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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Supreme Court Overturns Colorado Ruling On Trump Ballot Case; Nikki Haley Wins In D.C. Republican Primary, Heads To Super Tuesday; Biden Is Best Choice To Defeat Trump; Anti-Semitism Up Since The October 7th Attack; The Atlantic: "The Golden Age Of American Jews Is Ending"; U.N. Report Finds Evidence Of Sexual Assault, Rape On Oct. 7; Martin Scorsese's Film Chronicles 1920's "Reign Of Terror" Murders Of Osage Nation Members. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired March 04, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Joining us now to discuss former federal prosecutor Elie Honig, and Eli, you've been predicting this exact outcome for months. Was there anything in today's ruling that stuck out to you?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: No, Jake. I think when you take the politics out of this and you take the Donald Trump of it all out of this, the result is fairly straightforward, strictly on a legal and constitutional basis. And it's not often that we see a nine to nothing ruling, but the justices did agree, in fact, that it is not up to the states to enforce and execute the 14th Amendment.

You saw Justices Alito and Thomas in agreement with Justices Sotomayor and Kagan on that point. It simply could not be as a matter of law, as a matter of constitutional interpretation, that every state gets to do what it wants, because otherwise that would leave us with a, quote, "patchwork of different states doing different things according to the decision." So, it's a rare 9-0 opinion and I think they hit the nail on the head here.

TAPPER: Now, we saw two concurring opinions, one by Justice Amy Coney Barrett and one by the three liberal leaning justices. They really had a big disagreement there.

HONIG: Yeah, I think the actual amount of disagreement here isn't that much when you drill down on it. It's important to understand all nine justices agreed it's not up to the states. The five justices in the main opinion said it has to be done by Congress. Only Congress can enforce this. The other four justices said, well, sure, maybe Congress can do it, but there also may be other federal means of enforcement.

Now, frankly, I don't know what they mean by that. I don't know what federal entity other than Congress would be capable of enforcing this. So, there's a bit of disagreement about who can enforce this. Could it be just Congress or some other unnamed entity? But at bottom where they agree and what's really decisive here is it's not up to Colorado. It's not up to Maine. It's not up to Illinois. It's not up to any individual state. TAPPER: So, today's opinion does not directly address whether the

court thinks President Trump's actions on January 6th and around January 6th qualify him as an insurrectionist. Do you think the justices should have addressed that?

HONIG: Not at all. There was never any chance at all, Jake, that they were going to make a finding. Yes, he did, no, he did not engage in insurrection. You and I have talked about that many times. Two reasons. First of all, that is not what the U.S. Supreme Court does. Generally speaking, they don't make findings of fact. They don't hold trials or hearings, except in very rare circumstances, not applicable here.

There was never any way they were going to make a finding on that. Either way, none of the nine justices makes a finding on that. And second of all, they didn't need to make that kind of finding. This is a legal and constitutional and procedural decision. It would have been superfluous if they if they reached that question.

TAPPER: So, the U.S. Supreme Court is going to hear oral arguments next month on this presidential immunity claim, whether Trump has immunity for any crimes he may have committed as president. Most observers seem to think Trump's going to lose that case. What do you think?

HONIG: I agree in this instance with most observers, but I also think it's important to understand what Donald Trump is arguing and what he's not arguing. He is arguing to an extent that he has blanket immunity for everything that happened while he was president. He's going to lose that. That's ridiculous. He's also made this argument that, well, first he has to be impeached and then convicted by the Senate and only then can he be indicted. That, too, I think is ridiculous.

But there's a third argument that may get some traction, which is to the extent the charges relate to conduct within the scope of the presidency, he is immune for that. That could cause the justices to give some real consideration. Ultimately, I don't think Trump prevails on that, but that one's not a no-brainer.

TAPPER: The Supreme Court only took about a month to rule on this Colorado case to keep Trump off the ballot, pretty expedited. How do you compare that with the schedule they have for the immunity deal question?

HONIG: Well, they've already set a longer time schedule for the briefing and argument in the immunity case. But it's important to note, to keep perspective here, the schedule that they've set on the immunity case is actually quite a bit shorter than the ordinary briefing schedule. So, they have expedited this a bit, certainly not nearly as much as Jack Smith would want them to expedite it.

