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Heavily Mutated Variant May Evade Immunity, Be More Contagious; Trolling And Bigotry Are Main Events At GOP's Hateful Show; Rep. Boebert Apologizes For Anti-Muslim Remarks About Rep. Omar; Right-Wing Media Reports On "War On Thanksgiving"; U.S. Considering Diplomatic Boycott Of Beijing Olympics; LeBron James Fined $15,000 For Making Obscene Gesture On The Court; Alabama Coach Nick Saban Rips "Self- Absorbed" Fans; The Rock Gives His Own Truck To Navy Veteran. Aired 5- 6p ET
Aired November 27, 2021 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:00:01]
JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.
Breaking news. Dr. Anthony Fauci says that the potentially contagious vaccine-resistant COVID variant may already be here in the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I would not be surprised if it is. We have not detected it yet.
When you have a virus like this, it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
We know it's in Belgium, Italy, Germany, Israel and just moments ago, a confirmed case in the Czech Republic. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says two cases have emerged in the U.K. as scientists learn more about the variant by the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER. It does appear that omicron spreads very rapidly and can be spread between people who are double vaccinated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: That is a scary possibility as Pfizer says any potential tweak to its vaccine could take 100 day and is Moderna is warning omicron poses a significant potential risk to its vaccine.
Now governments are feeling the pressure to stall for time moving to restrict travel from South Africa and several neighboring countries.
In the Netherlands on Friday, 600 travelers we're told from South Africa were tested for COVID after they landed and 61 of them, 10 percent tested positive. Tests are under way right now to see if any of them have the omicron variant.
U.S. travel restrictions go into effect on Monday. But today, two flights from South Africa have already arrived in the U.S., one in Atlanta, the other in Newark, New Jersey.
Let's go to CNN's David McKenzie in Johannesburg, South Africa. And we want to note that moments ago, U.S. secretary of state Tony Blinken, he praised South Africa for its transparency and sounding the alarm over this variant.
David, I know, you have said there is some concern in South Africa that it's being punished for doing the right thing.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Jim. And it's significant that the secretary of state had this call with his counterpart here in South Africa just a short time ago. The readout saying that he praised South African scientists and the government for coming out so quickly with the details of what they know about this disturbing variant and saying it should be a model for the rest of the world.
That will certainly please the government here, but they are angry at the actions rather than the words coming from the rest of the world. Many countries now, sealing off their borders for travelers from this region
And as you say, increasing number of cases confirmed of this variant in Europe and other areas. South African scientists believe in some ways they are being punished because they have a very strong surveillance system in this country.
Unclear where this variant emerged. It isn't necessarily from South Africa, but they were the first ones to discover and describe it fully and that unknown factor of what this actually means in terms of transmissibility, breakthrough infections and even the vaccine efficacy, those are the answers everyone wants to know. But it might be an agonizing few weeks before we get those answers, Jim.
ACOSTA: And what's the situation on the ground there, David? What's it been like for people in South Africa in terms of dealing with omicron?
MCKENZIE: Well, they're the same worries here, the same anxiety that I think the rest of the world is feeling. Right now, South Africa is at a pretty good place in its pandemic, recovering from three previous waves. But you have seen in the province where I'm sitting very rapid rise in cases which is assumed to be due to this new variant.
But so far, the hospitals are relatively empty. I've spoken to several doctors through the day. Both from the private and public sectors. Of course, there's a lag between infections and the wave and then hospitalizations. But that could be a little glimmer of hope here. We still don't know if this virus, this variant is more severe, the same or even less severe than previous variants. That will just -- we'll have to wait and see in the coming days.
I do know that the president of South Africa met with his command council today in South Africa. We're expecting potentially more restrictions to come in place in the coming days to stave off the threat of a fourth wave, Jim.
ACOSTA: All right. David McKenzie, thanks so much for that report on the ground in Johannesburg.
I have questions now for our CNN medical analyst, Dr. Megan Ranney on all of that. She's a professor of emergency medicine and the associate dean of Public Health at Brown University.
Doctor, thanks so much for being with us. This omicron variant, my goodness, so many worrying signs that we could be in some serious trouble here. What do you think the chances are that it's already here in the U.S.?
