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GOP Frontrunner For NC Gov Mocked School Shooting Survivors; DHS Secretary Speaks At Border Days Before Covid-Era Migrant Policy Ends; Pete Buttigieg, Transportation Secretary, Discusses Air Traffic Controller Shortage, Debt Ceiling Debate; "Shaken: Baby Powder On Trial" Airs Sunday At 8PM ET. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired May 05, 2023 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[14:33:09]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The Republican frontrunner for North Carolina governor in 2024 is under renewed scrutiny for statements he made mocking the teenage survivors of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
This man, North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, used social media to attack several of the Parkland students for their advocacy on gun control. He's called them things like, quote, "spoiled, angry, know-it-all children and media prostitots."
Joining us now is CNN "KFile" senior editor, Andrew Kaczynski.
Andrew, you've sifted through a lot of Robinson's social media posts that have mostly gone unreported. What did you find?
ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN "KFILE" SENIOR EDITOR: That's right. First, the context here is that Robinson was 50 when making these remarks. The students were 16, 17, 18.
He was an opponent of gun control, who became famous because a speech of him speaking out against gun control in 2018 went viral. Those students, of course, founded the March for Our Lives gun control movement in the aftermath of that shooting in Parkland, Florida.
I want to walk our viewers through a few posts that he made on social media.
First, take a look at this post here he made about the students. And this is less than a week after the shooting.
Saying that the students were "using it solely for fame, riding a river of blood from the devil," according to him.
The next comment from Robinson that he made on social media, he refers to the student activists as "Communists or Marxist Socialists," talking to people on his Facebook account comparing them to Nazis.
And then when Robinson apparently got some backlash for his comments, he put out a tweet in which he actually mocks people who are saying, you shouldn't be making fun of these students.
[14:35:09]
He tweeted the laughing/crying emoji several times, saying that the students needed to "know their place" when it came to being activists for greater gun control measurements.
We did reach out to Robinson's office a few days ago to ask about these posts. We did not hear back from them or get any comment.
SANCHEZ: We look forward to some response at some point.
Andrew Kaczynski, thank you for that. Appreciate it.
Jim?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: The debt ceiling drama is reaching new levels. President Biden calling it a, quote, "manufactured crisis" and meeting cabinet member. We'll speak to a member of the cabinet, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, about the ongoing debate coming up.
And it is coronation eve in the United Kingdom. We'll tell you how the royals and the country are preparing.
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[14:40:27]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Now to some other headlines we're watching this hour.
King Charles is getting up close and personal with the public ahead of his coronation tomorrow. He made a surprise appearance on the Mall near Buckingham Palace greeting the crowds of well-wishers and shaking hands.
Britain is preparing to welcome its first new monarch in 70 years following the passing of Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
And first lady, Jim Biden, is there to lead the U.S. delegation and representing the president, who will not be attending.
Mrs. Biden. She began her three-day trip with a visit to 10 Downing Street, meeting with wife of the British prime minister. Later, she met with veterans and their families and the coronation fair hosted by a local primary school.
Remember, CNN will carry tomorrow's coronation. Live coverage begins at 5:00 a.m. Eastern.
Also, it is "case closed" for former North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn. He just pleaded guilty to bringing a loaded handgun through a TSA checkpoint. That is a third-degree misdemeanor charge. And it happened last year at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.
The trial was supposed to begin today. His attorney says he was fined $250 without probation and police will return his firearm.
And just as the summer travel season is set to begin, Yosemite had to shut down a major highway inside the park because of this giant crack in the road. It's about 200 feet long, up to four-feet deep.
Officials say it even moved the road's serves a few inches vertically and horizontally and it is still moving. Repairs are under way and it could take to July to complete.
Jim?
SCIUTTO: As the summer travel surge gets ready to kick into high gear, the FAA is opening a rare three-day window today for applications to become an air traffic controller.
It comes as the agency says that nationwide two in 10 air traffic controller jobs are now empty. The impact felt everywhere. In New York, for example, the FAA is warning summer travel delays in the city's three main airports to rise by 45 percent.
Meanwhile, on the runway, you may have noticed, we have seen several near misses. At least seven close calls this year alone.
Joining me to discuss this -- oh, stand by.
Actually, we're going to the southern border where the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is speaking. We'll listen in briefly.
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: In a post-Title 42 environment, we will be using our expedited removal authorities under Title VIII of the United States Code allowing us to remove individuals very quickly.
We will, by May 11th, finalize the rule that we publish in a proposed format that provides that individuals who do not access our lawful pathways will be presumed to be ineligible for asylum and have a higher burden of proof to overcome that presumption of ineligibility.
We are building lawful pathways. And we are delivering consequences for those who do not use those meaningfully accessible pathways.
The message is very clear. We are coming with the relief that our laws provide to the individuals in need. The border is not open. It has not been open. And it will not be open subsequent to May 11th.
