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Republicans Finally Denounce Holocaust Comparison; British Prime Minister's Ex-Adviser to Testify in Parliament COVID Probe; Three Arrests in Deadly Italian Cable Car Crash; John Cena Apologizes to China for Calling Taiwan a Country; Sports World Pays Tribute to George Floyd. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 26, 2021 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Pressure from Jewish groups and rank and file Republicans has the party's top lawmakers speaking out about some controversial remarks from one of their own, but as CNN's Ryan Nobles reports, for many it's too little, too late.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After five days of silence, Republican leaders finally stepping up and condemning Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's comments comparing the Holocaust to mask mandates.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): One of the frequent outbursts that are absolutely outrageous and reprehensible.

NOBLES (voice-over): On the House side, Kevin McCarthy calling her comments appalling and saying the conference condemns this language.

Republican Whip Steve Scalise saying that he condemns these comparisons to the Holocaust. After repeated requests for comments from CNN, the leaders are finally responding, but also couching their criticism by attempting to accuse Pelosi and Democrats of not doing enough to call out anti-Semitism. Still, the delayed rebuke from GOP leadership causing an avalanche of criticism from rank and file Republicans.

Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw tweeting, remember when we all criticized AOC for comparing detention centers to concentration camps, because it was so stupid and insulting to Holocaust survivors? You're doing the same thing. Just stop.

Greene, meanwhile, not backing down, repeating her comparison more forcefully in a tweet Tuesday morning saying, quote, vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazis forced Jewish people to wear a gold star.

But while the condemnation is piling up, the question is will action follow?

[04:35:00]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is the target of Greene's comments, stopped short of calling her to be censured or expelled.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): It's so beyond reprehensible that it's -- I mean it has no place in our country.

NOBLES: Do you think she should be expelled or censured because of it, Madam?

PELOSI: I think that she should stop talking.

NOBLES (voice-over): Pelosi's office calling out McCarthy for enabling Greene, saying, quote, leader McCarthy's silence has spoken volumes about his allegiance to the most extreme elements of the GOP conference. McCarthy and the GOP even getting heat from major GOP donors.

Longtime Trump supporter and McCarthy ally Jeff Miller, who's raised millions for the party, calling Greene out. WTF is wrong with you, he tweeted. I think you need to pay a visit to the U.S. Holocaust Museum. And Republican Adam Kinzinger saying it's time for McCarthy to boot Greene from the conference.

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): I think we should kick her out of the conference, prevent her from, you know coming to conference meetings, benefitting from conference materials. And I'm not sure if that'll happen, but it's just going to continue this kind of stuff. It's just mind-numbing.

NOBLES: And while the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stopped short of saying that Marjorie Taylor Greene should face some sort of punishment for her controversial comments, there are members of Congress that are ready to take that step. Illinois Congressman Brad Schneider saying that he will introduce a resolution to sensor Greene for her remarks saying that she needs to be held accountable.

Ryan Nobles, CNN, on Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Steve Leder is the senior rabbi for Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles and he is the author the book "The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift." And he spoke earlier with CNN about Greene's comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI STEVE LEDER, SENIOR RABBI, WILSHIRE BOULEVARD TEMPLE: I hear a trivialization of the Holocaust, a manipulation of the Holocaust, a misrepresentation of the Holocaust. I hear extraordinary and disgusting disrespect for the 6 million Jews for whom that yellow star meant they were getto-ized, shoved into boxcars, gassed and incinerated... to compare a yellow star which was used to objectify and devalue the lives of so many millions of people, to compare that to a mask which is used to sanctify life, to value life, to protect life, yours, mine, everyone else's, I have to say I could not think of a worse or more false analogy. It's absolutely mind-boggling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Greene was stripped of her committee assignments earlier this year. Sources tell CNN some donors and lawmakers want her expelled from the Republican Conference all together.

Well Boris Johnson's former top aide is set to meet with the U.K. Parliament any moment now and he is expected to spare no detail about the government's handling of COVID-19. We're live in London after the break.

[04:40:00]

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CHURCH: Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny made an appearance in court hours ago on a video link. He is reportedly suing his prison to get access to books of his choice and for allegedly censoring his newspapers. The prison says, it's only following the law. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Navalny said he is facing three new criminal investigations.

