Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
House Passes Biden's $1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Bill; Rally Held In New York After Uptick In Anti-Asian Violence; 2024 GOP Presidential Hopefuls Overshadowed By Trump; QAnon Supporters Look To March 4th For Trump To Re-enter Presidency; Capitol Police Chief: Extremists Want To "Blow Up The Capitol"; Tiger Woods "In Good Spirits" After Undergoing Follow-up Surgeries; FDA Expected To Approve Single-Dose Johnson &Johnson Vaccine For Emergency Use. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired February 27, 2021 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:35]
ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you for staying with me. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.
Money in the hands of many Americans who badly need it. Money for small businesses and money for states and cities and schools to help them fight the deadly coronavirus pandemic. The House of Representatives very early this morning approved President Biden's nearly $2 trillion COVID aid package. That's not law yet but this is a major step forward.
The bill now faces some complications in the Senate before any money makes it to American bank accounts and CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is on Capitol Hill with the very latest.
So this bill passed with zero Republicans supporting it, even a couple of Democrats voted no -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and that was expected, really, that this was going to go along partisan lines. It happened around 2:00 in the morning, 595 pages, $1.9 trillion. The vote, 219-212. Very close and, yes, very partisan, Ana.
It is more complicated now that this goes to the Senate side because this bill includes a minimum age increase to $15 an hour. We have already heard from the Senate parliamentarian who says it does not pass the rules of reconciliation, which essentially means the Democrats can't pass this with a simple 51 majority instead of the 60 that's normally required within these rules, within these budgetary rules.
So, it has to be taken out of this bill. We'll see how the Senate deals with it. There's some Senate Democrats, we know of at least two, who don't want it in the bill and some House Democrats who are saying, ignore the parliamentarian, overrule the parliamentarian.
There is no sense that that is going to happen. But, Ana, what we've heard from the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is that the House, no matter if it has it or doesn't have the minimum age requirement, they're absolutely going to sign it because it is critical to so many Americans.
So what is in this mammoth bill? We're talking about $1,400 in direct stimulus payments for those making less than $75,000, enhanced unemployment aid from $300 a week to $400 a week. That going until the end of August, assistance for small businesses, money for child care and food aid, aid for states, local, tribal governments, increased support for vaccines, schools as well. And what we're seeing now, the House version is the minimum wage increase likely not to survive on the Senate side.
The deadline for this or at least the goal for this, for Congress is to have this on the president's desk by March 14th when those unemployment benefits expire for 11 million Americans. That is the hope, that is the goal as we see this, Ana, is moving very quickly. It is likely they'll be able to do just that -- Ana.
CABRERA: Suzanne Malveaux, thank you for that update.
From the fight for COVID relief to a disturbing issue urgently in need of a solution. Attacks against Asian-Americans are on the rise here in the U.S. Today in New York City, the Asian-American Federation held a rise up against anti-Asian hate rally, where Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered this message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: Stop Asian hate. This is a message we have to get out, not just in New York City but all over this country. Stop Asian hate. Stop it now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Just in New York City, police recorded 29 racially motivated crimes against people of Asian descent in 2020. That's compared to just three in 2019 and almost all of those attacks last year were attributed to coronavirus motivation. Just last night, four men of Asian descent were stabbed in Brooklyn, one died. And on Thursday, a 36-year-old man was stabbed in New York City's Chinatown. He's now in critical condition.
At today's rally in New York City, several people told CNN they are living in fear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I walk out the door and I brace myself, I prepare myself and just, I make sure I no longer listen to music when I'm walking around. I no longer listen to podcasts or distracted in anyway. I want to make sure I pay attention to whatever might be happening around me. That's where I am right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many of my family members are living in fear and anxiety. The attack just a couple of nights ago is a man stabbed in the back randomly, you know? So, this is not a way to live, to walk with our backs against the walls, always in fear.
[16:05:02]
You know, something must be done and we're going to look to our elected officials and our government and really, society at large to understand and recognize this problem and do something about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Joining us now, former Democratic presidential candidate and current candidate for New York City mayor, Andrew Yang.
Andrew, it's nice to see you again. I'm sorry about the circumstances.
You attended the rally today. What's your reaction to the violence and the racism we're seeing directed at the Asian-American community?