And the smugglers who exploit vulnerable migrants are spreading misinformation. They are spreading false information, lies in a way to lure vulnerable people to the southern border. And those individuals will only be returned.
To the individuals themselves who are thinking of migrating, do not believe the smugglers. Please, access the official government publications. Please, access the -- the official government information on the Department of Homeland Security Web site for accurate information. Because you are being deceived, and you are risking your lives, and your life savings only to meet a consequence you do know expect at our southern border.
To meet our objectives, we have been and continue to surge resources. Personnel, transportation capabilities, airplanes to affect a greater number of removals every week.
[14:45:00]
Additional facilities, the remarkable facility that the United States Border Patrol set up here in collaboration with the community of Brownsville. This was set up in just 72 hours.
We are surging resources.
Earlier today, we also announced a distribution of additional funds to border communities, nonprofit organizations and several interior cities to meet their needs in their partnership with us to address the situation at our border and to address the humanitarian needs of migrants.
We distributed approximately $330 million more for betterment of those organizations.
We have a plan. We are executing on that plan. I have come to McAllen in Brownsville to see firsthand that plan in action.
Fundamentally, however, fundamentally, we are working within a broken immigration system that, for decades, has been in dire need of reform. That is a fact about which everyone agrees. And we urge Congress to fix our broken immigration system.
And until then, we will do everything that we can within our authorities to provide an orderly and safe pathway for individuals who qualify for relief under the laws. United States of America.
Thank you.
And with that, I will turn it over to deputy Commissioner Carry Huffman of Customs and Border.
BENJAMINE "CARRY" HUFFMAN, ACTING CBP DEPUTY COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Secretary.
SCIUTTO: You've been listening there to the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaking from the southern border in advance of the end of Title 42, as it's known, the Covid-era rule which tightened or gave Border Patrol greater leeway to turn away potential migrants.
Among the changes the secretary saying the administration is implementing is raising the threshold for asylum petitions to be improved.
We'll continue, of course, to monitor the situation. We do have reporters on the border.
I want to turn back to another member of the cabinet, and that is the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg.
Mr. Secretary, thanks, first, for your patience there as we went to the border for a brief diversion.
PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Thanks for having me on.
SCIUTTO: So back to the topic we were discussing prior to going to the southern border, that is a shortage of air traffic controllers. Two out of 10 positions currently unfilled.
You got a numbers problem there. Right? I wonder how you're going to solve it.
BUTTIGIEG: Well, right now, we've got about 11,500 controllers. The optimal number is closer to about 14,500. We just got a report to Congress laying that out, controllers in training and a number eligible to retire.
To get the numbers where they need to be, we are hiring right now. There is an application window open this week. And I encourage anybody who is interested in a career that, by the way, is not just meaningful and purposeful, but also pays quite well, to consider applying.
Let me also say this is yet another example of what is at stake in the question of what our budget is going to be next year.
The House Republican plan just passed through the House, if that were to become law, that would stop us completely from hiring air traffic controllers. And this is no time to do that.
You know, we've seen a lot of improvements in terms of air service this year. The last four months, cancellations below 2 percent.
But if you stop us completely from being able to hire and train air traffic controllers, there's no way we can guarantee to continue delivering results, which, of course, we have. And we've been working very hard and this would make it that much harder.
SCIUTTO: I want to get to budget negotiations. Briefly, already May 5th. Summer's coming rapidly. Takes a long time and, rightfully so, to train up air traffic controllers.
How much of that gap, several thousand, as you noted in controllers, will you be able to fill in time for the summer season?
BUTTIGIEG: Let me be clear. Controller availability is not the cause of most cancellations and delays we see. And the gaps seen have built up over years. This is nothing we can't prepare for going into this summer.
But this is part of why we're working so hard to train new air traffic controllers. We got 1,500 who came in, in the last cohort for this year. The president's budget has the resources to bring another 1,800 onboard.
But if the House Republican budget were to pass, we would be completely stuck. We would have to stop training at exactly the moment when we needed to do even more and not less.
Whether we're talking about safety, air traffic controllers, any of the other important work we do in this department.
SCIUTTO: The administration, the presidential position is well known. It does not -- they do not want to negotiate with Republicans on this.
[14:50:03]
But, again, another math problem. You don't have votes in the House. They just passed a budget you don't like. The president met with the cabinet earlier today calling this a "manufactured crisis."
The political fact, the simple political fact -- you know politics -- that the administration has to negotiate now or risk not raising the debt limit, and all the financial consequences.
BUTTIGIEG: Well, the president was very clear. I was with him earlier today as he made those remarks, that, of course, we negotiate budgets. So we're negotiating the budget right now. And part of what I expect will happen when the president hosts Speaker McCarthy at the White House next week.
Budgets are negotiable. That's a normal process. Whether America pays its bills is not.
It's absolutely appropriate to negotiate on the details of what the budget will look like. It is absolutely not appropriate to negotiate over whether to destroy the American economy.
