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Don Lemon Tonight
GOP Members Carry the Lie Propagated by former President Trump; Ousted GOP Leader Remain Consistent with Her Principle; AOC Called Rep. Greene Deeply Unwell; Rep. Elise Stefanik Praise and Thanked Her Former Boss; Americans Felt Embarrassed by Rep. Greene's Manner; Video Footages Serves as the Best Evidence; Mentally Ill Black Man Died While in Custody. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired May 14, 2021 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: That's it for us tonight. It is time now for the big show. CNN Tonight with its host, Mr. Rogers - D. Lemon.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: What? Why would you do that?
CUOMO: Casual Fridays.
LEMON: Don't hate. Look. Here's the thing. sometimes I think we inhibitor conversations because we are to button up. And don't laugh because you wear the same thing every night so don't even try to give me any gaffe about --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: So, one, it's a look. And two, it's because I don't think the outfits matter, but continue.
LEMON: OK, I agree. So, sometimes I think we are little too stuffy. We have the suit and tie on. And people at home are watching in their P.J.'s or in their --
CUOMO: So why night every night?
LEMON: -- their sweat -- who says it's not going to be every night?
CUOMO: Is that true? Is it an official change?
LEMON: Yes. So, I think that -- I think that, you know, we need to have conversations, everyone. The conversations that you and I have. And quite frankly, I think even a little bit more honestly than we do. Yes. So, I think they should be like we're just like sitting around talking. And I'm talking to my friends at home and my friends at home are probably not in a suit because it's the end of the day. The workday is over.
CUOMO: But I probably ask you why are you in a sweater in the middle of May? LEMON: Well, it's chilly here. You want to know the temperature in New
York City?
CUOMO: Please. What, it's 60 degrees.
LEMON: It's chilly outside. Let's see.
CUOMO: But I like it. So, this may be the new look every night?
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: It's 60 degrees. Yes. What do you think? You hate it?
CUOMO: You're good-looking. I also think that it is irrelevant to people. I think this is one of the vestiges of TV taking itself seriously.
LEMON: That's what -- amen.
CUOMO: That people want to see in a suit and tie, when in most of the places that matter most in this country when they see somebody in a suit and tie it usually means something bad is going to happen.
LEMON: Amen.
CUOMO: I wear this every night because I believe one, in the uniform, the identifiable nature of it. And two, I don't give a bleep about what people think about my shirt and tie company.
LEMON: I don't give a bleep of what people think about me at all, as you know, right? You know that. But seriously, I do think that we -- sometimes I watch us and I'm like, wow, we're so formal. I'm at home watching in my sweatpants. And look at Dana Bash up there. She's all dressed up. She's fully made up. Her hair is all done. She's a beautiful woman.
And when I see her in a personalize, I'm like, wow, Dana, you look great without all the makeup and hair that you -- I see you on CNN. And I would just like people to see Dana or, you know, Nia.
CUOMO: I love it. I love it.
LEMON: Or you know, anybody, or Erin Burnett is a beautiful woman. Every night she comes in with a makeup and the hair. And when I see her between shows I'm like wow, Erin is so beautiful without all of that.
CUOMO: I don't see looks. I only see intelligence.
LEMON: And I see you. And I'm like, man, this guy is ugly. He needs to be wearing a tuxedo to help himself out.
CUOMO: UCLA did a study that said that I am distractingly attractive.
LEMON: Well, it's UCLA.
CUOMO: Please.
LEMON: But listen, I've got something I'm going to say. At the end of the show. I want everybody to tune in. I think it's really important. And I hope everyone is OK with it. And so that's why I say --
CUOMO: So, tonight you're saying something at the end of the show?
LEMON: End of the show. And there will be more to come. I'll tell you over the weekend.
CUOMO: And there is more to come over the weekend?
LEMON: But it involves us, too. It involves you, but we'll see.
CUOMO: And it's not bad news?
LEMON: I'm not -- well, come on.
