Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Scenes Of Horror In Gaza As Conflict Sees Deadliest Day Yet; Interview With Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) About Commission To Investigate January 6th Capitol Attack; New CDC Mask Guidance; Kobe Bryant Inducted To Hall Of Fame; CNN's Hero. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired May 16, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: We're not getting heartbreaking images of children being rescued from the rubble of buildings that were levelled by Israeli airstrikes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hamad. Hamad.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: You can see rescue workers listening and looking for any signs of life amid the disruption. Elsewhere an Israeli airstrike took out a house and a refugee camp killing 10 members of one family, including eight children as they slept. An infant was the only survivor.

Amnesty International calling for an investigation into that attack, as well as the airstrike, we saw this yesterday, just stunning, that levelled a high-rise building, housing offices for Al Jazeera and the Associated Press. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended that airstrike earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Here's the intelligence we have. It's about Palestinian terrorist and intelligence office for the Palestinian terrorist organization housed in that building that plots and organizes the terror attacks against Israeli civilians. So it's a perfectly legitimate target. One of the I think AP journalists said we were lucky to get out. You weren't lucky to get out. It wasn't luck. It's because we took special pains to call people in those buildings to make sure that the premises were vacated.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Hamas also launched rockets over Israel overnight. At least one rocket hitting a synagogue in Ashkelon blowing a hole through the ceiling.

CNN's Nic Robertson, he joins me now from Israel.

Nic, you've seen this play out time and again in your reporting over the years. The United Nations Security Council holding a meeting once again on the escalating violence this morning. What are you seeing on the ground and is the U.N. taking any action yet to attempt to stop this violence?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. The U.N. in Gaza has been saying that the number of people, number of families coming to them to try to find places to seek refugee designated safe areas, some of those school buildings, they're saying that those facilities that they have just aren't enough for people.

At a sort of a diplomatic political level, we're not seeing anything on the ground here. Specifically what we are seeing in the skies overhead here, aircraft, Israeli fighter jets on their way in and out of Gaza.

Also a few rounds of rockets coming over this city. The sirens going off a couple of times here today. Perhaps less rocket fire coming in here than there was yesterday and the day before. But I think when you talk about this sort of the diplomatic effort now that's going on at the United Nations to try to get both sides to deescalate here. Listening to the Palestinian Authority foreign minister and Israel's permanent representative to the U.N., you get a sense of how far they are apart. This is what they both said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIYAD AL-MALIKI, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY FOREIGN MINISTER: Israel is persecuting our people. Committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. We are not two neighbors living side by side in peace. Israel is the armed thief who has entered our house and is terrorizing our family.

GILAD ERDAN, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF ISRAEL TO THE UNITED NATIONS: For years Hamas has been using international aid not to help the people of Gaza but to abuse them. It has built a vast web of underground terror tunnels which snake beneath playgrounds, maternity wards and mosques with the clear strategic goal of increasing the number of Palestinian civilian casualties when Israel is forced to respond.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Well, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking to the press today he said that it was too soon for the Israeli airstrikes to end. That there were still work to be done. He hoped it would be soon but today Israeli Air Force targeted the house belonging to the leader of Hamas.

It's understood that he was not in house and was not killed. But I think that is a political message. You can certainly read that and Hamas will be smart enough to read that as a political message from the prime minister here. There are still tunnel networks, still ammunition dumps that the Israeli Defense Force really want to go after.

ACOSTA: All right, Nic Robertson, it feels like it's getting out of control. It's been out of control and getting more out of control by the day. Nic, thanks so much.

Joining me now is CNN Global Affairs Analyst Aaron David Miller.

Aaron, you know this region so well. We've been talking about this over the last 24 hours. President Biden has spoken to leaders of both sides of this conflict. But there are Democrats who want way more engagement. They want Biden to call out Israel. [16:05:02]

Aaron, what do you think? Can Biden do much here other than watch this play out?

AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Right now, no. The longer this goes on, the greater the pressure will be on the Biden administration to act. The rising humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, electricity, water, rising Palestinian casualties, and the surge of Palestinian -- Hamas rockets into Israel.

You get a mass casualty event because an Israeli artillery shell finds a residential community or Hamas rocket lands in the middle of a population, you'll end up with a mass casualty event and this thing will take a very wicked turn for the worse.

