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Biden Gets Emotional About Son's New Book On Addiction; Trump Faces Democratic-Controlled Senate In Unprecedented Second Trial; Biden Announces Major Changes In U.S. Foreign Policy Goals; Biden Announces Major Changes In U.S. Foreign Policy Goals; Historic Second Impeachment Trials Starts Tuesday; Vaccine Hesitancy Threatens To Undermine Herd Immunity Goal. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired February 06, 2021 - 20:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington, welcome to the viewers in the United States and around the world. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

And new this hour, President Biden is opening now up about his son, Hunter's new book, about his battle with addiction. The president growing emotional as he talks about memoir, Beautiful Things, set to be releases in April.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, I bet there's not a family, you know, that didn't have somebody in the family who had a drug problem or an alcohol problem. But the honesty with which he step forward and talked about the problem and the hope that it gave me hope reading it, I mean, it was like, my boy is back. You know what, I mean -- any way, I'm sorry to get so personal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Arlette Saenz in Wilmington, Delaware, where Biden is spending the weekend. Then we just saw there, he got emotional. Arlette.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Pamela. And President Biden is not one who hides his emotions, especially when it comes to talking about his family. And you heard him there talk about the feelings that he felt reading his son, Hunter's forthcoming book, where Hunter goes into detail about his own struggle with addiction. He has been forthcoming about that over the course of the past year, talking about his battle with both alcohol and drug abuse.

And he was actually a flashpoint during the presidential campaign on this topic as well. Former President Trump brought this up during one of the debates against President Biden, or then I should say former vice president at the time, but Biden at the time, tried to turn this into a way that American families can relate to what his own family has been going through. That is a topic that you often hear him go back to, that there are many families across the country who are also struggling with someone who is struggling with addiction and substance abuse.

Now, there were other points of the campaign where Hunter was also a flashpoint, but since his father became president, he's really maintained a low profile. You'll remember that back in December, we learned that Hunter Biden was under investigation for his business dealings, but this forthcoming book is going to really delve into his struggles with addictions.

Now, the president is spending the weekend here, with his family in Wilmington, Delaware. And he also went to the doctor today to get an X-ray on his foot, which he had fractured back in November. His physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, says those fractures are completely healed and he will soon return to his full exercise regimen. Pamela?

BROWN: OK. Arlette Saenz, thank you, so much. And new tonight, just days before the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, CNN has new videos showing the moments after the attack on the U.S. capitol. And it demonstrates how some of rioters were taking their cues directly from Trump. We have to warn you that what you are about to watch contains profanity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REPORTER: How did you get out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did I got, what?

REPORTER: How did you get out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the Senate?

REPORTER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cops walked out with me.

REPORTER: They just let you go?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

REPORTER: What is your message to everybody now, like you all yelling at?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, Donald Trump asked everybody to go home. He just say -- he just put out a tweet. It's a minute long, He ask everybody to go home.

REPORTER: Why do you think so?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because, do we won the fucking day, we fucking on.

REPORTER: How did he win?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we won by sending a message to the senators and the congressman. We won by sending a message of Pence, okay, that if they don't do as they, if they -- their oath to do.

[20:05:01]

And if they don't uphold the Constitution, then we will remove them from office one way or another.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy is recording. He's on our side.

REPORTER: Yes. I thought you would say that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm fine of being recorded --

REPORTER: All right. (INAUDIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I can say is we won the fucking day. Donald Trump is still our president.

REPORTER: I do have one more question. There are a lot of people that doubt that he was able to go in there and come out. Like you -- what do you have to say to them that doubt you just walked out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, a lot of people doubted a lot of prophets, saints and sages. A lot of people doubted Christ, you know?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So that was Jacob Chansley, the so-called QAnon Shaman, after living the capitol. And here his mug shot. He was put behind bars and recently switched jails so that he could get organic food. Chansley's lawyer has argued that his client was just following Trump's invitation to march to the Capitol.

