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Trump Shares, Then Deletes Video Depicting Obamas As Apes; Trump Urges GOP Lawmakers To Pass National Voter ID Mandate; Pitches SAVE Act; Seahawks-Patriots Marks Latest Super Bowl Rematch. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired February 06, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: And that it's putting actual artists out of work who are already struggling enough. She said, I hate it. Sort of on the other end of the spectrum, I spoke with Lincoln Vonk. He's a sophomore from Georgia. He said he is hoping to be a politician or a business owner. And he's already trying to learn how to use AI, for example, to write up mock bills.

He told me, I use AI to better understand different facets of an issue. I've used it for religious questions before to understand different denominations of my faith. If you want to be competitive in a space, you have to be on top of AI.

And then I also spoke with Karissa Tang. She's a senior from California. She's hoping to be a product manager or entrepreneur. And she told me, whether we see the good or bad in it, we know it's going to impact the way we live. I think many teens are concerned about AI's impact on employment.

And interestingly, Karissa told me that she's hoping to study in college, both business, but also something like philosophy or religious studies. And that's actually something I heard from experts that many teens are looking to study, both a more technical major in college, but also something in the humanities to try to hedge their bets as they don't yet know which of those areas are going to be most impacted by AI. Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Man, that is going to be a lot of work is what that's going to be. Claire Duffy, thank you so much. Really interesting to hear what those folks have to say.

So we're following some breaking news on Wall Street. The Dow just crossed 50,000 points for the first time ever. Tech stocks recovering after days of heavy selling. We'll be taking a look at this. Stay with us.

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[14:35:48]

KEILAR: Fierce backlash today after the president posted and then later removed a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. Now we're choosing not to show it, but the images appear at the end of a video that pushes false claims that voting machines help steal the 2020 election.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: At first, the White House defended the president's post, saying that the swift and widespread condemnation was fake outrage. In a statement, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said, quote, this is from an Internet meme video depicting President Trump as the king of the jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King.

Despite that defense, the video was later taken down roughly 12 hours after it was posted. And then the White House blamed a staffer for posting it.

Let's talk about this with Howard history professor Ibram X. Kendi, who wrote the book "How to Raise Antiracist." His forthcoming book is called "Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age." Thank you so much for being with us.

In response to this post, you wrote that the most foundational racist idea is likening black people to apes. Talk to us about the history here.

IBRAM X. KENDI, AUTHOR, "HOW TO RAISE AN ANTIRACIST": Yes, it's an idea that dates all the way back to the 1500s. And this idea became quite foundational in justifying what's known as the Atlantic human trade of African people. It was foundational in colonization of Africa. It was foundational in slavery because it presupposed that black people were like animals and black people could be driven like animals and labor on plantations like animals. And so that's what makes it so insidious and so harmful.

KEILAR: And I just wonder. We detailed the White House's response here. It's been a bit of an evolution, right? At first it was to decry, quote, fake outrage and call it an internet meme. And now it's to blame it on a White House staffer. Although I know a lot of people will question whether that's the truth because of how much the president posts personally himself. What do you think about these different explanations?

KENDI: Well, I want to talk specifically about it being an internet meme. A lot of scholars and researchers have documented that one of the ways that racist ideas spread on the Internet is through memes, and not only through memes, even in casual conversation, through jokes.

And so just because it's a meme or a joke, that doesn't necessarily mean it's harmful. And in fact, that's one of the most harmful ways in which people are spreading racist ideas today.

SANCHEZ: I also wonder, Ibram, what you think about Trump repeatedly targeting the Obamas. I mean, President Obama has been out office for 10 years, and sure, he's been critical of Trump, but he's not currently attacking him. And he certainly doesn't personally attack him the way that Trump seems to repeatedly go after the former president.

KENDI: To me, I think it's actually a form of envy, extreme envy. And unfortunately, when we look at the history of this country, there have been many accomplished black people who have faced all sorts of resentment from other Americans, particularly white Americans, because of their accomplishments.

And frankly, I think that's what's happening with Trump and the Obamas. He's resentful, and if anything, he's personifying the level of resentment that many Americans have seeing black people accomplish things.