ANDREW YANG (D), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: It's great to be back with you today as well, Ana. I'm sorry it's about this topic.
This is a heartbreaking and devastating time for so many people in the Asian-American community. I talked to the family of one of the victims this week and there's just so much pain and confusion and a desire to feel safe and right now, a lot of people in New York City do not feel safe on their own streets.
CABRERA: Have you personally experienced anything since this pandemic started specifically?
YANG: I think every Asian-American has sensed an increase in hostility or xenophobia in ways big and small. I know, in my case, I've been fortunate that I haven't been a direct victim to some of the assaults that have been described but I know that the feeling of fear is very real. I just talked to a restaurateur whose staff does not feel safe coming and going to the restaurants and when they leave the restaurant, it's quite late.
So he's trying to figure out how he can actually stay open with his employees feeling the way they do.
CABRERA: I mean, some groups are recording more than 3,000 anti-Asian attacks nationwide since March, groups like the Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
You're a father. Everyone's getting set to go back to school. How worried are you about what kids may experience as a result of this rise in violence against Asian-Americans?
YANG: I think kids will have a very distinct version of this, Ana. We know kids can be unmindful sometimes, very mean. So we have to do everything we can to let our children know that treating someone differently on the basis of their race is wrong.
It's very destructive and it's going to send a really, really difficult message to a lot of Asian kids who are heading back to school that if they feel like they somehow are having the coronavirus or pandemic attributed to people of Asian descent, it's not the kind of lesson you want a child to learn at that age and certainly, it's nothing you want in America at any age or any level.
CABRERA: Okay, it is a teaching moment though for so many of us.
Professional basketball player Jeremy Lin, he was a New York Knicks superstar. He's a role model for a lot of Asian-Americans, I know.
He wrote on social media earlier: Being a nine-year NBA veteran doesn't protect me from being called coronavirus on the court. And today, he tweeted, I know this will disappoint some of you but I'm not naming or shaming anyone. What good does it do in this situation for someone to be torn down? Doesn't make my community safer or solve any of our long-term problems with racism.
Do you agree with his decision not to name the person who called him that slur?
YANG: I think what Jeremy is doing is very difficult and he has to make his own decisions. I will say that based on what's happening here in New York City, there's just a lot of pain, a lot of struggle in every community and hurt people tend to lash out in ways that can be really destructive or, worse, you know, violent.
So right now, this should be a time of healing, of teaching, trying to bring people together. Letting people know that we have so much more in common than we don't. I respect people who approach this situation in their own way.
I will say that here in New York City, we should take these hate crimes seriously. We should be funding the Hate Crimes Task Force for the Asian-American community and we need to build bonds of trust because right now, many Asian-Americans do not report these incidents, even as we're seeing this surge.
CABRERA: And I think it's important for us to point out, we have focused on some of the numbers from New York specifically because that's tangibly what we have but -- and you're running for New York City mayor. So that's one of the reasons we talk about this.
But this is an issue that is spiking in many cities across the country. I do want to switch gears quickly to talk about coronavirus relief and the fight over this $15 minimum wage part of the bill. The COVID stimulus bill did pass the House with that provision in it but the Senate parliamentarian says that provision dealing with the minimum wage needs to be stripped out before the Senate can vote.
Then you have progressives like Ilhan Omar saying fire or remove the parliamentarian and make this happen. What do you think Democrats should do?
[16:10:03]
YANG: Our country needs help. Our country needs relief. A higher minimum wage would get by empowering (ph) the hands of millions of families those that need it desperately right now. And I'm on the record saying we should get rid of filibuster. I mean, at this point, you need a government that can act. I -- thank goodness just about every day that Chuck Schumer is our
Senate majority leader, I saw him at the rally against anti-Asian violence today, we have to let our Senate do its job. And so this minimum wage fight to me is an example of that. I would love to see this pass with the $15 minimum wage very much included.
CABRERA: If the $15 minimum wage doesn't pass here shortly, whether it's in this bill or in a different bill perhaps, a standalone, is there any chance it passes in this administration or beyond?
YANG: I believe so.
CABRERA: If not now?
YANG: I think most Americans -- I think we're going to keep on seeing people fighting for it until it passes, Ana, because at this point, millions of Americans can see that right now, they're not getting paid enough to be able to make ends meet.