[17:04:58]
DR. MEGAN RANNEY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I honestly think it's almost inevitable that it's here in the U.S. I think we just didn't pick it up yet. There's no way that it's in this many countries across the world and it has not made it here into our shores. It is a reflection of the fact that our surveillance is not as strong as what they're doing in South Africa.
There are some states, Jim, that are doing genetic sequencing of only single digits of the COVID cases that are identified. I think that now that we have our eyes open for it, it's probably going to be days until we find it and confirm that there are cases here in the U.S.
ACOSTA: And two flights from Johannesburg landed in Atlanta and New Jersey just this morning. today. Amsterdam says 10 percent of passengers on its flights from South Africa tested positive for COVID. We don't know whether or not they're carrying the omicron variant.
But we're nearly two years into this. Why isn't the U.S. testing international passengers for COVID when they land? I mean isn't that -- that's something at the very least we should be doing.
DR. RANNEY: Yes. there are a couple of things that we should be doing. We should be requiring vaccinations for everyone traveling internationally, and yes, we should be testing everyone when they land and again a couple of days later because someone could have picked something up the day that they were going to the airport and it's not going to show up for three or four maybe even five days.
These are standard measures that the public health and medical community has been encouraging for, as you say, about 18 to 20 months at this point. I hope that one bright spot will be that omicron will lead us to finally put those measures in place. I will also say, of course, that if we're going to require vaccinations, we have to make sure that vaccines are available to the rest of the globe. ACOSTA: And so you think a vaccine mandate for air travel around the
world is a good idea, it needs to happen?
It is absolutely a good idea. Even with these rare breakthrough cases, the vaccines are still our best bet at preventing symptomatic infection, at preventing spread, and honestly at preventing further mutations. It is a no-brainer to require vaccines for air travel.
And the prime minister in the U.K. Boris Johnson, says it appears omicron spreads very rapidly, can be spread between people who are double vaccinated, implying that it may evade our vaccines.
Is it your understanding that that is the case, or do you think it's too early to make those kinds of conclusions at this point?
DR. RANNEY: I think it's too early. You know, the analogy that I'm using is that we have a smoke alarm that has gone off. There's clearly a fire. But how big of a one is yet to be determined.
Is it a one-alarm, a five-alarm? Do we just need a fire extinguisher or do we need hooks and ladders? Time will tell how bad this is. But in the meantime, we've already learned our lesson, hopefully, it's to act with caution and prudence and to put protective measures in place so it doesn't spread further.
ACOSTA: Yes. And just two months ago you wrote this opinion piece for the New York Times in which you argued against the need for boosters. Quote, "Substantially increasing boosters for Americans will strain attempts to increase vaccine access across the globe."
Well, here we go. This new variant originated in South Africa where just 16 million people are vaccinated, one-third with the Johnson and Johnson, we understand. And is this essentially what you feared would happen?
DR. RANNEY: This is exactly what I and many other public health professionals feared would happen. I will make the caveat that we don't actually know that omicron started in South Africa. It was just identified there. It could have been from any of a number of countries. Kudos to the South Africans for having such great surveillance systems in place.
But as long as only 10 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa is vaccinated, as long as honestly, only 40 percent of some states in the U.S. are vaccinated, we're bound to see more mutations.
We've had this benefit of time since delta variant came about, but this was going to happen unless we can get more folks vaccinated across the globe.
ACOSTA: And what do you say to those who are stubbornly unvaccinated and say, here we go, here's omicron. Even more reason to not get the shot.
DR. RANNEY: So from what we know so far, the vaccine still works against omicron. Perhaps not as well as it does against the original variant. But we don't know. I will say to those folks that are still stubborn out there. we in health care are so scared.
We have been through this. Not once. Not twice, but three or four times in some parts of the states and across the globe. We are questioning how many more of these waves we can take. And we're questioning whether we're going to have the resources available to care for people.
Jim, our hospitals are overflowing right now. Not just with COVID, but with tons of other acute illnesses that put off care over the last year and a half. I am so worried about what is going to happen to my unvaccinated neighbors, friends and family.
Now is the time to go and get a shot to help protect yourself and your community from this novel variant.
[17:09:57]
ACOSTA: All right, Dr. Megan Ranney, thanks so much. We hope that message is going to get through. We appreciate it.
