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The Lead with Jake Tapper

New CDC Reports Highlights Urgency Of Getting COVID Booster Shot; Blinken: If Russia Invades, U.S. Response Will Be "Swift, Severe"; Biden Searches For Way Forward On Stalled Agenda; Nation's Mayors Meet In D.C. To Discuss COVID Recovery; Maskless Woman Forces London-Bound Flight To Turn Back. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 21, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:01]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: It says treat yourself, meat yourself. How about this? Better give the gift of bologna bliss to others. Nothing says I love you like a slice of self-care. And this one, remember, you can't spell delightful without deli.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: That's my favorite.

And THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Need one more reason to get boosted? How about three?

THE LEAD starts right now.

The CDC releasing a trio of studies looking at millions of new COVID cases and it proves that boosters are the best protection against the omicron variant. Though the studies also raise a very important question.

Plus, high stakes meeting in hopes of stopping an invasion. America's top diplomat face-to-face with his Russian counterpart today as the Pentagon looks at possible military options to defend Ukraine.

And you're grounded. How one woman's anti-mask moves changed the travel plans for more than 100 others.

(MUSIC)

Hello and welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We begin this hour with our health lead and the strongest case yet for getting a COVID booster shot or should I say strongest cases yet. Three new CDC reports show that adults who had gotten their booster shot had the best protection against hospitalization because of COVID and against emergency room and urgent care visits. The new data suggesting getting a booster in the age of the omicron variant is now less of a nice to have and more of a must have. This as we are learning that unvaccinated adults over the age of 65 are nearly 50 times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID than their fully boosted peers. Across the U.S. today, more than 160,000 people are hospitalized with

COVID right now. That is a record high.

But as CNN's Omar Jimenez reports, the number of daily cases are actually trending down, even as some hospitals are growing more crowded by the day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: The reason this January is so dramatically different from last January is because we have the tools, we need to protect people.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Being boosted has never been more important.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Protection against infection and hospitalization with the omicron variant is highest for those who are up to date with their vaccination, meaning those who are boosted when they are eligible.

JIMENEZ: One CDC study published Friday looked at 88,000 hospitalizations across ten states in December and January when omicron has been dominant. Finding being boosted was 90 percent effective at preventing hospitalization during omicron. Only slightly down from the 94 percent when delta was a dominant variant. So, boosting remains the highest protection possible.

But for those with just two doses, after six months, the vaccines were 76 percent effective against urgent care and emergency department visits. Primarily during the delta surge. During omicron, that fell to 38 percent.

And for the unvaccinated, new CDC data shows those 65 and older were nearly 50 times more likely to be hospitalized last month than those who were boosted.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: These new studies should erase any doubt about the importance of boosters at this point in the pandemic. I think there's been unfortunately so much muddled messaging that made it sound like boosters are a nice to have rather than something that's really essential.

JIMENEZ: So far, less than half of those eligible to get boosters have gotten them. Meanwhile, omicron's rapid spread is still straining hospitals which are at a record high and some essential services. Entertainment also taking hits, like curtains closing for Adele's residency in Las Vegas.

ADELE, 15-TIME GRAMMY WINNER: We've been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID.

JIMENEZ: But with vaccinations on the rise and cases beginning to decline in some places, experts hope the country is finally turning a country. Former CDC director Tom Frieden believes omicron is not to be underestimated but if you're vaccinated and boosted, it's comparable in severity to the flu.

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: What we're seeing is that the country is essentially building a stronger and stronger wall of immunity. And that wall comes from mostly vaccination but also prior infection. But the stunning thing about omicron is how remarkably infectious it is.

(END VIDEDOTAPE)

JIMENEZ (on camera): And on that infectiousness, data from Johns Hopkins shows that more than a quarter of all COVID-19 cases reported since the pandemic began were reported in the last month. Separately, Dr. Rochelle Walensky says that if you're eligible to be boosted but haven't been, you're not considered up to date on your vaccinations and that the CDC is looking to pivot language around what it means to be fully vaccinated, Jake.

TAPPER: But they haven't done it yet, not officially.

[16:05:01]

Omar Jimenez, thanks so much.