And we can change it. We have the resources. This pandemic has been terrible but it has demonstrated that we can do much more for our people if we decide to do so -- $2.2 trillion CARES Act and then this $1.9 trillion relief bill will help so many families.
We can keep going. We can do more. We can get cash relief into people's hands. We can give people minimum wage that's befitting of the most modern economy in the world in 2021.
CABRERA: Andrew Yang, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
YANG: Thank you, Ana. Great to be here.
CABRERA: CPAC, the annual conservative convention, is usually an opportunity to feature breakout Republican stars. This year, it's a chance for Donald Trump to reassert his power over the Republican Party and it's the party that by all appearances is more than willing to let him. We'll take you live to Orlando next.
Stay with us. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:16:09]
CABRERA: Welcome back.
Republicans at CPAC continue to fully embrace Donald Trump and his big lie about the elections. So, what are the bigger implications of a twice impeached president speaking at CPAC to an adoring crowd?
Here's Bill Maher's take.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL MAHER, TV HOST: The shark is not gone. We need a bigger boat. The shark went out to sea for a while. It's going to come back and eat more people on the shore. He is going to say Sunday that he's the presumptive nominee for 2024. No one is going to oppose him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Traditionally, though, CPAC is considered a launching pad for Republican presidential candidates.
I want to bring in Marc Caputo. He's a senior political reporter for "Politico" Florida.
And, Marc, you have an interesting new piece entitled: The GOP's choice in 2024, Trump ultra, Trump lite or Trump zero.
And you talk about how those we're hearing from this weekend at CPAC and some who aren't there fit in one of these categories that will ultimately define the party's future. I just want to go one by one.
First, what does Trump ultra look like?
MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, POLITICO: Trump ultra looks like Trump and those who are just going to fully and full-throatedly embrace him. So, a Ted Cruz would be a good example of that. Josh Hawley would be a good example of that. Both senators, both of them spoke.
And breakout star looks like so far in CPAC who just finished her speech, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. She gave kind a barn-burner there and folks are buzzing about it.
Another governor, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who opened up the conference. They all be in that Trump ultra lane, which is full Trump -- Trump all the time.
CABRERA: Marc, describe Trump lite.
CAPUTO: Trump lite would be your kind of Trump adjacent politicians who usually are anti-anti-Trump and try to avoid criticizing as much as possible. So, Florida Senator Marco Rubio would be a good example of that.
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley who was also an appointee of Trump's, she had been pretty good about avoiding and refraining from criticizing him, should recently criticized the president in the face of "Politico" and he didn't quite like it. So a lot of candidates have making pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago, she wanted to go and he told her no. Still, we kind of put her in that Trump lite category, that kind of right in between.
CABRERA: And --
CAPUTO: Now, she wasn't invited to CPAC, by the way. Marco Rubio was.
In the Trump zero lane, it's a pretty small lane. One of the consultants we talked to said not much a lane as maybe a little gravel shoulder on the side of the road that might crumble and tumble over in the ocean. That would be Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. For instance, you know, if Mitt Romney decided to run, then Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse. It's a pretty small lane, unclear if they're going to run.
And almost every Republican we speak to and anyone who has been following politics would say that the chance of there being a never Trump or a Trump zero candidate as the Republican nominee assuming Trump doesn't run at all is going to be pretty slim.
CABRERA: And that's what I was going to mention is that even Romney has said if Trump won or Trump runs, he's most likely to win. But I do wonder, what is the smartest path for Republicans? Not just to win their own party's nomination, but to be competitive in the national landscape, which of those categories Trump ultra, Trump lite or Trump zero?
CAPUTO: Most people seem to think with the party as it is now and things could change in the next year, an eternity in politics, is probably going to be that Trump ultra lane, the full Trump. I mean, there's a possibility that one of those kind of Trump adjacent politicians could make it.
CPAC is not a great window into the entire Republican Party.
[16:20:03]
It's a very good window into the very right and reactionary right of the Republican Party, as I said a minute ago, the applause for Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota give you a pretty good idea of what folks want there. One of her applause lines was attacking Dr. Fauci, the nation's top -- one of the nation's top experts of the pandemic and not very popular in conservative circles.