KEILAR: You've seen some of the reaction from Republicans, including Senator Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, who said that this is the most racist thing he's seen to come out of this White House and that the president, you know, the White House should take it down.

[14:40:10]

Senator Curtis, Senator Wicker, what do you make of the reaction that has come out from the president's own party?

KENDI: Well, I think it's good that they're identifying this post, this video as racist and are pushing back against it. But I'm hoping that they will then start moving to some of the policies and practices that this administration is also engaged in.

This is the same administration that is describing black and brown immigrants as animals and has unleashed ICE and other agencies to remove them as if they're dangerous within our society. So I want to see if they're also going to push back against that because there's this direct connection between that video and this administration's policies.

SANCHEZ: And lastly, I wonder if you could speak to what the danger is of the President of the United States amplifying this message, whether deliberately or not as the White House says, it's a mistake. It's still out there. And it's not some anonymous, you know, Twitter egg. It's the President of the United States.

KENDI: I think that's what makes it so dangerous. And indeed, one of the most dangerous racist ideas is the idea that black people are dangerous. And one of the reasons why we're described as dangerous is because we're constantly compared to vicious action animals.

And so it's incredibly dangerous for this president to be doing that because it literally endangers black people in the United States and frankly, all over the world.

SANCHEZ: Ibram X Kendi, we have to leave the conversation there. We appreciate you joining us and sharing your point of view.

KENDI: Thank you for having me.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, we're going to take a closer look at the President's push to pass a sweeping voter ID bill as the White House downplays President Trump's call to nationalize elections.

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[14:45:45]

SANCHEZ: President Trump has been turning up the pressure on Republicans to pass a voter ID bill. In a Truth Social post, the president calling on Republicans to pass the Save America Act. That Republican bill not only calls for voter ID, but also requires voters to show proof of citizenship to register to vote.

Trump wants Republicans to also severely limit mail-in ballots. This comes as there is new pushback against the president's calls to nationalize voting. A joint statement from 24 Democratic governors condemned the president's plan, saying in part, President Trump's threats to remove the ability of states to run their own elections is an undemocratic attempt to silence the American people.

We're joined now by one of those governors, Kentucky's Andy Beshear. He's also the chair of the Democratic Governors Association. Governor Beshear, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us.

So Kentucky shared its public voter file with the Department of Justice, but excluded Social Security numbers and driver's licenses, information that DOJ has since requested. I wonder why you think they want that information and whether you plan to share it.

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D) KENTUCKY: Well, that ultimately goes through the Secretary of State and the Board of Elections. But every time this administration has come for the personal information, the personal data of our people, I've stood up and pushed back. We sued him when he tried to do it through SNAP. We've sued him when he tried to do it through Medicaid. This administration continually wants to get information on my citizens, Democrat, Republican and Independent, that they don't need, that they don't deserve, and that we promised that we would protect from private or public interests.

But let me just say, this push to, quote, unquote, nationalize elections, that's not where he started. Where he started was saying Republicans need to take over certain number of elections. This is because he knows he's about to lose and lose big. He's going to lose the House, he might lose the Senate, he's going to lose a lot of governors' races.

And instead of trying to pivot and address affordability, people's everyday concerns, the fact that his economic policies are devastating families throughout the United States. He's trying to rig the next set of elections.

SANCHEZ: On the question of trying to get that information, DOJ, about your, the citizens of your commonwealth, why is it that you think they want it? Do you suspect that they're trying to do something with it?

BESHEAR: Well, I think what they want to do is try to create fear. They want to try to silence the voices of our citizens. They want people that are voters and valid voters to think that they shouldn't show up at the polls. But guess what? They are going to show up in droves. They see what's going on. It's anti-American, it is undemocratic and people are going to stand up and turn out for the future of this country.

What we saw last year in the elections of Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill by enormous margins, show the American people are ready for change and they won't be bullied by this president or anybody else.

SANCHEZ: In that memo that DOJ sent to Kentucky requesting that information, they said that they want to conduct analysis. And if they find the analysis shows maintenance issues, insufficiency, inadequacy, anomalies or concerns, they would notify the state in order to cure those voter rolls.

Do you think they're going to stop at notifying or is this just an attempt for control over your elections?