DR. RANNEY: Thank you.
ACOSTA: All right. Still ahead, it's a time to be thankful, but for a handful of Republicans in Congress, this holiday may be more of a time to troll and hate or just be overtly racist. Hold on for that next.
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ACOSTA: You might be feeling all filled up after Thanksgiving, but unfortunately, we got an extra helping of turkey from Colorado Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert who proudly displayed her ignorance and bigotry in comments about Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-CO): I look to my left and there she is -- Ilhan Omar. I said, well, she doesn't have a backpack, we should be fine.
[17:14:53]
BOEBERT: So we only have one floor to go. And it was like, no, don't say it (INAUDIBLE). I looked over and I said oh look, the jihad squad decided to show up for work today.
Really, it's just her staffers on Twitter who talk for her. She's not tough in person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: We should note, Congresswoman Omar says Boebert is lying about that run and Omar tweeted "This whole story is made up."
And Boebert has since offered something of an apology to the Muslim community but not to Omar. By the way, that wasn't the only hateful thing Boebert said in that speech. She also took a homophobic swipe at Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg who is now the father of twins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOEBERT: He wasn't even put in charge of the supply chain crisis. No, someone else was tapped for that because Mayor Pete is still at home trying to figure out how to chest feed. Somebody ought to tell him so he can get back to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: In fact, Boebert has a troubling track record of making violent, incendiary comments. She tweeted "Today is 1776" on January 6th, just hours before the violent insurrection at the Capitol.
On the Biden administration's efforts to encourage vaccinations, she tweeted that Biden had deployed his needle Nazis to Mesa County. And she's warned everybody in Washington that she plans on carrying her gun up on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOEBERT: I will carry my firearms in D.C. and in Congress. This caused outrage from Democrats and the media. Why?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And you can even find her at the border mocking the vice president with a cardboard cutout.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOEBERT: Now Kamala, I want you to stand here and look at what you've done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But she should look at what she's done. Boebert appears to believe that trolling overt racism and the glorification of political violence all come with the job here in Washington. Now, where would she get that idea?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're always telling us how to run it. How to do this, how to do -- you know what, if they don't love it, tell them to leave it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Remember that? Yes, welcome to the Trump Republican Party freak show caucus, home of Paul Gosar who was recently censured for posting a violent photoshop anime showing him attacking prominent Democrats.
And of course, there is Marjorie Taylor Greene, who's been stripped of her committee assignments in part because of her past racist and anti- Semitic comments.
The freak show caucus knows the party's current leader in the House, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, is not going to stand in their way. McCarthy has gone from blaming Trump for January 6th --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): The president bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters.
He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. These facts require immediate action by President Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: -- to complaining that Trump should have been awarded a Nobel Peace prize.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCARTHY: Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama -- not Ronald Reagan and not Donald Trump after Abraham Accords.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And even though McCarthy has said that Greene and Gosar will be serving on committees if Republicans take control of the House in next year's elections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCARTHY: They'll have committees. The committee assignment they have now, they may have other committee assignments. They may have better committee assignments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Greene still openly questions whether he will become House Speaker.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): We know that Kevin McCarthy has a problem in our conference. He doesn't have the full support to be speaker.
Right now from the people I've talked to, he is -- he doesn't have the votes right now. I think that there's a door open for a challenger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Green who appears to be on her way to becoming chair of a committee in a new GOP House has tweeted about Boebert's remarks saying, quote, "Never apologize to Islamic terrorist sympathizers. Ilhan Omar and the jihad squad are all three and are undeserving of an apology.
The lesson learned for green and the rest of the freak show caucus, appeasement is always interpreted as weakness. In the freak show caucus loyalty only flows in one direction.
Not the Republican leader, more like the dear leader which means more hatred, more bigotry, more glorification of violence and more appeasement.
This week Trump met with the recently acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse, the man who shot and killed two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The picture of Kim Jong-Un behind them was a nice touch. Greene wants to award Rittenhouse the Congressional Gold Medal.
Members of the freak show caucus have been fighting over one another over who will have Rittenhouse as a congressional intern.