CNN Donie O'Sullivan joins me with more on this video. So, Donie, tell me more about this video and some other things that you found online.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Sure, yes. These videos, this video was posted on to Parler, which was that social media platform which is currently off line but was super popular with Trump supporters around the time of the insurrection because it sort of left unbridled misinformation go viral on that platform.

So we -- thousands of videos from the insurrection from that day in Washington were posted on this platform, and before the platform went to offline, a computer programmer downloaded all the videos, and other, our colleagues, and other outlets, including ProPublica, have cataloged and many of these videos.

But from what you can see in that video there is that that is Jacob Chansley, the so-called QAnon Shaman, and it certainly shows that he appears at least to be claiming that he is taking his cues from former President Trump.

And we have come across Chansley on the campaign trail for the months leading up to the in insurrection. We saw him actually have a QAnon convention. You heard that right, a convention for QAnon believers that took place in Arizona in October. And at that event, we were actually inside the event. They played a video of Trump praising QAnon followers and that, of course, was celebrated at that convention. And we even saw Chansley outside of Trump's rally in Dolton, Georgia, on the eve of the Georgia Senate runoff elections and that, of course, was just 48 hours before the insurrection. Pam?

BROWN: Yes, that was remarkable when you went inside that convention. They played that video of Trump and they said, see, that shows that he's not condemning us, that basically he's giving us his support, remarkable. Donie O'Sullivan, as always, great job reporting. Thanks so much.

O'SULLIVAN: Welcome.

BROWN: And be sure to join Anderson Cooper for a look at the origins of the QAnon conspiracy. How did this French theory become a movement that included members of Congress? What role did it play on the Capitol insurrection? The CNN special report, Inside the QAnon Conspiracy, starts in just a few minutes.

And joining me now with more from Capitol Hill is CNN's Jessica Dean. So, Jessica, are you getting any indication how this new video could pose a problem for the defense when Donald Trump's second impeachment trial starts on Tuesday?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly does. And before I answer your question, we do have a bit of an alarm going off in here. So if you hear something in the background, that's what it is. Everything is totally fine. It's just they're checking on something.

But, yes, to answer your question, Pamela, look, House Democrats, these impeachment managers really plan to rely heavily on video like that to make their case that former President Donald Trump was directly responsible for the insurrection that transpired here on January 6th. So they're going to be using things like that to make their case.

We know that they have also asked for former President Trump to testify, that he said, he would doesn't plan doing that, and we've learned that they intend to make the case that his refusal to testify actually underscores his guilt in his second impeachment trial in a year.

There are also other outstanding questions surrounding how the impeachment trial will move forward as we get ever closer to the Tuesday start date for the trial. We still don't know exactly how long it's going to go on. They are still hashing all of that out. And we don't know if they're going to call witnesses. Again, it's a unique situation in so much has the senators, who are also going to be the jurors in the case, were also witnesses to what happened during those deadly riot on January 6th.

So there is a lot of moving part too that they're still putting together. Our sources are telling us that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are still hashing out all the fine details of how this is going to take shape.

But, again, Pam, we come back to the central argument here for House impeachment managers, which is they plan to make the case that former President Trump was singularly and directly responsible for what transpired here in January, just about a month hay ago.

And we know that 17 Republicans are going to have to vote to convict in order to get a conviction here.

[20:10:01]

That seems very unlikely. They have their work cut out for them. But that is the case they're going to make with this trial begins on Tuesday. Pam?

BROWN: Okay. Jessica Dean live for us from Capitol Hill, thank you so much. Glad that alarm went off finally.

COVID relief negotiation, meantime, and an unprecedented second impeachment trial, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal is on the Judiciary Committee and he join us live to discuss all the action in D.C. in just a moment.

Plus, President Biden declares America is back on the world stage. Fareed Zakaria joins us to dissect the objectives laid out in Biden's first major's foreign policy speech.

