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Michigan Sees COVID-19 Cases Surging; White House Hosting Bipartisan Infrastructure Meeting Monday; Trump Bashes McConnell in a Speech to Top Republican Donors; Family Sickened by U.K. COVID Variant Shares Their Experience; Series About a Mother's Fight for Justice Against the KKK; Hideki Matsuyama Wins Masters Tournament. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired April 11, 2021 - 20:00   ET

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

[20:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: -- Trump called Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell a, quote, "dumb son of a bitch," unquote.

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R), ARKANSAS: We need unity but we got battles to fight so we need to get beyond that.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Sunday evening. Great to have you along with us.

And tonight we have just learned that more than 187 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have gone into the arms in the U.S. -- gone to arms, I should say in the U.S. The nation is now a well-oiled vaccine machine moving nearly five times faster than the global average. But the reality is herd immunity isn't here and the threat isn't over especially in Michigan. It's reporting an alarming surge of new cases as these variants spread.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has more details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If ever there was a critical time to double down on Coronavirus protective measures in the state of Michigan, it's right now. From COVID-19 positivity rates not seen since the start of the pandemic to hospitalizations nearing December peak levels, it's not getting any better in the Wolverine State.

DR. ROB DAVIDSON, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: With pandemic fatigue, with the unique challenge here in Michigan of a very, sort of, anti- coronavirus movement with about half of our population, people who don't want to wear masks, don't want to distance, I think getting vaccine shots in arms is -- it's our ultimate defense. SANDOVAL: Repeated calls from Michigan leaders to the Biden

administration asking to increase their vaccine allotments have been unsuccessful so far.

LT. GOV. GARLIN GILCHRIST (D), MICHIGAN: In every conversation we are having, at every level of the federal government, we are asking for more help for more vaccines.

SANDOVAL: Hoping to help curb the rise in outbreaks, Governor Gretchen Whitmer asked high schools to go remote, youth sports to pause, and people skip indoor dining for at least the next two weeks.

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D), MICHIGAN: Please, redouble your efforts.

SANDOVAL: But these are only recommendations, insists the governor, not the mandated sweeping shutdowns from a year ago that made her the subject of criticism and even death threats.

WHITMER: What's happening in Michigan today could be what's happening in other states tomorrow. And so it's on all of us to recognize we can squash where we're seeing hotspots. It's in everyone's best interest.

SANDOVAL: Andy Witkowski, a Detroit area special education teacher, wants to see a more aggressive move from the state leaders. Perhaps make those requests requirements.

ANDY WITKOWSKI, TEACHER: I think it fell short that she didn't mandate it. I think that the reason our numbers are spiked is because we've opened up. Schools are back. They haven't had an uptick in the sports here.

SANDOVAL: Other Michiganders, like Leah Fairbanks, stand behind the governor's approach.

LEAH FAIRBANKS, NURSE: Whitmer is a rock star. You know, she's doing her best. It's a pandemic. When it comes down to it, people are either going to take care of themselves and take care of each other or they're not.

SANDOVAL: Jordan Ross is frustrated that his peers are choosing not to.

JORDAN ROSS, DETROIT RESIDENT: I'm seeing a lot of students. You know, they know the issues that are going on, but they're still choosing to either go out and hang out with friends or go to, like, Florida or things like that. So that's kind of concerning to me.

SANDOVAL: The state's chief medical executive says nearly 1,000 COVID- 19 outbreaks are being traced in Michigan, linked to indoor dining, bars, youth sporting events, and K through 12 classes.

DR. JONEIGH KHALDUN, CHIEF MEDICAL EXECUTIVE, STATE OF MICHIGAN: Our public health system is overwhelmed. We are not able to get information on many cases, nor are we able to identify their close contacts. SANDOVAL: There is also the spread of the highly infectious COVID-19

variants. Some 2200 cases identified in Michigan, though experts say there are likely more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And a short time ago I spoke to White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, about the administration's decision not to send more vaccines to Michigan. And here's what she said about White House's efforts to coordinate with states on vaccinations and surges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRINCIPAL DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: I can't stress this enough, we have to do this in a fair and equitable way. We are in the middle of this process. This is not to let the states figure out at all. We have been working very closely with governors and state local officials. That is something that we've been doing on day one as we put forth a comprehensive strategy on how to get our vaccination program out there across the country.