[17:19:56]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOEBERT: And you know, Madison Cawthorn, he said that he would arm wrestle me for this Kyle Rittenhouse internship. But Madison Cawthorn has some pretty big guns. And so I would like to challenge him to a sprint instead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now, I know what you're saying. She's not the brightest bulb on the Capitol Christmas tree.
Also, an internship? Really? It sounds like he's on his way to a speakership. Would Kevin McCarthy object to that? I have my doubts.
As we're all gathering with family and friends for the holidays, ask yourselves, is this who we are? Bigoted, hateful, violent? I don't think so.
Sadly, I'd say we're complacent and enabling more than anything else. Too many of us are standing on the sidelines sticking our heads in the sand and biting our tongues in the hopes that the freak show somehow will go away. Sounds like appeasement.
How did that work out over the last four years? Or the last century for that matter.
And we'll be right back.
[17:21:04]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene gets a lot of attention for her ferocious, arguably hate-filled attacks. She may get even more attention in those rare moments when she plays nice.
Take for example her tweet about her phone call with Kevin McCarthy. Quote, "We spent time talking about solving problems not only in the conference but for our country. I like what he has planned ahead." It is a stark contrast to Greene's earlier attacks on McCarthy for not punishing Republicans who felt it was their duty to serve on the January 6th Committee investigating the insurrection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREENE: We know that Kevin McCarthy has a problem in our conference. He doesn't have the full support to be speaker. He doesn't have the votes that are there. Because there's many of us that are very unhappy about the failure to hold Republicans accountable while conservatives like me, Paul Gosar and many others just continually take the abuse by the Democrats.
I've demanded it. I want Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney kicked out of the GOP conference.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you respect the Republican leadership right now?
GREENE: No, I don't respect them at all. I can't respect leadership that doesn't hold people accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Makes you wonder who is in charge. Let's bring in our guest, CNN political analyst April Ryan. She's also the White House correspondent, Washington bureau chief for The Grio (ph), and CNN political commentator Republican strategist Alice Stewart.
April, McCarthy is ignoring this outrageous behavior in hopes of becoming House Speaker. That's the bet that he's made. Do you think he can do this for another year? I mean The midterms are a long way off.
APRIL RYAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No. Because Marjorie Taylor Greene is following the prescript or the prescription for a healing allegedly from Donald John Trump.
At this moment we're seeing the Republican Party, this far right-wing group that supports Donald Trump, stir this cauldron of hate, bigotry, racism, homophobia -- all sorts of things right now.
And this is their prescription to when we're seeing it happen. McCarthy was not in the best of graces with Donald John Trump before he left and even after he left. He's trying to hold on. But if Marjorie Taylor Greene continues to go down this road along with Boebert and Gosar he may not be able to survive to be speaker, if that is the case, if they win.
ACOSTA: And Alice, I mean what do you think? Is Kevin McCarthy in charge of this caucus right now?
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He's certainly more in charge of it than Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar who have been stripped of their committee assignments due to their outlandish and ridiculous and insulting comments and social media activity.
Look, I -- you know with all due respect to any member of Congress for Marjorie Taylor Greene to try and act like she's the spokesperson for conservatives in Washington, D.C., it's quite laughable
Look, it's really important -- I think McCarthy should have done a lot more with regard to Lauren Boebert aside from just having a conversation with her and saying she has apologized --
ACOSTA: You think she should be just thrown out of Congress?
RYAN: I think look, I think the apology was important. She should have done that. but there's no space for these kind of comments and this incendiary language, let me point out, on both sides, whether we're talking about anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim or any kind of outlandish comments. There's no place for that for members of Congress.
But the frustrating thing is when we have people that are elected to congress that are less concerned with legislating and more concerned with instigating. And that's the problem here.
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Gosar have been stripped of their committee assignments. And Lauren Boebert is on the fast track to doing so herself.
ACOSTA: but McCarthy is saying they may get these committee assignments back. Even better committee assignments, he said.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: That doesn't really send a message of strength --
STEWART: But before that --
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: There's going to be a cry from Republicans -- I'm sorry, April. More Republicans want to see McCarthy be more forceful and do a strong condemnation for these outlandish comments. And that's going to be the call moving forward.
ACOSTA: What do you think, April?