Joining us now live to discuss, CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, let's start with these three new reports showing boosters offer the best protection against hospitalization and severe illness from the omicron variant. What are the most important takeaways for you from these studies?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we have data now, you know? I think that there's been some conjecture around this.

But let me show, first of all, when it comes to cases, I'll show you hospitalizations in a second. When it comes to cases, they basically compared unvaccinated to fully vaccinated to boosted, people who got three shots. And you can see the difference there.

I point out, Jake, something you and I have talked about. The biggest difference is still between vaccinated and fully vaccinated, right? But you do get a benefit from obviously having been boosted as well. Those are cases.

Let me show you hospitalizations quickly. As you look at hospitalizations, one thing to keep in mind is they make a distinction here between when you receive the shots, if it was six months ago or more versus within the last six months. So, if you got the shot six months ago, 57 percent protection against hospitalization.

So that clearly shows there was a waning of the benefit of the vaccines over that time period because if you are within six months, 81 percent and the number goes up to 90 percent if boosted. The biggest difference again, Jake, is between those who got the shot six months ago versus more recently. TAPPER: So, could this mean or rather when will the CDC change the

definition of fully vaccinated from two doses to three? It seems like they're right on the cusp.

GUPTA: Yeah, I agree. And it's confusing and I'm not sure that it became any less confusing today as they're talking about it. Listen to what Dr. Walensky said and then I'll explain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALENSKY: And what we really are working to do is pivot the language to make sure that everybody is as up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines as they personally could be, should be, based on when they got their last vaccine. So importantly, right now, we're pivoting our language.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: So, there's a pivot in language. That's what she is saying but let me tell you what that means. They're going to make a distinction here as Omar was just talking about, between up to date and fully vaccinated.

So up to date is going to be that you got all three shots. You got the two shots plus you got the booster. So, everything that's recommended. You got those boosters if you were eligible.

Or fully vaccinated, Jake, to your question is that definition is going to stay the same, two weeks after finishing the primary series. Now, keep in mind, again, there's a significant drop off if your primary series was more than six months ago. People just need to know that. It went from 57 percent protection if you were six months ago to 81 percent protection if your shots were more recent.

So, the definitions may be semantics but for individuals out there, just keep that in mind that the waning benefit is certainly present.

TAPPER: Right. But there are legal implications, obviously, if they change the definition --

GUPTA: I think so.

TAPPER: -- to fully vaccinated because of all the rules and regulations requiring full vaccinations.

So, we're learning that boosters are especially vital for seniors. New data shows that unvaccinated adults over 65 are nearly 50 times more likely to be hospitalized from COVID compared with their fully vaccinated and boosted peers, 50 times. How is that possible?

GUPTA: Well, we've known there's always been this disparity, this difference between the elderly and how vulnerable they are to this, and younger people. But it has become even more pronounced, especially if you look at the difference with vaccination status.

So, let me show you. We put this graph together. Basically, the red line, if you look at this, that is the unvaccinated population in this particular age group, 65 plus. That graph tells a story, Jake. The yellow line is fully vaccinated. No booster. And then the white line is people who have been boosted. It's a very distinct story.

Now, that's people over age 65, between the ages of 50 and 64, there was a significant difference in hospitalization rates as well, 44 times. It's not even close, right? And for the general population, take all age groups, it's closer to 17 times.

So, it is very clear, you know, regardless of whether you sort of are in this camp that, look, everyone is going to get omicron. It's that contagious where a lot of people are thinking that. The distinction between the vaccinated and unvaccinated remains and it's very, very strong and gets even more pronounced in people who are over the age of 50.

TAPPER: And the former director of the CDC, Dr. Tom Frieden, he has an op-ed on CNN.com today.

Here's the quote: Even if you don't consider yourself at high risk, getting COVID may wind up being more than a minor inconvenience. It's also not clear how much be omicron infection protects you from getting COVID again. Many non-severe infections don't cause strong immunity. Now is not the time to get up or let it rip.

Do you think that too many Americans are risking underestimating omicron by not getting boosters, not to mention, of course, those not vaccinating their kids or not getting vaccinated themselves?

[16:10:02]

GUPTA: I do, Jake. I really think that there's been this underestimation every step of the way and it continues with omicron. And again, the data tells the story. But I think Tom Frieden is making two points.

