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Don Lemon Tonight

McConnell Blasts Greene's Loony Lies; Biden Meets With GOP Senators On COVID-19 Relief Legislation; January Was Deadliest Month Of Pandemic; Massive Winter Storm Hits Northeast And Mid-Atlantic; Impeachment Trial To Begin Next Week; House Dems To Accuse Trump Of Intentionally Inciting Rioters; Rochester Police Officers Handcuff And Pepper Spray Nine-Year-Old Girl After Call About Family Trouble. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired February 01, 2021 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

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DON LEMON, CNN HOST (on camera): President Biden meeting in the Oval Office tonight with a group of Republican Senators, attempting to find common ground on a COVID-19 relief bill. The meeting was set for an hour, it lasted two. The president's plan calls for spending $1.9 trillion. Republicans want to spend a lot less, about $618 billion.

Senate Majority Leader, -- excuse me, I sued to saying that, Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell taking a hard swipe at GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling her embrace of conspiracy theories a cancer for the Republican Party.

Also tonight, sources saying investigators are recommending to prosecutors that no charges be brought against the Capitol police officer, who shot and killed a pro Trump rioter during the insurrection.

Joining me now CNN's White House correspondent, John Harwood and former Trump White House communication director, Anthony Scaramucci. Gentlemen, good evening from the snowy northeast, I hope you guys are hunkering down.

John you first. President Biden met with Republicans Senators for two hours tonight on COVID relief. Senator Collins called a meeting, excellent but their plans are incredibly far apart. So where do these negotiations stand now?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I think we're going to wait and see, if the Republican Senators are willing to come up, Joe Biden and his team have made pretty clear that fast is important to them and big is important to them. They reiterated that after the meeting tonight, good discussion, it's got to be big.

While the Republican proposed package was one-third the size of what Biden has proposed. And in addition to that, it left out a must-have for Democrats that is state and local government aide. This is something Democrats had been demanding for months, Republicans have been resisting.

And the fact that that was left out of the Republican proposal is an indication that this wasn't a serious offer, intended to really gain a response from Biden. The question now is whether the Republicans want to show that they want to make it hard for Joe Biden to turn away and do an all Democratic loot through the budget reconciliation process.

Right now, it's easy for Biden to turn away and do that. It looks like he can control of 50 votes, if they come up significantly, Biden might be tempted but he's not right now.

LEMON: Alright. Anthony, Democrats can go it alone if they stick together and Biden knows a lot of struggling Americans support of a big bill. So why wouldn't he go with what people want over bipartisan support?

ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, FOUNDER/ MANAGING PARTNER, SKY BRIDGE CAPITOL (on camera): Well, he may very well do that, I think John maybe right. I guess he's just wants to see what the other potential outcomes are. I predict he won't do that by the way, this just might be my biases that the president wants to see if he can create some level of unity, Don.

[23:05:00]

But he certainly could do that. Bernie Sanders is telling people that he has the votes, meaning the 51 votes so he can just ran it through. But I think he's trying to create a different environment in Washington right now. And hopefully the Republicans will come up, if they don't then they will likely do that, Don.

LEMON: So Anthony listen, I don't disagree with your analysis. I know this you analyzing it. In any other time, I would say, OK fine. And I think most people would say that. But in a time where people are desperate every single day, when they can't pay their bills, when they're worried about putting food on the table. All sorts of things.

Every single minute hurts. Every single minute counts. So, listen I'm all for the lesson teaching and the Kumbaya, but that doesn't help folks who need the money. They need a check and they need it right now. You know what I'm saying? They need COVID vaccines and testing and they need it right now.

SCARAMUCCI: Oh, I agree with you. I got my 11-day PhD. in this nonsense, OK? I'm just telling you how it works, I mean, --

LEMON: I know that. That's what I said, that was my caveat, yes.

SCARAMUCCI: No, I said, last year, we should go with the bigger stimulus that if you do the math, they probably need a $3 trillion stimulus versus a 1.9, (inaudible). Where I wore, Don. So, I think they're quibbling over this stuff, but that's what they do.