RYAN: Before McCarthy has a chance to be speaker, if that does happen, if these Republicans win in the midterm, we have to deal with now.
[17:29:45]
RYAN: Democrats are expected to go back to Washington at the beginning of this week and deal with this Boebert issue. So they're looking at the options and what can be done.
[17:30:00]
They're saying, this cannot continue. This is too much. It's gone too far.
And you've got these -- this fringe that is bringing out these horns to rally the base that they had before. The people from January 6th listened to them. This is not just something to slap on the wrist and say, oh, they may
get their assignments or not, this is real. If they can do this in the halls of Congress, imagine what can happen in the public.
This is a foreshadowing of things to come if they are not dealt with.
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And I do think, April, you've hit on an important point that I expect in the next week or so that Democrats will move forward with a censure on Boebert. And that's the price she's paying for making such ridiculous comments.
But Republicans and even Democrats need to take a look at what just happened in Virginia. The tone of the Glenn Youngkin campaign and the focus on policy over division is the way to move forward for Republicans.
And they need to make sure and set an example for people that are using this Trump tone and not focusing on policy because that's not a winning formula.
RYAN: You're absolute right there.
But let's go to Georgia and see what the defense tried to do and a majority white jury said no.
So there's a fight to find the middle when it comes to issues of race, bigot, homophobia. We got to see where it falls.
But this group right here that we're talking about, they are sounding the alarm to bring that base up and look at what happened on the other side.
Look at what happened with Rittenhouse. That is still highly contested. That verdict is still hotly contested. And race is at the issue and they're trying to bring this to bear. And the nation can't handle it right now.
That's the end of the story. They can't handle it. We can't handle it.
ACOSTA: Alice, let me ask -- FOX News and right-wing media, they've been working this idea of liberal war on Christmas for years. They've been doing this since I've been alive. It's been that long.
Now they seem to be saying Thanksgiving is being weaponized. I don't know if that means like throwing a Turkey at somebody, but let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S DAUGHTER-IN-LAW: Last year, remember, they didn't want us to get together. I guess we're lucky they're letting us to have Thanksgiving this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's true.
L. TRUMP: But really, the core of this, they want to divide Americans up. They don't want us to have any common ground. They don't want us to have any shared traditions like Thanksgiving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: So now we're talking about a war on Thanksgiving, Alice?
STEWART: A lot of that certainly goes back to the mask mandates and trying to restrict people having family gatherings and gathering with large groups of people.
And clearly, more conservatives would much rather get together with your family and really pull back on the requirements with regard to mask mandates.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: We all want to get together with your families.
STEWART: Exactly.
But I think the focus, talking about the war on Christmas or war on Thanksgiving, conservative have for years been about religious liberty, freedom of speech, and putting the focus of Christmas front and center with regard to the holidays.
And that's when liberals come forth and try to pull back on that. That's been conservatives saying Christmas is about the birth of Christ and getting together with family.
ACOSTA: April, when I heard "war on Thanksgiving," I thought they were coming for my mom's stuffing.
(LAUGHTER)
RYAN: I thought they were coming after my Turkey that I worked so hard for.
(LAUGHTER)
RYAN: No. At the end of the day, this has gotten to be so crazy. We're at a time where the vaccines are waning and they're calling for boosters.
And then we have a possible pandemic that's moving -- a new variant that's coming from other countries here and they're restricting flights.
This is not about the meaning of Christmas. This is not about whether you get together with your family or not. This is about your life. Surviving through this.
If you're here today, we made it this far, two years-plus, I guess now.
At the end of the day, we need to stop playing these games with these narratives and deal with the real issues.
So much misinformation has caused so many people to die, caused so many people to be sick.
Right now, we have higher numbers in the hospital who are vaccinated because their vaccines are waning.
It's time to get the boosters and time to be smart so we can have Thanksgiving and Christmas again. Any way you want to celebrate it with family.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. And getting vaccinated, getting protected is the key to that.
As much as they hate to hear it at FOX, it's they're only way out of this crisis. We can't have everybody get sick. That's not going to work. They got to get over that idea. It's so dumb.
April Ryan, Alice Steward, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
STEWART: Thank you.