But I do think we'll see a ruling from the Supreme Court sometime in June. And then that leaves maybe a very narrow window, potentially, where this case can get tried before the 2024 election. I think it's unlikely, but not quite impossible. TAPPER: All right, Elie Honig, thanks so much. With me now in studio,

former Trump lawyer, Tim Parlatore. Tim, thanks for being here. Big picture, what's your reaction to the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court today, barring Colorado in any state from removing Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendment?

TIM PARLATORE, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: Yeah, it's not a big surprise. I think anybody watching the oral arguments, you know, expected that it would go that way. And not only that it would go that way, that it would be unanimous. And I think it was a good decision, particularly on the issue of this is not a state's issue. The states don't have the power to pick federal officers.

TAPPER: So, what do you make of the court choosing not to address at all whether Trump's actions on and around January 6th qualify as engaging in an insurrection?

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PARLATORE: Well, Elie has said it correctly. It wasn't an issue that was really before them. And I think that they would really want to try and avoid that and keep it as narrow as possible. And obviously, that was one of the issues between the different opinions is how narrow they were. But to actually come to a factual finding, I don't think it's something that would have been properly before them to begin with.

Plus, you have different bodies that have reached different conclusions on that. You have Colorado that says he was an insurrectionist. And then you have the Senate in the impeachment trial where he was acquitted of that. So, you know, to try and synthesize all those decisions is well beyond what the Supreme Court's scope is on this.

TAPPER: Did you see anything in the opinions today that give you any hint as to how the court might rule on the question of what Trump did on and around January 6th as president that he has immunity from as former president?

PARLATORE: I thought it was kind of interesting how, you know, the dissenting opinions, or rather the concurring opinions were saying that the majority went beyond the scope of the questions that were asked. And one of the things, if you look at the manner in which they granted cert for the immunity, they changed the question.

They narrowed it and they changed it from what either side had asked for. So, they've kind of thrown out the whole impeachment judgment clause and they've thrown out blanket immunity. And the way that they instead phrased it is something that I think they could come to a decision that says these are what the contours are and then throw it back down to say have a pre-trial hearing to decide which parts of this case would fall within immunity and which ones would not.

TAPPER: Trump's court schedule is about to get only busier. His first trial in the New York hush money case from District Attorney Alvin Bragg is set to begin later this month. His Florida classified documents case set to begin in May, though the judge said she might revisit that timeline.

Trump has been able to manage his dual legal campaign schedule thus far. Do you think that's going to change though as the trials consume more of his schedule?

PARLATORE: Oh, I'm sure it is. I mean, when you're on trial, you're in the courtroom all day, every day. And, you know, certainly in some of these courthouses, you're not allowed to bring your phone in. Maybe they have different rules for the former president with the Secret Service detail. But a lot of his time is just going to be taken up. And then once you get out of court at the end of the day, it's exhausting. And so, I do think it will impact it.

TAPPER: Do you think that Trump will end up in a federal courtroom before the November election or do you think ultimately the federal trials, which is the classified documents case and the January 6th case from Jack Smith, are going to be delayed until after the election? And then obviously, if he wins, he'll dismiss them.

PARLATORE: I think the January 6 trial gets pushed out past the election and the classified documents. I give it 50-50.

TAPPER: Fifty-50. Interesting. If you were still representing Donald Trump, which of all these cases would you be most concerned about?

PARLATORE: The classified documents.

TAPPER: Classified, why?

PARLATORE: I think that that is the case that is the most likely to survive an appeal. It's in the friendliest jury pool jurisdiction. There are a lot of good arguments on either side, so it is definitely a good jury question. But I think that there aren't as many legal challenges that would cause it to be overturned on an appeal.

TAPPER: All right, Tim Parlatore, always good to see you. Thank you, sir.

PARLATORE: Thank you.

TAPPER: Turning to our "Politics Lead," Donald Trump's Supreme Court victory lap is propelling him straight into tomorrow's Super Tuesday contests where he is expected to win big. But even if he sweeps every state, Mr. Trump will still be shy of enough delegates to officially clinch the Republican nomination for president. But the lone ranger facing him, Nikki Haley, she's holding a rally tonight in Texas.

She's fresh off a GOP presidential primary win in Washington, D.C., the first woman to ever win a Republican presidential primary ever. She's gearing up for what could be her last stand against the former president. CNN's Kristen Holmes is in West Palm Beach, Florida. CNN's Kylie Atwood is in Fort Worth, Texas.