One is that, you know, we still -- there's a lot about this virus we don't know, and I know this is scary to talk about, but the idea of long COVID symptoms. Others, this -- people are saying, look, this is more of a vascular disease even than a respiratory disease. We're still learning a lot about that. So, you don't want to go out and get this, that is still not a good option.

But the second point Tom makes is, okay, you've had it. So, A, I don't need to get a vaccine because I've had it. Not every infection is the same. Someone who had mild symptoms may not have generated as many antibodies as someone who have more severe symptoms. That's why the vaccine is important. It provides a constant, consistent benchmark to know how much immunity you really have.

TAPPER: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

The Russians insist they're not planning to invade Ukraine. But what's happening on the ground does not appear to back that up. We're going to go live to Ukraine next. Then even an attack from Donald Trump couldn't change Florida Governor

Ron DeSantis' mind about revealing something. What is it? That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:15:23]

TAPPER: In our world lead, a new warning to Russia after America's top diplomat met with his Russian counterpart today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We've been clear, if any Russian military forces move across Ukraine's border, that's a renewed invasion. It will be met with swift, severe and a united response from the United States and our partners and allies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That's Secretary of State Antony Blinken who spent an hour and a half today with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia about Russia's military build-up along its border with Ukraine. Russia insists an invasion is not part of their plan but that's obviously not how it looks as Ukraine intelligence officials flag an even greater Russian military presence in recent days.

CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward is in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Clarissa, does today's meeting between Blinken and Lavrov, the U.S. and Russia, give Ukraine any more reassurance that an invasion is not imminent?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't know if it gives them any more reassurance that an in invasion is not imminent, Jake, but we're certainly hearing a very different tone coming from Ukraine's leadership to what we heard yesterday when, of course, President Zelensky sort of angrily tweeted an apparent reference to President Biden's comments that a minor incursion might not result in the kind of robust united response, that there was no such thing as a minor incursion.

Well, today we've seen President Zelensky coming out and thanking the U.S. president and the U.S. for being such a steadfast ally and supporter of Ukraine. We've also heard from the foreign minister saying that he was pleased that talks continued because, of course, as long as diplomacy is still an option, that does at least somewhat mitigate the threat of an invasion. He also said that he had spoken to Secretary Blinken after those talks.

Ukraine clearly trying to convey the impression that they are in lockstep once again with the Americans, their strongest supporters and allies. But the real question becomes, Jake, do these talks mean that a crisis has been averted? And from what we've seen, it's way too early to say that. There is still enormous potential for things to go wrong. You still have more than 100,000 troops massed along that eastern border.

And more importantly, we simply don't know which way diplomacy could potentially resolve this situation because there isn't an easy off ramp for President Putin at this stage and there's no indication that the U.S. is going to change its position either. Nonetheless, still significant. The U.S. will be providing those written statements to the Kremlin and the talks will continue. So, at least it's not a dead end for diplomacy.

TAPPER: And, Clarissa, Sergey Lavrov, the former minister of Russia, again said today that Putin has no plans to attack Ukraine. But just hours earlier, Russia deployed two antiaircraft missile systems ahead of the planned military drills with Belarus next month. These systems can intercept missiles and shoot down aircraft up to 150 miles away. That has to be somewhat concerning to the leadership of Ukraine.

WARD: It's definitely concerning, but I would say it's not unexpected. And I think everybody here is cognizant of the fact that even as the diplomatic process moves along slowly, that we will considerably -- we will be considerably likely to see more of this kind of pressure coming from Russia to accompany in the backdrop to that diplomatic process. Really emphasizing that the threat is still there and the threat is still real.

The thing that nobody really knows, which makes it much more difficult to have faith in these diplomatic talks is, is Russia entering these talks in good faith or is this a diversion? Is the intention already made or the decision already taken to go ahead and launch some kind of an invasion whether it would be a full-scale or smaller incursion as was said?

And one good thing that may have come out of President Biden's comments that caused consternation and then we saw the White House come out and clarify them, is that there is no gray area about what will happen if Russia did launch a minor incursion. Now the U.S., NATO allies have come together and issued a stern warning about what will happen, even if it was a smaller incursion.

TAPPER: All right. Clarissa Ward in Kiev, Ukraine, thank you so much.