ACOSTA: Still ahead, the Beijing Winter Olympics are set to start in a little more than two months. Is it OK if the White House skips it and only sends the athletes? Bob Costas will join us to talk about it. He has some insights on this. We'll talk about it next.
[17:34:56]
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Believe it or not, we're only a few months away from another Olympic games. And with them, another round of controversy about how everything will play out, this time, unrelated to the pandemic.
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are set to begin in February and President Biden is considering a diplomatic boycott, meaning neither he nor any U.S. officials would attend the games.
Lawmakers from both parties have been calling for the move in protests of China's human rights abuses.
[17:40:01]
Here to discuss is CNN contributor and sportscaster, the great Bob Costas.
Bob, great to see you. Thanks for being with us.
A diplomatic boycott. It seems sort of wishy-washy, but it would send a message. What do you think?
BOB COSTAS CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's symbolic. We learned in 1980, after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and President Carter enforced a boycott, that the only thing that was accomplished -- and it wasn't really an accomplishment -- is that the athletes were deprived of their chance to compete. The boycotts hurt the athletes if you don't send their delegation.
The best thing to do is to trim from that delegation everybody who is nonessential to the athletic performance.
In Sochi in 2014, President Biden did not attend. And pointedly the United States sent openly gay athletes in the delegation, past athletes who weren't competing in the Sochi Olympics but had prominence in the United States to send a message about Russia's anti- gay laws.
This is certainly the only course of action that makes any sense.
ACOSTA: Could it change the Olympic experience for the athletes? Would the athletes feel any kind of additional pressure on them because of this controversy that's bubbling to the surface?
COSTAS: I would think not. Athletes at that high level of competition -- especially Olympic athletes, who train in the shadows and step onto the biggest international stage once every four years, those athletes are hyper-focused.
As long as it doesn't affect their preparation and the way they like to lead up to a competition, I don't think they'll be affected by the controversy itself.
Unless China does something -- which is certainly not out of the question -- does something to make life miserable for those who don't bend the knee to them.
ACOSTA: Right. Which is not out of the question.
Let's talk about LeBron James. This has been on my mind. What is going on with LeBron James?
The NBA superstar was fined $15,000 for making an obscene gesture on the court, then warned about using profanity afterward. Not even a week prior he was suspended for the first time in his year after an on-court scuffle.
What do you think is happening with King James and, I mean, do we have to start calling him the mad king, maybe, perhaps?
COSTAS: Well, LeBron, in addition to being one of the tiny handful of greatest players of all time, has done a lot of very good things. His Promise School in Akron is a wonderful thing. He's done a number of other positive things beyond the court.
Unfortunately, though, he seems to fancy himself as Frederick Douglass in Nikes. And I don't think he's actually up to that.
He says things that are ill considered or makes sweeping condemnations that are imprecise. He sees himself as in the "Arthur Ashe" mold, but I just don't think he's there.
While I guess we've -- we have a looser idea about profanity in public these days, I don't think it's terribly classy for somebody who aspires to the kind of regard he hopes to have from Americans that he's constantly using profanity in his tweets and everything else.
And what he did on the court -- he wants to be compared to Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan carried himself with class. He wasn't universally popular because he was so hyper competitive, but he carried himself with class.
I don't think LeBron James has always carried himself in a dignified way.
ACOSTA: And Nick Saban went viral for ripping his own fan base, which caught a lot of people by surprise. Some Crimson Tide faithful think every one of the games has to be a blowout.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK SABAN, COACH, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE: When I came here, everybody was happy to win a game. Now we're not happy to win a game anymore. We're not happy to win a game at all.
We think we should win games by whatever. And I don't think that's fair to the players either. Nobody wants to win worse than they do. Not me, not you.
I don't care what kind of fan you are. Nobody wants to win more than the players that play.
So for all of you self-absorbed folks out there that can't look past your own self, to appreciate what other people are doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Ouch.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: Some real talk there from Nick Saban.
COSTAS: Yes.
ACOSTA: We should point out Alabama losing to Auburn right now, 10-0, the last time we checked.
[17:45:02]
What do you think, Bob?
COSTAS: And, therefore, any Crimson Tide fans who might hear what we're about to discuss are not watching this right now. They're watching Alabama --
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: How do you know that, Bob?
