal by all accounts. I can tell you as a criminal defense attorney, deals like that just don't come across your desk every day and prosecutors don't really give cooperation agreements as a practice to sex traffickers.

So you're going to bet that these prosecutors are going to want to see a return on that investment because they have given him really such an extraordinary deal here.

TAPPER: And what kind of information do you think prosecutors are going to be trying to get from Greenberg about Matt Gaetz?

POLISI: Well, first of all, I don't think prosecutors are taking a leap of faith here. Again, I think the papers speak for themselves. Likely Greenberg has already met with prosecutors, with his attorneys there through a series of what's known as a proffer agreements.

He's essentially previewing his information, but, you know what Paula was alluding to there is the government's not just going take Greenberg's word for it. They clearly can't put him on the stand and ask a jury to believe him. All of the crimes that he is committed and pleaded guilty to today are really crimes of deception. So, you know, he's not a credible witness.

But just as Paula said, they are going to want to corroborate and I think that one of the things they will get here like are encrypted app text messages, things like that. Pretty hard for the government to get that information through a subpoena.

Now that they've got this cooperating witness, you know, that -- that type of evidence goes really far with a jury. It's very powerful to see the actual words that someone said while they're committing a crime, so I think they're going to be looking for that type of evidence.

TAPPER: Which of the six charges to which Greenberg pleaded guilty, which is the most serious, do you think?

POLISI: Definitely the -- the child sex trafficking charge. It carries with it a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. Prosecutors take child sex trafficking extremely seriously as they should, which is why I think potentially here they are cooperating Greenberg to get Gaetz who by all accounts might be sort of a smaller fish within the criminal conspiracy.

Oftentimes prosecutors only want to cooperate up, meaning they want to get somebody with conduct that is worse than the cooperator. By all accounts here, it doesn't seem that Gaetz is like the criminal mastermind here but -- but it could be an indication as to why they are giving him -- Greenberg such a great deal, they clearly want to get Gaetz potentially on the child sex trafficking.

TAPPER: So you're a defense attorney. What do you think Congressman Matt Gaetz's defense attorney and he are doing right now?

POLISI: Well, if I'm his defense attorney I'm telling him to stop talking, first of all. They've already come out with, you know, attacks on Greenberg's credibility and rightfully so. They've got to have a real heart-to-heart at this point and -- and talk about what is out there, what type of evidence could potentially be out there and really start building their defense so we'll see.

TAPPER: All right. Caroline Polisi, thank you so much. Appreciate your time and expertise.

[17:20:00]

Internationally now, Bill Gates' clean-cut image is unraveling. The billionaire and Microsoft co-founder is facing new reports in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times about his alleged work place behavior.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Gates had an affair with a Microsoft employee, which led to an investigation, spurring his 2020 resignation from the Microsoft's board of directors.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins us now. And Vanessa, just two weeks ago Bill and Melinda Gates publically announced their divorce. Now we're reading all these stories about him. What are Gates' spokespeople saying about these allegations?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake, well this new reporting from The Wall Street Journal reveals that Gates' resignation from Microsoft's board of directors last year came after an investigation by an outside law firm into an affair he had with a Microsoft engineer.

The affair took place in 2000, but the board became aware of it in 2019 after the employee sent a letter detailing that relationship, a spokesperson for Microsoft tells CNN.

So during this investigation some board members thought it was no longer appropriate for Gates to continue as director of the board, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

And a spokesperson for Gates told The Journal, quote, "There was an affair almost 20 years ago, which ended amicably. Bill's discussion to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter. In fact, he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy, starting several years earlier."

And Jake, that is the same reason that Gates gave one in March 2020, he announced he was stepping down from the board.

TAPPER: And there was another report published yesterday in The New York Times about Gates' reputation within the company and how that clashed with his public image. Tell us about that.

YURKEVICH: Well, this report by The New York Times says Gates had a reputation of, quote, "questionable conduct in work-related settings and that he pursued women who worked for him at both Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation."

