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Trump Hints At A Political Comeback After Senate Acquittal; House Impeachment Managers Stand By Decision Of Not Calling Witnesses; Capitol Riot Suspects Rush To Scrub Phones, Social Media Posts; QAnon Supporters Cling To Theory That Trump Is Still President; Trump Voices Concern; The Royal Family; Coronavirus Pandemic Vaccinations. Aired 4- 5p ET

Aired February 14, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:30]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Happy Valentine's Day to you. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

Can a former president twice impeached mount a political comeback? Donald Trump, fresh off his second acquittal, seems to think so according to Trump's close ally Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. The ex-president is, quote, "excited about 2022" and helping Republicans win back seats in the midterms.

So if you had any doubt about whether a deadly riot would shift Republicans away from the MAGA movement, think again. The Democratic House impeachment managers coming out today to reflect on Trump's acquittal with one remarking not enough Republicans had the spine to do the right thing.

CNN's Boris Sanchez joins us in Florida near Mar-a-Lago estate. We also have national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with us on Capitol Hill.

Boris, so what now? Donald Trump dodges conviction in the Senate. What is the plan going forward and who is on his side?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, former president Donald Trump is already asserting himself as a force in the future of Republican politics. From that statement he put out yesterday he made clear that he intends to flex that muscle, nearly 75 million voters that cast ballots for him in the last election, and his targets will likely be the Republicans that have angered him in his eyes by betraying him, by voting to impeach him and then voting to convict him in the Senate as well.

You mentioned a conversation that Trump had with Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina after his acquittal. Graham making clear that Trump is still angry at a number of people, though he remains on the former president's side. Listen to more from Lindsey Graham.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Yes, I spoke to him last night. He was grateful to his lawyers. He appreciated the help that all of us provided. You know, he's ready to move on and rebuild the Republican Party. He's excited about 2022. And so, to the Republican Party, if you want to win and stop a socialist agenda, we need to work with President Trump. We can't do it without him. And to you, President Trump, you need to build the Republican Party stronger.

I'm into winning. And if you want to get something off your chest, fine. But I'm into winning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's really curious the calculus here for Lindsey Graham because other Republicans like Senator Ben Sasse, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, they'll tell you that going with Trump isn't a winning formula. They know well that the GOP led by Trump in the last election lost the White House, lost the Senate, and could not win a majority in the House of Representatives.

So we will likely see more of this infighting within the Republican Party to figure out exactly how to get back in power after his presidency. Of course, before 2022 when any potential rallies and anything else Trump might try to do to his perceived enemies is the question of potential legal liability. Sources close to the former president confirming to CNN that he is concerned about potentially facing criminal charges not only because of his involvement in the insurrection on January 6th but a litany of other issues, Ana.

CABRERA: Right. From Georgia to New York to D.C.

Meantime, Suzanne, how are Democrats processing Donald Trump's acquittal, and in hindsight would they have done anything differently?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're hearing from House managers and they say that they are proud. They feel like they made a strong case. Delegate Stacey Plaskett as well as Raskin, Jamie Raskin, the head of the team, saying, look, they might not have won the Republicans needed to convict but they won they believe in the court of public opinion and the court of history.

They are even pointing to Senate minority leader comment from Mike McConnell who said that the president was physically as well as morally, practically responsible for this riot that occurred at the U.S. Capitol. That it was a disgraceful dereliction of duty. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying that she thought that the comments were disingenuous and an excuse that this whole process was unconstitutional.

But, nevertheless, they believe that they made a very strong case of covering three presidential impeachment trials, Ana, and this one was very different in tone and tenor. It made history in the number of Republicans that were willing to cross the aisle and say that this president was guilty. There is some handwringing among progressives and some questions among progressives whether or not they could have used witnesses to better bolster their case.

There was a last-minute kind of pivot if you will when Raskin introduced the possibility of calling for Republican Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler to explain the story, the conversation she heard between Republican leader Mike McCarthy and the president when the president siding with the rioters as this violence was happening.

[16:05:11]

Ultimately they decided behind closed doors that they were not going to do that and, therefore, they made the proper decision that they made their case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACEY PLASKETT (D), DELEGATE TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS: Just so the American public is aware, witnesses in a Senate hearing do not come and stand before the senators and make any statements. It's a deposition. It's is a videotaped, and that is brought before the Senate. So I know that people are feeling a lot of angst and believe that maybe if we had this, the senators would have done what we wanted, but listen. We didn't need more witnesses. We needed more senators with spines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So what happens next? Well, censure is off the table. We heard from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying it's simply a slap on the wrist. They might consider developing some sort of 9/11 style commission that would investigate the facts but they're looking at the agenda here. COVID relief, the economy, and the speaker putting out a statement that, yes, they want gun reform to happen sometime this year as well.