Remember, Jim, in 2014 this went on for 50 days. 2200 or 2300 Palestinians were killed, 67 Israeli soldiers and a half dozen civilians. It has an ebb and flow to it. Clearly neither Hamas nor the Israeli government, the IDF, seems to believe that they have accomplished everything they want. When they do, only then, it will not be Joe Biden, it will probably be the Egyptians, that actually deliver what's going to purport to be a cease-fire.

ACOSTA: Aaron, you were mentioning some of that pressure on the Biden administration. Senator Bernie Sanders penned an essay for "The New York Times" entitled "The U.S. Must Stop Being an Apologist for the Netanyahu Government."

Is Senator Sanders right? Does he have a point that the U.S. is sometimes a little too closely aligned with Netanyahu? Certainly it was in the last four years.

MILLER: I think certainly under the Trump administration that was true. We didn't have a special relationship with Israel under the Trump administration. We had an exclusive relationship. I mean, the former president put Israel on a sugar high and in part set the stage I think for an Israeli government that feels enabled and for a Palestinian weak and dysfunctional Palestinian community, that feels much aggrieved.

I think the calculation on the part of the administration is this. We will stand with the Israelis with respect to their security on Hamas rockets and they're doing that. The question is, will the president then have the leverage and currency in the bank in order to press the Israelis on a number of very important issues to prevent this from happening again and that -- those issues, Jim, are related to Israeli behavior and actions in Jerusalem. The evictions, housing demolitions, high-profile settlement activity.

In fact at least I hope that's the calculation. Because otherwise, the tragedy, the death, the destruction will lead nowhere. And we're going to find ourselves a year from now, two years from now with another round of Israel-Hamas confrontation.

ACOSTA: I mean, that certainly seems to be case.

All right, Aaron David Miller, we appreciate your insights as always. Always great to get your expertise. We appreciate it.

Joining us now, former senator and Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman.

Senator, you have a lot of expertise, spent a lot of time working on this issue over the years. Let me ask you about the bombing of that building in Gaza that housed the offices for the Associated Press and Al Jazeera. You heard Aaron David Miller there just a few moments ago talking about the potential for the cycle of violence just continuing and continuing. But let me ask you about this building that went down yesterday by the hand of the Israelis.

Journalists on the ground there suggesting that they were being silenced, although the IDF, the Israeli Defense Forces say Hamas assets were in that building. What did you make of this? Did Israel go too far, do you think?

JOE LIEBERMAN (D), 2000 VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Good to be on with you, Jim. Let me say first this whole conflict is heartbreaking and infuriating because it's unnecessary. Obviously there are unresolved issues between Israelis and Palestinians but this is Hamas, a terrorist group that grabbed power in Gaza. Not the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas, a terrorist group, against our democratic ally. And Hamas started this and it's been supported by Iran. So to (INAUDIBLE) should be pretty clear. Obviously in war and military action, I can't state exactly what happened to that building where the press was in Gaza City. But I've heard the IDF most people said that there was a Hamas military base there in that building.

I've heard the CEO of the Associated Press say that he didn't know that but he couldn't say for sure that it wasn't in the building. So time will tell. I gather and I hope that the spokespeople for the Israeli Defense Forces will put out some of the evidence that they had that led them to take the action. But honestly --

ACOSTA: Yes. Senator, but do you think it was going too far? If I may I jump, do you think is it was just going too far for the Israelis to take down a building that has news associations in it? Including a prominent American news organization. You know, from all your dealings with the press, the Associated Press is a very prominent news organization of the United States.

[16:10:06] LIEBERMAN: Well, of course. So -- and I assume that the -- no, I'm not here representing the Israeli government but the Israeli government knew there were press offices in that building so that they were taking a risk. But they must have felt that the presence of Hamas there justified that and according to the laws of wars, as I understand them, a civilian building, if it has military installations in it can be hit. It's legal within the laws of war. So time will tell.

But I can't say that it went too far. I can only respect our ally making the judgment with information, Israel that they needed to take this action with all the risks involved.

ACOSTA: Let me move over to some domestic politics. I'm sure you've been following this, Senator Lieberman. We're now six months removed from the presidential election yet former President Trump is still refusing to accept the results. He wrote yesterday, "As our country is being destroyed both inside and out, the presidential election of 2020 will go down as the crime of the century."