Now people with direct knowledge told The New York Times this, but CNN has not been able to independently confirm the allegations cited by The Times and a Gate's spokesperson told the paper that quote, the claim of mistreatment of employees is also false and that, quote, the rumors and speculations surrounding Gates' divorce are becoming increasingly absurd. Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Today President Biden announced more vaccines will be shared with the world but what about convincing the millions of people here in the United States who still won't get their shot? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:25:00]

TAPPER: And we're back with our health lead. Today President Biden announced the United States will share an additional 20 million doses of coronavirus vaccine with other countries. That will be made up of Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and the AstraZeneca vaccines and is an addition to the 60 million doses the White House has already pledged to share.

Let's talk about the vaccine effort with CNN's senior political writer analyst, Harry Enten. And Harry, obviously it's great news that the U.S. has enough doses to share but there remain millions -- tens of millions of Americans who are not willing or have not been able to get vaccinated and you're noticing that the vaccinated and unvaccinated are falling along some familiar lines?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Very familiar lines. I mean, take a look at this map, which gives you a pretty good indication of how things are going right now and what you essentially see is the people who are partially vaccinated far higher numbers in New England, much lower numbers in the southeast.

And again, on the west coast you see far higher numbers. You might recall that that seems very much like last November, right, and what we see is in fact that this particular point, if you look at the states that are in the top 25 of those being vaccinated, you see a very familiar political pattern, right? Of those -- of those 25, what do you see? You see that in those 25

that Joe Biden won 21 of those states at this particular point versus just Donald Trump won just four of those states that are in the top 25 with at least one vaccine.

More than that, remember last time around, education was such a big thing in the election, right more educated people tended to vote for Joe Biden and what do we see here, states in the top 25 of adults with at least one vaccine; 21 of them are in states that are above the national average for those with a college degree. Just four of them are in states below average with college degree.

And of course, as you might remember last November, it was that urban- rural divide that we saw. And what do we see right now in the states and top 25 of adults with at least one vaccine, 17 of them are in states with above average urban percentage population, Jake.

TAPPER: And there's also a divide in corporate America, you found, when it comes to whether or not companies should get rid of their mask mandates and how that might affect their employees.

ENTEN: Yes. And this is honestly very confusing. There doesn't seem to be much of a rhyme or rhythm with this. And if you look at right now in this -- the places right now which are basically saying that folks don't necessarily have to wear vaccine if they're fully vaccinated

You see that on the left side of your screen, you say look a place like CVS Pharmacy, they're dropping the mask requirement, but Walgreens, which is another, you know, pharmacy they are saying, no, we have to keep those masking requirements. Now, I should point out, this is for fully vaccinated customers.

[17:30:00]

But a lot of these places, there's not really a way to really check if someone's fully vaccinated or not and this to me is quite worrisome because if we look right now at the people who are wearing a mask versus not wearing a mask, and whether or not they're fully vaccinated, look at this, just 46 percent of unvaccinated Americans said they're always wearing a mask outside the home, 65 percent of vaccine Americans say they are. There's going to be -- I think this temptation among unvaccinated Americans, perhaps, lie to folks.

And then the final slide here that we can just sort of note on this, and that is, if you're a worker in one of these stores, right, you're probably not being paid that much in one of these pharmacies. And what we saw last year in terms of the satisfaction with safety conditions at work, those workers that make less than $75,000 a year for their household income.

So, a magic -- a real big reduction in their workplace safety. Just 55 percent said they were satisfied versus those higher income workers was much higher 73 percent. So, I think it's going to be very, very interesting to see how some of these workers in these pharmacies and these places and these retail workers really react to all of this.

TAPPER: All right, Harry Enten, thank you so much. Fascinating as always.

Let's discuss with Dr. Megan Ranney, she's an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Brown University. Dr. Ranney, we just heard from Harry that most of the states with the highest vaccination rates are states that President Biden won in November, states of higher education, more urban residents.

Federal officials tell CNN's Elizabeth Cohen that the CDC is struggling to convince hesitant Republicans to take the coronavirus vaccine. If ending all mask mandates for vaccinated Americans won't convince these people who are reluctant to get vaccinated, is there anything that well?

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, BROWN UNIVERSITY: I think we are going to see 20 percent to 25 percent of the American population who does not get a vaccine in their arm, that's going to put them at risk and hopefully it won't put the rest of us at risk too much.

But I have not given up hope for all the folks who've not been vaccinated yet, Jake. There's still a ground game that is being played, it's about going door to door. It's about getting trusted community leaders.