LEMON: Yes. John, listen also tonight Mitch McConnell finally speaking out calling Marjorie Taylor Greene a cancer. But she is fighting back, and it's not really clear who is going to win this fight right now? HARWOOD: Well, the House Republican leadership has been pretty weak in

taking this on. Obviously, McConnell is right over the long term. The more influence and visibility people like Marjorie Taylor Greene get, the worse it is for the Republican Party. She's crazy.

And if you identify people like that, as at the center of your political movement as Donald Trump did buy this phone call with her, and she came out and said that Donald Trump had a great phone call with me and that suggests that Donald Trump is elevating her.

And Mitch McConnell is trying to call out that threat. It's belated, of course the Republicans have tolerated playing footsie with some of the elements that produced Marjorie Taylor Greene for quite a long time. But Mitch McConnell has now lost his majority, he wants to win it back. And I think it's inescapable at some point, the Republicans have to take this on.

Unless they are going to simply meltdown into a party of fanatics, and basically all college educated people with normal lives, are going to gravitate out of there. If they don't call it out.

LEMON: Let's talk about that phone call, Anthony that Marjorie Taylor Greene have with the president this week. Do you think that's why she's feeling more empowered, so empowered to take on Mitch McConnell?

SCARAMUCCI: Maybe, but I think she's nervous. I think that's a bombshell from Mitch McConnell, and I think that the real person here is Kevin McCarthy. I mean, I'm almost sad about where Kevin is at this point, in his life about five years ago he said to me that we needed more thermostats in Washington, as leaders not thermometers.

Meaning people just checking the temperature, we needed to guide people if there was ever a moment to guide people. It would be her removal, Don. So, I just think he's wildly ambitious now, he wants to be the Speaker of the House more than anything, I think he is losing his principles and his judgment related to this.

And I think Senator McConnell is basically sending a message to him and other Republicans, we better lead here and start to excise people with this sort of nonsense.

LEMON: Yes, thank you gentlemen, I appreciate it.

So let's talk about how urgent the need is right now, COVID hospitalizations are beginning to decline but January was by far the deadliest month of the pandemic. Over 95,000 Americans lost their lives last month and an increase of almost 20,000 deaths compared to December.

So, think about like this, of the over 440,000 people who have died at the virus in the U.S., about 22 percent of those deaths, reported in January 22 percent reported in January. And with more than 470 cases of the new more contagious variant here in the U.S., experts are warning that the worst of the pandemic could be yet to come. Again, that's the urgency. That's the moment that we are in. Joining me now CNN medical analyst, Dr. Jonathan Reiner. Doctor, thank you so much, 32 million people have already been vaccinated and the pace just is picking up. But these new variants are alarming. Some warning that they could overwhelmed the U.S. as early as March. It's a race against time to get vaccines into arms.

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST (on camera): It certainly is Don, but I'm really optimistic. We're seeing cases plummet in the United States. We haven't seen this few people hospitalized and it's still quite a bit. We haven't seen this few people hospitalized since the weekend of Thanksgiving.

[23:10:16]

And what we're going to see now, with hospitalizations dropping very quickly, is we're going to start to see deaths drop. So, we're in this really important window of opportunity to get shots in the arms. And we are averaging about 1.4 million vaccinations per day. Which sounds good, but we need to do a lot better. Because don't forget some of those vaccinations are second shots.

We need to maximize the number of new people that get vaccinated, and there are some interesting ways to do that. But that's where all of our priority should be. Vaccinating new people right now.

LEMON: The task force is urging state public health officials not to hold on to second doses, saying the vaccine supply will be steady and reliable. Will that make a big difference in terms of getting those vaccination numbers up?

REINER: Yes, absolutely, so nationwide we've given about 66 percent of the vaccines that have been distributed. From various state to state, but on average about 66 percent. We nee to give all of the vaccine that is distributed into arms, as soon as that can be done and rely on the pipeline to resupply for the second shots.

I had a conversation with a government vaccine scientist last week, who said to me, you know, it really doesn't matter at all whether the second shot for the Pfizer vaccine is given at four weeks, or the Moderna vaccine given have five weeks or six weeks.

It really makes very little difference. What does make a difference is getting immunity on board, and the way to do that is to maximize the number of shots now. States should be using all the vaccine they have, to vaccinate people right now.