Kristen, Donald Trump has got to be feeling pretty good about his prospects heading into Super Tuesday tomorrow. KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Jake. Look, they're

feeling good on multiple fronts. One, they are very much aware that Nikki Haley has not said what she's going to do past Super Tuesday. She pledged to stay in through South Carolina. She pledged to stay in through Super Tuesday. But anything beyond that, what they're hoping for is to see her drop out tomorrow night.

Now, as you said, he is going to still be shy of those delegates. But what they are hoping for is to really try to get some momentum behind him, particularly with Republicans who were looking for an alternative. And it's not just voters, but also donors. They want to get that money brought in. They also want to get that support brought in, people who are still looking at Nikki Haley.

Now, they're also feeling good about these various legal issues. One, we saw what happened today. They were expecting a win in the ballot case. They believed it was one of their strongest, if not, their strongest case when it came to all of his mounting legal issues. Donald Trump responding on True Social, saying that it was a big win for America.

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But the other part of this they were looking towards was this immunity claim. They are still feeling very good about the decision of the Supreme Court to take up Trump's immunity argument, not just because they want this immunity claim to be argued out in court. Obviously, you heard Elie there. Most advisors, allies don't actually think this is going to go anywhere.

But the big thing about this is that it does delay the trial. And that is what they have been trying to do since day one. And if you talk to all of Donald Trump's advisors and allies, they fundamentally believe that Donald Trump is not going to face any of these federal trials now before the election in November.

TAPPER: Kylie, why Texas? Why is Nikki Haley choosing Texas for this rally on the eve of Super Tuesday?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Nikki Haley's campaign does not think that they're going to win Texas. But what they do think is that this is a place where they could pick up some delegates. It is a big state, they point out, and delegates are awarded by congressional districts. So, she is visiting two places today, Houston and then here to Fort Worth, where she thinks that she could pick up some delegates, as they keep saying that this is a delegate game for them.

The other thing, Jake, is that tonight, when Nikki Haley speaks here in Fort Worth, it might be the last time that we hear from her before most of the polls close tomorrow on Super Tuesday. That's because there's no events planned for her tomorrow. She's not planning to speak her campaign says. That's because there are some states where polls don't close until midnight Eastern time.

And this is an area right here in Fort Worth that's crowded. There's a lot of folks in from out of state who are visiting. This is a very popular place in Texas to come and see the cattle shows. The cattle show just went past me. I was talking to some folks who are from Fort Worth, though. I just spoke with this man behind me, who is with this cow. And he was saying that he likes Nikki Haley. He likes her determination. But he's with the Donald. He's going to be voting in the primary tomorrow for Donald Trump.

TAPPER: All right. Kylie Atwood in Fort Worth, Texas, and Kristen Holmes in Florida. Thanks so much to both you.

Oval Office access. But President Biden reveals in a new sit-down interview and whether this type of coverage helps or hurts his case that he is fit to be re-elected. That's next.

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TAPPER: This might be my favorite part of the "2024 Lead" these days. Director Justin, please cue the music.

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Thank you. Tomorrow, voters in 16 states and, lest we forget, American Samoa will cast their ballots on Super Tuesday. It is the largest primary contest in this entire election calendar. It's setting the stage, obviously, for a 2020 rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, which means tomorrow could be Nikki Haley's last stand.

So far, Haley has won just one primary. The D.C. contest held this weekend. We should note that is the first time that a woman has ever won a Republican primary in the history of the United States. But that said, let's bring in our panel. So, guys, last hour, I spoke to Nikki Haley, asked her if she plans to stay in the race past Super Tuesday. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, we've said as long as we're competitive, we have been in 10 states just in the past week. I just finished a rally here in Houston, Texas. We had well over a thousand people show up. And these are people this are people -- this isn't an anti-Trump movement. This is a pro-America movement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So that's not the clip from that interview that's going to go viral. But do you think this is the end, ultimately, of Nikki Haley's campaign?

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think it needs to be. And I say that because I was with her on Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina. And the event that she had had to get moved. I went to the wrong place twice because they moved it twice to bigger venues each time. And the very large venue she had was filled to the rafters of people who were there. And there's something that's going on out there in the country right now.

We see it to some extent in Michigan for Democrats as well. And look, does she expect to win North Carolina or Texas tomorrow? No. But she's getting sizable numbers of voters who are saying, we do not want to see this movie again. And she has money to continue. Politicians don't get out of races because they've run out of things to say. They get out of races because they've run out of ways to say it.