In Northern Italy three people are now in custody and face manslaughter charges for a cable car crash that left 14 people dead on Sunday. Those arrested include the cable car's head of service and two others tied to the company. CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau is following this story for us from Rome. She joins us now live. So Barbie, what more are you learning about these arrests?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, we spoke to the prosecutor this morning and she's working on the theory that they tampered with the automatic brake system. Now, that should have been the system that stopped this car when the cable snapped from plummeted down the hill. You know, there were surveillance cameras that was trained on this car when the accident happened and they are using that information. It looked to them as if the brake system had been sort of jimmied open. Somehow it had been jammed in a way that seemed at least to the prosecutor intentional.

Now, the investigation is still going on. There should have been another safety measure in place that would have even if the brake system would have stopped it should have stopped the car from plummeting down the Hill. We know it took about ten seconds for this car to go back, there were only five meters from the platform where they were supposed to get off, and everyone waiting on the car were ready, saw the accident. There're so many witness testimonies coming out that just underscore the horrific nature of this accident.

But what's important now is they're trying to find the culpability and they're trying to understand who made the mistake if someone in fact did that caused this horrific accident -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: It is such a tragedy. Barbie Nadeau bringing us the latest there from Rome. Many thanks. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's former top adviser is in

Parliament this morning to testify about the government's response to the coronavirus and he knows plenty about it after a messy falling out between the two men last year. His appearance has the potential to deal a blow to Johnson's political career. And CNN's Bianca Nobilo is outside 10 Downing Street. She joins us now live. Bianca, what could this potentially mean for Prime Minister Johnson?

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, I think some of that potential is actually already been realized. We are only 13 minutes into this parliamentary committee and Dominic Cummings started -- he came out of the gate very strong, very critical of the way the government has handled the pandemic from the outset.

I'd just like to read his opening remark. He said the truth is senior ministers, senior officials, senior advisers, like me felt disastrously short of the standards that the public has a right to expect in a crisis like this. When the public needed us most, the government failed.

He then in the last few moments, Rosemary, before I started speaking to you. said that the government was not operating on a war footing of any urgency, only a month before the country had to be locked down because of the pandemic back in 2020. He also said that key figures in the management of the pandemic were literally skiing and then mentioned the fact that the Prime Minister was on holiday for two weeks.

[04:45:00]

So like I said, only 30 minutes in and we're getting a sense of exactly why Downing Street and the Prime Minister were braced for this event today. This could go on for four hours, Rosemary. And so if you consider what we've learned already, this is why the government is concerned about what's going on today. And Dominic Cummings has been teasing his main arguments that he's going to be putting forward on Twitter.

He's got a thread of 65 messages where he's been making some key points about where the government went wrong. Chiefly that they are not being honest about the fact that they were first pursuing a herd immunity strategy. Meaning that the government were considering allowing the coronavirus to run through the population, infecting as many people as possible. He says that was the initial official policy of the government, to have a so-called single peak strategy so there would be some herd immunity for the winter of 2020.

Number 10 has denied this and says that's not the case. But Dominic Cummings is also accusing the government of lacking transparency and not being honest with the public about these things. He is going to say that he feels that the country was locked down too late in March and November and that lives could have been saved had these decisions been made differently, Rosemary. So this is already a fairly explosive proceeding as far as the people behind me in that building are concerned. CHURCH: Yes, wow. Such bombshells, it will be interesting to see what

the consequences of all of this will be. Bianca Nobilo joining us from outside 10 Downing Street. Many thanks.

Well India is battling series of threats including a COVID outbreak and extreme weather. The country has just surpassed 27 million COVID infections but the number of new daily cases is dropping. For the first time in more than a month the nation reported fewer than 200,000 new daily cases.

At the same time there are now more than 10,000 black fungus cases throughout India. They appear to be occurring in people who have recovered from COVID, particularly if they have diabetes. And some of India's hardest hit COVID areas are being slammed by a tropical cyclone. The storm is pummeling the eastern region with hurricane force winds, heavy rain and storm surges. Areas of West Bengal are already knee deep in flood water.

Well a burning cargo ship off the coast of Sri Lanka is expected to sink at any moment and officials fear more than 300 metric tons of oil and other chemicals could be spilled into the sea. Sri Lanka is racing to protect about 30 kilometers of delicate coastline which includes a protected home to marine life and mangroves.