LEMON (on camera): There's also growing evidence that people who have already had coronavirus could be re-infected by the new South African variant in particular. This is with Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN about that, here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: If it becomes dominant, the experience of our colleagues in South Africa indicate that even if you had been infected with the original virus, that there is a very high rate of reinfection to the point, where previous infection does not seem to protect you, against reinfection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): So how do we stop these variants from spreading and mutating any further, Dr. Reiner?

REINER: Yes, what Dr. Fauci also said, is that if the fire can replicate, it can mutate. I need a t-shirt that says that. And I think that's really the bottom line. If you stop the spread of the virus, you stop the virus from mutating. And that is what we do now, we mask up and we get shots in arms. We are on our way, we're really on our way. We have the ability to have herd immunity by summer, if we continue to increase the number of vaccines we get into people now.

LEMON: Dr. Reiner, thank you. I appreciate it.

REINER: My pleasure.

LEMON: So, parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic getting pounded by a major snowstorm, a nor'easter more than 15 inches of snow falling here in New York City. So let's get right to CNN correspondent Evan McMorris-Santoro. Woo, Evan you got the assignment, didn't you buddy. Good to see. The storm is bringing a massive disruption, huge snow totals and now significant flooding as possible. What can we expect?

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here in New York City, the good news is probably not the kind of flooding that we've seen before, even though forecast due call for the highest storm surge since we have seen since hurricane Sandy, back in 2012. This also a calling for only minor flooding in low lying areas. But flooding is a part of this storm, Don.

Let me show you some footage from Sea Isle, New Jersey. That's a town on the southern coast of New Jersey, you can see significant flooding already. And forecasters are saying that that flooding should continue, maybe into even Wednesday. So, this is a big storm as you mentioned, 16 inches of snow on the ground. Only a couple of inches away from being one of the top 10 storms in New York City history.

And here, it's a snow problem, in New Jersey right now is a flooding problem. And there could be somewhat of a flooding problem here in New York in the future, Don.

LEMON: All that flood -- those pictures of flooding brings back, I mean, those horrible, horrible pictures and memories of hurricane Sandy and the flooding that happened then. Thank you Evan, we appreciate you joining us, be safe out there.

The former president second impeachment trial set to begin next week, a member of his legal team making pretty clear tonight what they are worried about, the videos from the scene of the crime.

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LEMON (on camera): New details tonight about the House impeachment manager's case against Donald Trump. Sources tell CNN, they plan to argue the former president incited the insurrection, by intensely pushing a month's-long campaign to subvert the will of the voters. And they reportedly illustrate the horrors of the Capitol attack in visual detail using video and tying the carnage back to Trump's words and actions. Here is what his new lawyer, David Schoen said on Fox News tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SCHOEN, TRUMP IMPEACHMENT ATTORNEY: Does this country really need to see videotapes, we know now apparently that Mr. Swalwell and the other managers tend to show videotapes of the riots and people calling in, people being hurt, police officers talking. Why does the country need that now? We would stipulate that there was a riot that went on that day, it was a tragedy.

President Trump has condemned violence at all times. Read the words of his speech, calls for peacefulness. This has nothing to do with President Trump, and the country doesn't need to just watch videos of riots and unrest. We need to heal now, we need to move forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Joining me now, former Democratic Senator Doug Jones of Alabama. He is now a CNN political commentator. Good to see you Senator, well, he tried there to get -- to make his case. You just heard him saying -- Trump's attorney saying that they're worried about showing those videos from January 6, should they be worried?

[23:20:15]

FORMER SEN. DOUG JONES (D-AL), CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (on camera): Yes, of course they should, Don. I mean, that's kind of typical. You know, I was a prosecutor also did some defensive work. And you never want to have, you know, the pictures of the victim. You never want to have, you know, there's kind of details that come out. You always want to argue that it's too prejudicial to do that. Of, he doesn't want to dot that. That was the result.

That is what the impeachment is all about. The result. It wasn't just the words, it was the result of the words. And so, I would absolutely be stomping around trying to keep it out, but I don't think he'll have any success doing that.