CUOMO: Well, if it's bad news I think you should people give a little bit of a heads up.
LEMON: It's not bad.
CUOMO: All right. Good.
LEMON: I don't think it's bad.
CUOMO: Because going into the weekend people like you, for whatever reason.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: Did you know that in Texas it is an equal violation to play loud music in your home as it is to own a tiger? Can you believe that? Think about that. Hey man. We will get over here right away. This is Don Lemon. He won't stop playing the Doobie brothers, versus hey, man, there is a tiger in my yard.
LEMON: All right, Chris Baskin (ph).
CUOMO: They are both class c violations. I just talked to this lawyer. Can you believe that in Texas it's the same wrong?
LEMON: Yes. But Texas is becoming Florida. It's kind of weird. Florida, I love you but --
CUOMO: A bangle tiger?
LEMON: Yes. Well, listen, I went to LSU. Tiger.
CUOMO: Yes, I know but that doesn't mean you want one in your yard.
LEMON: No, in a cage. I got to run.
CUOMO: D. Lemon, I love you.
LEMON: I love you.
CUOMO: Open collar and all. I feel so much more relaxed and candid.
LEMON: There you go. Goodbye. I love you too.
This is CNN tonight. I'm don Lemon.
And boy, this week, come on, let's think about it. We are seeing two different Americas. The real America and an alternative reality America. It's up to us to decide which America we want to live in.
You know, we've got a handful of truth tellers. Just a handful going up against a clown show of liars and deniers. Is America going to believe the ranch of people like QAnon Congresswoman Jewish space lasers, Marjorie Taylor Greene?
[22:05:03]
CNN's KFile has amazing newly unearthed video of her, this is in 2019, before she was elected by the way going nuts outside the office of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, taunting her staff through the mail slot of her office door. Watch this.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, I'm an American citizen. I pay your salary through the taxes that you collect from me through the IRS. You need to stop being a baby and stop walking your door and come out and face the American citizens that you serve. If you want to be a big girl, you need to get rid of your diaper and come out to be able to talk to the American citizens. Instead of us having to use a flap, a little flap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: One day, she will mess with the wrong one. I am just saying. Her name is Ocasio not Ocasio. That was before she was elected to Congress, but she is still pulling stunts like that even today confronting AOC outside the house chamber just this week.
A Washington Post reporter who witnessed the whole thing saying Greene chased down Ocasio-Cortez aggressively yelling at her, asking why she supports antifa and Black Lives Matter. Falsely labeling them terrorist group, falsely. AOC reacting today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): This is a woman that keeps (Inaudible) unwell. And clearly needs some help.
UNKNOWN: Good job.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: I, you know, and her kind of fixation has lasted for several years now. You know, it's -- at this point I think the depth of that unwellness has raise concerns for other members as well. And so, you know, I think that this is an assessment that needs to be (Inaudible) by the proper professionals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, she called them terrorists, but then she doesn't call the actual terrorist terrorists, meaning the insurrectionists who stormed the capitol on January 6th. They are not terrorists. OK, Marjorie. Chasing a fellow congresswoman down the hall yelling, pulling out publicity, seeking -- this is all about publicity.
And by the way, it's always the struggle, like how much should I cover this and talk about it, because that's what she wants? But then what she's doing is just so egregious and ridiculous and embarrassing. And should be called out. That is a dilemma that we face every night here on the show.
Should we give her a platform but it's also worth calling out anyway. Taunting someone in her office door it's embarrassing. Compare that to Liz Cheney though. Liz Cheney lost her leadership position in the GOP because she refused to go along with her party's embrace of the disgrace former president and his election denying lies that fueled the deadly insurrection at the capitol. Liz Cheney who put duty over party and truth over lies. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): This is duty. And it's about truth. And we've had a collapse of truth in this country. We've, you know, seen an evolution of general situations where conspiracy theories are rampant. Where people, good people and a lot of instances, you know, have been misled and believe things that are not true.