It is the third anniversary of the Parkland school shooting and they say that they want to get this done for those kids, for this president's administration, something that previous administrations have failed to do, Ana.

CABRERA: Suzanne Malveaux, Boris Sanchez, thanks to both of you.

Joining us now CNN political commentator and former communications director to Senator Ted Cruz, Amanda Carpenter, and CNN political commentator and former Clinton White House adviser, Paul Begala.

Good to see both of you. Thank you, guys.

Amanda, what's your reaction to Senator Lindsey Graham when he says the MAGA movement needs to continue and they can't win in 2022 without Trump?

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I noticed that Lindsey Graham kept using the phrase that Donald Trump needs to rebuild the Republican Party which to me is a pretty clear admission that he, even Lindsey Graham recognizes that Donald Trump broke the Republican Party. And I also noticed that Lindsey Graham is really one of the only people rushing to the cameras right now to defend Donald Trump. And so while he is loud, he makes an aggressive case, I just think

there's a lot of showmanship going on right now with Lindsey Graham and not much substance.

CABRERA: Paul, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ruled out censuring the former president because she thought it would be a, quote, "slap in the face" of the Constitution and let Republicans off the hook. So I guess where do Democrats go next? Do they just leave it at this point?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, yes. Mr. Trump is going to have his own legal problems, and Boris talked about some of them in his report. The Democrats now, I think they proved their case. In the most tribal, most partisan moment in my lifetime, maybe even all the way back to the civil war, they had the most bipartisan support for an impeachment and a conviction that we've ever had in American history.

So my hat is off to those House managers. I think they did a terrific job. And I think now the Democrats have got to act. You know, the American people took away the House, the Senate, and the White House from the Republican parties in just four years. That hasn't happened in 90 years. That hasn't happened since Herbert Hoover. No party has lost all three in just four years. That's the destruction that Trump has brought to his party.

But now the Democrats have to deliver. We lost 2,303 people yesterday to COVID. That's nearly as many as died on Pearl Harbor. So the Democrats have got to act. I think President Biden has done a great job of staying out of all of the Trump garbage, leave that to the -- to Lindsey Graham and the other moral invertebrates in the Republican Party. President Biden has put together a plan to try and get things back on track for the country. I think it's a very substantively good place to be and also politically wise.

CABRERA: Amanda, I want to read you something that former Bush adviser and Republican strategist Karl Rove said. "Trump is effectively tarnished for all time and incapable of running in 2024. The question is, how much power to dominate the GOP will have been drained away by the time this is over?" What do you think the answer is?

CARPENTER: You know, I'm hung up when operatives like Karl Rove say something like that. It also reminds me of Mitch McConnell's speech yesterday. You know, he gave this big speech essentially declaring Donald Trump guilty but he still voted to acquit. It's like, so many people, so many people in the elected leadership, officials, operatives, they want to somehow have all the benefits of Trump without ever being responsible for Trump, and just pretending that, oh, you know, this is just going to go away on its own.

I don't think Donald Trump is going away on its own. Mitch McConnell was intimating yesterday that, oh, the courts will handle this. The courts will handle this. Well, I've heard for what, the past five years since Donald Trump came on the scene in the summer of 2015 that somebody else would do something about it someday.

And that date just keeps going and things keep getting worse. And so I think it's foolish and short-sighted for people like Karl Rove to be on the sidelines saying this problem will take care of itself when they have not invested the time, structure, and energy to give a better alternative to Republican voters.

[16:10:10]

CABRERA: Here's the sound from Mitch McConnell Amanda just referenced. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Paul, what was the point of him saying that when he had just voted to acquit?

BEGALA: Yes. You know, everybody on Netflix has been watching the "Queen's Gambit." This was the coward's gambit. This is a man with absolute -- he had the absolute responsibility to protect the country and he was running the Senate when the House impeached him. He could have brought this to trial. And then when the Senate ruled, binding ruling, that in fact the president could be tried now, he ignored that.