LEMON: They also plan to argue Senator, that Trump intentionally incited the rioters over many months. When you just, you just talk about that a little bit, but over many months to subvert the will of the voters. So, why is that important and how would you hammer this point in trial.

JONES: Well, I would do just that. What I would do is I would try to build this. This is more, I believe for the House managers than just simply about that one day on January 6th. This is about the speeches ahead of time. It's about the tweets. It's about a carefully orchestrated plan to get a lot of people in this country absolutely convinced that an election was stolen. Absolutely convinced and then move from that to a place where they would riot on the Capitol steps.

And so I think you've got to have those building blocks, all of the pieces. They are just like a puzzle of any trial, Don. You just got to bring those pieces together and they culminated with all of them coming together on January 6th at the mall, with the speech and then marching down to the Capitol.

LEMON: And what about the people who received the brunt of this? I mean, even beyond the lawmaker, is because the lawmakers never really came into contact, close contact with the insurrectionists. But the police officers, who are willing to be witnesses, and some of them say that before the insurrection even happened, when they heard Trump's words, from their professional training they knew that they were in trouble. That something was going to happen. What about them, will they be called as witnesses? Or should they be called?

JONES: Well, I think they should be considered, given that kind of testimony. Look what happened at the Capitol was the ultimate result of all that had happened for months. But when you got a police officer, someone who's defending the Capitol, someone is essentially acting as an expert witness. And that's what this would be, talking about listening to the presidents words, listening to other people's comments, members of Congress and others.

And knowing from their experience, and their history, their training, their professionalism that something bad maybe in the works. I think that that's relevant. Now, there's a lot of pieces again to this puzzle and they should probably at least be talked to, determine whether not to call them. I think that there's going to be a really interesting dynamic here about whether or not they call any witnesses or just show the tweets, play the videos, play the speeches.

LEMON: It's almost, you know, we've been saying over the course of the past couple of years that you cannot write this. And Senator, you really can't, because listen, his second impeachment trial is coming up next week. His previous lawyers quit over the weekend, all of them. Because he wanted them to argue his big lie and they refused to do it.

Republican Senator John Cornyn says that it would be a disservice to Trump's defense, to focus on his basis election claims. But, you know, he is a wildcard, if he goes there how will the Republicans -- can they defend that?

JONES: I think it's going to be really hard to defend, if they go there. This can be, if he wants to defend on the merits. And you know, look Don, there is so many defense lawyers out there right now who would probably just say, take a knee and just not put on any defense. Not argue, not put on anything, you saw the vote the other day. This thing maybe baked, we don't know.

But I will tell you, there is going to be -- I believe the House manager is going to make a compelling case for what happened on January 6th. I was watching it, you know, the specials tonight. It is stunning what happened and not all of that has been seen by the American public. Part of this is for the American public to understand as well. And that is a piece of any of this trial.

LEMON: Yes. There is a lot going on Senator, I want to talk to you about COVID relief talks. President Biden met with Republican Senators tonight, but their plan is one one-third of what Biden wants. We're in a race against time right now when it comes to the virus and the economy.

JONES: Yes we are.

LEMON: How long should the president wait for bipartisanship, because every minute counts to Americans who are in need right now?

JONES: I don't think he can wait too long, got one way or another. I think there is hesitancy, from someone like Joe Biden who wants to reach across the aisle, who wants to find a compromise, a bipartisan package, a big package they can pass.

[23:25:07]

So, I don't think he can wait too long, because I think the urgency is there. I do think this though Don, I think they've got to do more to connect the economy with the virus. We had this same situation last May, as the virus -- everybody -- you know, Republicans -- the president said, it was going to go away in the summer. But it didn't. And things got worse.

Right now we're seeing these variants, I think they really ought to connect those dots. Harken back to what happened then, now we've got these variants. Get Anthony Fauci and the economist where the secretary of the treasury on the same platform, connecting those dots. I think that's going to be an important part of that message. That they're go going forward.

LEMON: Senator, thank you. Glad to have you as a colleague, welcome.

JONES: Thanks Don, good to see you.

LEMON: Thank you. Two men out of a job after their racist remarks were caught on camera. The thing is, there are police officer and a police chief. And that's not the only disturbing police incident we're hearing about tonight. The president of the NAACP response, next.