Senator Lieberman, you were very supportive of Donald Trump in the early days of his administration. Do you regret that now?

LIEBERMAN: I don't think I was ever supportive of him. I mean, I voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. I'm supporter of Joe Biden and voted for him in 2020. I may have supported specific policies of the Trump administration which is what somebody who's not a partisan robot will do if they happen to agree with somebody.

But I think overall President Trump's response to the election has been a real challenge to our system of law and our basic democratic values and his role in encouraging the unprecedented attack on our democracy on January 6th is rea;;y unforgivable.

Sometimes you've just got to be able to say I made a mistake but that doesn't seem to be within Donald Trump's makeup. And it hurts the country and I think, speaking as an independent, Democrat, that it hurts the Republican Party. So -- but they've got to work that out.

ACOSTA: Senator Lieberman, let me break this down just a little bit with you if you don't mind helping us out here. When you were with Al Gore, contesting what happened in the 2000 election, I mean, obviously you were well within your rights to do that. It was a close election.

Donald Trump, you know, he lost by a healthy margin in the popular vote. Some seven million votes. And you know, he was going about trying to twist the arms of state election officials around the country. He was trying to strong arm his own vice president, Mike Pence.

What should be done about Donald Trump, do you think? Do you think he broke any election laws in attempting to strong arm these election officials? And what do you make of his incitement of the riots on January 6th? What should be done about that?

LIEBERMAN: Well, I'm going to leave that to the prosecutors but as I said a moment ago I think his behavior and reaction to the election and in stimulating and encouraging the unprecedented violence at the Capitol on January 6th is reprehensible. And he may at some point be held legally accountable for that.

I do want to thank you for comparing this to 2000 because when election day was over in 2000, it was very clear that Al Gore and I were ahead of the Republican ticket by more than a half a million votes nationally. The contest was over the electoral votes in Florida and the vote total there for those electoral votes was less than 1,000 vote difference.

We were within our rights to contest but even after a month of contesting, and what Al Gore and I felt was a grossly unfair Supreme Court decision, United States Supreme Court decision, we just decided that we could fight, we could scream, we could say it was illegitimate, but ultimately you've got to put the interest of the country ahead of your interest even if you feel that the courts have treated you badly because that's what we do in a rule of law system.

And I'm very proud of what Al Gore and I did at the end of that. I must say that what Donald Trump did was the exact opposite. It undermines our democracy and our legal system. And I think he was held -- he will be held accountable for politics in America in the years ahead.

ACOSTA: All right. Senator Lieberman, we appreciate your time so much. Great talking to you. We'll have you back again soon. Thanks again.

LIEBERMAN: I'll look forward to it.

ACOSTA: Thank you.

[16:15:03]

And coming up, two words you don't hear very often in Washington, bipartisan breakthrough. Lawmakers reached a deal to form a 9/11 style commission to investigate the Capitol attack. Will it finally end the denials about the horrors of that day? We'll discuss with the chair of the Homeland Security Committee, Bennie Thompson. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: After months of back and forth, the top Democrat and Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee say they've struck a deal to establish an independent bipartisan commission to investigate what happened on January 6th. The House is expected to vote on the commission this week. But House minority leader Kevin McCarthy says at this point he's not signing off on this agreement.

You'll recall it's been busy week for him. First we saw him overseeing the ousting and replacement of Liz Cheney from the GOP House leadership. That was immediately followed by a number of House Republicans whitewashing the insurrection including one who likened it to a tourist visit.

[16:20:05] Listen to what Cheney had to say earlier today about Donald Trump, McCarthy and the congresswoman who replaced her as the GOP conference chair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: When you talk about him being dangerous and the way he's leading the party, and I ask this about both McCarthy and Elise Stefanik. Are they being complicit in what you consider the Trump lies?

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): They are. And I'm not willing to do that. You know, I think that there are some things that have to be bigger than party. That have to be bigger than partisanship. Our oath to the Constitution is one of those.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Joining me now, the Democrat who proposed this 9/11 style commission to investigate the insurrection, House Homeland Security chairman Bennie Thompson.

Congressman, Chairman, thank you so much for joining us. What is the goal of this commission and do you believe you can change the minds of Republicans after this commission is assembled?

REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): Well, obviously the goal is to get to the facts and circumstances that brought about January 6th insurrection. We hope with hiring of professional staffs, the appointing of a professional commission to look at the facts and the circumstances, and basically get to the root of what happened, and ultimately recommend to the Congress what can we do to see that that does not happen again.