NAYYERA HAQ, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CABINET AFFAIRS, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: The longevity for her is there it may not be in the traditional primary or caucus structure. I'm not saying that she's going to run third party. But there are several younger than Biden and younger than Trump candidates out there who are looking beyond 2024. They're looking at what happens to their party, what happens to campaigns in politics after Trump and Biden are no longer able to run for office.

TAPPER: So today, "The New Yorker" published an interview with President Biden. He sat down for a rare Oval Office interview with Evan Osnos. In the article, Osnos writes, quote, describing Biden, "His voice is thin and clotted and his gestures have slowed. But in our conversation, his mind seems unchanged. He never bungled a name or a date," unquote.

Now, Osnos spent 40 minutes with Biden. This is on January 17th. Video has not been released of the interview. What do you think of Biden choosing this kind of venue? We should point out Evan Osnos wrote a biography of Joe Biden. He is somebody that the president trusts and someone who knows the president very well. But is this what he should be doing? Or do you think he should be doing more TV interviews where people can see him?

HEYE: Well, ultimately, people are going to see him on Thursday. And whatever he does in the run up to the State of the Union address is sort of immaterial. Good, he was fine and lucid and okay, his voice was a little off, but on it for a print interview that no one has seen. But what he does in front of Congress and in front of the nation and the world on Thursday night is a much bigger deal.

And I can tell you, having worked on opposition on State of the Union -- States of the Union, what we do is we break down on things in issue, in issue by issue manners.

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We try and do rapid response. The president said this will push back there. He said that will push back there. They're doing that in the House and Senate Republican conferences right now. But they're also prepared for if something goes wrong for Biden, that's where I'll use a word the media often uses.

That's where Republicans will pounce. And that's where the country is going -- that's what the country is going to be looking for. What he says is important. How he says it may be more.

HAQ: Well, the State of the Union is hardly the mass media opportunity that we who are into politics seem to think it is. President Biden was --

TAPPER: Or what it was in the 90s, right? Yeah.

HAQ: President Biden is actually reaching more people on TikTok, despite the controversy of how TikTok operates as a platform. He's reaching more people there than he is anywhere else. That ability to take a message and go to multiple different platforms is going to be critical for either president.

And at the end of the day, what Evan Osnos said in that article about what we have been through in the last four years and how unemployment is a good place, how we're past COVID and the pandemic, the type of stability that we have by the numbers in this country is not something that we had under President Trump.

HEYE: But there are two possibilities here of what will go viral in the State of the Union. One, Joe Biden has a great zinger against Republicans who jeer him or boo him or whatever.

TAPPER: Happened last time.

HEYE: Happened last time.

TAPPER: Yeah.

HEYE: Or something goes wrong for him and every platform will see that.

TAPPER: So, in the interview, Biden insists he's the best Democrat to beat Trump. A New York Times-Siena College poll released this week on shows Biden is trailing Trump nationally by five points. The Biden campaign says, look, most people haven't even tuned in.

And it is true that a lot of voters don't even necessarily understand that it's going to be Joe Biden versus Donald Trump, amazingly enough. But if the election were held today, even Democrats, I know think that Trump would win.

HAQ: It is inconceivable to me that we are doing Biden and Trump all over again. But that is the reality we're facing today. And come October, I think everybody will have to decide who they want at Thanksgiving. Which uncle? They want the crazy racist one who just kind of spouts off and makes comments about women. It's like, oh, he's from a previous time. Or the one who's probably a little bit more serene and maybe talks a little more slower. But you could actually go to for some good advice about what to do.

TAPPER: So, Biden says he doesn't think Trump's going to concede if he loses this November. He says, quote, "losers who are losers are never graceful. I just think that he'll do at anything -- he'll do anything to try to win. If and when I win, I think he'll contest it no matter what the result is." Do you agree?

HEYE: He's probably right. That's what history has shown us. And in the run up to 2016 and 2020, Trump didn't say the quiet part loud. He said the loud part loud. TAPPER: Yeah.

HEYE: If I lose, it will be rigged. There's no reason to expect that he wouldn't do this this time as well.

HAQ: And this also is saying that he's running effectively on a retribution campaign. If you disagreed with me then and you disagree with me now, we're coming for you. This is very, very personal. It's not about the American public when it comes to Donald Trump.

HEYE: And remember, when Donald Trump lost the Iowa caucus in 2016 to Ted Cruz, which he lost, he said it was stolen from him.

TAPPER: Yeah. Which it was not.

HEYE: It was not.