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[23:30:00]

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LEMON (on camera): Disturbing body cam video released this weekend showing police officers handcuffing and pepper spraying a 9-year-old girl in Rochester on Friday.

Police say officers were responding to a report of family trouble and were told the girl was suicidal and that she wanted to kill her mom. Well, police say she refused to get into the police car, and they tried several times to get her in the car before using pepper spray.

We're going to show you that in just a moment. I want to warn you that you may find this video -- you will find it disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Dear, right, just stop for a second and take a deep breath. Hey --

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Please, officer.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Just stop.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): I will get your dad.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): No, he said that he was going to pepper spray me! No! Please, no! Stop!

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Sit back.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Oh, I got (INAUDIBLE)!

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Just spray her!

UNKNOWN (voice-over): No.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Just spray her at this point.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Stop! Stop!

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Here.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Stop! No!

UNKNOWN (voice-over): I got her. I got her.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Please, wipe my eyes! Wipe my eyes, please!

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON (on camera): So the girl was brought to Rochester General Hospital and later released. The police department says what happened was not OK. The city announcing today the officers involved have been suspended.

Joining me now to discuss is Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP. Derrick, thank you. I appreciate you joining us to discuss -- to discuss all these matters. The city officials have been very critical of this incident. And today, Governor Cuomo saying it demands a full investigation. What is your reaction to seeing that girl being pepper sprayed?

DERRICK JOHNSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NAACP: Horrific. There is no justification. No one was in danger to treat a child in this manner. People wonder why there is such a reaction to how police are funded in this situation. We need to train police and have others on the strategies of de- escalation. I have a child, I have five children, and the fact that any of my children could be put at risk because you have individuals like this who are not trained, have very little regard for people, and children, this is appalling.

LEMON: So even though there are folks who are -- I think it was one of the people who represent the officers, I'm not sure if it was the association of the union or what have you, saying that it was better for her to get pepper sprayed than to be injured in some other way by a police officer. What do you say to that?

JOHNSON: It's a false choice. It wasn't about being into that another way. A pepper spray is about deescalating. It is about being trained and having the type of individuals on the scene such as this to talk to and deal with children.

If these police officers are not trained to handle a child, then that goes to the question, what are we training our law enforcement officers to do --

LEMON: Mm-hmm.

JOHNSON: -- and do we have the type of support for communities in situations like this? We have to fund more social workers. We have to fund mental health experts. We have to fund training for personnel to deescalate and not just ramp up. What if this was a young man, a 15- year-old? That young man could have been harmed because these officers obviously have little to no regard for life --

LEMON: OK.

JOHNSON: -- or the fact that this is a child.

LEMON (on camera): I want to make sure we have enough time for this next piece of video and story that we are going to show you, because we are also learning about a police chief and patrolman -- this in Hamilton, Georgia -- who were ousted after a racist conversation from last June came to light. It has come to light.

The patrolman was recording the conversation with his body cam, though he didn't realize it at the time, and I want to warn our viewers again that it is offensive, so listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): What they're saying now is you didn't have to shoot it. It's just a taser. Then how come when you tase a (beep) you've killed him 27 times.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Well, you know what now. This -- I don't know if this has any merit back in slave times, but I'm sure there was a lot of them mistreated, I don't have no doubt about that.

[23:35:01] UNKNOWN (voice-over): But for the most part, it seems to me like they furnished them a house to live in, they furnished them clothes to put on their back, they furnished them food to put on their table, and all they had to do was (beep) work. And now we give them all those things and they don't have to (beep) work.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON (on camera): Damn. I mean, that speaks for itself, what needs to happen next here.

JOHNSON: You know, not only should these officers be terminated, every case they investigated, every testimony they provided in court as related to an African-American needs to be reviewed. Obviously, they're walking into their positions with a level of hatred and bias that -- that render them incapable of protecting and serving.

This is the nature of law enforcement in this country today. We have to pass the George Floyd Police Justice Act to ensure we are aware with (ph) qualified immunity, that we have the database to policemen's conduct, that we make sure that police get trained, and we have to evaluate how we are funding the type of supportive services communities need.

LEMON: And even with that language, I'm sure there are other people who use that language and they would swear to you up and down that they are not racist.