And joining us for a new CNN original series next Sunday that chronicles President Abraham Lincoln's life and legacy. Here is a quick preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lincoln freed the slaves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it's more complicated than that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The new president, a prairie lawyer with no experience, tried to hold together the American experiment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The stakes were extremely high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This election is an earthquake.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The biggest misconception of Lincoln is that he was perfect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The man who found a way to make democracy sane.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lincoln, divided we stand, premieres next Sunday night at 10:00.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[20:15:00]

BROWN: Well, we are less than 72 hours from the second impeachment trial of former President Trump, and President Biden is doing his best to stay out of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORAH O'DONNELL, CBS NEWS HOST: If you were still a senator, would you vote to convict him?

BIDEN: Look, I ran like hell to defeat him because I thought he was unfit to be president. I've watched what everyone else watched, what happened when that crew invaded the United States Congress. But I'm not in the Senate now. I'll let the Senate make that decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And, indeed, it will be the role of senators to act as jurors, like Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. He's also on the Judiciary Committee. Senator, thank you for coming on.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Thank you very much for having me.

BROWN: You have said that Trump's actions are certainly punishable by impeachment. So does that mean you want to see Trump convicted?

BLUMENTHAL: I believe that the facts are the facts here. They're pretty clear cut, open and shut, that he summoned and implored that mob to come to Washington, then urged them to storm the Capitol with the goal of stopping the ballot count and potentially assassinating political leaders, including his own vice president. That is a punishable offense under possibly criminal law and certainly an impeachable offense.

BROWN: So does that mean then that you want to see him convicted? That means -- I just want to be clear, because he's already been impeached. So, now the next step is conviction. You think that, yes, that he should be and that's -- that was -- he was responsible for inciting the riot?

BLUMENTHAL: He should be convicted. And let's be very clear, the Constitution requires an impeachment trial after his impeachment by the House. You're absolutely right, right now, the distinction. I can't tell you what my Republican colleagues are going to do, whether they are going to be responsible and obey their oath of office and their oath to follow the facts and law.

But I can tell you that failure to have a trial now would be a violation of the Constitution and, in my view, it would appear to condone Trump's actions and say, in effect, they were okay. Well, they were not okay. They were historically sickening and stomach- turning.

BROWN: Do you believe then, that he is should be subpoenaed to testify? Because that is something that Senate Democrats can do?

BLUMENTHAL: He should be subpoenaed only if his testimony is absolutely necessary. And there's also the question about whether he could be forced or compelled to testify. But I don't think any of those questions need to be reached because the House managers apparently have decided not to seek a subpoena.

And let's be very clear, you know, the evidence here is Trump's own words. The most incriminating evidence here is what Trump said to that mob before and during and what he said afterwards when he failed to lift a finger to protect his own vice president threatened with the assassination and did nothing for hours to tell that mob to go away, and then praised them as special people and practically reveled that (INAUDIBLE).

BROWN: And when he did release that video for people to leave, that you just mentioned, we just reported on video from Donie O'Sullivan, from the so called QAnon Shaman, leaving the Capitol, saying he was following Trump's direction. How damning is that for Trump and his impeachment trial as we look ahead to that?

BLUMENTHAL: That video is among the very damning piece of evidence that the House managers are going to introduce. And their main task, frankly, is to choose among all the very damning videos and present the ones that, in effect, make their case most powerful. But there is no reasonable doubt about Trump's -- his criminal intent seems more than evident from that video and others.

[20:20:08]

And the effect of that intent, as you have said, is going to be clear from those kinds of videos and many others.

And, you know, it's not only what one or two followers said. It's what the masses said when he was talking to them in that rally. I think Americans are going to be, again, really repulsed, sickened and angry when they see these videos.

BROWN: So if Trump is acquitted, which is anticipated given the fact that 17 Republicans would need to also vote for a conviction, so if he is acquitted, are you concerned that that could actually help him, that could help him if he decides to run in 2024, that it could just only serve to empower him?

BLUMENTHAL: He may try to boast about it but the fact of the matter is, what the American public sees and what Americans feel, I think, will be a powerful negative against him.

Again, we have no choice but to put Donald Trump on trial. The Constitution demands it. If we walk away from it, it will appear to be acceptance or even condonement. And I believe very strongly, that a public airing is one of the functions of a public trial.