There is just a special place for Mitch McConnell and it is not in the leadership of our country. It is really remarkable to hear him condemn the man that he just voted to acquit. It was just astonishing and the hypocrisy with this guy just knows no bounds.

CABRERA: Amanda, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was one of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict and within a short time of his vote yesterday he was censured by his home state. The Louisiana Republican Party. Here was his reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (D-LA): People want to trust. They want to trust their leaders. They want people to be held accountable. Now, we are holding -- I'm attempting to hold President Trump accountable. And that is the trust I have from the people that elected me. And I am very confident that as time passes people will move to that position.

I think his force wanes. The Republican Party is more than just one person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: He does have time. He was just re-elected so he has six years for this to sort of play out. But is he right or will he continue to pay a price politically for voting his conscience?

CARPENTER: He probably will. I mean, there has been a very coordinated effort nationwide for these state Republican parties to censure otherwise punish any Republican that speaks out or came out in favor of impeachment. But what I am heartened by, personally, is that the Republicans who did stick their necks out are doubling down essentially.

Lisa Murkowski had a very strong statement after her vote to impeach, essentially just saying, come at me. I don't care. And if somebody like, you know, Lisa Murkowski who has been elected as an independent can run her own campaign and a Republican from Louisiana like Senator Cassidy can be strong in this vote it gives me hope that anybody can.

CABRERA: And of all those seven Lisa Murkowski is the one who is up for re-election in 2022.

CARPENTER: Yes.

CABRERA: So she may have the most on the line in that vote.

Paul, I want to ask about the House impeachment managers, Jamie Raskin and Stacey Plaskett are among those getting a lot of attention for the job they did during this impeachment trial. Specifically for Plaskett, you know, she made history as the first delegate to be included in this role. Here they are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PLASKETT: This attack is not about one speech. Most of you men would not have your wives with one attempt to talking to her. It took numerous tries. You had to build it up. That's what the president did as well. He put together the group that would do what he wanted. And that was to stop the certification of the election so that he could retain power to be president of the United States.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Senators, this trial in the final analysis is not about Donald Trump. The country and the world know who Donald Trump is. This trial is about who we are. Who we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Paul, what does their future look like in the party?

BEGALA: Gosh, the future is so bright they got to wear shades. You know, I loved Delegate Plaskett's comment. I had to think on this Valentine's Day. It was eight years after our first date before my wife would marry me. So I kept at it for a while. And look, you know, if you look at President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer, the three top leaders of the Democratic Party, their average age is 76.

The average age of those impeachment managers is 47. So there is a whole new generation of Democrats and I just thought they were terrific lawyers, terrific advocates, terrific patriots. I was really blown away. I just -- so I think you've got -- Democrats have some really terrific stars and I do need as a Democrat to salute those Republicans who showed spine. You know, you were talking about Lisa Murkowski from Alaska and Ben Sasse from Nebraska and Senator Cassidy from Louisiana, Mitt Romney from Utah. These are not swing states. These are very strong Trump states. And so

the Republicans do have some folks to be proud of as well but I couldn't be more impressed with those House managers.

[16:15:07]

CABRERA: So you're showing a lot of love. It is Valentine's Day. It's a great place for us to end. I appreciate the Valentines attire that both of you are sporting. I've got the pink, you brought the red and the hearts.

BEGALA: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: So good to see both of you. Thank you so much for taking some time with us today.

BEGALA: Thanks. You, too.

CARPENTER: Thank you.

CABRERA: While the former president has been acquitted for his role in the January 6th insurrection. The FBI is still looking for those who say they listened to Trump and stormed the U.S. Capitol. We have brand new affidavits shedding light on how the rioters are now trying to cover their tracks including scrubbing their social media, even smashing their phones. More of those details.

Plus we're following breaking baby news involving the royal family. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle say little Archie is going to be a big brother. A live report from the U.K. just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: They once flaunted and bragged about their role in the January 6th fatal insurrection on social media.

[16:20:05]

But now many of these Capitol rioters are being accused of scrubbing their Internet posts, destroying their cell phones, even threatening witnesses. In fact, according to CNN's review of an FBI affidavit, 30 of those facing charges allegedly attempted to destroy evidence.

I want to bring in CNN Chief Media Correspondent, Brian Stelter and CNN crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz.