ACOSTA: And do you have any indication at this point as to whether the House minority leader Kevin McCarthy is going to sign off on this?

THOMPSON: No, I don't. But I do know up until the filing of the bill he was kept informed as to what was going on just like everyone in leadership. It was the worse kept secret in Washington is that Democrats and Republicans was trying to craft a commission document that we could all vote on and ultimately we did that on Friday. And so I'm excited about it, the notion that Democrats and Republicans, for once, can get together on something so important as preserving our democracy.

What happened on January 6th was a travesty. We saw Capitol policeman attacked by a mob. We have to do that to protect them, to show them that we care about them but more importantly, the Capitol is our citadel of democracy in this country.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: But, Chairman, if you don't mind, if I could jump in, you have some Republican lawmakers as you know in the House who are basically denying that this occurred even though we're showing the video right now of what occurred. You know, you have Republican congressmen describing these folks as patriots. Some saying they were like tourists.

How do you have a commission that can operate effectively if some of the members of the House won't even deal with reality?

THOMPSON: Well, that's just so unfortunate. In America, normally we settle our differences at the ballot box. Obviously some people couldn't get over what happened last November and with the president's urging they came to Washington on January 6th. So some of those individuals to this day will not accept it. They will say what's not true.

And it's unfortunate several of those members are on the Homeland Security Committee that I chair. But it's just -- it's really difficult to try to manage it. That's why we'll take the politics out of it. We'll put the commission in place, and we'll task them with the responsibility of getting to the facts, bringing it back by December 31 of this year.

ACOSTA: And Liz Cheney, as you know, she says Kevin McCarthy has important information to share with investigators. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHENEY: He clearly has facts about that day that an investigation into what happened, into the president's actions ought to get to the bottom of. And I think that he has important information that needs to be part of any investigation whether it's the FBI, the Department of Justice or this commission that I hope will be set up.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Chairman, do you want to get to the bottom of what Kevin McCarthy knows about what Donald Trump was doing that day? We understand they were talking to one another that day. Do you need to get to the bottom of that aspect of this investigation for you to have closure, for all of us to have closure on this?

THOMPSON: Well, there's no question about it, Jim. We have to get all the facts. I hope we should not have to end up subpoenaing individuals to come.

[16:25:03]

We want to get the House administration documents. We want to get the Government Reform and Oversight Committee's documents, Department of Defense documents, and any witness who had anything in terms of knowledge of what happened on January 6th. The commission needs to hear from them.

ACOSTA: Does that include Donald Trump?

THOMPSON: Well, I would hope they try to get anyone who want, including former President Trump. He invited many of the people who broke into the Capitol to Washington on that day. He said come to Washington. It's going to be wild. So we need to get from him what coming to Washington being wild was all about.

ACOSTA: All right, Chairman Bennie Thompson. We'll see if you can get Donald Trump to testify to this commission. Something tells me that the whole world will be watching if that occurs.

Chairman Thompson, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

ACOSTA: And coming up, masks off. Americans show off their smiles as the CDC says it's OK to take off your mask if you're vaccinated but the surprise move has also states scrambling to figure out how best to keep everyone safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:00]

ACOSTA: Just days after the CDC announced fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to stay masked up or be socially distanced, major retailers are following suit. Walmart, Trader Joes and Publix are among some of the nation's biggest companies loosening their restrictions.

CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro is in New York. Evan, great to see you there in Brooklyn. These companies are really relying on the honor system here, aren't they?

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim. I mean, I'm outside Prospect Park in Brooklyn. A beautiful Sunday afternoon. I don't need to be wearing a mask, according to the CDC. And, earlier, when I bought a root beer, I didn't need one either. But I keep a mask in my pocket and wore it, because the place where I bought it required me to wear a mask.

Right now, all these rules are very confusing and no one really knows exactly what to do. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC Director, addressed some of this concern that we're having, talking about how this working early today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, CDC: I think that people who were not inclined to wear a mask, were not inclined to wear a mask before Thursday.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: But some of them were mandated to do so. And those mandates are lifting, in part, because of your new guidelines.