As a former prosecutor, United States attorney for four and half years, and then attorney general of Connecticut for 20, I have seen acquittals actually have a profound impact on the way that people view the defendant and more importantly view public corruption. We are talking about corrupt intent, corrupt fact and corruption that goes to the core of our American democracy, and I think that Americans will be repulsed by it.

BROWN: Quickly, what is your message to the Republicans who have pretty much made it clear they're not going to vote to convict him? Do you talk to any of them behind the scenes? And what is the sense or the reaction you've been getting as we look ahead to next week?

BLUMENTHAL: Follow the facts and the law, which is what I have instructed juries many times. And do what is right, follow your conscience, and essentially look in the mirror and look at the judgment of history. You're going to have to explain this verdict, if you acquit, to your children and grandchildren and do the right thing.

BROWN: Okay, Senator Richard Blumenthal, thank you so much for coming on the show. We hope you'll come back.

BLUMENTHAL: I would love to come back. Thanks so much for having me.

BROWN: Thank you.

And President Biden declares America is back on the world stage. Our Fareed Zakaria is standing by to dissect the major foreign policy plans the Biden administration just unveiled.

Don't go anywhere. We'll be back.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: America is back. Diplomacy is back.

Over the past two weeks, I have spoken to leaders of many of our closest friends.

America and alliances are our greatest assets, and leading with diplomacy means standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies and key partners once again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So that was President Biden on Thursday giving his first major foreign policy speech since taking office, striking a very different tone than his predecessor, and announcing foreign policy shifts.

Joining me now to break down the substance of that speech is Fareed Zakaria, Host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS. Fareed, thanks for coming on.

I first want to you react to Biden's quote there that we heard from him, America is back, that message. Was that effective on the global stage?

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: Oh, very much so. I think people have been wanting a more predictable, more engaged America on the world's stage, particularly in Europe. There was a sense that they really felt this as though America had temporarily taken leave of its senses and they were holding their breath and waiting for a more rational, more engaged, more predictable America.

And, in a sense, Biden is reasserting a 70-year tradition, which is fairly bipartisan of an American foreign policy that was engaged particularly with Europe and viewed European nations as allies and partners. Trump was the great aberration and Biden is right to say America is back.

BROWN: So, just to be clear, Trump is a great aberration. Now, Trump marketed what he was doing as America first, and has argued everything else was not putting America first. So if you would, just talk a little bit more about how does not necessarily the case of what was laid out by Biden and what other foreign policy changes he made that were significant.

ZAKARIA: Well, America first was a slogan. It was never a strategy. There isn't a conceivable way in which you can pursue a purely nationalist foreign policy in today's world. Look at how we are all celebrating the arrival of these vaccines. The vaccines are entirely the product of globalization, of deep global science, supply chains all over the world, manufacturers taking place in one country, the vials coming from another, you know?

[20:30:04]

So the whole idea that you can just go it alone is a fantasy. It just sounds nice. So, what Biden is reflecting is the reality of the world. If you want to get anything done, you have to work with others. Other countries have become rich, powerful, proud. And, you know, you are going to have to take that into account. Trump didn't accomplish anything with those slogans. They were just slogans. There is very little positive that you can point to that was achieved by having that nationalist and isolationist approach.

BROWN: And so, what else came from the speech, though? What are -- or its significant developments came from that that Americans should take notice to?

ZAKARIA: By and large, it was a reaffirmation of things that Joe Biden has said on the campaign trail. There wasn't really any new ground that he broke. He did announce that the United States was going to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia and provide logistical and intelligence support for the war in Yemen. He had suggested that he was going to do that on the campaign trail, but he reaffirmed that, and that's significant because it will probably have effect relatively quickly.

Now, that then has to be followed with diplomatic engagement to try to end that war, which has been a total disaster, it's the world's worst humanitarian crisis right now. I think that was the -- probably the signal, that change, but kind of elaboration underlining of policy. Other than that, what Joe Biden said in the speech was mostly a collection of things he said on the campaign trail.