But Derrick, listen, you mentioned George Floyd, right? It is the first day of black history month. Just a half year since George Floyd protests. What has been left undone since those cries for police reform and social justice?

JOHNSON: The reform, that is necessary across the country. We got to continue to see these incidents as we have seen these incidents over the last seven, 10, 12 years. In African-American community, we've always known this existed. Now that everyone has the ability to record and video it, it's coming to light to the broader public.

If we want a just society, we must create a different type of justice system, a system that respects people and not put law enforcement officers above the law.

LEMON: Thank you so much, Derrick. It is good to see you. We appreciate you joining us.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

LEMON: And these are just the types of conversations that we talk about, that I wrote about in my book. I'm hoping that will help. It is in my new book. It is called "This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism." So make sure you pre-order it at anywhere books are sold, the exact same kinds of conversations where we teach you how to talk about it and solutions, as well.

Next, after years of dedication to the GOP, he was forced to resign, and in between the attacks got personal. Plus, we're getting new information tonight about the people who stormed the Capitol. You don't want to miss that.

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[23:40:00]

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LEMON: Some republicans apparently taking action over their disgust with Donald Trump. Reuters reports that Kristopher Purcell, a former official in George W. Bush's White House, says that 60 to 70 former Bush administration officials had decided to leave the GOP or are cutting ties with the party.

They're angry that elected Republicans have not disavowed Trump for falsely claiming election fraud and for inciting the deadly riot at the Capitol, conflict at the local level, too.

Dave Millage is the former chairman of the Republican Party in Scott County, Iowa. He says he was encouraged to resign after calling for Trump's impeachment for inciting the insurrection. We are certainly glad that you're here. Thank you so much for joining us and welcome.

Sir, you were called a traitor for saying Trump should be impeached, and yet you're a longtime conservative. We you surprised by that?

DAVE MILLAGE, FORMER CHAIRMAN OF SCOTT COUNTY, IOWA REPUBLICAN PARTY: Yes, I was because it was the people who were making the comments. These were people that I had worked very hard with on this fall's election, people I have known for a long time. And for them to lodge the complaints they did against me just really threw me.

LEMON: It's interesting because you voted for President Trump. You liked his policies. It's not like you are a Never Trumper. Why do you think so many in your party believe that he shouldn't be held accountable for inciting an insurrection?

MILLAGE: I don't believe that they -- I don't think they believe that he incited the insurrection. I think they believe it is all part of fake news. And it's -- to me, there's a long history of him trying to undermine the results of the election, undermine the very basis of our democracy, what he did following the election.

He is contacting governors to get them to change -- appoint different electors, to pressuring the secretary of state in Georgia to find 10,000 votes, just all of the actions. And then to see him on the Capitol steps telling them to go down there and make your voices heard or whatever he said. It certainly incited a riot. He should have known it, and he should have stopped it.

LEMON: Mm-hmm. What does this say then, Dave, about the grip that Trump still has on the GOP?

MILLAGE: Well, it says that his grip is still very strong. In part because, you know, his policies are still -- his policies were wonderful.

[23:44:58]

MILLAGE: His policies really -- we think turned this country around and got it going in the right direction. And I don't think they want to turn their back on that.

LEMON: But the question is, at what cost, at what cost, right?

MILLAGE: Correct. And they need to be -- the party needs to get rid of him and move on. We are going to keep the policies. Those were our policies before he was president.

They continue to be our policies of limited government, respect for the rights of the individual, respect for the rights of the unborn, strong Second Amendment protections. These are policies that have been part of the Republican Party for years and years, and they will continue to be so, with or without Trump.

LEMON: So I think most people understand that. I mean, even -- even, you know, people who are far to the left. They may not agree with your policies, but they will tell you that is what the Republican Party, that those were the policies that they believed in.

And now it appears that, and you can tell me what you think, that the Republican Party may be making room, more room for people like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene than it is for traditional conservatives like you or for Liz Cheney, for goodness sake.

MILLAGE: Absolutely not. Her policies -- she's a nutcase. They're distancing themselves from her now. I'm still a member of the Republican Party. I will be there at the caucuses in two years, next year, and like me, many will come back. I mean, there's no home for us in the Democratic Party. No, it's not making -- I mean, last --

LEMON: So what should happen with her?