BESHEAR: So as you can see by what they wrote, they don't have any real suspicions. We have a Republican secretary of state. He and I have worked to make sure we can conduct elections during the pandemic and at other times we don't see issues with our voting systems yet. This administration is doing this to every state.

Again, trying to create the fear and the concern, trying to get information that they are not entitled to, that remember, we promise to protect from or for our citizens.

[14:50:04]

And then I think regardless of what they think they would do with that information, the goal here is to suppress turnout to make some people nervous that they shouldn't go and vote. And again, that's the most antidemocratic principle or move you could make. The bedrock of this country is our democracy and your right to vote.

And I think it is so ironic that a president who continues to whine about losing a quote, unquote rigged election, and I think it's been fully litigated that was a free and fair election, is now openly talking about rigging one in the future.

SANCHEZ: When it comes to voter ID measures in your home state, you have spoken out against them. Polling shows that it is a popular proposal even among members of your party. Do you think Democrats should consider supporting at least some version of the SAVE Act in order to negotiate changes to ICE policy in this week or so that they have left to litigate DHS funding?

BESHEAR: Well, I think that voting rules should be reasonable. They should be reasonable because people shouldn't have to go through a ton of different steps just to exercise their most fundamental right. We shouldn't be putting new policies or new requirements on the American people if most, if not virtually all of the American people don't already have the types of documents or IDs that would otherwise satisfy it.

We've got to make sure that while we want to make sure our voting system is safe and that there is not fraud, that we are not putting different policies in place that would push people away from the ballot box.

You know, when it comes to ICE, this is a law enforcement group that is acting like anything but a law enforcement group. They are overly aggressive. They need to be fully recalled, retrained, and they need to ultimately be reformulated.

Yes, we need tighter borders. Yes, we need to enforce our immigration laws. But the American people are very uncomfortable with what they're seeing right now, especially in Minneapolis. In fact, today we had Republican senators on the floor in Kentucky speaking out against what they're seeing. That really says something.

SANCHEZ: Governor Andy Beshear, thanks so much for the time.

BESHEAR: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, the fun is over. Now it's business time for the teams in the Super Bowl. We're going to take a look at their final preparations ahead of Sunday's kickoff as we look at live pictures from Levi Stadium, where Super Bowl XL is set to go down.

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[14:57:52]

KEILAR: Two teams that started the season as long shots, ending the season in the biggest game of all. The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks facing each other on Sunday. So who's going to lift the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XL? CNN Sports Anchor Andy Scholes is having way too much fun in San Francisco.

Seriously, so much fun, Andy. Every live shot, you're just having a blast. Who are the people cheering to win the game out there?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, Brianna, I spoke to a lot of people last night at NFL honors, and multiple people told me they want Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold to win this super bowl and complete that journey from bust to champion.

So Darnold really is the sentimental favorite out here. You know, he was drafted by the Jets third overall back in 2018. Didn't work out there. He bounced around the league. He actually came here to San Francisco in 2023 to back up Brock Purdy. And I got the chance to catch up with Purdy. You know, Darnold has said before that season really helped turn his career around. And I asked Purdy, well, what did he see from Darnold while he was here with the 49ers?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROCK PURDY, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS QUARTERBACK: He was awesome, man. He came in and was willing to, you know, learn from Kyle and Klay Kubiak and Brian Greasy and, you know, just his role as a backup league. He did such a good job with, you know, helping me out with things. And just overall, man, like, he has a great attitude. And for him to come in and learn and then go to apply it in Minnesota and now Seattle and him have success. Like, I'm really happy for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. Now, you never know who you're going to get to talk to out here during Super Bowl week. And my biggest interview literally was The Mountain from Game of Thrones. So he was out here talking about the enhanced games where he's going to be competing at in Las Vegas, where he's going to try to break his own record and deadlift more than 1,100 pounds.

And, well, since he's not protecting Cersei Lannister and King's Landing anymore, I asked The Mountain if he's ever considered playing some football.

[15:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAFPOR JULIUS BJORNSSON, POWERLIFTER AND ACTOR: Minnesota Vikings reached out to me, and they flew me out and make a whole costa for me. And I was there with them the whole --

(END VIDEO CLIP)