And Shimon, tell us more about how some rioters are now trying to cover their tracks and how investigators are figuring it out.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, in many cases what's happening is the reason why FBI is going and knocking on a lot of these people's doors is because they've already received tips from family members, friends, and colleagues of these individuals. And so when they knock on the door, I'm sure they're all surprised at the fact that the FBI is there, and they're trying to one up the FBI here. And some examples are really remarkable when you think about what

they're trying to do here. So some of them, one individual by the name of Tam Pham. He's actually a Houston police officer, now a former Houston police officer, and when the FBI went to his House, he admitted that he had traveled to Washington, D.C. but he said that he did not have any photos in his album from that day. But when the FBI asked him to look at his phone he agreed to let them look at the phone and they found the photos in his deleted folder on his phone.

There is another situation, another incident with a man by the name of Joshua Lola also who had deleted Facebook posts according to the FBI. There were deleted Facebook posts of him going into the Capitol. What's interesting in this case is that they actually have information, the FBI was able to subpoena information from Facebook which shows that his sister, they believe it's his sister, the FBI, told him to delete some of these posts.

And then there's also a man by the name of James Lyons out of Chicago where he deleted an Instagram post almost immediately after he had posted of him being inside the Capitol. But the FBI was able to screen grab that photo. Again, they are getting a lot of information from people who have been going through social media, who were monitoring a lot of this in real time as most of us were on that day until the FBI has been able to collect a lot of this information and they've been using it to track down a lot of these individuals.

CABRERA: And now we know more than 200 people are already facing some charges.

Brian, it appears QAnon followers are looking ahead to another date, March 4th. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump will take office as the 19th president of the United States on March 4th under the restored republic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hey, your favorite truth seeker holding the light for everyone out there who's given up hope that Trump is not the president of the United States of America when, in fact, he is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you think about it, you know, Biden's not in the White House, and they have proof that he is out in California and it's all staged.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Executions will be happening on March 5th. That's a big statement. And I'm really looking forward to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Gosh, when you see people like this just not living in reality, how is the big lie still being perpetuated like this with Trump off social media and Joe Biden now president?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This is going to happen in the dark corners of the Internet but of course it is still searchable, findable, and you're still able to show our viewers. I think it's important to see what's going on in these QAnon worlds because it's kind of like a serialized television show. Imagine the TV drama where every episode there is a new revelation that makes you come back a week later and a month later.

That is QAnon except in a dangerous, despicable way. It is like a television drama that makes you come back the next week because the story never ends. The story is never resolved. And that's what these folks are now trying to do by implying that March 4th is some important new day. It's really sad and I feel for all the families that have people that are believing these delusional ideas. That it's hard to bring them back to reality, it's really hard.

But it's also important to recognize that those folks are not alone. These ideas sadly are relatively widespread. But the difference of course between let's say crazed UFO conspiracy theories or other theories from the past is that these are not algorithmically fueled, they can spread to millions of people. Facebook and Twitter and other companies say they are now taking action against QAnon but in some ways too little too late because some of these popular accounts have already spread to millions of people.

CABRERA: And obviously it is deep, ingrained in some of these people, these beliefs. It's hard to dig out when we hear from people who have found the light so to speak.

[16:25:02]

Shimon, there are new court records revealing how aggressively federal prosecutors are certainly working to understand these extremists. What have they found?

PROKUPECZ: Yes. And look, and what the FBI is finding is certainly very troubling when they are now peeling back the onion, they're going in deeper, able to get a lot of information that they didn't have access to certainly in the days leading up to this insurrection. And what they're finding is that there was organization. There was planning. In one particular instance an individual, the Oath Keepers, Thomas Caldwell and Jessica Watkins allegedly discussed perhaps getting a boat, bringing weapons by boat into Washington D.C.

The key in all of this, Ana, and what we keep seeing in some of these court records, and when we look at some of the organized efforts in all of this, is that there was messaging from the former president that these groups of people were looking at, were reading, were watching, waiting for signals on when to act. As we see in a lot of terrorist groups, as we see in extremism, you know, when we look at these groups and we look deeper into these groups, they're following something, some belief.

That is what's starting to come across. And that is certainly something that has the FBI of course very concerned as we go in the months and probably even years ahead in trying to combat some of what has happened here. So it is very troubling and obviously it is the organization now that the FBI is focusing on and a great deal to see how organized was this, the money, the groups, that is a big part of the investigation.