Over in war-torn Yemen, at least 70 people, including women and children, were killed when a Saudi-led coalition air strike hit a detention center today. Aid organization Save the Children says that strike followed another attack on a telecommunications building in which at least three children playing in a nearby field were killed.

[16:20:04]

The International Rescue Committee says it is appalled by the mass killing of civilians and called the mass casualty event yet another example of the age of impunity, where all sides to the war continue to commit atrocities without accountability, unquote.

We should note that includes the United States, which has been propping up the Saudi-led coalition by supplying weapons and more since Obama, through Trump and now Biden, despite President Biden promising to stop that support.

CNN's senior international correspondent Sam Kiley joins us now live from Abu Dhabi.

Sam, let's start with these latest attacks. What happened? What led to them?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they were provoked, if you like. They came as recompense for an attack earlier in the week here on Abu Dhabi itself, on the Emirati capital, Jake, in which two missiles or drones fired by the Houthis struck close to the international airport but more importantly, in terms of casualties and oil, petroleum facility, that could have been a lot worse. Killing three and injuring at least six.

So in that context, the Saudi-led coalition promised to exact revenge and very rapidly they conducted a series of air strikes much heavier than has been seen for more than a year by the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi positions, resulting now tragically in these mass deaths. Now, the worst of the killings was in one location in Asada province which hit a transit point or detention center for migrants. Believe it or not, there are people traversing war-torn Yemen in search of work elsewhere, particularly in Saudi Arabia. And it would appear that the migrants heading to Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, the majority of the casualties or deaths were among them.

So, a particularly tragic twist to this very bloody tale and a very significant escalation in terms of Emirati involvement, Jake.

TAPPER: And, Sam, at President Biden's news conference Wednesday, he was asked about his campaign promise to stop the war in Yemen. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ending the war in Yemen takes two parties to be involved to do it. And it's going to be very difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: He also said in February last year that the U.S. would stop relevant arms sales to Saudi forces attacking Yemen. Has that at least been accomplished?

KILEY: No, it hasn't, Jake. There has been a significant reduction, though, in air strikes, particularly following the withdrawal in 2020 from the -- by the Emiratis who have withdrawn all of their military personnel and hardware from that quagmire. But there has also been a surge in Houthi successes, pressing heavily against Saudi-led coalition in the town of Marib, perhaps taking advantage in a reduction of these air strikes following international criticism, particularly in the United States where, as you know, there's a bipartisan opposition to the continued supply of weapons to Saudi Arabia. So that, no doubt, will be reignited. There's also another point to be

made. It's a lot more than two sides in the Yemen civil war, Jake. There are -- yes, the Houthis. There are divisions within the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition is a huge smorgasbord of secular elements that are ideologically allied with al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, others backed by the Emirates and then there's a separate separatist group within them themselves, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Sam Kiley, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

President Biden's plate of international crises appears rather full, but today he chose to focus on something else as the White House undergoes a bit of a strategy shift. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:28:28]

TAPPER: In our politics lead today, President Biden focusing on the supply chain gridlock today as his legislative agenda hangs largely in the balance.

As Phil Mattingly reports for us, there's a new White House strategy to try to put the president face-to-face with voters instead of behind the scenes in congressional negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLINKEN: This was not a negotiation, but a candid exchange of concerns and ideas.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A world on edge watches the U.S. top diplomat straining to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

BIDEN: You guys will ask me all about Russia, not about anything having to do with chips.

MATTINGLY: President Biden pushing the focus back to the domestic front.

BIDEN: These facilities are a symbol of what America is all about.

MATTINGLY: Touting the announcement by Intel that it would invest $20 billion in new chip making.

BIDEN: I made clear while I was running for president and from day one of this administration, we are going to invest in America. We are investing in American workers.

MATTINGLY: Underscore a central administration focus on bolstering domestic semiconductor production amid supply and national security concerns.

And with the bipartisan proposal to direct an additional $50 billion towards chip manufacturing moving through Congress, a dose of optimism after a first year ending with two legislative failures.

BIDEN: The idea that we can work together is only just beginning to dawn on people here, I think.

MATTINGLY: Biden touting one specific example, his $1.2 trillion infrastructure law at the U.S. Conference of Mayors gathering.