So, there's a little bit of a disconnect when you look at some of Fauci's polling overall versus how well he's perceived among some on the far-right.
CABRERA: Also related because you're in Florida, you're reporting Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy is considering, seriously considering a bid to unseat Republican Senator Marco Rubio in 2022. What more are you learning about this?
CAPUTO: Well, Marco Rubio is very difficult candidate to beat in a general election here and that's according to Democrats and people who really know the state. And there's been an effort by Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader to try to get a good solid Democrat to run against Rubio.
Stephanie Murphy looks like she might take up the torch. A few interesting reasons why. One of them is redistricting that's going to happen in Florida next year and going to get two new congressional seats and her congressional seat get redrawn. She already has a kind of proven record of winning in a very competitive seat in her Orlando district as one of the most competitive in Florida, which for a period of time, was one of the most competitive states overall in the nation.
So she's kind of demonstrated her ability to win and to sort of be a giant pillar. She defeated John Mica in 2016, who was a 12-term congressman and Democrats are pretty excited about it. Now, running in a state like Florida is very expensive. We're talking
about $100 million in order to do just for one side. So if Murphy does it, you can be sure that she's going to want to make sure she has the money lined up and the folks who support her as well as the infrastructure that the Democrats lack, mainly voter registration and a network able to turn out the vote, which has failed Democrats.
CABRERA: Yeah, in fact, we know Joe Biden won a smaller percentage of the vote compared to Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Thank you very much, Marc Caputo. I really appreciate your reporting and insight, of course, talking about Florida specifically when it comes to Biden and Hillary Clinton.
OK. Coming up, how the big lie about a stolen election filtered down to the former president's most loyal supporters and why some believe the president will be back in the White House in just a matter of days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The information that Mike Lindell has put out --
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: The pillow guy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- of all the abuse, corruption, stealing.
O'SULLIVAN: You trust a man -- you trust a man more who sells pillows than the Republican officials in Georgia?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: It sounds crazy. But there's a sizable group of people in this country who are convinced that Donald Trump will be back in the White House in just a few days to take back the presidency that they believe was stolen from him.
There's enough of these people that national security officials are aware in preparing. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan spoke to some very committed followers of this conspiracy theory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): These Trump supporters are in denial about what happened on January 6th and some believe in QAnon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's going to happen at some point is there will be arrests, that will include a lot of the lying media and there will be --
O'SULLIVAN: They keep saying that for years and it's not happened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It hasn't been years. It hasn't been years.
O'SULLIVAN: It's 2017. It's been years now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a 6,000-year death cult. You can't take it down that quick.
O'SULLIVAN: I understand you're a very passionate Trump supporter, right, but you surely -- you surely can admit that the people who stormed the Capitol were Trump supporters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I definitely cannot. In fact, you're talking to the right person because I can send you tons of footage that shows that was all the left, dressed up as Trump supporters.
O'SULLIVAN: Come on. Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is my hope that President Trump comes back as the 19th president of the United States under the 1776 and that he is inaugurated on March 4th. That is my hope for our future.
O'SULLIVAN: Some have bought into a new conspiracy theory that Trump will return as the 19th president on March 4th. Why? Well, they have misinterpreted an 1871 law and believe Ulysses S. Grant who is inaugurated on March 4, 1869, was America's last legitimate president.
It may all sound bizarre but online discussion about March 4 has been a contributing factor in the decision to keep the National Guard in Washington, D.C.
Are you going to feel foolish on March 5th when Biden is still president?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then Trump has a different plan in play.
O'SULLIVAN: Everybody keeps saying Trump has a plan. He has a plan. When he lost the election, they said he has a plan. He doesn't say --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn't lose the election, sir. Trump did not lose the election and that's where we differ. And that's where I believe the information that Mike Lindell has put out --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[16:30:00]
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: The pillow guy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- of all of the abuse, corruption, stealing.
O'SULLIVAN: You trust a man -- you trust a man more who sells pillows than the Republican officials in Georgia?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, absolutely.
O'SULLIVAN: But you realize that sounds crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me tell you, the people in Georgia are sick.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): While most of the world looks on in horror at a deadly military coup in Myanmar, that's exactly what these Trump supporters hope to see happen here in the United States of America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This whole thing with Biden is just like a puppet president.