There's a lot of these folks that when you actually offer them a vaccine in person, and I'll say I've seen this in my era (ph), where if people come in who are not vaccinated, I sit and I talk to them and I say I can give you the vaccine today. They go, all right, I guess I'll take it.

If we do that, we will get a significant percentage of those folks who have not yet been vaccinated. And so there's one more part about that map, which is that the states with lower vaccination rates are also the states that have not invested in public health infrastructure, which in addition to maybe being Republican, or rural or less educated, which are not all the same, by the way, that's part of the reason we haven't gotten vaccines in arms is because the infrastructure isn't there.

TAPPER: You say that health care providers are extremely confused about this new mask guidance from this, CDC tell us more.

RANNEY: I think we were all taken by surprise. We knew that vaccines work. There was accumulating science that vaccines work not just to protect us from getting infected or sick, but also to protect us from transmitting the virus to others if we do happen to be one of those unlucky few who gets sick with COVID, despite being vaccinated.

But what surprised us was we had no idea that that announcement was coming on Thursday. And the biology behind it was correct. I'm never going to argue with the CDC about that. But that connection between the biology and the behavior is where we've been struggling. And we've seen it with a variety of policy changes that businesses and states have put in place.

Some states are saying, OK, you're protected if you're vaccinated, but I'm still going to protect the rest of the community for now and keep those mask mandates in place. Many states, of course, have gone the opposite direction and have gotten rid of mask mandates, potentially putting people who haven't had the chance to be fully vaccinated yet, at risk.

TAPPER: You're vaccinated, are you -- do you wear a mask still when you go out?

RANNEY: Yes, great question. So obviously, I wear a mask to the E.R. because CDC still says I have to but also there's no way in heck, I'm not wearing a mask in the emergency department right now, since we still have COVID patients. I am still wearing a mask.

If I go to a mall, if I go to a store, I go to the grocery store, or I haven't been to the theater or to movies, but if I were, I'd wear a mask there. And I'm going to keep doing that until vaccination rates go up higher and until case rates drop a little bit lower. And, of course, three out of four members of my family, the other three people I live with, are not yet fully vaccinated.

TAPPER: Dr. Megan Ranney, thank you so much. Appreciate your time today.

Just in the CNN, the details about President Biden's call with the Israeli Prime Minister today, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:38:46]

TAPPER: We have some breaking news for you now in our world lead, moments ago, the White House released details of the call between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which took place this afternoon.

For the first time, the White House says that Biden expressed his support for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which the State Department designates as a terrorist group. Hundreds of people have been killed in the escalating conflict so far, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza and Israeli authorities.

And the politics lead, despite Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney being purged from party leadership and warning Trump will try to steal the next election to the woman who just replaced Cheney as conference chair insists the Republican Party is united.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ELISE STEFANIK, REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE CHAIRWOMAN: She is looking backwards. Republicans are looking forward. We are unified and we are talking about conservative principles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That's Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. Like Trump, she is an election liar. A vote on Wednesday may show some cracks in the united front, she pretends exists as the entire House votes to decide whether or not to create an independent commission to investigate the January 6th Capitol attack.

[17:40:00]

Let's talk about this vote with our panelists. S.E., let me start with you. We just heard last week from several Republicans trying, rather pathetically I have to say, to whitewash the events of January 6, calling the rioters peaceful protesters and a normal tourist visit, what do you think? How is history going to remember how people vote when it comes to this January 6 bipartisan commission?

S.E. CUPP, CNN ANCHOR: I think history will remember them correctly as liars and instigators, and trying to dismantle democracy intentionally. I don't think it will be unclear and I don't think it's going to take that long for history to sort of make its final say on what is happening here. And, you know, from Elise Stefanik, all the way on -- up the leadership ranks, Republicans are trying to whitewash both what happened on January 6th, and where the GOP is heading.

They're not looking forward, they are clinging to the last guy who helped them lose the White House, the House and the Senate. If they were looking forward, and really wanted to focus on conservative principles and messaging, they would have kept Liz Cheney, a reliably conservative voter who is focused on all of those principles Republicans are now just remembering they once believed in.