BIDEN: Now after years of dead ends and broken promises, not only has infrastructure week finally arrived.

MATTINGLY: A window into what officials tell CNN will become the focal point of the weeks ahead.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He wants to spend more time out in the country and less time behind closed doors negotiating.

MATTINGLY: As Democrats work to revive his $1.75 trillion spending package, Biden with an eye toward the midterm elections set to focus on results and Republicans, not months of Democratic infighting.

BIDEN: The way we're going to do that is by telling the voters what we've done and what we plan to do. I'm making it clear there's a clear choice.

MATTINGLY: But that public shift doing little to change the reality of the moment. A foreign policy crisis is looming. Ukraine coming up in Biden's morning virtual meeting with the Japanese prime minister, according to a White House official, and will be Biden's central focus in the critical days ahead.

PSAKI: The president will meet this weekend at Camp David with his national security team to discuss the situation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (on camera): And, Jake, White House officials are optimistic, cautiously optimistic that Build Back Better plan can be revived, it is not really on the front burner right now. There's no clear pathway or timeline on it. The real focus legislatively is on funding the government before next month's deadline and on a China competitiveness bill the president was mentioning today. As to the future of Build Back Better, as one official told me earlier, Jake, TBD.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: TBD. Phil Mattingly, thanks so much.

Let's discuss with Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of the great state of Illinois. He's a member of the House Oversight and House Intelligence Committees.

Congressman, thanks for joining us.

Let's start with Biden's agenda. Senator Joe Manchin said when it comes to the Build Back Better social safety net bill, Democrats are going to start from scratch.

But here's what Speaker Pelosi said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: There are big chunks of the bill that have to be contained in the bill but, remember this, this is a reconciliation bill. So when people say let's divide it up, they don't understand the process. Call it a chunk if you want, but whatever you call it, we want it to be able to make a difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So what does the final bill look like? What can you support? What can the progressives in the House support that can also get 50 votes in the Senate, including Manchin and Sinema, plus, of course, Vice President Harris?

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): I think that there are a few provisions that I think are very important that I hear that even Senator Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema support. For instance, prescription drug price reform, universal pre-K which, as you know, then-Governor Manchin actually signed into law for West Virginia and he's in strong support of. And then, you know, climate change provisions which are essential if we're going to actually cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050.

So, you know, perhaps it's not entirely BBB but if we can get one or two Bs, I think that would be a success.

TAPPER: Manchin has signaled that he's willing to accept $500 billion in climate funding, universal pre-K, as you note, a permanent fix for the Affordable Care Act. He's also in favor of negotiating lower prescription drug prices. Would you accept a smaller package that just includes those items?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Absolutely. You know, for instance, prescription drug price reform is something that's been talked about for years and years and years. My constituents are crying out for this particular reform.

The price of insulin, which has not changed in terms of its formulation for decades, has skyrocketed in prices. And so, to be able to tell people that you can finally afford your insulin and you don't have to ration it as you might be doing right now because it's so expensive, would be a big win.

TAPPER: You're on the House Intelligence Committee. Today, the foreign minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, said that the country does not plan to invade Ukraine. From what intelligence you have looked at, do you believe him?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Do I believe him or my lying eyes? I think the real key here is we have to make it very clear to the Russians exactly what the cost would be if they were to invade Ukraine. And to me, those costs are very high.

There will be economic sanctions and that would include, for instance, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline being targeted by the big bipartisan majorities in Congress. This is the pipeline that the Russians want to build to transport energy to Europe.

Secondly, we would definitely supply defensive equipment to the Ukrainians to protect themselves and ward off this invasion. So I strongly suggest that the Russians need to really carefully figure out what the costs are and it's not just the president who would be in favor of sanctions or these measures.

[16:35:05]

It would be huge bipartisan majorities in Congress.

TAPPER: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon reports military leaders are looking at options if Russia invades, military options. Should the U.S. be willing to put boots on the ground in Ukraine?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: No. And our constituents would not want that. It would not be prudent. However, we should help the Ukrainians defend themselves. And we should continue with our supply of armaments to them. But I would oppose any putting of our U.S. forces in Ukraine.