CABRERA: And of course social media plays such a huge role here. We're starting to see companies crack down to try to stop the spread of misinformation and to hold some people who are spreading accountable, Brian. For example Twitter has suspended the account of Project Veritas, a conservative activist organization, at least that's how they couch themselves with followers including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, but this is part of a much broader crackdown as we mentioned by social media giants on accounts that are promoting misinformation.

STELTER: Yes. And these companies' policies are changing as time goes on, becoming more strict as time goes on, and as a result groups like Project Veritas, no connection to QAnon, but Project Veritas, a very controversial conservative group, got swept up in a Twitter policy by violating multiple rules on the site, rules that to be honest did not exist five years ago. So it can be confusing for people as these platforms change and then enforce the rules more severely than before to know what is allowed and what is not allowed.

However, of course, these are private platforms. They can change the rules whenever, however they want. That's important context. What's most important I think is all of what we're learning about the riot on 1/6, all of what we're learning about the coordination and this radicalization of Americans, it's why we need real leaders not to flirt with QAnon, not to flirt with conspiracy theory language, not to indulge in indecency in the kind of really hyper partisan conspiracy content that's out there, but instead help people out of that darkness.

CABRERA: Absolutely.

STELTER: Help people away from that content and toward accurate information. This is why leadership is so important.

CABRERA: Brian Stelter, Shimon Prokupecz, I appreciate the conversation and reporting. Thank you both.

Now we have breaking news. Another royal baby is on the way. We'll take you live to the U.K. right after this. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:00]

CABRERA: After dodging a conviction in his second impeachment trial, former President Donald Trump's future still remains unclear, as he faces significant new legal issues that could threaten his finances and possibly his freedom.

I know you have a lot of questions, so let's get right to CNN's Legal Analyst, and former federal and state prosecutor, Elie Honig, for our weekly "CROSS EXAM" segment. Elie, one viewer is asking, now that Donald Trump has been acquitted in the Senate, does that mean he cannot be charged criminally under the Double Jeopardy Rule? ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So, Ana, we're getting that question a

lot. So, Double Jeopardy is the constitutional principle that a person cannot be charged criminally twice for the same act. Now, impeachment, as we've heard repeatedly over the last couple weeks, is not a criminal process. So, set -- they are separate concepts legally. They are apples and oranges.

So, if an official gets impeached, tried and convicted or acquitted, either way, he can still be charged criminally. Even Senator Mitch McConnell said that yesterday.

And what's more, impeachment can actually provide new leads and new information to prosecutors. For example, we've learned a lot, these past few weeks, about what Donald Trump knew and did on January 6th, including our colleague Jamie Gangel's reporting about what Representative Kevin McCarthy told Donald Trump during those critical hours. And I assure you, prosecutors were taking notes and they can and will use that information to decide whether criminal charges are appropriate.

CABRERA: So, let's drill down more specifically because another viewer wants to know what potential criminal charges could Trump face, relating to the effort to overturn the election and the Capitol insurrection?

HONIG: Yes. So, the Justice Department has this policy, that I think we're all familiar with, against charging a sitting President. But there is no immunity whatsoever for a former president.

So, first of all, federal charges. The Justice Department will have to decide whether to investigate and, ultimately, whether to charge federal crimes; which could include inciting a riot, sedition, aiding and abetting various other crimes that were committed inside the capitol.

Now, this will be a major decision awaiting President Biden's nominee for attorney general, Merrick Garland.

[16:35:00]

HONIG: We expect him to be confirmed sometime next week.

And then, separately, there could be state charges. The Fulton County district attorney in Georgia has announced that her office is investigating Donald Trump's efforts to try to overturn the election in Georgia. There are Georgia state laws here that relate to soliciting or pressuring officials to count ballots that were not cast or to falsify an election certification.

So, that D.A. is going to have to gather all the facts, and she is going to have a tough decision to make as well. We'll be following both of those.

CABRERA: Separate from impeachment, one viewer asked, can Congress still ban Trump from holding federal office under the 14th Amendment? HONIG: So, it's an interesting concept but don't hold your breath. So,

the 14th Amendment tells us that any person who has engaged in insurrection cannot hold federal office. That was actually passed after the Civil War to try to keep confederates from taking high office.

The problem is the Constitution tells us nothing about the process. How does it work? Is it up to Congress? Does it have to be the House? The Senate? Both? Either? Do you need a majority vote? Do you need more than that? Are the courts involved at all? And, as a result, there's almost no historical precedent at all. Since the end of reconstruction, it's only ever been used one time over a hundred years ago in 1919, and that one was never challenged. We didn't really get any legal background on it.