WALENSKY: Yes. And what we're really asking in those settings is to say -- in terms of the honor system, people have to be honest with themselves. You're protected if you're vaccinated. You're not if you're not vaccinated. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: So, Jim, this feels like a complicated moment but it's actually a very simple moment. The fact is, we're living in a world right now where it's important to know people around you are vaccinated because you don't have to wear a mask anymore.

But the problem is, a lot of people in America don't want to be asked if they are vaccinated. So, the way we're going forward on this is please be vaccinated if you take your mask off. And companies and other private and public places are hoping that Americans will do the right thing. Get their fully vaccinate -- get fully vaccinated before they take their masks off -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Right. And don't be that guy who isn't vaccinated but wants to not wear his mask just because he wants to make a statement out of it, right? Don't be that guy. I think that's the message. Maybe we can make a PSA that says, don't be that guy.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: That says don't be.

ACOSTA: All right. Evan McMorris-Santoro, thanks so much. Great to see you there in Brooklyn. Say hi to everybody for us. We appreciate it.

Coming up, remembering a basketball legend. The late Kobe Bryant is inducted into the Hall of Fame with an emotional tribute from his wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANESSA BRYANT: You're a true champ. You're not just an MVP. You're an all-time great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:33:15]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: It was a very emotional night as Lakers' legend, Kobe Bryant, was posthumously inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame. Accepting on his behalf, his widow, Vanessa Bryant. She was escorted onto the stage by her husband's close friend and mentor, Michael Jordan. What a -- what a sight there.

Vanessa Bryant showed incredible strength and shared with world the kind of player and person Kobe was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: People don't know this. But one of the reasons my husband played through injuries and pain was because he said he remembered being a little kid, sitting in the nosebleeds with his dad to watch his favorite player play. He could recall the car ride, the convos and the excitement of being lucky enough to have a seat in the arena. Kobe didn't want to disappoint his fans, especially the ones in the 300 sections that saved up to watch him play. The kids with the same excitement he once had. I remember asking him why he couldn't just sit a game out because he was hurting. He said, what about the fans that saved up to watch me play just once. He never forgot about his fans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Joining us now, sports analyst, the great Mike Golic. Mike, great to see you. Kobe Bryant is one of the most influential basketball players ever. What did this moment say to you? I mean, it's just -- I still have a tough time believing that Kobe is no longer with us. But what a -- what a night last night.

MIKE GOLIC, SPORTS ANALYST: And, I mean, it's hard to believe that Kobe Bryant -- going into the basketball Hall of Fame, we all knew that was going to happen, but we couldn't wait to hear his acceptance speech. Not his wife talking about him, after he passes away, you know, January -- late January of 2020. So, it was a surreal moment, just as it was when he passed away. You know, in my world, the sports world, we're getting ready for the biggest event when that happened. The Super Bowl where Kansas beat San Francisco.

But, you know, Kobe Bryant death's, and truly the death of nine people on that helicopter, including the young lives of two 13-year-old girls which is just horrible. One, obviously, being Kobe's daughter. Just -- and then the reach that Kobe had. Not just in this country, but worldwide. And the influence he had in the sporting world and outside the sporting world. It was a very surreal moment to hear his wife talk about him. It really hit you again that, wait a minute, Kobe is really not here. I mean, --

ACOSTA: Right.

GOLIC: -- just a horrible emphasis on a sad moment.

ACOSTA: Definitely. And I really wanted to talk to you about this next subject. We learned today, a nineth member of the New York Yankees testing positive for Coronavirus after being fully vaccinated. What is happening?

[16:40:00]

ACOSTA: I mean, does this give you pause about returning to a normal sports world? Everybody wants to go back to these arenas and stadiums and what not. But, I mean, this goes to show you, we're not out of the woods yet.

GOLIC: No, we're not out of the woods. I guess -- I guess it's that, you know, we hear if you have both shots, in 14 days past that, we can take the mask off. We know that the CDC came out with that or the one Johnson and Johnson shot. And I'm happy about that. The country forgetting the sports world, even outside the sports world, has to be happy that we can get ready for business.

But I think, as Aaron Boone said, the manager of the Yankees, maybe in the fine print, we have to understand, even if you're fully vaccinated, you still can get COVID. But the fortunate thing here is, I think only one of the Yankees, the other eight had -- they were asymptomatic.

You didn't feel the symptoms of COVID but -- you can still get it, but you don't feel the symptoms of it. But if that's -- if you get it and that's what we look forward to, the not having the feeling -- the symptoms, I think people will be fine with that.