TAPPER: Ted Cruz won it fair and square. This weekend at a rally in Richmond, Virginia, Trump said he wouldn't, quote, "give one penny" to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate. Former Congresswoman, Republican Congresswoman Barbara Comstock from Virginia noted, like most states, Virginia requires MMR vaccine, chickenpox vaccine, polio, et cetera. So, Trump would take millions in federal funds away from all Virginia public schools.

HAQ: I have a first grader and a preschooler, so we are well into the being in a young age school is a petri dish. And the last thing I can conceive of is that we would actively reintroduce measles into the mix (ph). Now, I will give you that the COVID vaccine rollout was less than ideal. Not everybody understood the science, but herd immunity is part of why we are living longer in society as a human civilization.

The idea that we would put that at risk because of individual choice or people refusing to understand science, that's an individual choice. Public schools are about the public good.

HEYE: I agree 100 percent. And Trump had success with Operation Warp Speed. You know, he claimed credit initially. He's walked this back in such a bizarre way. Trump's not a leader quite often. He looks at where the base is going and follows (inaudible).

TAPPER: He does.

HEYE: This is a perfect example.

TAPPER: So, it's Super Tuesday Eve. What are you guys going to be looking for tomorrow?

HEYE: All about margins, especially in suburban area -- suburban areas where Nikki Haley was on Thursday and Friday or Friday and Saturday, Raleigh and Charlotte. Good examples. What are those margins and what does that tell us about Donald Trump's weaknesses and Nikki Haley's strengths to continue?

TAPPER: And whether or not Biden can pick up those Nikki Haley voters theoretically, I suppose.

HEYE: But Donald Trump has said you're not welcome.

HAQ: And remember, these are Republican voters, right. So, it's not like the vast majority of people who are unaffiliated right now are able to actually cast a ballot at the moment. So, I'll be looking at what the Republican women, suburban women turnout would be.

TAPPER: All right. So, both of you guys can be looking at suburban women it sounds like. Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. Looks for live Super Tuesday coverage tomorrow.

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Sixteen races, one consequential day. Special coverage begins tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN and streaming on Max.

Coming up next on "The Lead," in the wake of war between Israel and Hamas and skyrocketing anti-Semitism here in the United States, I'm going to talk to the author behind this provocative headline today, quote, "The Golden Age of American Jews is Ending. I will ask him what he means by that. Stay with us.

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TAPPER: In our "National Lead," recent data from the Anti-Defamation League shows that anti-Semitic incidents in the United States dramatically escalated in the first three months after the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel and Israel responding militarily.

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Three-thousand two-hundred ninety-one incidents in three months in the U.S. And the feeling many American Jews share right now seems bleak. Atlantic staff writer, Franklin Foer, puts it this way, quote, the Golden Age of American Jews is ending, Anti-Semitism on the right and the left threatens to bring to a close and unprecedented period of safety and prosperity for Jewish Americans and demolish the liberal order they helped establish, unquote. And Franklin Foer joins us now. So that's a rather powerful headline, what exactly we do, do you mean the golden age of American Jews is ending?

FRANKLIN FOER, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: So coming out of the post war era after the Holocaust, all of the discrimination that Jews started to had faced previously in American life quote, as the universities, restrictive housing covenants, they all began to fall to the side. And so relative --

TAPPER: It took decades.

FOER: It took decades. But relative to other countries in the diaspora, America became this golden land where Jews became a third of the class at various Ivy League schools. They achieved all of this cultural and intellectual and political influence and they were able to help shape the way that the country thought about essential questions about diversity, about tolerance, about the rights of minorities, many of those things that they push for, were good for the nation, but they were also good for American Jewry.

TAPPER: Yes. And in your piece you write not only about right wing anti-Semitism, but you write about the left embracing anti-Zionism, being against the State of Israel, and that there are examples on full display in California's Bay area, an area that's considered to be pretty liberal, explain.

FOER: So I had started to hear incidents of anti-Semitism in California, there was a menorah on Lake Merritt in Oakland that was desecrated and thrown into the lake. There were examples of graffiti populating. But I started to hear about what was happening in schools where teachers who were very progressive began to try to mold their students into very passionate advocates on behalf of the Palestinian cause. But they weren't teaching this very complicated issue in a complicated way. They were teaching it in a very black and white way.

And so when that began to be translated into the classroom, students received it like kids do. They heard that Jews were stealing people's lands and that Jews were bad people. And so there was this epidemic of bullying that happened all across the Bay Area.

TAPPER: Against Jewish kids?

FOER: Against Jewish kids.