Look one -- another statistic that I'll mention is 75 percent of people who are 65 and older have been -- have gotten doses, have gotten shot. That is an 8 percent jump from when we started, and that is so critical because as we know, when we come -- when we talk about COVID death, 80 percent of those COVID deaths have been 65 and older. So we are doing the work that we need to be doing. We are continuing to talk with governors. We understand what's at stake here.

This is a life-and-death situation. That's why we continue to ask people to do their part and get vaccinated when it's your turn. And by April 19th, all adults over the age of 18 will be eligible. But we are talking to governors every day and being as helpful as we can.

[20:05:06]

As I mentioned, there are other ways of support that we've also been out there when it comes to vaccination sites, when it comes to vaccinators.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So Congress will be back in Washington tomorrow with a busy agenda in front of them. For the White House the first order of business will be finding a bipartisan way forward on infrastructure. Lawmakers from both sides will visit tomorrow to discuss President Biden's $2 trillion plan. And just as he did yesterday, the president has been meeting with his senior team today ahead of Monday's sit- down.

Arlette Saenz is there at the White House. So Arlette, what should we expect to come out of tomorrow's meeting? And do we have any better idea who's going to be there?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, the White House says that tomorrow's meeting is really the first in a series of conversations President Biden will be having directly with lawmakers as he is looking to gain bipartisan support for his infrastructure proposal.

Now the meeting tomorrow will include both Democrats and Republicans, and so far we know of two Republicans who will be in attendance. That is Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Both are senators who sit on one of the committees that deals with transportation in the Senate.

Now Republicans have said that they are willing to talk about traditional forms of infrastructure like roads, rails and also bridges, but they do not like that price tag. That $2.25 trillion price tag that the president has proposed so far. And they don't like the corporate tax rate being raised to 28 percent.

Now the White House has said they are willing to negotiate on components of this but so far they haven't heard alternative suggestions that they find suitable. So tomorrow really represents the first opportunity to start hammering out some of those details. This is similar to the approach that the president took with the COVID relief package, the American Rescue Plan. You'll remember that he invited Republicans into the Oval Office to hear their ideas before he ultimately went alone without any Republican support.

And one of those senators, one of those Republican senators who will be in the meeting tomorrow talked about how he's hoping these negotiations will be different.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROGER WICKER (R-MS): We are willing to negotiate with him on an infrastructure package and this trillion-dollar number is way too high for me. I'll just tell you. But negotiation has to be something different from what we had on the rescue plan. The president should have come back with a counter offer. And if he will do that with the Republicans that are meeting with him in the White House tomorrow, I think we can get somewhere.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: So that is something that Republicans are hoping for. And the president also has to worry about his Democratic Party and keeping Democrats in line with this bill. You have heard progressives saying that they want the president to go bigger and then moderates like Senator Joe Manchin have said they don't want that corporate tax rate to go up to 28 percent. They want it at a lower figure.

So these are all details that will start to get discussed tomorrow in that meeting and in other meetings in the weeks to come. The president tomorrow in addition to this infrastructure meeting will also be dropping by a virtual meeting that some of his top economic advisers will be having with the major CEOs of auto companies as well as technology companies to talk about the supply chain for semiconductors. This comes as there's a global shortage in computer chips that are

used in things like cars and also other types of electronics. And so this is something that is a really big priority for the administration trying to work with these companies to figure out how they can shore up their domestic supply chain here in the country -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Arlette Saenz, live for us from the White House. Thanks so much, Arlette.

And in addition to pushing the infrastructure package, the White House has its hands full dealing with a record immigration surge at the border. Here's what the deputy White House press secretary told me about the plan going forward and how the vice president's role may change now that Biden's border coordinator is leaving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN-PIERRE: When it comes to unaccompanied minor, we have to do what's right and what's the most humane thing to do. We cannot have these children go back to that treacherous journey. So yes, we're putting them in the process. We are making sure that we are vetting the relatives and the people that we want to connect them with in a really important way and critical way.

We are still expelling adults via Title 42. That -- and families via Title 42. That is something that is still happening and occurring. And so this is where we are and we want to make sure we're doing this in a legal way. We want to make sure that we're putting security first and we are doing this in a humanitarian effort.

[20:10:04]

BROWN: I get it. And I just have to follow up on the question about why the border coordinator would be leaving in the midst of all of this? What's behind that? And is that going to now be folded into Kamala Harris's portfolio? Can you just help us understand what's going on there?