BROWN: OK. So, let's talk about Russia really quick, because he did take a tough tone when it comes to Russia, and has called for Alexei Navalny, who has been jailed in Russia to be freed. But what can he actually do to have sway with Russia? There's talk about sanctions, but would that really do anything to move the needle with Putin?

ZAKARIA: There's very few things you can do. You're absolutely right, it gets back to the point of, you know, recognizing how worthless the idea of America First is. In, you know, with a large country like Russia, your tools are limited.

I do think it is important for the United States, for the President to stand up for human rights and for values that we believe in. It doesn't always mean, you know -- it doesn't mean you're going to send an army, it just means you want to point out what's right and what's wrong. Sanctions could make a difference.

The most effective sanctions, I believe, tend to be targeted sanctions at individuals. Let's not forget that behind all these regimes, there is a small group of elites who are making out like bandits, really are kleptocracy. And so, if you can target the sanctions at them, get it their Swiss bank account, get it their ability to transfer their corrupt funds from one country to the other, stop them from buying apartments in London, and Paris and New York.

That might be more of a deterrent than general sanctions on a country. I mean, these people don't care that much about the country's, anyway, they're robbing and stealing from their countries every day.

BROWN: OK. Fareed Zakaria, thank you for coming on and sharing your wisdom and your perspective on Biden's speech and be sure to tune in to Fareed show tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. where he will speak to Iran's Foreign Minister. Thanks again, Fareed.

And ahead of Donald Trump's unprecedented second impeachment trial, new evidence is emerging that shows just how closely some of the Capitol Hill rioters were taking their cues from Trump himself. Our political power couple Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza join me next to discuss.

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[20:35:55]

BROWN: Well just days now until another historic chapter is written into American history. The second impeachment trial of a U.S. president, historic because of the timing. Donald Trump is out of office. Historic because of the unfamiliar legal ground being broken and historic because of the charges that are so hard to believe that the American president purposefully or riled up and angry crowd with lies to the point that they stormed the hall of Congress and violently smashed their way inside. Historic also because Trump is now out of office.

And tonight, something new, video that we're only seeing now on CNN. Some of those rioters leaving the Capitol that day like this man right here, told reporters that they were following Donald Trump's directions when they left. You'll see in here much of that in just a moment.

Let me get to Olivia Nuzzi as she is here. She's a Washington correspondent for New York Magazine. And Ryan Lizza, Politico senior Washington correspondent and CNN senior political analyst. Great to see you both.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Pam.

BROWN: So, hey there, Olivia. I want to start with you, this video that just came to light from Joe Sullivan. How significant is that you think as we look ahead to the impeachment trial? When you see -- one of the rioters who is in the Capitol building, who since been charged say, oh, yes, I left because Trump said it was time to go home. Of course, Trump had made that video asking for followers to go home hours after the right has started.

OLIVIA NUZZI, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK MAGAZINE: I think it's just a reminder -- frankly, it's a confirmation of some of what we saw in some of the indictments where Trump supporters who were at the Capitol stated that they were there because they felt that they were carrying out the President's orders, that then president's orders, and they were doing it basically at his direction. And so, this is pretty direct confirmation that that was true in some cases.

And I think it's a -- it's certainly bad timing for the former president to have this come out right now right before the trial. And it really is just a reminder for the people who were the victims that event who are now the jurors going into this, that it happened in some you could argue, because the former president ordered it to happen. It kind of directly undercuts what the -- what the former president's defense it's going to be about his language being essentially meaningless, and not being something that he could be charged for.

[20:40:16]

BROWN: You have Senate Democrats who appear to be well aware that the chances of a Trump conviction are very small, Ryan. Do you think that it could backfire for the Democrats with the headline of Trump is acquitted again? We have seen some Democrats expressed concern about that.

LIZZA: Well, I think there are two reasons Democrats are -- or some Democrats are skeptical about the political usefulness of this trial. One from the White House's perspective, you don't see a lot of enthusiasm for taking up the early days of President Biden's agenda or time when he would be pushing his agenda with this trial going in.