TAPPER: And you're talking about like, what, like junior high, high school, grade school?

FOER: Yes, all -- you know, in every division, I was hearing stories that were pretty heartbreaking about what's happening. In elementary schools there were walkouts on behalf of the Palestinian cause. In middle schools, oftentimes encouraged by teachers.

TAPPER: Yes. And of course, we can all support Palestinian rights and want them to have, want Palestinians to have a free and fair and thriving democracy without bullying Jewish kids.

FOER: Well, I mean, I think one of the things that American Jews experience it's different from other ethnic groups or minority groups is that when something happens in another country, people's first response isn't to -- when something happens in China, people's first response isn't to go break the windows of a Chinese restaurant, their response isn't to ask people they find on the street, what's your position on that, but that's a burden that's imposed on American Jews.

TAPPER: So speaking of the Bay Area, just last week at Cal Berkeley, the university's newspaper, "The Daily Californian," reported that protesters shut down an event hosted by Jewish student groups with protesters chanting, long live the Intifada and killers on campus. This is the same University of Berkeley that as last month moved to dismiss a lawsuit over alleged failures to prevent anti-Semitic discrimination on campus.

And this is just one of many colleges in the U.S. where the Israel- Hamas war is a contentious issue, including your alma mater, Columbia University in New York, which you describe in your piece as a, quote, graphic example of the collapse of the liberalism, that it insulated American Jews. It's a microcosm of a society that has lost its capacity to express disagreements without resorting to animus. Are you surprised to see this happening at Columbia and Berkeley and other more progressive schools?

FOER: I'm not entirely surprised. But I think I'm surprised at the scale and the scope of it. And the way in which disagreements over Israel take this form that tracks so many of the tropes that we've heard in the anti-Semitic Canons (ph) for so many centuries. That -- what it -- criticizing Israel is a very normal and natural thing to do. Many American Jews wrestle with this, the questions about Israel. They have their own criticisms of Israel.

TAPPER: And Netanyahu, it's like a 15 percent approval rating in Israel. I mean, it's -- nobody criticizes him more than Israelis.

FOER: Well, nobody in America believes in a two-state solution more than American Jews according to polling. But when the word Zionism is thrown around and the way that it's evoked on college campuses, it often seems as if it's a synonym for Jews. And so criticisms of Israel end up acquiring all of these other elements that like I said the deep well that we have -- deep reservoir that the Western mind has of anti- Semitic imagery and tropes ends up getting attached to the word Zionism.

[17:35:16]

TAPPER: So obviously, there's a lot of anti-Semitism on the right as well. I mean, the North Carolina tomorrow is going to nominate for governor in all likelihood, somebody that has said anti-Semitic things, Lieutenant Governor Robinson. When you've talked to Jews, what are their concerns about going forward from the Republican Party, obviously, all this from the progressives we've discussed, right?

FOER: So one thing that I think the partisan mind in American polarization makes us do is sometimes get into this competition, which side is worse than the other? When it comes to anti-Semitism, I think it's kind of a silly conversation because it exists on both sides. And that Donald Trump, when he came to office, gave this huge wink to white supremacist and unleashed this wave of anti-Semitism.

And I think anti-Semitism on the left and anti-Semitism on the right, in some ways feed off of one another because there had been taboos that existed in American society that had kept anti-Semitism locked away, that had prevented it from seeping into political conversation into polite conversation. And unfortunately, now we've busted the lock and that taboo has been broken.

TAPPER: And there's obviously a horseshoe theory of this, the, you know, the left that the idea that politics is not a continuum, it's more like this, the far left and the far right meet in the horseshoe when they agree on hating Jews, and I've seen like Susan Sarandon retweeting like people who are essentially Nazis. And a lot of right wingers are capitalizing on anti-Israel sentiment. FOER: Yes. You leave me when you looked at my Twitter feed right now. You'd see that happening all over the place. And it is, I think, symptomatic of the problem that we're describing, which is the breakdown of the liberalism that had governed so much of American life for so long.

TAPPER: All right. Well, it's a provocative piece worth reading. It's in the Atlantic right now, Frank Foer always good to see you, sir. Thanks so much for stopping by. The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations is making a strong argument against a ceasefire deal. He says hostages are suffering. He says many are still victimized sexually, and he says a ceasefire would only make matters worse for them. The preconditions this Israeli ambassador is demanding of Hamas before a ceasefire can happen. That's next.