JEAN-PIERRE: So Roberta was always going to be here for a short period of time. That was always the conversation that was had, and when this comes to the vice president and her role, her role is going to be doing the diplomatic effort of this, trying to figure out the root causes of what's happening and that is dealing with and talking to the president of Mexico and the northern triangle. And so that is what her role is.

This is something very similar that then vice president Biden had during the Obama-Biden administration. So that is nothing new there. But -- so that is the pathway that we're taking.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Well, former president Trump with a blistering and crude new attack on the man who spearheaded his agenda throughout the Senate.

And how is the attack on Senator McConnell playing with Republicans tonight? I'm going to ask one hour -- one later this hour.

And this just into CNN. History made at Augusta National. Details on this win at the Masters ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:15:29]

BROWN: Once again former President Donald Trump is railing against the Republican Party, and he went on a long meandering rant at a swanky six-figure donor event at Mar-a-Lago last night. He called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a, quote, "stone-cold loser" and a dumb SOB. Repeating the big lie that the election was stolen from him.

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan joins me now in Florida.

So, Donie, it's a package deal with the former president. If Republicans want to keep him around as the leader of their party, they have to accept his vendettas, too. Is the GOP so comfortable with that bargain?

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Pamela. And we heard that he -- many of these statements last night were made to applause from the people in that room.

Let's take a look at what he said about Mitch McConnell. He suggested that Republicans don't fight as hard as Democrats. And he said if that were Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer instead of that dumb son of a bitch Mitch McConnell, they would have never allowed it to happen. They would have fought us.

As I mentioned, that was -- that insult to McConnell was greeted by applause. Kevin Liptak, our colleague, was told by a source who was in the room. Also what Trump said was that Pence had failed him from certifying the electoral college results and refusing to overturn the election. He had made clear also that he did not accept the results of the 2020 election as valid. Then he said that everybody should be calling the coronavirus vaccine, the Trump-cine.

Taking credit for the vaccine there, which of course is notable because we know now that when Trump was actually in office in January, and he took the vaccine, he didn't announce it, he didn't promote that he had taken the vaccine. We only learned about it a few weeks after he left office. So curious to see his embrace of the vaccine now as it were.

BROWN: Yes, it certainly is. Also he continues to be fixated on the lie that the 2020 election was somehow stolen from him. That seems to not being going away. Is that a concern for Republicans? After pushing that narrative helped lose them the Senate in Georgia and arguably led to the deadly insurrection on January 6th.

O'SULLIVAN: Yes, I mean, I speak to Trump supporters all the time. I mean, essentially by pushing this big lie, this conspiracy theory, what the former president is saying is, you know, his supporters should not have faith in American democracy. As you mentioned, we saw that in Georgia in the weeks leading up to the Senate runoff election. Trump supporters we spoke there, some of them were saying they were considering not voting in the election for a Republican because they didn't trust how the system works.

And also, Pam, as you know, this conspiracy theory, this center, central big lie it enables so much more of this sort of crazy sort of stuff we see, QAnon, also justification in some people's mind for the violent insurrection on January 6th. So that nugget there, that big lie is what is really infecting like a virus frankly so many other parts of the Republican base.

BROWN: Like a virus. Donie O'Sullivan, thank you so much for your reporting there from Florida.

Well, the not-so friendly fire within the GOP is making the divide between Trump and non-Trump Republicans even deeper. When we come back, I'll speak to former Republican congressman Charlie Dent and CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:23:19]

BROWN: Oh, to be a fly in the wall as former president Trump spoke to top Republican donors behind closed door at Mar-a-Lago last night. A source from the inside tells CNN that Trump rattled off his familiar list of debunked claims, voter fraud, check. Stolen election, check. But his comments on Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell got a huge round of applause, calling him a dumb SOB, minus the censorship there.

He also described McConnell as stiff, lacking personality and a stone- cold loser. The source tells us that Trump once again took aim at Mike Pence. Still not over the fact that his former vice president followed the U.S. Constitution and certified the election results on January 6th in the midst of an insurrection.

Joining me now to discuss CNN political commentator Charlie Dent, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, and CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, also senior editor of the "Atlantic," and he's also the author of "Rock Me on the Water: 1974, The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television and Politics."