They know it's not going to do -- he's not going to be convicted. And if he's not convicted, Trump cannot be prevented from running again, which might be one reason if you're Joe Biden, you're enthusiastic about impeachment. So -- and remember, the first year of a new president's term is the most -- usually the most productive time, so that's not great.

And then as you point out, Pam, there are Democrats on the Hill who think, why are we doing this? You know, from their perspective, if he's not going to be convicted? It's going to be vindication when you have that Senate votes, if it doesn't hit 67 votes. And some people will point to the first impeachment as this period where Trump was emboldened after he wasn't convicted, and he sort of learned all the wrong lessons.

BROWN: I want to talk about Marjorie Taylor Greene, what's going on in the Republican Party, you're seeing this dynamic where people who have gone up against Trump voted for impeachment, Liz Cheney, for example. Others who've spoken out, Ben Sasse, are essentially getting punished by the Republican Party. They're being censored. That is not the case with Marjorie Taylor Greene. She has not been censored. She was removed from the committee 11 Republicans, the committees, I should say 11 Republicans signed on.

I spoke to Alyssa Farah earlier today, Olivia. And as you know, she was the former communications director under the Trump White House. She said Greene is just one bad apple, not representative of the party. What do you say to that?

NUZZI: Well, with all respect to Alyssa Farah, I think she probably knows better than anyone that Marjorie Greene represents the party and represents what this party has become. She worked for Donald Trump, who Marjorie Taylor Greene has been endorsed by, who -- whose view is she seems to echo and seems to parent, and she seems, in some ways, to be almost an heiress to Donald Trump's political legacy.

So, I don't really think that there's much credibility here for Republicans to say that Marjorie Taylor Greene is not really just a kind of Frankenstein's monster, that the most visible avatars for the Republican Party have been building for years and years.

BROWN: Ryan, quickly, what do you think?

LIZZA: Yes. Look, I think the most telling numbers this week are 61 and 11. In a secret ballot, 61 Republicans voted to kick Liz Cheney out of leadership, because she voted for impeachment. And publicly, 11 Republicans voted to strip Marjorie Greene her to committee assignments on the House floor.

And you have the Leader McCarthy, sort of acquainting those two things right. That was -- at the end of the day, that's what McCarthy did. He said, Well, you know, I sort of threaded the needle here, I kept Cheney and leadership and I -- and Marjorie Greene learned her lesson which sort of equates the two things, right?

Like the vote for impeachment was somehow similar to the false conspiracy theories and death threats that Greene was making. So, one more skirmish in this battle that is obviously going to, you know, define the next few years of the Republican Party these -- you know, these divides are clearly not going away.

BROWN: They're certainly not.

Olivia, Ryan, thanks for coming on today to be a part of your Saturday evening with us.

LIZZA: Anytime, Pam. Good to see you.

BROWN: You too. And this just in, by the way. CNN is confirming that a boxing legend Leon Spinks has died. He won the World Heavyweight Championship by upsetting Muhammad Ali in 1978 in a split decision, and that came after Spinks won the gold in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He and Michael Spinks were the first brothers to win the gold in the same Olympic sport. Leon Spinks battled prostate and other cancers.

[20:45:59]

A statement confirming his death reads, Leon fought his battle with numerous illnesses resiliently never losing his trademark smile, showing true Spinks determination. He never threw in the towel. He was 67 years old.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Across the country, clear evidence of people of color are falling behind in the race to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Much of it can be blamed on lack of access and that is a conversation we need to keep having. But there are other more personal reasons as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[20:50:02]

YANOUS WILLIS, ATLANTA BARBER: I really don't trust it because it actually came kind of fast. People didn't take it. They had Bell's palsy.

JAMES HARRIS, ATLANTA RESIDENT: I know the doctor took it and killed him and his nurse, I know that it could kill her.