COSTAS: -- Ohio State in the Midwest earlier today.
Nick Saban has earned, with the multiple national titles, he's earned the right to wag a finger, even at his own fan base.
And he is not wrong. Sometimes this reaches a point that goes beyond fandom to a mindless obsession.
And 10-1 isn't good enough. You have to go 11-0 and win the national championship after that. It isn't enough to win by 10 points. You have to win by 40 or 50 points.
Which also disrespects the opposition. They're out there trying to do something, too.
ACOSTA: Yes. And to me, I wonder, at some point, do we just say Alabama, Ohio State, teams like that, that is essentially professional football. They play at the collegiate level but it's essentially professional football.
And I think Nick Saban has his finger on something. The fan base can get so spoiled and expect blowout victories every week. College football doesn't work that way.
Bob Costas, we could go on and on. I wish we could, but we have to run.
Thanks so much. We appreciate it as always.
COSTAS: Happy post-Thanksgiving.
ACOSTA: Happy post-Thanksgiving. Maybe it's just the Turkey getting to me. Anyway, I'm fired up about it.
Thanks a lot.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: Appreciate it.
In the meantime, he has a heart as big as his biceps. The Rock is surprising one very deserving fan just in time for the holidays.
Plus, catch a brand-new episode of "THIS IS LIFE" with Lisa Ling tomorrow night right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:51:07]
ACOSTA: It will be a holiday season to remember for one Navy veteran who got the surprise of a lifetime from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DWAYNE "THE ROCK" JOHNSON, ACTOR: Ladies and gentlemen --
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
JOHNSON: How you guys doing?
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
JOHNSON: There's a dude here, I read his story, I want to highlight him, Oscar Rodriguez.
Where are you, Oscar?
OSCAR RODRIGUEZ, NAVY VETERAN: Get out of here, bro.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
JOHNSON: Oscar, come on down.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
JOHNSON: Good to see you, brother.
RODRIGUEZ: Nice to meet you, bro. Wow. Wow. Dude!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Oscar Rodriguez was attending a special screening of The Rock's new movie, "Red Notice," when he learned he'd be getting a one- of-a-kind gift, "The Rock's" own custom Ford truck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: I want to show you, real quick.
RODRIGUEZ: Yes.
JOHNSON: I got this car. It's a little thing.
RODRIGUEZ: What the heck?
JOHNSON: Thank you for your service, brother. Enjoy your new truck.
RODRIGUEZ: What the hell?
(CHEERING)
RODRIGUEZ: Get out of here, bro! Oh my god!
JOHNSON: You do a lot of good for people, man. You do a lot of good for people. (CRYING)
RODRIGUEZ: I thought this was your truck, bro.
JOHNSON: It is my truck.
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNSON: Now it's your truck. This is my personal truck. It's yours now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: That is so cool.
The actor says he was moved by Oscar's life story and how he takes care of his family and vulnerable people in the community. An amazing story of generosity right there. Thanks to The Rock.
The top-10 heroes of 2021 have been announced, one of whom will be named CNN Hero of the Year by you, our viewers. As you vote for only two more weeks, we'll be introducing each of our top-10.
In northern Nigeria, a place where militants have killed tens of thousands of displaced people, displaced more than two million people, thousands of child victims from both sides of the insurgency have found hope for brighter futures thanks to this top-10 hero.
He is a man determined to safety educate children and bring peace to a worn-torn and pandemic-ravaged country. Meet Zannah Mustapha.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
ZANNAH MUSTAPHA, CNN HERO: Children do not know what -- they do not know about this war. They were confused. You need to give them courage. You have to give them hope.
Good morning. Good morning.
MUSTAPHA: We are in a community where every segment is being ravaged.
Good morning.
CHILDREN: Good morning.
MUSTAPHA: What keeps me going is the resilience of the children. Whenever I see their faces, it gives me hope. It keeps my dream alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[17:54:42]
ACOSTA: Go to CNNheroes.com to vote for him for CNN Hero of the Year, or any of your favorite top-10 heroes. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: And you are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.
[17:59:58]
We begin with breaking news. Country after country today confirming cases of a COVID variant that could be highly infectious and vaccine resistant.
Now Dr. Anthony Fauci says it may already be here in the U.S.