Gentlemen, so great to see you on this Sunday evening. I love when we can have a discussion with the two of you together. So much to take apart here.

Charlie, let's start with you. Nothing of what Trump said here is particularly surprising. Right? But what is notable is the fact many in the Republican Party seem to be eating this up. Do moderate Republicans have any hope of getting this party back?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think many Republicans who do not -- you know, who believe in -- who believe in the democratic process and the rule of law and some sense of principle and ideals to govern the Republican Party are certainly alarmed by the president's conduct and his statement yesterday of Mitch McConnell calling him a dumb SOB.

[20:25:07]

I mean, Mitch McConnell is not the dummy who caused Republicans the Senate majority in Georgia. That was the former president himself. So there is nothing surprising here that the president's diminished figure, the Republican Party will continue to have these internal struggles, these battles about the future because a significant number of Republicans, I would guess some are close to 25 percent, are not at all comfortable looking backwards as Donald Trump does.

You know, it's about the future. Politics is about the future and this is not a type of party that they're comfortable with. And they want a new movement or a new faction within the party or outside the party to try to get its attention.

BROWN: It's about the future but the bottom line is many Republicans feel like they need Trump for the future as they look ahead to 2022, as they look ahead to 2024. I mean, as you know, Ron, Trump has pledged his commitment to the Republican Party to help win majorities in the House and Senate in 2022, according to a person close to him.

Should Democrats be concerned about Trump's role in this?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, Pam, as you're going through the introduction, I was imagining there are few times when Charlie was more happy to hear the word "former" in his description as a Republican elected official, and listening to the latest rant from President Trump.

But I think, you know, what he's saying is exactly right in its proportions. I mean, there is roughly one quarter of the Republican Party if you look at polling really since the election who are uneasy with everything that has happened since November or uneasy with the way Trump -- the role that he played to the January 6th insurrection who don't like the quasi-authoritarian, increasingly overtly racist kind of positioning that he's put the party in, and the big question is what if anything do they do going forward?

Do they accept a subordinate role in a party where much of the GOP, the majority of the GOP is in fact allowing Trump to maintain control? And I am struck that even as he is condemning Mitch McConnell, the fact is that McConnell in Washington is running interference for the efforts among Republicans in the states to make it tougher to vote, which is in turn rooted in Trump's big lie that the election was stolen.

McConnell has made it clear he's going to block any effort to establish a nationwide floor of voting rights. So whatever the kind of the rhetorical back and forth, they are still moving the party in a Trumpian direction, and the question is, as Rep. Dent said, what does the quarter of the party who's uneasy with that, what do they do?

BROWN: What do they do? How do they fit into all of this?

Charlie, Trump said last night that Republicans don't stick together as well as Democrats. But looking at the Democrats right now, I mean Biden passed COVID relief bill with zero GOP support. He's fighting an uphill battle to pass infrastructure. Is this an opportunity that Republicans could exploit if they play their cards right?

DENT: Yes, I think Republicans have a tremendous opportunity to shape the infrastructure package. I think many think that Democrats have too expansive of a definition of infrastructure and I think many Democrats, too, feel the way that it's being paid for is not appropriate or ineffective or punitive in some cases.

So I think there's plenty of opportunities for Republicans to come in with a counterproposal, focused on physical infrastructure including rural broadband, maybe electric vehicle charging stations. But I can think of a bill and find some better pay for it, so I could probably start rattling off, you know, user fees, vehicle mile travel taxes on the electric vehicles. There is probably about a trillion-dollars' worth of uncollected tax revenue out there that needs to be collected.

I mean, there are all sorts of things they can do and I am hopeful that they will come forward with a counterproposal because I think many Democrats are not particularly comfortable with the price tag of this initiative and the way it's paid for.

BROWN: Right. I mean, we had them say it today on the Sunday morning shows that the price tag was too high but that they would be willing to negotiate. Of course there will be that meeting at the White House tomorrow, that bipartisan meeting.

But, Ron, Trump and other Republicans, this is really interesting, they're criticizing Arkansas Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson for vetoing legislation that ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender people younger than 18. And he said that one reason for the veto was government over reach. Here's what he told CNN's Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUTCHINSON: Are we going to be a narrow party that expresses ourself in intolerant ways? Or are we going to be a broad-based party that shows conservative principles but also compassion in dealing with some of the most difficult issues that parents faced, that individuals faced? And at some point I had to say, I've got to remind my wonderful Republican colleagues that we are the party of Ronald Reagan that believes in a limited role of government.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

[20:30:02]

BROWN: I just thought this was so interesting, Ron, because it goes to, first of all, what you have talked to about what's going on within the GOP and just the heart of what we are seeing and he's pointing out the disconnect, with the GOP claims about small government but their actions on many social issues contradicts that.