That is what Republicans have -- in the House, have threatened with this debt ceiling fight.
Let's take default off the table. In 200 years, the U.S. has never defaulted on its debts. That's not a negotiation over how much debt to take on. It's the equivalent of deciding whether to pay your mortgage bill when it comes in the mail.
The U.S. always pays its bills. And if we come even close to not doing that, the result is economic destruction.
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BUTTIGIEG: Let's put that off to the side. And then, of course, there's going to have to be a give and take, push and pull, a negotiation which is under way. The president's negotiating position was put forward in this very --
SCIUTTO: Let's talk about --
BUTTIGIEG: -- detailed budget. SCIUTTO: Let me zero in on that give and take. The Republican
proposal, for instance, includes things like expanding work requirements for Medicaid, food stamps, something that you, the president oppose.
Where are you willing to give ground? Can you name a category where you and the administration or the president and administration would be willing to give ground?
BUTTIGIEG: Again, the president has spelled out in a great deal of detail what our opening position is as an administration.
And the Republicans have passed this bill, which, if you just do the math on it, yes, definitely kicks people off Medicaid, affects education, it would affect the V.A., which is very upsetting to me as a veteran, and cuts railroad safety inspections, stop us hiring air traffic controllers.
And it would also stop us from modernizing the computer system that gave us so much trouble and earlier this year, the air systems mission.
We need to understand at a higher level of detail. For example, some House Republicans denied some of their own math in terms what the bill amounts to.
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BUTTIGIEG: So is there another category they haven't made clear? They should lay that out. That's exactly the kind of thing they can, and I think that will go on in the negotiations. The president is hosting those.
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SCIUTTO: Can you -- make for cuts? By the way, I've asked the same question of Republican lawmakers.
BUTTIGIEG: We're not going to negotiate against ourselves. Right? We need to actually have a reasonable conversation about what's possible here.
But we're always looking for savings. Here at the department, for example, looking at ways to use technology in order to save on everything from the day-to-day operations of the department to savings for the aviation system.
Use GPA technology, making about 150 new air routes possible, more efficient than in the past, and that will lead to cost savings. We love finding opportunities to deliver savings.
Let me also emphasize --
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SCIUTTO: We have to leave it there. BUTTIGIEG: -- cuts the deficit.
SCIUTTO: We will have to leave it there.
I do appreciate you taking time and patience earlier. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Boris, to you.
SANCHEZ: Do a now discontinued baby powder causing cancer? Thousands of women and men claim that Johnson & Johnson's talc baby powder is responsible for their health issues.
The $400 billion company vehemently denies the claims but is facing nearly 40,000 lawsuits related to those allegations.
Watch this clip.
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LARA FAHNLANDER, CLAIMS SHE WAS INJURED BY BABY POWDER: It started in spring and summer. I was starting to feel like I wanted to have kids. So I saw a doctor.
And she told me, yes, we should do your follicle count. And the next day, I got the results that just said, yes, your count is fine, but you have malignant masses.
This is leaving Sloan-Kettering and then this is it, healing up, and then chemotherapy.
I mean -- you get this diagnosis, right, and you don't understand how -- what I have, asbestos? Everywhere I've gone I've always had some Johnson & Johnson baby powder.
[14:55:01]
I just never imagined that something that you would use on babies was unsafe.
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SANCHEZ: I want to bring in CNN chief investigative correspondent and anchor, Pamela Brown, who covered this story for this week's episode of "THE WHOLE STORY" with Anderson Cooper."
What did you find?
PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT & ANCHOR: We did an investigation because, look, there's nearly 40,000 lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, an iconic American brand and its iconic product, talc-based baby powder.
So we wanted to look at the science, the stories of some of these plaintiffs. You saw one there, Lara. We interviewed two other women who bring us along on their journey, filing suit against this multimillion-dollar corporation.
And we sit down with a key attorney, an outside attorney for Johnson & Johnson who defended the company in the courtroom, and she says flat out that there is no asbestos in its products.
Here's what she says.
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BROWN: So, Johnson-and-Johnson at the center of this. And it is essential to hear from this lawyer who has been defending Johnson & Johnson in court.
ALLISON BROWN, TRIAL ATTORNEY: The first thing that is most important for me that people know about these cases is that they are doing an enormous disservice to a very important issue of women's health.
What we can say with 100 percent certainty is that we have never confirmed a finding of asbestos in any product that has been sold. And that decades of scientific testing and study have shown that our talc is safe and does not cause cancer.
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BROWN: I also asked her about internal memos at Johnson & Johnson from the 1950s with executives inside raising concerns about asbestos.
This is all going to unfold this Sunday night.
SANCHEZ: Wow. Look forward to watching that.
This Sunday night, be sure to watch. It's a new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY" with Anderson Cooper, "SHAKEN: BABY POWDER ON TRIAL."
Pamela Brown, thank you so much for that.
It airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Stay with CNN. We're back in n just a few moments.
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