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TAPPER: A new United Nations report out today concludes that sexual violence against Israeli women took place during the Hamas-led October 7th attacks on Israel. The United Nations envoy said after holding dozens of meetings with survivors and witnesses of the October 7th attacks, plus former hostages, health officials and others, they found, quote, reasonable grounds to believe the conflict related sexual violence occurred during the October 7th attacks in multiple locations, including rape and gang rape in at least three locations, unquote.

The report found clear and convincing evidence that some hostages being held in Gaza were still being subjected to sexual violence, rape, and quote, sexualized torture. The U.N. called for humanitarian ceasefire and for Hamas to immediately release all the hostages still being held. The U.N. also asked Israeli officials to give the U.N. access to investigate sexual assault allegations of Palestinian women being held in Israeli detention. CNN's Bianna Golodryga joins us now. And Bianna, don't the conclusions here underscored the importance of Hamas releasing the hostages now?

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes. And let me read to you further what Pramila Patten, the U.N. representative on sexual violence and conflict wrote on that specific issue with regard to sexual violence committed against hostages, both on October 7th and currently in their reporting. With respect to hostages, the mission team found clear and convincing information that some had been subjected to various forms of conflict related sexual violence, including rape and sexual torture and sexualized cruelty, inhuman and degrading treatment. And it also has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing.

This is also some of the concern that hostages that had been released have slowly but steadily been reporting it in terms of what they heard and what they saw and why there's so much concern about those hostages that remained at least 130. And there are reports that maybe 30 or 31 may no longer be living, but they're all remaining in Gaza. So there is more pressure for these hostages to be released. And there is more pressure for Hamas to agree to a deal that would hold at least a six week ceasefire that would see these remaining hostages, especially the women and the most vulnerable be returned home.

TAPPER: Yes. So you note the report recommends a ceasefire. Here's what the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, had to say about a ceasefire. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GILAD ERDAN, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: The rape cannot continue. The sexual violence cannot continue. And Hamas's survivor -- survival through a ceasefire cannot continue to be promoted advanced here. Instead of calling for a ceasefire with no preconditions, the General Assembly in every human body should be demanding that Hamas terrorists, they should turn themselves in and release all hostages. These are the only acceptable terms for a real ceasefire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So one of the issues there. He's going into is the fact that the discussions are not about Hamas, releasing all the hostages or about Hamas releasing some of the hostages. How do you think his speech is going to impact negotiations if at all?

GOLODRYGA: Well, it appears from our reporting that Israel didn't even send a delegation to Cairo. And that is given that Hamas doesn't seem to be living up to some of the expectations that had been set for them in terms of looking at listing names of the hostages they have. Remember Jake, there hasn't been any proof of life, there hasn't been a Red Cross visit, there is no information as to how these hostages are doing. Hamas even suggesting they don't may not know where all of these hostages are. So you could see both sides here really stuck in their corners.

[17:45:12]

I think what Pramila Patten is advocating for and calling for is given her two and a half weeks in Israel, where she spent time meeting with over 30 people and photo -- and reviewing 5,000 photographs and going over the evidence. Her concern really is about those hostages and getting them out as soon as possible.

TAPPER: The report also noted that there is a limited amount of evidence or firsthand evidence, individuals talking about they're being victimized due to large number of casualties. A lot of these women were killed or kidnapped, and not to mention widespread crime scenes. So a lot of this we may just never know, I guess. But that's also not strange when it comes to sexual violence.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And sexual violence, whether it be reported cases of rape or whether it be sexual violence in war conflicts. And Pramila Patten said that she was not able to meet with any survivors of sexual assault and she asked for them to come forward. But she acknowledged how difficult that is and some continue to undergo medical treatment and just don't feel comfortable going forward. That doesn't negate any of these allegations and a lot of the evidence that has been presented in this report, Jake.

TAPPER: Right. No, obviously, there is physical evidence and obviously there's eyewitness testimony not to mention, of course, the former hostages. Bianna Golodryga, thanks so much for that report.

Coming up, a tragic chapter of U.S. history usually not taught in American schools though it is on the verge of making cinematic history at the Academy Awards.

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[17:50:54]

TAPPER: In our Pop Culture Lead, some of the most celebrated names and film will gather Sunday for the Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and it couldn't be a historic night for up and coming actress Lily Gladstone. She is the very first Native American to be nominated for Best Actress. This is for her performance in Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon." Recently at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, I got the opportunity to talk to Gladstone and Scorsese about the film, which has received 10 Oscar nominations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Old says, they have the worst land possible. But they outsmart everybody. The land had oil on.