Why is that?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I mean, as I've, you know, been arguing really for a decade now, the fundamental fault line between the parties is whether you welcome or fear the way America is changing demographically, culturally, socially, even economically. And the Republican Party even before Donald Trump, enormously accelerated under Trump, has become more and more dependent on the voters who are the most unhappy with the way the country is changing culturally.

And they are -- you know, have been driving the party agenda toward hardline approaches on questions like transgender rights and before that gay marriage. I mean, the kind of the battle line keeps moving further out. And it comes -- but, you know, and that is one of the reasons even before Trump came on the scene while Republicans who are losing grounds among some of those suburban white-collar voters who are economically conservative, but culturally and racially moderate. And it comes back around to the same question.

Asa Hutchinson raises really the same question I did to Charlie Dent a minute ago. If you have a minority of the party that are uneasy with the GOP taking -- you know, being pushed in that direction, what do they do? They swallow their objections and go along because they think Democrats are even worse or do ultimately can Biden peel some of them away by turning down the temperature on the cultural wars himself and focusing primarily on economic opportunity through this infrastructure plan and what's coming next on the human capitol side?

Is there an opportunity for him there to play among voters and Republican coalition who are uneasy with the kinds of tendencies that Asa Hutchinson criticized in those remarks?

BROWN: Final thoughts to you, Charlie.

DENT: Yeah, look, I think, you know, good for Governor Hutchinson. You know, he is right. A party that espouses limited government should not be entering into these types of very complex and difficult medical decisions. Now, I have two Republican colleagues in the House who had transgender children. I don't want to mention their names but these are difficult issues. I have talked to them about, you know, how they dealt with this issue as parents.

And this is really not a place for Congress to meddle. These are difficult complex issues. Nobody is trying to -- you know, is being frivolous, you know, with their children when they're addressing these issues, as children have oftentimes psychological or psychiatric problem as a result of this -- of their condition and so I think Hutchinson nailed it right. The party of limited government should be very careful about what it enters into.

And we need to move away from these cultural issues and get back to, you know, embracing the diversity of the country. And speaking a message to them that they will support whether it's on the economy or other issues.

BROWN: All right, Charlie Dent -- real quick, go ahead.

BROWNSTEIN: The problem is that the coalition post-Trump is even more tilted toward the voters who want Republicans to meddle in precisely those issues and that is really the conundrum of people like Charlie Dent.

BROWN: That was a fair point. This conversation will be continued. It's not going to go away any time soon. And we'll have you both back on together on the show very soon.

Thank you for spending a part of your Sunday night with us, Charlie Dent, Ron Brownstein.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

DENT: Thanks, Pamela.

BROWN: Well, the b-117 coronavirus variant is behind the surge in cases across the country and in places like Michigan. But what is it like to have it? A Seattle woman has recovered from it, sort of. And her husband and daughter both got sick, but she said she is a long hauler now. I am going to talk to them, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:37:51]

BROWN: Well, according to the CDC the U.K. COVID variant is now the dominant strain in the U.S. It is being blamed for the increase in new cases and hospitalizations. Even as the U.S. is breaking vaccination records.

Sarah Abshire was hospitalized and tested positive with this U.K. variant earlier this year. She's still having issues. A week after Sarah's hospitalization, her husband Jeff was rushed to the hospital with COVID after suffering seizures. Their 9-year-old daughter also became ill but remained home with a high fever.

Sarah and Jeff Abshire join me now.

I mean, the two of you really put sort of the personal face to this variant. We talked about it a lot and how it's spreading across the country. You lived it, Sarah, walk us through your story. Who got sick first and what happened from there?

SARAH ABSHIRE, CONTRACTED U.K. COVID VARIANT: It was actually my husband and my daughter showed symptoms before I did. They got sick and it seems like just a tummy bug in the beginning of February. And when my daughter got a high fever of like 102, we said we should probably go get tested for COVID because I am the director of a tutoring center. So I see kids in person and I owe it to them to get tested.