I think people want to get back to an opened-up country again. And in my world, an opened up sporting world. So, with the new CDC guidelines that's saying 14 days out of those vaccinations, let's take the masks off and let's start to live our lives again. I'm all for it.

ACOSTA: But what do you think about fuel arenas? Should we see full arenas when the NBA playoffs get started this week, for example? And, by the way, go Wizards. They had a great win this afternoon.

GOLIC: Yes. Boy, they sure did. They absolutely did. Yes. Listen, if we're going -- again, are we ready to pick and choose if the CDC -- and if we're following that. If they say, if you're fully vaccinated, you don't have to wear masks. Well, then, that means we don't have to have the social distancing anymore.

So, I guess, at this point, are we still going to pick our spots or are we not going to pick our spots? So, I would say, if people are following those CDC guidelines, which I know the NFL is doing as well, and baseball is doing if 85 percent of your team is fully vaccinated, then, you know, that should be for the fans as well. And let's open it up.

ACOSTA: And this could have a huge impact on players, too, who are used to playing in front of these big crowds. I mean, they're anxious to get back in front of these crowds, right?

GOLIC: Listen, the crowds want to be there to help their home team. And, quite honestly, as a former player, --

ACOSTA: Yes.

GOLIC: -- the thing I liked about it was going on the road and silencing the home crowd of the team we were playing. So, it's such a big part. It brings energy to both sides. Fans get into it. Players speed off of it. So -- and let's be honest. It's back to some of the normalcy that we've been used to. So, you know, the sooner we get back to it safely, the better off we're going to be. But no doubt teams will be very happy to have those stands -- those stands full again.

ACOSTA: I'm ready, too. All right, Mike Golic, we have so much to talk about. We'll have to save some for next time. Great to talk to you. We appreciate you coming on.

GOLIC: Thanks, Jim. Appreciate it.

ACOSTA: Good to see you, Mike.

Coming up, W. Kamau Bell heads to Portland to explore the power of protest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIEDMALE: Join me at my weekly Antifa meeting. I mean my second time ever meeting with Antifa. Oh, Tucker (ph) is going to be so mad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for coming to this totally normal situation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for joining us as totally normal-looking people.

[16:43:17]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Almost exactly one year ago, the death of George Floyd sparked a nationwide protest movement. Hundreds of thousands of people took the streets, demanding change and accountability. In tonight's episode of "United Shades of America," W. Kamau Bell heads to Portland, Oregon, to examine the dynamics of activism and protest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember the first night I got gassed. The sensation is your throat starts to burn and then your sinuses start to burn and then your eyes start to burn. It hurts. The feds were so brutal. They were there to (INAUDIBLE) us up. And they did. They accomplished that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's got to be a better way than taking 19- year-old kids and young adults as you're trying to make a difference and using chemical weapons on them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I shouldn't be, like, going out there with pepper spray and baton and a taser just to keep myself safe for preaching that my life matters. I shouldn't have to do that. I really shouldn't have to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And "United Shades of America" Host W. Kamau Bell joins me now. This looks like some fascinating T.V. tonight, Kamau. What does it take for a protest movement to actually be effective and make the changes it's looking to achieve? Perhaps that's what we have seen over the last year.

W. KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST, UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA: Well, yes, I think when you look at the fact that Derek Chauvin had three charges of guilty on him, a lot of that came from the pressure that the Black Lives Matter protests around the country and around the world put on the situation. And let's be clear. They put it on week after week and night after night.

And so, that's what we're talking about. Like, you know, we -- a lot of times, we think as protests as one event. But protests have to be sustained to really get the job done.

ACOSTA: And I want to play another clip from tonight's episode. Let's watch and talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

W. KAMAU BELL: Join me at my weekly Antifa meeting. I mean my second time ever meeting with Antifa. Oh, Tucker (ph) is going to be so mad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for coming to this totally normal situation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for joining us as totally normal-looking people.

BELL: I think a lot of people on the left have done a lot of work to say Antifa is not a group. It's an ideology. And then, you guys actually are a group.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's an analogy, like knitters. You can be someone who knits scarves for your family on holidays.

[16:50:02]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can be someone who's in a knitting club. And you can call yourself someone that knits but not engage with any other groups of people that are interested in knitting.