TAPPER: Paul, how much does this matter when it comes to the midterm elections? For the most part, Republican voters believe this lie that their leaders have been telling them. And generally speaking, the party out of power picks up seats in the midterm elections. Do you think that the support for the big lie, the whitewashing of the insurrection and all that, do you think that will have any effect?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I do, Jake. I think they're going to use it to distract actually from the issues they've been voting on. I've been watching -- I've never seen the Republicans are united, they're unified. Ms. Stefanik represents --

CUPP: Yes.

BEGALA: Stefanik is right about that. All of them voted against the rescue package for COVID, which is putting $1,400 in everybody's bank account is putting $250 to $300 a month per child in 88 percent of families' bank accounts, say it's going to start in July. This is wildly popular stuff, the vast majority of Republicans support it.

So I guess it makes sense, right? They don't want to defend that there -- that they voted against helping middle class families keep body and soul together during this crisis. So that they wave this nonsense out there, this big lie that somehow evil conspirators stole the election from this stone loser who was in there before. I think that's probably what's behind this.

It may work, Jake, that's the sad part. You know, Lincoln, the founder of the Republicans said you can't fool some of the people all of the time. And that's what they're banking on.

TAPPER: So, S.E., what do you think? I mean, do you think that there are voters out there, the suburban white women, for example, who went for Biden, but generally might be inclined to vote Republican who are going to care about Liz Cheney versus Elise Stefanik or the election lie or the white washing? Is that something -- I know you care about it, but do other Republican --

CUPP: I do.

TAPPER: -- moms like you care about it?

CUPP: I think what turned, you know, white suburban women off writ large was really the lack of competence in the White House and the feeling like, you know, there was no one in charge. I think that was a very palpable feeling for white suburban women. And I think they will still believe that and they will be reassured by the competence they see in the White House.

Now look, the Republicans could oppose Biden policies, including these large spending bills, if they were, you know, offering other ideas, to compete with them. They're only competing ideas right now are about less democracy, less voting, less access to voting, less speech, less access to information, those aren't really -- those aren't ideas to compete with what the Democrats are doing.

But I don't think, you know, voters are going to be all that swayed by whatever this commission finds out. I think it's an important commission the way I thought the 9/11 Commission was important. I just think voters are so baked in. We tend to get invested in these moments, these investigations, the impeachments, et cetera, and believe that there's going to be some definitive answer at the end that sways people and people just don't seem to care all that much.

TAPPER: Paul, what do you make of the divisions among House Democrats and in the Democratic Party, in general, over support for Israel? We've seen some real divisions in the statements from Congresswoman Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez and others compared to pretty stalwart defense of Israel by President Biden.

BEGALA: Yes, I think it's real and I think it's deeply problematic as an American first, not just a Democrat.

[17:45:03]

I'm a very strong supporter of Israel myself. Of course, I served the President Bill Clinton, who's a very strong supporter of Israel, and who advanced the peace process. I think that's the way to do it. But you're right, there are a -- there's a generational divide in the Democratic Party.

Younger Democrats, who I think have really never known Israel accepting the persona of Benjamin Netanyahu. And Netanyahu took a huge gamble and insulted Barack Obama, insulted Joe Biden and really cozied up to Trump. And older guys like me remember, and it made me know more of the history of what a stalwart, terrific ally Israel is for America, no matter who the leader is. I still loved America when Donald Trump was a president. I still love Israel, even though I don't agree with Mr. Netanyahu.

Our viewers should know I went to Israel in 2015 and worked for the opposition against Bibi Netanyahu. But I think you're right, there's a generational divide where younger Democrats are much less supportive of Israel.

Paul Begala, S.E. Cupp, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

After more than a year of school from home, canceled sleepovers, missed playdates, there is an attempt to bring back some sense of normalcy for kids this summer. We'll take a look next. Stay with us.

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[17:50:32]

TAPPER: In our health lead today, Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, camps are open but you got to take precautions. The reopening of children's summer camps is just around the corner. CNN's Bianna Golodryga want to see what changes have been made to keep everyone safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUREN RUTKOWSKI, OVERNIGHT CAMP DIRECTOR AND OWNER: There's a lot of excitement. I think that camp is the light at the end of a very long tunnel.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR ANALYST (voice-over): Across the country, summer camps are in their final stages of preparation just weeks before millions of children arrive for fun, ready to resume the color wars, zip lining, and evening campfires they missed last year when most camps were closed due to the pandemic.