And so, I think that we all have an obligation to make sure we are doing everything we can to convey the truth, to stand for the truth and to stand for the Constitution and our obligations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Let me just say this. Thank you, Liz Cheney. I've been saying this forever. We live in a post-truth world right now. A society. And I don't know if we can get back to the truth and reality, but people invent their own reality and try to live in it. Right?
Liz Cheney saying that we have an obligation to stand for the truth. What does it say about America right now? That Liz Cheney has to argue that we should stand for truth. You would think there wouldn't be any argument about that. We have all seen what happens when the lies take over.
So, we saw with our own eyes what happened with insurrectionists incited lies stormed the capitol, attacking hero police officers who were trying to defend the seat of our democracy. Hero police officers like Officer Michael Fanone. You heard what he said about the January 6th deniers in Congress who were trying to sweep one of the darkest days in our history under the rug.
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MICHAEL FANONE, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE OFFICER: I'm not a politician. I'm not elected official. I don't expect anybody to give two shits about my opinions. But I will say this. You know, those are lies. And peddling that bullshit is an assault on every officer that fought to defend the capitol. It's disgraceful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Amen, brother. Is America going to believe the truth spoken by Officer Fanone? The truth spoken by Liz Cheney? Or the lies spoken by the deniers?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ANDREW CLYDE (R-GA): There was no insurrection and to call it an insurrection in my opinion is a boldface lie.
REP. PAUL GOSAR (R-AZ): Outright propaganda and lies are being used to unleash the national security state against law-abiding U.S. citizens, especially Trump voters. As a result, the DOJ is harassing -- harassing peaceful patriots across the country.
REP. JODY HICE (R-GA): It was Trump supporters who lost their lives that day, not Trump supporters who were taking the lives of others.
REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-SC): When I see this sheet on that timeline and on the -- let's see, OK, at 2.07, a mob of Trump supporters breached the steps. I don't know who did a poll, that it's Trump supporters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Blatant lies. Or as the old head would say -- heads would say, like, you know, my uncles, and mom, and whatever they would say, that's a damn lie. It is. It is a damn lie. Lies about brutal attacks. Of brutal attacks on American heroes. Lies about bloodthirsty insurrections who stormed the halls of Congress who put up gallows outside and chanted, hang Mike Pence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That's the awful truth. We all saw it. We all heard it. Yet the GOP's deniers are still at it again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: There have been things worse than people without any fire arms coming into a building.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: No shame. Spineless leaders like Kevin McCarthy who won't do anything about the lies either. He says he hasn't read the legislation created by bipartisan commission to investigate the insurrection. You know, the attack that put the lives of members of Congress in peril? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: I have to -- no, I have to read through it. I haven't read through it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: He has not read through it. Yesterday he said he did not know what happened when Marjorie Taylor Greene chased Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, yelling at her outside the House chamber. He said he didn't know what Congressman Andrew Clyde said comparing the insurrection to a tourist visit. He said no one is denying Joe Biden won the election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCARTHY: I don't think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election. I think that is all over with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, Kevin, what exactly do you know? What do you know? Aren't you the leader? And you don't know? You are a leader and you don't know. OK. You are the top Republican in the House. And you sure seem to be in the dark about a lot of things. But Liz Cheney says tonight, McCarthy should testify before January 6th -- the January 6th commission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: He absolutely should, and I wouldn't be surprised if he were subpoenaed. I think that he would very clearly and said publicly that he's got information about the president's state of mind that day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Let's remember, we learned while the capitol was under attack, Kevin McCarthy called the then president begging him to call off the mob. Trump is chilling. And responsible Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are!
But today, Elise Stefanik, the congresswoman who took over Liz Cheney's leadership job thanked the disgraced, twice impeached, one- term, former insurrectionist inspiring president, saying he is the leader Republicans look to. I forget the word disgraced. Well, I guess that's no surprise. That's how she got her job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): I also want to thank President Trump for his support. He is a critical part of our Republican team. I believe that voters determine the leader of the Republican Party and President Trump is the leader that they look to.