The military is in charge. It's going to be like Myanmar. What's happening in Myanmar.
The military is doing their own investigation. And at the right time, they'll be restoring the republic with Trump as president.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): A different country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They took over and they're redoing the election.
O'SULLIVAN: Would you like to see it happen?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to see it happen, yes.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know why? Because the election was stolen from us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never would have believed CNN would have given us a chance to speak the truth. What a miracle. Praise god.
O'SULLIVAN: But we're going to say in our news report that QAnon is a conspiracy theory.
(CROSSTALK)
O'SULLIVAN: You don't believe QAnon is a conspiracy theory?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I know it isn't. I know it isn't. I'm not much for believing. I have to know.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: That was Donie O'Sullivan reporting.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:35:20]
CABRERA: Just before the break, we showed you the big lie still on display among Trump's staunchest supporters and why some believe the president, the former president, will be back in the White House in just a matter of days. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The information that Mike Lindell has put out --
O'SULLIVAN: The pillow guy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- of all of the abuse, corruption, stealing.
O'SULLIVAN: You trust a man -- you trust a man more who sells pillows than the Republican officials in Georgia?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: That is America today.
And Donie O'Sullivan is joining us now, along with CNN national security analyst and former assistant secretary of Homeland Security, Julia Kayyem.
Thank you, both.
Donie, let me start with you.
It's easy to brush these people aside s playing along with a silly Internet theory.
But you've talked to them several times now, face-to-face, looked into their eyes. And you point out some of these QAnon followers see March 4th as an important date. That is next week.
What are QAnon followers planning for that day?
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, some QAnon followers expect Donald Trump to somehow be inaugurated next week.
We've seen them push the date out again and again after he lost the election. They said Biden won't be inaugurated. And then when Biden got inaugurated, they pushed the date out further and further.
I will say, what was most troubling from the package we just aired there before the break, is when we were speaking about -- when Trump supporters were speaking about Myanmar and looking at it as if a military coup was a good thing and saying they wanted to see that in the United States.
We have learned that this is just not rhetoric. January 6 proved that -- Ana?
CABRERA: You just happened to run into Roger Stone at CPAC. What did he say?
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, we just saw Roger Stone in the past hour or so outside of CPAC. He got a hero's welcome here. We asked him about, there's been much reporting about his connection to the January 6th insurrection. He was in Washington, D.C., that day. He has a known connection with the Proud Boys. He has liaisoned with them for several years now.
And on the day of January 6th, he was seen with a member of the Oath Keepers, an anti-government far-right militant group. And that Oath Keeper appeared to be providing security for Stone. And that same Oath Keeper then went on later to join the mod outside of the capitol.
So we asked him about. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: Roger, are you being investigated by the FBI? Are you being investigated, Roger, for January 6?
ROGER STONE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Any honest investigation would prove there's no evidence whatsoever that I was either involved or knew about this stupid, senseless, counterproductive illegal assault on the capitol. The folks that did invade the capitol should be prosecuted.
O'SULLIVAN: Roger, any concerns about your ties to the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers? There's been a lot of reporting on that.
STONE: Guilt by association and innuendo. Disgusting. No real journalist would ever ask that question.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you condemn those groups?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: Stone got a bit of a hero's welcome. After that, a lot of people came up to ask him for photographs.
Nearby -- we're not sure if they came together -- but nearby was the leader of the Proud Boys who also got a hero's welcome outside of CPAC here. That, of course, the violent hate group, which Trump told to stand back and stand by. They're all gathering in Orlando this weekend.
CABRERA: And this is not old news, Juliette. It's safe to say law enforcement was not prepared for the January 6 attack on the capitol.
Listen to what the acting U.S. Capitol Police chief told a congressional hearing the other day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOGANANDA PITTMAN, ACTING CHIEF, CAPITOL HILL POLICE DEPARTMENT: Members of the militia groups that were present on January 6th have stated their desires that they want to blow up the capitol and kill as many members as possible with the direct nexus to the State of the Union.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: We don't know when that first joint address to Congress will be made by President Biden, Juliette. But are you confident law enforcement is prepared now?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes. The second time is a charm, often, in law enforcement. So I think they're prepared for March 4th.