RUTKOWSKI: It was absolutely heartbreaking. It's the toughest decision that my husband and I have ever had to make.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): At Camp IHC in northern Pennsylvania, camp director Rutkowski is anticipating full cabins this summer with some 650 campers registered for up to seven weeks.

RUTKOWSKI: The campus going to serve as an incredible elixir for kids, like they need this recovery space.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Strict mitigation strategies will be enforced.

RUTKOWSKI: We'll be at a reduced capacity. You can see some of the Plexiglas that we've had to install to make sure that we're doing things safely.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): All campers must be tested prior to arrival and after. They will then be grouped into a smaller cohort for the first week.

RUTKOWSKI: Really sticking with your pod. There'll be a lot more mask wearing. We won't be mixing groups. Once we get through that, however, because we are a very controlled environment, you can really start to relax, you know, the mitigation.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Also back this summer, the why.

PAUL MCENTIRE, CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, YMCA: Enrollment in most camps is that capacity.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Thousands day and overnight camps run by the YMCA like Camp Widjiwagan outside of Nashville are also fully booked.

JEFF MERHIGE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, YMCA CAMP WIDJIWAGAN: The need for the kids to be outside is tremendous. We want to social connect now not social distance.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): With multiple camps running together, advanced testing will not be part of their policy.

MERHIGE: We know that we can't have a full bubble containment here. With the size of our day camp and an overnight camp, it's just not possible.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Instead, they're taking precautions like smaller bleachers, sanitizing stations and a reimagined bunk.

MERHIGE: We added ceiling fans. We upgraded the filter system to MERV 13 filters and then we still added air scrubbers. We painted the cabin in antibacterial paint. And then my personal favorite is we added sneeze and cough cards to all of the bunk beds.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Both IHC and Widjiwagan are also eliminating off campus field trips and family visiting this summer. Prior to last year, a typical summer saw roughly 26 million kids attend some form of summer camp, according to the American Camp Association. Camp directors are expecting to see similar numbers once again this summer.

(on-camera): What are you planning to do to help get them settled back in here?

RUTKOWSKI: We have to prepare our children for the camp experience. It's when things are sprung upon them or something feels unfamiliar. That's when anxiety starts to rise.

MCENTIRE: All of the staff will receive some levels of mental health awareness, things to watch for and a child that would not have -- that will be beyond what would have been in the past.

GOLODRYGA (voice-over): So while some things may still look different this summer, the goal is ultimately to let kids be kids again.

RUTKOWSKI: Kids laughing, playing, enjoying their life and being carefree is the best sound in the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: And so, Jake, while the focus, of course, is on children camps, also include a lot of adults, particularly young adults, camp counselors, during typical pre-COVID years, they would go off campus in the evenings and spend some time among themselves.

Well, that is not deemed safe right now. So camp IHC and many others have built many adult camps, camps for counselors that they can actually spend time together while on campus and not risk bringing the virus to the children there. But, again, this is all good news. These children need this break in this time together.

TAPPER: They sure do. Bianna Golodryga, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

President Joe Biden just released his tax returns for the past year. What do they reveal? That's next.

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[17:59:13]

TAPPER: Breaking news on our money lead, it's tax day and we're getting a look at the President and Vice President's tax returns. Biden's 2020 return show he and the First Lady, a teacher, made just over $607,000 last year that's compared to the nearly $1 million he made in 2019. The Biden's paid more than $157,000 in federal taxes.

It's about 26 percent of their income. Vice President Kamala Harris's tax returns show that she and second gentlemen Douglas Emhoff, who spent part of the year working as a lawyer, made almost $1.7 million last year. They paid nearly $622,000 in taxes, which amounts to just under 37 percent of their income.

In our pop culture lead today, I have a new novel out called, "The Devil May Dance", it takes place in 1962 Rat Pack Hollywood. It features the heroes from my previous effort, "The Hellfire Club", Charlie and Margaret Marder. You can pick up a copy in bookstores or you can order an autographed copy. It's at the bottom of the JakeTapper.com web page.

You can follow me on Facebook Instagram, TikTok and Twitter at JakeTapper. You can tweet the show at TheLeadCNN. Our coverage continues now with one Mr. Wolf Blitzer right next door in "THE SITUATION ROOM."