[22:15:00]
I support President Trump. Voters support President Trump. He is an important voice in our Republican Party, and we look for to working with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That, as America's divide between reality and unreality is on display even when it comes to COVID. Congressional Democrats in both chambers of Congress have a 100 percent vaccination rate. Republicans in the Senate are at 92 percent. But in the House Republicans are at just 44.8 percent, 112 Republicans didn't respond to CNN's inquiries.
While in the real world this week, in the real world, where there is truth and competency, the president, Joe Biden, his administration, moving ahead on the pandemic. The CDC saying fully vaccinated people can go mask-less indoors, and outdoors.
And the president working for bipartisan -- bipartisanship, meeting with leaders of the House and the Senate working to get the economy back on track. That's what is going on in the real world. While the other America is deep in denial and deception.
Like I said, it's up to us to decide which America we want to live in. The truth, versus lies. Lies, like the stumps from publicity seeking, thirsty, QAnon Congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene. Will Republicans ever do anything about behavior like this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREENE: Well, bye. Bye-bye, bye-bye Ocasio-Cortez. Bye-bye, baby. Bye- bye, baby. Bye-bye little baby girl. Ocasio-Cortez, she went and hid, she couldn't take it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[22:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: CNN's KFile uncovering video of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from 2019 before her election, showing her taunting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's staff through the mail slot of her office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREENE: You need to stop being a baby and stop locking your door and come out and face the American citizens that you serve. If you want to be a big girl, you need to get rid of your diaper, and come out and be able to talk to the American citizens. Instead of us having to use a flap, a little flap. Flap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Now, if this is anybody I know, I would pull them aside and say, hey, are you OK? Even a child. This surfacing just days after Greene again harassed Ocasio-Cortez outside the House chamber.
Let's discuss now, CNN senior political analyst, Kirsten Powers, and Mark McKinnon, he is a former adviser to George W. Bush and John McCain, and the executive producer of The Circus.
Good evening. And you know, Kirsten, you know what, she probably thinks that this is cool, her constituents probably think, yes, she is owning the leaves. It's really just embarrassing. I mean, who does this? Not even, I mean, do junior high school students do this?
KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Nobody does it. I was thinking, I think, earlier I called this childish. But I thought that was unfair to children because children generally act better than this. It is absolutely, embarrassing to watch. That this is a political party that doesn't do anything about this woman's behavior where she is now full- on harassing another member of Congress.
And they do nothing about it. It absolutely violates at least the understanding of decorum in Congress that once existed. Yet, the person who is getting disciplined through all of this is Liz Cheney.
So, it's the contrast that really, it's the contrast for me, I think. It's that this woman is allowed to do pretty much anything she wants, and Liz Cheney who is, you know, not my cup of tea necessarily, but she is a conservative Republican who at least acts like a grown-up and has some values, and they want nothing to do with her and they won't do anything about this woman.
LEMON: You know, it's like, Mark, an unhinged immature internet troll --
POWERS: Yes.
LEMON: -- roaming the halls of Congress. It's like if Parler was a person.
MARK MCKINNON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Exactly, Don. What strikes me about Marjorie Taylor laser beam's behavior and so many other Trump Republicans is this has become more about a brand and a lifestyle than policy or ideas or ideology.
I just want to quote Jonathan Last from the Bulwark today who I thought wrote really smartly about this. He said, Republican voters, a group distinct from conservatives no longer have any concrete outcomes they want from government. What they have instead is a lifestyle brand.
And if you want to move up the ladder within a brand network, you don't do it by governing or making policy, you do it by getting attention. Which is exactly what Matt Gaetz says, right? He says, you know, I don't get anything done by actually being in Congress, I get stuff done by going on television.
Same thing with Marjorie Taylor Greene, same thing with so many of these other Trump Republicans. They don't even care about being in Congress. They just see it as a means to getting attention to further their brand.