So we went to go get tested and the morning that our results came back, my husband had that seizure and was rushed to the hospital. And they got rapid testing there and he came back as COVID-positive and my daughter's test came back while he was in the hospital, and then my test came back positive.

BROWN: And what were the symptoms? It seems like it all went downhill fast, go ahead, Jeff.

JEFF ABSHIRE, CONTRACTED COVID-19: Yes. What was weird is that while we thought it was a stomach bug is that we didn't have any of the classic COVID symptoms. None of us lost our sense of taste or smell. My fever like on the Sunday that I was -- indigestion like that, my fever at most was 99.3 I think.

[20:40:10]

And during the whole course of the thing, Sarah never had a fever the entire time. And none of us were coughing, none of us have anything more than super mild fever, so it's like, OK, we have stomach bug and then three days later seizure.

BROWN: And so you both ended up in the hospital, is that right?

S. ABSHIRE: Right.

BROWN: So what happened? How did it get that bad?

S. ABSHIRE: He ended up in the hospital for a day because of the seizure and then couple of days later I developed COVID pneumonia and I was in the hospital for three and a half days. I have never developed a cough and the pneumonia was really deep in my lungs. So I never developed a cough, I never had a fever. The doctors kept me in the hospital doing the Remdisivir treatments and a steroid treatment to try to bring my oxygen levels up because my oxygen levels kept falling really low.

BROWN: Wow.

S. ABSHIRE: So I was on oxygen for three days total in the hospital.

BROWN: That's so scary. And quickly you are still having issues. You're both obviously out of the hospital. But, Sarah, you were telling me you are still having issues, you consider yourself a long- hauler, you can't even get vaccinated now.

S. ABSHIRE: Right.

BROWN: What's your message to people who are like, you know what, maybe I will risk getting COVID rather than getting vaccinated?

S. ABSHIRE: Please don't. So my message right now is please mask up or double mask. Stay away people who are not in your household. Get tested if you even think you might have come in contact with someone who could be COVID positive or you feel a little funny because the U.K. variant has such different early symptoms than what we have been seeing for the last year. It is way easier to get a nose swab and find out if your positive or not than to try to tough it out.

BROWN: Yes. Yes.

S. ABSHIRE: And possibly spread it further.

BROWN: Of course. That's not what we want.

S. ABSHIRE: So that's my message.

BROWN: And you were telling me in the break that one part of your brain is still dealing with inflammation because of this and you can't even get the vaccine right now.

S. ABSHIRE: Right.

BROWN: Sarah and Jeff, we wish you the best, thank you for sharing your story and bringing the reality back to center stage of what this U.K. variant can do to you. Thanks so much.

J. ABSHIRE: Thank you for having us.

S. ABSHIRE: Thanks.

BROWN: A sneak peek into the new CNN series that airs just minutes from now. "THE PEOPLE V. THE CLAN." Learn why this story is so timely right now. The series' executive producers join me up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:48:04]

BROWN: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Gardner, activists encouraged us to say their names to preserve their memories and bring them justice. And they are just the latest in a long line of black victims of racial violence. The new CNN Original Series, "THE PEOPLE V. THE KLAN" tells the little-known story of Beulah Mae Donald, a black mother who took down the Ku Klux Klan after the brutal lynching of her son Michael in Mobile, Alabama, in 1981. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It got to be later on that night, and he never came back. Vanessa, she says he took my money and went home. I say, he probably. She says, I'm going to get him and we started laughing. I say, yes, you get him. You know, everybody is assuming he's gone home to my mom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a woman of profound faith, Beulah Mae Donald had not a dream but a vision. In her vision, she saw her son in a casket.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Joining us now is Donnie Eichar, director and executive producer of "THE PEOPLE V. THE KLAN" and Cornell William Brooks, he is also an executive producer of the series and former president and CEO of the NAACP.

Thank you both for coming on to talk about this really important film that's coming up on CNN. Donnie, it's been 40 years since Michael Donald, then 19, was killed

and lynched by members of the KKK in Mobile, Alabama. But so many people have never heard the story here. Why is it so important to tell it now?

DONNIE EICHAR, DIRECTOR AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "THE PEOPLE V. THE KLAN": Well, I believe it's important to tell the story now as Beulah Mae Donald and her remarkable display of strength and courage and fighting for justice for her innocent son Michael and, you know, I think this series confronts our past and the link to the present-day discord in America. And, you know, I try to illuminate some of these unsung heroes the best I could. The mother, the movement, the activists, the attorneys, the community who fight for justice and equality.