So, it's an interesting historical concept, but I don't think we're going to see that in play here.

CABRERA: I have to ask, because I know our viewers are thinking. They see you every hour of the day on CNN, Elie. Have you recovered yet after the week that was?

HONIG: I'm energized. This is -- this is what we do it for. This is fun. This is interesting. This is history. I'm thrilled to be part of it.

CABRERA: We are so lucky to have you and all of your great knowledge and expertise in this area. Thank you, Elie. Good to see you, as always.

HONIG: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: Happy Valentine's.

HONIG: I appreciate it.

CABRERA: All right, talk about perfect timing for our new CNN original series about Abraham Lincoln. He was a new President, trying to hold together the American experiment. And, tonight, we shed more light on his life and the compromises he made to save the union and free the slaves. Here's a preview of "Lincoln: Divided We Stand."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He becomes quite popular and known around New Salem for his good humor and colorful stories.

CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "LINCOLN: DIVIDED WE STAND": He used wit and comedy at his own expense to connect with people. He had a lot of fun with the fact that he was not a good-looking guy. I like stories where he's making fun of himself. There is that famous one where he was riding along and a woman is riding the other way and stops him.

STANLEY TUCCI, ACTOR: She aimed a rifle at him. Then, he said, madame, why are you pointing that gun at me?

O'BRIEN: And you can see just Lincoln like Buster Keaton or any great just staring.

TUCCI: She said, because I always resolve that if I ever met a man who was uglier than I am, I would shoot him. And he looked at her and he said, madame, if I am really uglier than you, then fire away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: "LINCOLN: DIVIDED WE STAND" premieres tonight at 10:00, right here on CNN.

Now, some breaking news. Meghan Markle is pregnant. We'll take you live to the U.K. right after this.

[16:38:18]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Breaking news about the royal family. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expecting their second child. I want right to go to CNN's Max Foster who is joining us from England. Max, this means Archie is going to be a big brother. Give us the exciting details.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. And that's how they announced it as well. They said that he's going to have a younger brother. Obviously, this comes off the back of the news that they announced towards the end of last year, or the information was based on the end of last year, where they had a miscarriage.

And so, they want to announce it today and they announced it with this wonderful photo, which I'm told was taken remotely via iPad. Not getting much more information than that. But a really lovely picture.

And much being made, in the U.K. at least, about the fact that Diana announced Harry's pregnancy or her own pregnancy with Harry on the 13th of February. And the news eventually came out on the 14th of February. So, there was a timely moment as well towards the announcements of Harry's presence in the world as well.

But a lot of positive feeling here in the U.K. Obviously, so much negativity around at the moment, but some good news coming through at this moment as well. And we're not getting any more information, apart from the families being told. Both families have been told. Meghan's family and Harry's family have been told. The Queen and Prince Charles are said to be delighted, as they would be.

So, we'll wait to see if we get any more information. We're not being told the sex at the moment, crucially.

CABRERA: That is such a wonderful announcement, especially, as you mentioned, the news that they revealed in July about her miscarriage. And she wrote an op-ed in "The New York Times" and said, losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief experienced by many but talked about by few. Some have bravely shared their stories. They have opened the door knowing that when one person speaks truth, it gives license for all of us to do the same.

Max, do you think sharing her story was instrumental in helping her heal?

FOSTER: Well, I think, I mean, she cares deeply about the environment she is in, the political atmosphere. I think she felt that she wanted to talk about asking people how they feel. So, she was asked this question by a journalist when she was in South Africa, are you OK? And it really resonated with her. And she used the article to really talk about how she was asked if she was OK. Lots of people ask if she's OK.

She wanted to ask other people if they were OK, around the pandemic.

[16:45:00]

FOSTER: And she felt that a lot of people don't speak enough about miscarriages, fathers or mothers. And if that happens, you should just ask if someone is OK. It is quite a simple gesture. But I think it played into a much bigger sort of anxiety in society around the pandemic and whether or not people are OK. She just wants people to reach out to people.

So, I don't think it was necessarily an announcement about her miscarriage. It was more about her message to the world that we need to be caring about each other, asking if we're OK. And maybe that's the first step in the healing process of whatever anxiety you're going through.