LEMON: So, listen, Kirsten. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says that Greene is, quote, "deeply unwell." I'm concerned about her perceptions of reality. Members of Congress are openly questioning the fitness of their colleagues to be there. And she's probably right to do so, don't you think?
POWERS: Yes. I think that in a way letting her off the hook a little bit. Because it doesn't seem to me necessarily. I mean, who knows? Maybe she is mentally unwell or something. But she seems very calculating to me.
[22:25:03]
And she seems mean-spirited, and nasty, and cruel when you watch the way she is acting in these videos and the things that she says. And so, I don't know that she is necessarily unwell or not. And I guess none of us can really diagnose her from a distance.
But I think she is responsible for her behavior, and I think she knows what she's doing. She seems to be somebody who is doing exactly what mark was just talking about and what Jonathan Last wrote about, which is she is just trying to get attention and she just wants to, yes, be like, you know, a mini-Trump. And she is sort of filling that space, that vacuum, that has been left a little bit since he's not on social media and doesn't have the access that he used to have in terms of, you know, acting out, I guess. But it's not -- you know, I don't know. I mean, what do you think? Do you think that's what it is? Because it seems -- I just like she knows what she's doing.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I don't know. But I just think -- I think that this is the response from everyone, from probably her kids to people on the same side or opposite side. Like, God, my God. Like that's what they are saying with Marjorie Taylor Greene. Like, my gosh, she's, like, could she just stop? Like people are mumbling under their breath going, this woman is so embarrassing, does she not have any shame? Yes, I think that's what --
(CROSSTALK)
POWERS: Yes, but why don't they do anything about it. I mean, in Congress there are rules. Right? I mean, you don't --
LEMON: Well, it's because they want to -- the same reason they won't do anything about Trump because, I mean, you know.
POWERS: Yes.
MCKINNON: Well, and -- but guys, that's the exact point, and that's the problem for the Republican Party. If you don't do something about the extremes, you are defined by the extremes. So, by not pushing back on them, by not penalizing them, and penalizing Liz Cheney, they are becoming defined by Marjorie Taylor Greene.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: But Mark, here is the -- here -- this is the whole thing. Let me tell you. The whole thing in a nutshell, Mark, and Kirsten. All of it, every single bit of it is a grift.
POWERS: Yes.
LEMON: So, she's like, this is really cool, I can do it, and I'm going to own the leaves and the people who support me they are going to love it. And Trump is going to love it. And everybody -- and I'm going to get on TV and the media is going to love it.
POWERS: Yes.
LEMON: It's all a grift. It's not about policy, it's not about having values, it's not about believing in anything. It's about yourself, the audience of one, and about owning the leaves or it's just, it doesn't stand for anything.
POWERS: Yes.
LEMON: It doesn't stand for physical conservatism, it doesn't stand for family values, because anybody who cares about family and values wouldn't do something like that because they would tell their kids to do the exact opposite. So, it's not about that. It's all a grift. And it's a big giant Ponzi scheme. It's going to fall one day, but we will see. We'll see.
Thank you. Kick it, Mark. Thank you, Kirsten.
MCKINNON: Kick it.
LEMON: I'll see you soon.
POWERS: Thank you.
LEMON: How did the GOP get to this point? Well, take a look at this. We're going to take a look at that, I should say with, there he is, take a look at that, Fareed Zakaria, he's coming up right after the break.
[22:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: House Republicans elevating Trump loyalist Elise Stefanik as their new conference chair replacing ousted Congresswoman Liz Cheney. That as more rank and file Republicans tried to whitewash the history of what happened during the capitol insurrection.
Joining me now, Fareed Zakaria, host of Fareed Zakaria GPS. He has a new special airing Sunday night at 8. It's called a Radical Rebellion, the transformation of the GOP. And I can't wait to see it. I thank you for joining us tonight, Fareed.
It's been a head spinning week, really. Republicans booting Cheney for speaking the truth. They're whitewashing the insurrection. Marjorie Taylor Greene is adding to her growing list of confrontations. It's like one party has become a total circus. How is our democracy supposed to function with all of this madness? FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: Well, it's a very good question, Don.