MILLAGE: We got rid of the racist congressman from Western Iowa, the Republican Party did.

LEMON: OK. That's a good point. So then what should happen with Marjorie Taylor Greene then?

MILLAGE: She will be primaried out. When she's up again next year, they need to put up a primary against her with a strong, conservative Republican opponent and knock her out.

LEMON: Can they wait that long?

MILLAGE: Strip her of her committee assignments and don't give her any power. She's duly elected, so you got to sit her (ph).

LEMON: Mm-hmm. Dave Millage, thank you. I really appreciate you joining us. I appreciate your perspective. Thank you.

MILLAGE: You're welcome. LEMON: Thank you. So some of them didn't even vote. What we're learning about the people who stormed the Capitol claiming that they were protesting the election. That's next.

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[23:50:00]

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LEMON (on camera): So federal prosecutors have charged more than 175 people for their alleged role in the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. And tonight, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is talking about what it was like when the mob was trying to break into her office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): It felt like my brain was able to have so many thoughts in that moment, between the screams and these yells of where is she, where is she? And so I go down and I just -- I mean, I thought I was going to die.

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LEMON (on camera): We are learning about some of the people now facing charges. I want to bring in CNN's Donie O'Sullivan. Donie, good to see you.

Today, a federal judge ordered that New Mexico County Commissioner Couy Griffin, who is also the leader of Cowboys for Trump, remained in jail pending trial. Griffin was charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol. The judge noted that Griffin appeared to believe the government was not lawfully elected. This is an example of how dangerous misinformation is, warping people's sense of reality.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, absolutely. And I thought it was really interesting in that case the judge made a point of saying words matter, facts matter. You know, he pointed out that Griffin doesn't believe that the government here was lawfully elected.

The judge actually pointed out, you know, if somebody so readily denied reality in a regular case, in another case like this, they would be sent for a mental health evaluation.

But the judge said and I quote -- "Unfortunately, this whole idea of election fraud is a prevailing idea, though false." So really just making the point there that what Trump has been pushing, what Stop the Steal has been pushing has been, you know, walked people into a state of absolute delusion.

LEMON: Mm-hmm. Yeah. One of the insurrectionists, her name is Jenny Cudd, is a former Texas mayoral candidate. She has been granted pre- trial release and has put in an interesting request to the court. Tell us about that.

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah. She wants to go on vacation, Don. Not only on vacation. She wants to go to Mexico.

So, while many of us, while many Americans have been unable to see family because they're not traveling during this pandemic, she has made an application to the court to go on a pre-paid holiday for three nights to a resort in Mexico, which also just sort of goes back to the surreal, you know, situation that this all is, is that somebody who would go to an insurrection and storm the Capitol would also be planning on going on a vacation just a few weeks after.

LEMON: Yeah. And remember, this is supposedly all about economic anxiety. But, you know, a vacation to Mexico would be great for anyone in any economic bracket.

[23:54:59]

LEMON: So listen, there was also the real estate agent. The real estate agent's name is Jennifer Ryan, who took a private plane -- speaking of economic anxiety -- took a private plane to the Capitol, brazenly posting pictures of herself entering the building.

I mean, these are folks who -- they had good jobs. They live fairly privileged lives. Why do they believe that they can get away with this behavior?

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah. Look, I mean, obviously, a huge part of this is the sense of entitlement, the sense of the privilege that, you know, most of these people were white people who stormed the Capitol that day live with.

But also, you know, I know from traveling and speaking to so many Trump supporters throughout the year that they were so, so, so convinced that they were absolutely right, that everybody is against them, that Trump was cheated out of the election, that everything the media is saying, that anything that election officials are saying, that that is all false.

So you have a group of people here who are so convinced that they are right, that they thought they could one, get away with this, two, that they were doing the right thing, and three, you know, in this case, book holidays to Mexico.

LEMON: Fascinating. The more I read about like every -- when another one is arrested, you get information, it's really fascinating. It is the only way that I can put it at this moment.

Donie, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

O'SULLIVAN: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you. Thank you for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.

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