BERNARD ROYAL, HEALTH CARE PROVIDER: You're not giving me the option. You're trying to dump it on me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: The overall picture and the U.S. looks like this. So far, 60 percent of available vaccines have been given to white people, 11.5 percent have gone to Latino people and just 5.4 percent have gone to black people.

Joining me more with more on this important discussion is Dr. Eugenia South, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

And in a recent op-ed, you were very upfront about your own hesitancy to get vaccinated. Dr. South, you are a doctor, what was holding you back?

EUGENIA SOUTH, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: Yes. So, I had several concerns. When I had to make the choice to take the vaccine, which I did take it. One of them was the speed at which the vaccine had been developed. Another was the fact that the former president seemed to politicize the vaccine, using it almost as a tool to try to win an election. I didn't know anything about the mRNA technology at the time, and I was concerned about the long-term side effects.

Undergirding all of that and what we heard from the video you just played was, for me, a sense of mistrust in the very system that I work in, that's informed by my own experiences of racism, racism that I've seen my family experience, and just what I see of how black patients are treated.

BROWN: So, let's talk a little bit more about that. What do you see in terms of how black patients are treated and what has fueled your distrust of the system that you are in? What specifically has fueled that?

SOUTH: There is countless data, Pam, about disparities and how black patients are treated with regard to pain, with regard to access to care. And what we have to understand about the relationship between mistrust and racism is that it's really engendered by the systems that we go through throughout our whole lives, education, housing, criminal justice, and of course, medicine.

People ask themselves, does this system have my best interest at heart? And unfortunately, for many black Americans, the answer is no. And so, when people are making a decision about something new, all of this is sort of playing in the background of those decisions.

BROWN: Right. And you talk about the data. But, you know, I would like to know more about your personal experience in the healthcare system and what you've seen with other patients. I also want to point out the troubling history in the U.S. I mean, surrounding all of this, you can't ignore the Tuskegee experiment where black men with syphilis weren't told that they were ill, nor were they treated. There are so many other examples.

How much do incidents like those contribute to the skepticism and communities of color?

SOUTH: I think historical examples are important, but it's really the present-day experiences, the day-to-day experiences. And I can give an example of my father-in-law that I shared in the op-ed, who felt 13 feet from his tractor trailer, he ended up having five broken ribs, a lung contusion, and he was in his 60s, he was sent home from the emergency department.

Over the course of several weeks, he had worsening symptoms. It took several doctor's visits to diagnose fluid around his heart and lungs, which require surgery. He actually suffered a cardiac arrest and he survived, which is a miracle.

But throughout that time, I can point and say, did they believe his symptoms? Did they believe his symptoms? Did they see him as someone who is valuable enough to really stay in the hospital and take more care of? It's always hard to pinpoint. Sometimes you never know. But you do question. There's a lot of questions and experiences like that, that people have all the time across the country really go into informing something like a decision to take a vaccine.

Dr. Eugenia South such an important perspective. Thank you for coming on sharing your experience why you were hesitant to take the vaccine and why you ended up ultimately getting it. Thank you so much for coming on the show.

SOUTH: Thanks so much, Pam.

BROWN: Well, this weekend, a Wisconsin mom and her newborn daughter are right where they're supposed to be together and at home. Back in October, Kelsey Townsend got coronavirus. She was nine months pregnant. Days later, she gave birth while in a medically induced coma. Then Kelsey's health got worse. Doctors thought she would need a double lung transplant just to survive, but then her lungs started to get better. Doctors don't know why. And almost three months after having her baby Kelsey went home.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So many ups and downs and just so much uncertainty. It's just -- it's been real difficult. She was in critical care. I mean, and that best explains it. There was -- there was many times that we didn't think she was going to make it through the night.

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BROWN: So, she met her baby daughter, her newborn daughter three months after giving birth when she came out of that coma was able to -- look at this -- able to go home, her medical team calls her the miracle mom, she's still recovering at home with her baby Lucy and her other three children. It just a remarkable story there.

Well, thank you so much for joining me on this Saturday evening. I'm Pamela Brown and the CNN Special Report, "Inside the QAnon Conspiracy" is next.

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