Because historically, democracy worked when you had political parties that managed their extremes. That is really the function of a political party. Is to discipline its members. That's why you have primaries. That's why you have rules. That's why you have conventions. And the whole point of political parties is that they narrow the differences. They take people's passions and their emotions, and they turn it into pragmatic policy. That's what they've always done.
And what you now have in the Republican Party is a party that has been captured by the most extreme beat, and their purpose is to turn the party into a place that amplifies those grievances, those emotions. So, it's literally the opposite of what political parties were meant to do.
So, the famous historian Clinton Rossiter who said, no America without democracy, and no democracy without political parties. So, it's, you know, the stakes are that high. We can all -- you know, the Republicans have gone crazy, but it's bad for all of us. You need a two-party system. You need that to be a healthy check and balance. And instead, what you have is one party, as you said, it's essentially become a circus.
LEMON: So, the House is striking this deal to create a bipartisan commission investigating the January 6th attack. Kevin McCarthy, however, hasn't signed off yet. If it actually goes through, do you think it will have any impact on forcing insurrection deniers to face the truth or no chance?
ZAKARIA: No chance. So, the point is the facts about this are plain as day. It's -- anyone, we don't really need a commission. We watched the video. I mean, this is not some kind of case where you are to figure out, hey, gee, what happened on January 6th? It was happening on live television.
LEMON: But here we are, Fareed.
[22:34:57]
ZAKARIA: Those people were saying what they were doing. They were seeing who inspired them. They were saying why they were doing it. Like what, I mean, I'm all for commission, but what is the commission going to do? I mean, all you have to do is watch the TV footage.
LEMON: Or listen to the people who were there. The officers.
ZAKARIA: Yes.
LEMON: But here we are, we have officers who were begging lawmakers and begging the public to like, hey, look, this was awful. We were in hand-to-hand combat fighting for our lives. We saw it with our own eyes. But I mean, you know, go on, sorry.
ZAKARIA: No, no, that's exactly right. So, the problem -- you know this. The problem is it's not facts, it's not a commission. It's that you have Trump who has some part of the base. Now let's not exaggerate as to what he has. This is the most important point Liz Cheney has made in the last few days.
Kevin McCarthy suppressed polls that show that I think it was in the 40 swing districts. Trump's disapproval ratings are twice as high as his approval ratings. So, the truth of the matter is while he has this huge fan base and this fight club that is working from in the places where the Republican Party needs to make inwards, you know, with suburban women and things like that. He is pretty unpopular.
So, the Republican Party may be trapped in a situation where there is a flaw for Trump. You know, he's got a -- there is a whole bunch of people who love him, but there is also a ceiling, and the gap between that floor and that ceiling is not that high. In other words, you can't get nominated without supporting Trump, but in the swing district you can't get elected by supporting Trump.
LEMON: By supporting Trump.
ZAKARIA: That's a pretty bad place to be.
LEMON: Yes. In this gets -- this gets to the reason why you're doing this special. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZAKARIA: Let me give you some snapshots of the Republican electorate today.
UNKNOWN: We need to stop watching the media and start getting the facts.
CROWD: Four more years! Four more years!
ZAKARIA: In a CNN poll conducted after January 6th, 70 percent of Republicans said they did not believe that Joe Biden won the election legitimately.
UNKNOWN: There's too much evidence of fraud.
CROWD: Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump!
ZAKARIA: Over 40 percent believe Bill Gates is planning to use the COVID-19 vaccine as a pretext to implant microchips in people's brains in order to track them. And roughly one in four Republicans agree with the key tenant of the QAnon conspiracy, that a group of Satan worshiping elites who run a child sex ring are trying to control our media and politics.
UNKNOWN: Joe Biden --
UNKNOWN: You think the Republican --
UNKNOWN: -- is the biggest pedophile on the face of the planet.