TAPPER: Finally, you maybe heard earlier in the broadcast, at least 70 people, including women and children were killed. More than 130 injured in Yemen today when an air strike hit a detention center. Yemen is blaming the Saudi-led coalition that the U.S. is part of still.

How complicit is the United States? Is the Biden administration in the continued slaughter of innocent individuals, innocent women and children in Yemen by Saudis?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: I am concerned. And I'm glad the president said yesterday that we were going to do more to try to end this conflict, but you have to remember that for years now, we have been arming the Saudis. We've been providing them with support and intelligence, and their bombing campaigns. We have helped to trigger this humanitarian catastrophe and this famine in Yemen.

And so, now, we have to do what's right. We have to stop arming the Saudis. We have to prevent this catastrophe from growing. And we have to use our leverage to end this civil war.

TAPPER: You know, Biden said he was going to do it. He hasn't done it. Congressman, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Have a good weekend.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Florida's governor wants a special new police force to investigate election fraud. We're going to talk to the mayor of Miami, a Republican, if he thinks that's necessary. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:41:32]

TAPPER: In our national lead, the nation's mayors coming together this week to discuss some of the biggest issues facing their communities from coronavirus to failing infrastructure, working toward racial equity, reducing homelessness, ending crime, ending gun violence.

Here to discuss, Miami's Republican Mayor Francis Suarez. He's the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Mayor Suarez, I know coronavirus was a key topic at your conference. New daily cases are starting to tick down in Miami-Dade County, thankfully, but deaths are still increasing. And COVID transmission in Florida, as in much of the country, remains incredibly high.

What help do you need from the federal government or from the state government to contain this?

MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ (R), MIAMI: Well, I think one of the things we heard from the president is the ability to get tremendous amount of rapid tests. Obviously, the ability to test and for people to know whether they are infected is incredibly important to preventing the spread of COVID, whether it's omicron or any other sort of variation. But you are right that a lot of our numbers or most of our numbers are trending in the right direction.

So, we're hoping that we're turning the corner because, obviously, this has been an incredibly long pandemic that has cost, you know, millions of lives and the tremendous amount of economic damage.

TAPPER: You're vaccinated, right, and boosted?

SUAREZ: I am.

TAPPER: So your Governor Ron DeSantis today once again refused to answer whether he has gotten a coronavirus booster shot. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: That's something that, you know, I think people should just make their own decisions on. I'm not going to let that be a weapon for people to be able to use. I think it's a private matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Would it make your life easier if politicians were willing to say yes that they got boosted and pushed more people to get boosted?

SUAREZ: There's a lot of things that would make my life easier as a mayor in particular in terms of sort of the partisan nature of this world. And that's why it's enjoyable to be the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and to be here with hundreds of mayors that I am trying to deal with the nation's actual problems.

TAPPER: All right. You're not going to answer that. I'll move on.

Governor DeSantis is proposing a new dedicated police force to investigate election fraud. It would include more than 50 people who would investigate, detect, apprehend and arrest anyone for an alleged violation of election laws. I know that there has been corruption in elections all over the country, including in Miami -- although I think that dates back to 1997.

But is that needed? Do you need a special police force to focus on election fraud?

SUAREZ: Look, I don't think so. I mean, look, I am not interested in making statements. I'm interested in solving problems. I don't see this as a major problem in our state or in our city, frankly.

You know, I think we've handled presidential elections very, very well, particularly recently. And I think, you know, we had the results from the last presidential election out early. And there were no glitches with the election system.

So I think there's a tremendously liberal opportunity to vote in our cities and in our counties. In Florida you can vote by absentee which I think a month in advance you have a right to vote from your home at any time without any excuse. You can vote early. Certainly in Dade County you can go to a poll two weeks before the election and pretty much every day you have the ability to vote. And you can vote in person election day.

So there's a tremendous amount -- by the way, I think 50 percent of the people or more avail themselves of the first two options of voting and thankfully it's happened without any incident.

[16:45:10]

Obviously, we always want people to participate. We think our democracy is stronger the more people participate. We want high levels of participation in the voting system. TAPPER: Also I think your legislature allows voting -- counties to

count those early votes ahead of time so that you have an answer on election night that doesn't take days and days and days. It would be great if every Republican legislature allowed that throughout the country.

State officials say that --

SUAREZ: That would be -- that would be great.