CABRERA: Well, we've got to love the picture that they shared their news with. And you see her baby bump there. I think a lot of women who've had babies, they're trying to think, like, how along -- far along would she be when she's showing already? Such exciting news. I know you are working to get more details.

Max Foster, thank you very much. We'll be right back.

[16:46:00]

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CABRERA: The CDC has now unveiled new guidelines for reopening schools in the U.S. amid the pandemic. And they include things like mandatory mask wearing, desks six feet apart, and adding hand-washing stations.

There is a caveat, though. The CDC recommends either virtual or hybrid learning for schools in areas with high transmission. Here's the thing, though. A CNN Analysis finds that nearly all children in the U.S., 99 percent in fact, live in these so-called red zones.

Here is CDC Director, Dr. Walensky, on CNN earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, CDC: What we have said in our guidance is that the amount of classroom activity really depends on the amount of spread in the community. We know that the amount of disease in the community is completely reflected as to what is happening in school. If there is more disease in the community, there will be more in school. And that most disease in school does not come from in-school transmission, but comes from outside the -- in to -- from into the community.

So, what we would advocate for is to have more kids in school as our community spread comes down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Joining us now, Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor and Dean of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Hotez, great to see you. This is getting so frustrating for parents and teachers. Yet, the CDC is saying it is safe to reopen schools with these measures. But if you are in a red zone, which is 99 percent of American children, don't fully reopen. But, oh, yes, we're also not seeing transmission in schools. What does the science say?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND DEAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Well, the science says, Ana, that the U.K. variant, the b.1.17 variant is on the rise. And what that means is the level of transmissibility in this country is about to accelerate even further, maybe by 30 percent or 40 percent.

So, even though the numbers are coming down pretty steadily now, down to a hundred thousand new confirmed cases a day, which is great, I think that's going to be short lived. And as we head into March-April, then we're going to get a big increase in transmission.

CABRERA: So, as far as schools, though, like, if you are in one of these red zones, should parents be worried about kids going to school in class?

HOTEZ: Well, my biggest concern, Ana, are the teachers and staff and, of course, the parents as well. And this is why we need to accelerate vaccinations ahead of the variants. And I'm a big proponent of vaccinating teachers and staff, so they have that comfort level of going to school, especially as we have these variants.

So, I think that would be one approach to mitigate some of this is if we were vaccinating teachers, I think there would be -- and staff, there would be a much higher comfort level and that could be a game changer.

CABRERA: Dr. Walensky also says every American who wants a COVID vaccine should be able to get one by summer's end. That's not too far away, Dr. Hotez. What does life in America look like come September?

HOTEZ: Yes, it gets much better, Ana, as we fully vaccinate the U.S. population, transmission should go way down. We can feel more comfortable going about daily activities at work and going -- and even going to restaurants and venues with large gatherings of people. Even air travel.

So, no question, we are going to be in a much better place by the fall. The tough part is going to be the next few weeks, from now until May, in terms of vaccine supply and vaccinating people ahead of the variants. So, that's the big unknown right now.

CABRERA: One of the questions I keep getting from viewers is how long do you have to wear a mask after getting vaccinated?

HOTEZ: Well, right now, we don't know if the vaccines halt asymptomatic transmission. So, for now, you still have to wear masks when you're out in public.

The good news, though, is the numbers and the evidence is starting to point to the fact that the vaccinations do have an impact on dramatically reducing the amount of virus in your nose and mouth and throat, as well as preventing symptomatic illness. And what that means is that I think, in time, after people get vaccinated a week or two after the second dose, the masks can start to come off which would be really exciting. We don't know that for sure yet, but I think that's where we're headed towards.

CABRERA: So, wear the mask for now. Better safe than sorry. But it sounds like there's some good news and hopefully we'll get more of that good news confirmed. Dr. Peter Hotez, it's so great to see you. Thank you very much for spending part of your Valentine's Day with us. Happy valentine's day.

HOTEZ: Happy Valentine's Day. Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: The pandemic is sure to be front and center, when President Biden joins Anderson Cooper live from Milwaukee this week. The exclusive presidential town hall starts Tuesday night at 9:00, right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

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CABRERA: Hello, on this Sunday. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thanks for being with us.

It's the aftermath of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial, and Republicans are grappling with the future of their party and what role the ex-president will play in it. Now, one of Donald Trump's most faithful allies, Senator Lindsey Graham, says Trump is excited about working to help Republicans in the 2022 midterms, as well as whatever comes after that.

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