UNKNOWN: It's not a conspiracy. It's fact.
CROWD: Fight for America! Fight for America! ZAKARIA: It becomes impossible to deny, the Republican Party today has
been infected by a series of crazy conspiracy theories. Why?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Fareed, it's frightening. How do these vast conspiracy theories take hold of the GOP so quickly? Joe Biden is the biggest pedophile? I mean, wow!
ZAKARIA: It's part of a 40 or 50-year process in which the Republican Party has always tolerated the extremes. Tolerated the most radical. You know, that was what the whole point of Goldwater and the base was. And so, what you've done is you've created this idea that when stuff doesn't happen that you want, the repeal of the new deal, the repeal of the great society, the repeal of segregation. It's because there is some group of conspirators who are, you know, kind of running the machines, and you create this paranoid apocalyptic conspiracy mentality.
And what's happening in the Republican Party is it's slowly but surely, because it was encouraged, because it was tolerated, because it was milked for votes has gone from the extreme to the center of the party.
LEMON: Fareed, always a pleasure. I can't wait to see you as much as possible as this weekend. So, thank you for joining us. And make sure you all watch A Radical Rebellion, the Transformation of the GOP. That's Sunday at 8 p.m. right here on CNN. Of course, watch Fareed Zakaria GPS earlier in the day. Fareed, thanks again.
A Black man with mental health issues dies in custody. Now the video is out showing officers pepper spraying and tasing him multiple times. We have that next.
[22:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Disturbing new video tonight of a Black man with mental health issues pepper sprayed and taser repeatedly before dying in police custody.
CNN's Ryan Young is in North Charleston, South Carolina with all the details on this horrific story. And I have to warn you the video you are about to see is difficult to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Hey. Open the door.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Tonight, newly released video shows the events leading up to the death of 31-year-old Jamal Sutherland, a Black man awaiting a bond hearing for an alleged misdemeanor assault. Sutherland whose families says he was diagnosed with mental health issues at a young age was involuntary treatment at a mental health facility in North Charleston, South Carolina. On the night of January 4th, authorities responding to an altercation
that broke out at the facility arrested Sutherland after he allegedly assaulted a staff member. His family says they were never notified and are speaking out for the first time since the video was released.
AMY SUTHERLAND, JAMAL SUTHERLAND'S MOTHER: We got no information from anybody. We never knew he was taken by the mental health team.
YOUNG: Sutherland died in custody the next morning at the North Charleston Detention Center after he was removed from his cell to attend the bond hearing.
[22:45:00]
UNKNOWN: OK, get out of here.
YOUNG: The newly released body cam video shows the timeline of what occurred in moments leading up to Sutherland's death.
UNKNOWN: Hey, come throw your hands through the flat, man.
YOUNG: It shows officers at his cell door for several minutes telling him to put his hands out to be cuffed, warning if he doesn't comply, they'll use force.
Sutherland can be heard yelling and officer say he was holding a spoon saying I'm warning you. And officers can be seen spraying pepper spray into his cell a short time later.
UNKNOWN: Come again and say your name.
YOUNG: After several more failed attempts to coax him out he is hit with more pepper spray. About a minute later the doors open again. This time deputies tased Sutherland and tell him to get on his stomach. He could be heard asking what's the meaning of this. Deputies enter the cell telling him to relax and not to resist.
Deputies tased Sutherland multiple times to get control of him in the cell. He can be seen and heard screaming on the ground. Two minutes later, Sutherland is eventually cuffed and slip out of his cell. His family saw the video for the first time just a week ago.
SUTHERLAND: Mental illness does not give anybody the right to put their hands on my child.
YOUNG: Sutherland's father says a mental health professional in the cell with his son would have changed the outcome.
JAMES SUTHERLAND, JAMAL SUTHERLAND'S FATHER: He was already afraid and confused about the situation. And there was nobody in there to talk to him with any compassion. To try to reason with him.
YOUNG: Today, Charleston County sheriff Kristin Graziano speaking out.