BELL: That's the best analogy I've ever heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Interesting. How would you explain Antifa to people, after talking to some of these folks who consider themselves part of it?

BELL: Well, let's be clear. Antifa is, generally, not a specific group. This group is a part of specific members of people who practice Antifa's practices and hang out together and have a regular thing they do. So, generally, Antifa's an ideology, not a group. But not with these people, as we explained with the best analogy ever due to knitting.

But the ideology is to stand up to be anti-fascism and to stand up to fascism. And, importantly, when you had President Trump sending unknown secret police into Portland and putting people into unmarked vans, that's fascisms.

And so, there's ways to stand up to that which is protest and writing your Congressman or other -- or other ways. But Antifa says, we're going to meet that in the streets where it's happening. And, certainly, it can lead to violence and it can lead to things getting broken and messy. But there's just -- that's the thing in this episode. We're talking about multiple ways to protest.

ACOSTA: And there's been a lot of talk about what constitutes an acceptable form of protest. Talk to us about that. How did you explore that in that double standard that it's often applied to protests to people of color?

BELL: Well, I mean, I think we just have to look at who's saying what is unacceptable protest. Right now, the GOP around the country is trying to pass anti-protest laws. While, at the same time, they're saying that the thing that happened on January sixth, some people are -- some people in the GOP are saying it was tourism.

So, I think we have to understand, who is the one who is criticizing protests? And, often, the people who are criticizing how protesting is happening are people who don't agree with what the protests wants. While, at the same time, they're excusing things like January sixth.

ACOSTA: Yes. Those weren't tourists up on Capitol Hill. And how do -- how do you see the protest movement evolving as we near the one-year anniversary of George Floyd's murder? That's going to be a big moment.

BELL: Well, yes, I think that we're seeing more people engaging in protesting and activism around the country. I mean, we look at yesterday. All around the country, there were free Palestine protests happening. And a lot of that energy that wants to point attention to Palestine, I think a lot of that comes from people are now engaged with protests in a different way since what happened last year with George Floyd.

So, I think people understand now. Protest is not a one-time event. It's not something that you go to on Facebook and go home. It is a -- it is a lifetime of pushing on the system to do right.

ACOSTA: All right. W. Kamau Bell on the "Power of Protest." Thanks so much. And be sure to tune in. A brand new episode of "United Shades of American" airs tonight at 10:00 right here on CNN.

And this week's CNN Hero became paralyzed from the waste down and struggled for years to get into shape and attain a healthy lifestyle. Inspired by his own journey, he created an adaptive physical training and nutrition program to help people with disabilities push beyond their limitations. Meet Wesley Hamilton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WESLEY HAMILTON (on camera): Come on. Easy.

(voice-over): My main goal is to teach people how to take control of their life. Take full accountability and embrace your reality. (on camera): Slowly. All right, you can stop right here.

(voice-over): When we go through our program, it's only the beginning. I want to be there through your whole journey, because I want to see you successful.

(on camera): There we go. One more.

(voice-over): I've gained so much from my injury, and I want other people to have that same mind set.

(on camera): You're learning that you're about to do more.

(voice-over): I believe that once we help someone, now they have the ability to help someone else.

(on camera): This is something that has to have a ripple effect. We're coming together, empowering each other. Be an inspiration for one another.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And to learn more about Wesley's work, go to CNNheroes.com. And while you're there, nominate someone you think should be a CNN Hero.

[16:54:01]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: New today, a space force commander has been removed from his post after claiming on a conservative podcast that Marxist ideologies are invading the U.S. military.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

LT. COL. MATTHEW LOHMEIER: Since taking command as a commander about 10 months ago, I saw what I considered fundamentally incompatible and competing narratives of what America was, is and should be. That wasn't just prolific in social media or spreading throughout the country during this past year, but it was spreading throughout the United States military. And I had recognized the narratives as being Marxist in nature.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier made the comment while touting his new book about the topic on the "Steve Gruber Show." A Defense Department official said, following the podcast, he needed to be removed, due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead. Lohmeier did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.

And you are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. We begin in the Middle East and the deadliest day yet in Gaza with 52 people killed, bringing the total death toll there to nearly 200 since Monday. [17:00:03]

ACOSTA: We're now getting heartbreaking images of children being rescued from the rubble of buildings that were levelled by Israeli air strikes.