TAPPER: State officials say more than --

SUAREZ: That would be great. I agree.

TAPPER: Yeah. State officials say more than 800 people were moving to Florida every single day last summer. People really want to live in Florida. But that is also creating a housing crunch for a lot of residents. Miami is now one of the most expensive cities in America to rent an apartment.

Is there anything there that state or federal government can do to help Miami citizens?

SUAREZ: Well, look, you know, not every problem can be solved by a state or federal government. I think the issue in Miami is the fact that we're attractive, the fact that we're a low tax area, the fact that we have spent money on our police department. Actually fighting crime, which has reduced our homicide rate by 23 percent year over year from last year which is not the narrative we've seen across our country. It's making Miami incredibly attractive.

We're number one in the nation in tech job migration. And we've -- we've done a tremendous amount of success in terms of bringing innovative companies and people to our cities.

So I think that has created some short-term supply issues which has increased prices, and we have the ability to grow Miami 10x, ten times our size and one thing that we're good at is growing and we'll continue to grow to meet that demand and maintain our relative inexpensiveness in comparison to cities like New York and California -- you know, cities in California that are, you know, twice, or in some cases, three times more expensive.

TAPPER: Mayor Francis Suarez, always good to see you, sir. Thanks so much for your time. Congratulations on becoming head of the American Conference of Mayors.

Thank you so much, Jake. Thank you.

SUAREZ: Why a flight from Miami to London had to turn around just two hours into the flight. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:52:01]

TAPPER: In our national lead, more bad behavior in the increasingly unfriendly skies. An American Airlines flight bound for London was forced to make an abrupt return to Miami after an unruly passenger refused to wear a mask, ruining the travel plans for the 128 passengers on board. Nice work.

CNN's aviation correspondent Pete Muntean joins us now live.

Pete, wearing a mask in airplanes is a federal requirement. It has been for more than a year. So, what happens to this passenger?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot can and should happen, Jake, to these people because clearly we can't leave this issue in 2021. You know, just imagine the frustration of these more than 120 passengers on board American Airlines Flight 38. You know, the flight plan, 8 hours 45 minutes in blue from FlightAware from Miami to London Heathrow. Instead the green is what actually happened. The flight turned around only about 45 minutes in because American Airlines says a woman on board caused a disturbance because she was refusing to wear a mask.

Now, Miami-Dade police were called. They met the flight at the gate. They escorted that woman off of the plane and they say the airline is handling this. A few different options the airline has.

And law enforcement has. The airline can deal with this by banning this woman from flying again. The FAA can intercede and impose civil fines but not criminal penalties. The fines can be tens of thousands of dollars.

The criminal edge of this gets involved, the Department of Justice can actually investigate and press criminal charges here but we know that does take a little bit of time. The Justice Department does say it's a big priority for them, Jake.

TAPPER: Are these sorts of incidents becoming more common?

MUNTEAN: Well, we've seen the rate of these incident goes down a little bit because 2021 was a banner year for this unruly passenger problem. So far in 2022, we've seen 151 incidents of unruly passengers reported by flight crews to the FAA, 92 of them over masks. So, about 60 percent. 2021, 5,981 incidents, 4,290 mask related, more than 70 percent.

So the mask incidents going down a little bit. Maybe these deterrents are helping a bit, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Pete Muntean, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

The threat of invasion appears to only be growing in Ukraine as the Pentagon prepares military options. We're going to talk to one Republican senator who just returned from a bipartisan delegation trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:59:05]

TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, the other side of omicron. We're in South Africa with a close look at life after the highly contagious variant's wrath.

Plus, the big lie as a strategy. Republican candidates embracing former President Trump's election lies in a whole new way. We'll show you.

And leading this hour, not a negotiation. That's how Secretary of State Antony Blinken described today's high-stakes talks with his Russian counterpart, foreign minister Sergey Lavrov as Russia continues to make provocative moves near Ukraine's border.

In a minute, we're going to talk live with Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi who just returned from a trip to Ukraine.

But, first, CNN's Kylie Atwood starts us off a look at what, if anything, the top -- the two top diplomats accomplished today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The United States and Russia giving diplomacy new life. ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I believe we are now on a

clearer path in terms of understanding each other's concerns, each other's positions.