TAPPER (voice-over): In the 1920s, members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma were some of the richest people on the planet.

LILY GLADSTONE, ACTRESS: They had all this oil money so much that they, you know, go buy a Rolls Royce run out of gas and then go buy another one.

TAPPER (voice-over): But an era of prosperity soon gave way to a reign of terror, as white men plotted, schemed and systematically murdered at least 24 members of the Osage Nation to take that wealth for themselves.

LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: I do had a lot of money, sir.

GEOFFREY STANDING BEAR, PRINCIPAL CHIEF OF THE OSAGE NATION: There are some families that are grieving to this day.

TAPPER (voice-over): It was a dark chapter in our nation's history

DAVID GRANN, AUTHOR, "KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON": It's one of the worst racial injustices, one of the most sinister crimes that occur in this country.

TAPPER (voice-over): When we don't often learn about in our classrooms.

GLADSTONE: Make no mistake, it was not by the public schools. It was not in the curriculum. TAPPER (voice-over): But it was the subject of David Grann's 2017 Best Seller, "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI," which served as the inspiration for the film adaptation co-written and directed by Martin Scorsese.

MARTIN SCORSESE, FILMMAKER: It isn't simply a case of who did it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was sent down from Washington, D.C., to see about these murders.

DICAPRIO: See what about them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See who's doing it.

SCORSESE: Because I tell you the first shot I take people coming into the town they all did it. They all did. We all did it.

TAPPER (voice-over): Scorsese says at the heart of the film is a love story.

DICAPRIO: This insanely bizarre love story.

TAPPER (voice-over): Between Molly Kyle played by Lily Gladstone in a standout performance.

DICAPRIO: What was that?

GLADSTONE: (Speaking in Foreign Language)

TAPPER (voice-over): And Ernest Burkhart portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio.

DICAPRIO: I don't know what you said. And there must be an Indian for handsome devil.

GLADSTONE: It's also where this great analogy for this greater betrayal can play out.

DICAPRIO: That was hard to fathom and a lot of ways how this woman stuck by someone who was so duplicitous, but it was true. All of it was true.

LONNIE BUNCH, SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: These kinds of films can help us heal, or at the very least help us come to grips with our tortured racial past.

TAPPER (voice-over): "Killers of the Flower Moon" is not just retelling history, it's also making cinematic history, earning 10 Academy Award nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Gladstone, a first for a Native American. And Martin Scorsese is now the most nominated living director in the history of the academy.

TAPPER: You've said this is the most important film you're ever going to make. Did you say that?

SCORSESE: Yes, I did. Yes. Because I had been exploring, you know, who we are as human beings, what we're all capable of, under certain circumstances, but I have been complicit to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Its powerful movie, you can stream "Killers of the Flower Moon" now on Apple TV. It's also available to rent or buy on other video on demand platforms. Coming up, fly Eagle fly, the emotional announcement today from beloved Philadelphia football player, Jason Kelce.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON KELCE, FORMER CENTER, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: Thank you, Philadelphia. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for letting me represent this city and allowing me into your homes every Sunday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:55:00]

TAPPER: It's a sad day in our sports lead, although next stop perhaps Canton. Today, legendary Philadelphia Eagles center, Jason Kelce, announced tearfully his retirement from professional football after 13 seasons. At an emotional press conference, Kelce shared his favorite memories of his football career from his first little league games to his final plays with the Eagles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELCE: Some people struggle to play in the city. They can't handle the boos, the media, or our fans. Consider it a great blessing to play in the most passionate sports town in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Of course, he also touched on his unique relationship with his brother and fellow professional player, Travis, and their iconic face off in the Super Bowl or the Kelce Bowl last year. After Jason Kelce's announcement, the Pro Football Hall of Fame posted, quote, now that Philadelphia Eagles star center, Jason Kelce, has announced his retirement the year 2029 is worth noting. 2029 of course that would be the year that Jason Kelce becomes eligible to enter the Professional Football Hall of Fame. Mr. Kelce, as a Philadelphian and an Eagles fan, and an attendee at the 2018 Super Bowl, all I can say is thank you so much.

[18:00:24]

We are getting ready to kick off a big day here on CNN live coverage of Super Tuesday starts at 6:00 p.m. Eastern tomorrow. You can watch it on CNN and streaming on Max. The news continues on CNN. And I will see you for election coverage.