But there's two other additional concerns. The first is we have a tendency to look at CPAC, or one might, as a freak show, an oddity, or a frat party with female speakers dancing around.
[16:40:03]
It ultimately is a radicalizing event. And if we don't see it as that, that people are being approved and applauded for their anti-democratic views, by having Senators, by having leaders of the House, governors address them, then we'll not see the violence as being bred there.
That's all before Donald Trump arrives tomorrow.
And, second -- and I just have to say this every time I'm on. At the fundamental root of this is racism.
And if we don't view this as a racist movement, that African-Americans and others voted in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, whatever state, then you'll not see the rot of the core of what's going on at CPAC is to undermine the votes of minority communities.
And it's just necessary that we don't just view them as sort of freaks but, ultimately, there is a racist underpinning to what they're doing.
CABRERA: Juliette, we saw in Donie's report that the thinking, the chatter from these diehard QAnon people is partly the reason the security around the capitol still remains high, like the fence that's there.
At what point can that barrier and other fences come down?
KAYYEM: I think there will be a drawdown and then a different kind of security to expect in the future.
So we heard, yesterday, some reports about additional police officers, up to 1,000. We need to see what the security posture will be on the Hill.
What we can't ignore is the capitol is a fortified structure, given what happened last month. So what we need to be worried about is the individual sort of attacks on either a state capitol or against House member or others. This threat is not going away.
And what these Republican leaders know that they're doing is they are nurturing the radicalization and violence. And they know they're doing it. And that's the sort of remarkable thing at this point in our history. CABRERA: Juliette Kayyem, Donie O'Sullivan, I appreciate both of you.
Thank you.
Will Tiger Woods ever be able to play golf professionally again following this horrifying accident? Up next, we'll take you to L.A. to talk to an orthopedic surgeon and expert on recovery.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:46:52]
CABRERA: Golf legend, Tiger Woods, is set to be in good spirits after follow-up surgeries on his compound leg fractures sustained that very serious car crash on Tuesday in California.
Woods has been transferred now to Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles that has well known sports medicine and rehab facilities.
And now must begin the long and difficult recovery process.
CNN's Paul Vercammen is I Los Angeles for us.
Paul, what are you learning about Tiger's medical condition today and what the recovery process could look like?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, we heard these procedures done to Tiger were successful, the most recent procedures.
We spoke with a sports surgery expert here in Beverly Hills. He is the USC athletic team doctor. He's worked on other professional athletes.
And he talked about these compound fractures and why they mandate that there's often many more procedures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JASON SNIBBE, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON & SPORTS SURGERY EXPERT, SNIBBE ORTHOPEDICS: Remember, these fractures that have occurred in his foot, ankle and tibia are still broken. All the surgeons do, what we do as orthopedic surgeons, we stabilize the fracture.
In the old days, they used to put casts on people. But now, we put internal splints. All of these rods and pins hold the bones together to allow them to heal in the perfect alignment and perfect position.
As those bones heal, some of those pins, some of those screws will become prominent sometimes and irritate the soft tissues.
And many times, like most likely in Tiger's case, some of those screws will need to be removed in order for him to have a better function and better range of motion.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VERCAMMEN: Dr. Snibbe says the improving technology favors Tiger is the improving technology. Computer-generated engineering, if you will, to heal these types of fractures.
He also says that Tiger's mental toughness and him being an elite athlete portends good things for Tiger down the road.
Reporting from Beverly Hills, I'm Paul Vercammen.
Back to you now, Ana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: Thank you so much, Paul.
Now let's talk about the pandemic. The U.S. is on the cusp of having three COVID-19 vaccines in its arsenal.
Friday, FDA advisers recommended emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine. And the FDA is expected to give it a green light at any moment. And then it has to go to one last CDC committee.
Once this vaccine receives the final signoff, which could be this weekend, it will be the first single dose COVID vaccine in the U.S.
With us now is Dr. Peter Hotez, professor and dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Hotez, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires just a single dose. And also evidence that suggests it may do more than just keep people from getting sick. It may actually prevent people from getting infected.
What kind of impact might this vaccine have?
DR. PETER HOTEZ, CO-DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT, TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL & PROFESSOR AND DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Yes. And Ana, also, this week, in the "New England Journal of Medicine," it was reported from Israel that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, when given in two doses, also seems to halt asymptomatic transmission, 92 percent.