[20:50:10]

BROWN: Right, I mean this happened in 1981. Right? I mean, that really in the grand scheme of things wasn't that long ago. Not only was Michael Donald killed by the KKK, he was lynched and found hanging from a tree in a residential neighborhood. Tell us about the significance of lynching when it comes to violence and oppression against people of color.

EICHAR: Is that for Cornell or for me?

BROWN: Yes. Sorry. Sorry. For you, Cornell. Sorry about that.

CORNELL WILLIAM BROOKS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "THE PEOPLE V. THE KLAN": Sure. So this film really lifts off a story of Beulah Mae Donald fighting for justice on behalf of his son, Michael. This is one of literally 4,000 plus stories of lynching in America. Many of the victims whose names are not known, 4,000 plus people have been lynched. This is a story that goes back across time again and again and again. African-Americans have lost in the lives of lynch mobs, vigilantes, people who had imposed extrajudicial killings, murders, punishment on black bodies and black lives.

What's powerful about this particular story is you have an African- American mother who with the assistance of African-American attorneys, local law enforcement and most particularly the black community in Mobile are her family relentlessly pressed the case for justice against insurmountable odds, against law enforcement who were reluctant to hold the killers of Michael Donald accountable.

So in the context of American lynching, this case stands out because it was not that long ago and in fact this is essentially a 20th century lynching in recent memory that speaks to us in this present moment.

BROWN: And Cornell, what do you hope people will take away from watching this story of Michael Donald and his mother of Beulah Mae, particularly in the context of where we are now as a country?

WILLIAM BROOKS: It would be my hope that the film that Donnie Eichar and this beautiful team put together, it would be (INAUDIBLE) that people would look at the eloquence of example of Beulah Mae Donald's courage and some of the courage to face the reality that we had some -- we had racial violence in this country, taking black lives, desecrating our democracy, and it would be my hope that we would watch this film honestly, candidly, and not only look at the past, look at the present and face the future.

That would be my hope and I believe that this is a story that speaks to us in words and images that affect us profoundly -- should affect us profoundly as a country.

BROWN: Well, I'm looking forward to watching this.

Cornell William Brooks, Donnie Eichar, thank you so much.

EICHAR: Thank you.

WILLIAM BROOKS: Thank you.

BROWN: And "THE PEOPLE V. THE KLAN" premieres tonight with back-to- back episodes starting in just a few minutes only on CNN.

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[20:28:00]

BROWN: Well, history was just made tonight in Augusta, Georgia. Hideki Matsuyama has won the Masters Golf Tournament, making him the first Japanese golfer to win any of the four major championships in men's golf.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the way. Who predicted that by one? Matsuyama is Japan's first Masters champion.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: He was introduced to golf by his dad at the age of 4 and became the first Japanese amateur to compete at the Masters in 2011. The 29- year-old entered this week ranked 25th in the world and is now leaving with a coveted green jacket fit for a Masters champion.

CNN Sports anchor and correspondent Coy Wire joins me now on the phone.

Coy, what a moment for golf.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: An incredible moment here at Augusta National, Pam, Hideki Matsuyama was already a bit of a rock star in Japan, right, but now he is going to be a hero for young kids all across Japan and beyond. An icon for generations to come. He was actually struggling quite a bit this past year, hadn't even won a single tournament dating back to 2017.

But this was his moment. He said that one of the reasons it was different this time, Pam, there weren't huge crowds of Japanese media members following his every move due to COVID and travel restrictions. He is painfully shy. And he said that he was so much more relaxed this time. He was enjoying himself more.

You know, he told me that the first Masters he ever watched, Pam, he was 5-years-old in Japan when he watched Tiger win his first Masters in 1997. And that moment helped inspire Hideki to be here one day and now he'll forever return to this iconic venue as a Masters champion.

This victory, Pam, is coming about three months ahead of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Can you imagine if you were to walk out during the opening ceremony representing his country wearing that iconic green jacket. It's incredible to think about. History made here in Augusta, Georgia, today.

BROWN: That's right. Coy Wire, thank you so much. Such an inspiring story there. Congrats to him.

And thank you for joining me this evening. I am Pamela Brown, and I'll see you again next --

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