KRISTIN GRAZIANO, SHERIFF, CHARLESTON COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA: I will not tolerate acts -- any acts of violence against our citizens or our residents at our facility, and I will not -- any acts of destruction that jeopardized the safety of that community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: Don, the two deputies who were involved in the taser on desk duty right now, but it's very hard to watch this video, Don, if you think about it. This goes on for more than nine minutes. No point it seems like anyone tries to stop or de-escalate this. It continues for such a long time. At some point you're wondering when it is going to end. And of course, it ends tragically.
Talking to the family today you could only imagine the pain they are experiencing having to watch their loved ones not get help and to die this way. The sheriff says the investigation will continue and she will give the report, because she says she is going to be transparent, but there are still a lot of questions involved in this case.
LEMON: Ryan, right you are. And I appreciate it. We had a conversation about this earlier today. And you're right, it's heart wrenching to watch this video. And one can -- we can't even fathom what that family is dealing with.
Ryan Young reporting from North Charleston, South Carolina. I appreciate that.
Next up, Jamal Sutherland's mother is going to speak out live right here.
[22:50:00]
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LEMON: So you just saw that horrific video of Jamal Sutherland tased repeatedly and pepper sprayed before dying in police custody.
Joining me is Jamal Sutherland's mother, Amy Sutherland. She is joined by Mark Peper and Gary Christmas, both attorney for the Sutherland Family.
Thank you all, really, for joining us.
Marc is in glasses and Gary is on the right in the blue tie. So, Ms. Sutherland, I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss. I want to thank you for being here tonight. Your son Jamal was in a mental health facility, but you weren't told that he was taken into police custody until after his death. Walk me through what happened and what did officials even tell you?
A. SUTHERLAND: Well, we -- Jamal's asked to go to the hospital because he wasn't feeling good, he was hearing voices. And we spoke every day he was there, and Jamal called and told me he was having problems inside of the hospital and that he was ready to come home. But he wasn't allowed to come home.
Jamal, Jamal was in a deep crisis and Jamal was taken out of the hospital because they said, allegedly he was hitting someone. There was a fight. But he was not involved in the fight. And I want everyone to know he was not involved, but he was carried off to jail. Nobody at the hospital ever called me and I am his guardian. I should have been notified of what was going on with Jamal every time.
So, he was taken out, he was put into the jail where to my -- to my -- to my view, he wasn't treated fairly from the moment he got there. They were teasing him. They were calling him names and they upset him more than he was.
LEMON: Well, let me tell you this, Ms. Sutherland. We all felt -- we feel that. We feel your frustration and we've got you. So, don't worry about that. But this video is so difficult to watch. It shows your son being assaulted for several minutes and he didn't put up a fight.
You saw it for the first time this week after giving the sheriff permission to release it publicly. How does this compare to what you originally told about your son's death?
A. SUTHERLAND: Well, originally, we weren't told anything. We knew nothing for months of what was happen -- what happened to him. All we knew is that the newspaper said that Jamal was found in his cell. He was not found in his cell. He was murdered by the officers at the detention center.
[22:55:02]
And after Jamal was murdered, we continually heard people saying things that are not true about him. Jamal was a man of God, and that's why when they were tasing him, when they were throwing pepper spray Jamal begins to praise God. Hallelujah.
LEMON: Yes.
A. SUTHERLAND: That's who Jamal was.
LEMON: Well --
A. SUTHERLAND: To all has angered never assaulted anyone. He never lift his hands. He followed instructions. Come out, and things will be better.
LEMON: Well let me just say this, Ms. Sutherland. We want you to come back and tell your story and Mark and Gary, we want you to come back as well. We want to get this on the record. We want people to hear the story, we want the people to hear it from you. And we are going to continue to follow up on this story.
And I thank you so much for being here. We are so sorry for your loss. And Mark and Gary, we'll hear from you for when we have you guys back. Thank you. OK? You guys be well. Thanks a lot.
We'll be right back, everyone.
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