[16:50:00]
This is really game-changing news because what it means -- you know, we've known that these vaccines are doing a great job of symptomatic transmission and keeping you out of the hospital or the intensive care unit.
But now, with these vaccines, the point could be reached where, if enough Americans get vaccinated, we actually halt virus transmission.
What that means is that people are no longer shedding virus from their nose, mouth and throat because the vaccines are protecting at that level of efficacy. So by later in the summer or fall, we're going to be looking at a very
different United States of America in terms of quality of life, possibly even no longer necessitating that people who are vaccinating wear masks and opening up restaurants and everything else.
So this is really exciting news.
The hard part, of course, is going to be getting us through the next few months until we have vaccine available. It's disappointing that we're only going to have three or four million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine delivered this coming month. And so we're still going slower than we'd like to.
So long-term, very optimistic projections. The next couple of months will be tough, especially with these variants coming.
CABRERA: Right, that is the big risk at this point.
We know the Johnson & Johnson vaccine showed 64 percent efficacy rate in South Africa, where the variant thought to be more contagious and that variant is dominant. It's seven points higher than previous data initially suggested.
What do you make of that?
HOTEZ: That's going to be really important, especially for Africa, because the South African variant is now climbing into Zambia and Mozambique and Malawi.
And we don't have a lot to offer for the African continent because the two mRNA vaccines will likely not be available or made available for much of Africa. So we need vaccines like that one.
In the U.S., the South African variant is not very dominant right now. Looks like the one from the United Kingdom, the B-117 variant, is really scaling up and revving, and outcompeting the other ones.
The good news is all the Operation Warp Speed vaccines so far released, the two mRNA vaccines, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, work really well against that. So on that standpoint, we'll be OK.
It's just that this U.K. variant causes so much accelerated transmission, even though the numbers have been going down dramatically.
Now they're going down not quite as fast. And the worry is they're going to start popping up again in a few weeks.
CABRERA: The number of people who are open, at least, or wanting the vaccine is going up, which is good.
A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found 55 percent of adults in the U.S. want to get vaccinated as soon as possible, up from 40 percent in January and 34 percent in December.
What's your reaction to that number? HOTEZ: It's still not high enough because, if we're going to actually
halt virus transmission, especially with the new variants now, the bar is now raised.
Before, we were talking about vaccinating 60 percent to 80 percent of the U.S. population in order to halt transmission. Those are from early estimates based on the original strains, the original types of COVID-19 viruses that were here.
Now, with the U.K. variant rising, I think that number is going to go up. We're probably going to have to hit 80 percent or 90 percent of the population vaccinated.
So we'll need all the adults vaccinated. And we're going to have to start vaccinating adolescents and kids as well. The bar, unfortunately, is probably going to rise.
CABRERA: We know the trials for adolescents and vaccines are ongoing and getting closer to being completed.
Dr. Peter Hotez, I appreciate it as always. Thank you.
HOTEZ: Thanks so much, Ana.
CABRERA: Explore Boulogne, the city that many call the food capital of Italy. A brand-new episode of "STANLEY TUCCI, SEARCHING FOR ITALY" airs tomorrow right here on CNN.
And here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at this. This is made with love. It's different than the others. It's amazing. Look at this.
STANLEY TUCCI, CNN HOST, "STANLEY TUCCI, SEARCHING FOR ITALY": That's beautiful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, the prosciutto.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you like meat like that?
TUCCI: As soon as it hits your tongue, it's instantaneous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moderate on the Tongue.
TUCCI: That's the prosciutto we all know and love. And this is an interloper.
When that scandal happened, disgusted by it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TUCCI: Because you can't let the integrity of this disappear because that's one of the most delicious things on earth.
[16:54:46]
CABRERA: We can all travel vicariously and join that feast when we tune in to CNN's original series. "STANLEY TUCCI, SEARCH FOR ITALY" airs tomorrow night at 9:00 right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you for staying with us. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.
A busy day of news. A third coronavirus vaccine could get the green light at any moment. I'm talking about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that is waiting for the FDA's authorization for emergency use.
[17:00:00]
The big difference with this one? It is just one shot. And researchers say it is 100 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths.