Actor John Cena is making a fast and furious apology. Why he is reaching out directly to the Chinese people and saying he's very, very, very, very, very important to respect China. We're back with that in just a moment.

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[04:50:00]

CHURCH: The latest big name to bow to Chinese pressure is not an airline or hotel chain or even a foreign government, this time it's a Hollywood star. Actor John Cena angered many on the mainland by calling Taiwan a country and now he is apologizing big time in Mandarin no less and on the Chinese social media site Weibo. But despite all that he may not be forgiven.

Our Will Ripley is covering the controversy live from Taipei where Cena's new movie had its global debut. Good to see you Will. So Cena apologized profusely to China but he is now getting attacked from all directions. What's the latest?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You would think, Rosemary, that John Cena of all people would be used to getting attacked from all directions as not only a movie star but a pro wrestler. But I bet he has experienced something a whole new level, if you will, when he's dealing with Chinese social media.

And I can tell you from personal experience I had my 15 minutes at the center of Chinese social media a number of years ago and they can be with you, they can be against you, you can get canceled, then they can love you, but right now, well, the response has not been so great for John Cena's apology. After he gave an interview to a Taiwanese broadcaster in Mandarin, a

Western star that's actually made the effort to learn Mandarin and try to connect with the Chinese fans knowing that his movie has a big fan base in China. F-9 made $136 million bucks over the weekend there. Helping propel it to the biggest pandemic box office Hollywood release to date. And yet when he apologized profusely saying he was very, very, very sorry for calling Taiwan a country when China considers Taiwan part of its territory, a big no-no, well, I mean, you can look at what he said and how he said it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN CENA, ACTOR AND FORMER WWE WRESTLER (speaking Mandarin) (translated text): I have to say right now it's very, very, very important to respect China and Chinese People.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY (on camera): And yet people in China have said he should have gone on camera in Mandarin and said Taiwan is a part of China and he didn't do that. Because, Rosemary, I don't know about you, John Cena doesn't necessarily strike me as somebody that has this strong political stance when it comes to Taiwanese/Chinese relations but he certainly knows that money talks.

CHURCH: Yes, and his Mandarin is pretty impressive. Isn't it? But yet money does talk.

RIPLEY: Impressive.

CHURCH: Will Ripley joining us from Taipei. Many thanks.

Well the sports world pays tribute to George Floyd on the anniversary of his death. Plus some of Europe's top football clubs face disciplinary action. CNN's Patrick Snell has our minute in sports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well we start with what was a highly emotional Tuesday night here in the United States, the world of sports paying its heart felt tributes to honor the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. Minnesota the home of the Major League Baseball Team, the Twins and these the moving images ahead of their game with Baltimore.

Meantime, in the National Hockey League ahead of the Hurricanes post season overtime victory against the Predators, a poignant moment of reflection to honor and remember victims of racial injustice.

[04:55:00]

And the sport of basketball also paying its respects ahead of the night's playoff action which saw LeBron James and the Lakers seeding the win over the Phoenix Suns.

Meantime, to Europe where the fallout from the ill-fated Super League continues, the confidence football governing body UEFA, opening disciplinary proceedings now against Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona along with Italian giants, Juventus. And Manchester United and Real Madrid fans enjoying a beer or two in Poland on Tuesday. This ahead of today's Europa League final. Around just under 10,000 supporters will be allowed into the stadium. Thirsty work there indeed. A busy Wednesday ahead there in Europe. Rosemary, it's back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Thanks for that Patrick.

Well Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport is gearing up for a surge in passengers this Memorial Day weekend. More than 1.5 million travelers are expected to pass through from Wednesday to Monday. That's a big change from this time last year when the pandemic caused a huge drop in passenger traffic. The airport says demand is now up 70 percent from last year.

And as travel picks up of course so does the price of airline tickets. Major U.S. carriers say airfare costs are now near or even above pre- pandemic levels. One airline predicts domestic leisure travel will be fully restored by next month. But business and international travel are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.

And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Be sure to connect with me on Twitter any time @RosemaryCNN. "EARLY START" is up next. You're watching CNN. Have yourselves a wonderful day.

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