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Resolution to Oust Cheney, Kinzinger from RNC Watered Down; DeSantis Eyes 2024 as He Waite for Trump to Make Decision; TV Judges Walk Off After Giuliani Unveiled as "Masked Singer"; AAA: Gas Prices Hit $3.41/Gallon, Up 6 Cents in 1 Week; Pentagon Hots Meeting to Spur Hypersonic Weapon Development. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired February 03, 2022 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: At the Republican National Committee meeting in Salt Lake City sources tell CNN that a resolution calling for the expulsion of Republicans Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney from the conference has now been watered down to a formal censure. Apparently, those pushing for the more severe punishment could not get the necessary support. But that's just one of the topics we want to talk about now.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: So many. Joining us now political commentator Ana Navarro. Ana, good to see you. Let's start there with this resolution that's be considered. What does this get them? Because Liz Cheney is not going to be swayed and Adam Kinzinger is not running for reelection?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It gets them nothing. It get some attention. It gets them to say you're not part of the party. You know, it's honestly, it's like "Mean Girls." Right? The RNC has turned into "Mean Girls." You're not part of our clique. But it means absolutely nothing. It'll be the voters of Wyoming who decide about Liz Cheney's future and I think nobody is going to define who Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger are other than themselves.
Imagine this, Liz Cheney has a 96 percent rating with the Heritage Action Committee. Because she is a conservative. She is more conservative than the woman who took her place in the Republican Conference Elise Stefanik, when it comes to votes. So, this is not about policy. This is not about ideology. This is not about issues. This is about one thing, Donald Trump, and whether you defend him or not.
[15:35:00]
That is the one purity test that the RNC and so many in the Republican Party want to impose right now. It's ridiculous.
CAMEROTA: That brings to our next topic. And that is -- here is a riddle. Donald Trump versus DeSantis. If either of them were to run in 2024, who gets the Republican nomination? NAVARRO: You know, and I say this as a Floridian, I think Ron DeSantis
is going to be very successful in his reelection here in Florida. I don't agree with a lot of things that he does but I think he's a talented politician and is very well liked by the Republican base here in Florida and nationwide. But I can also tell you, if he goes head- to-head with Trump even in Florida, he couldn't win this state.
Remember, there were at least two Floridians the last time, Jeb Bush who we thought was so popular in Florida and Marco Rubio vying against Trump and they stood no chance against him not even in our state.
BLACKWELL: Let's turn now to "The View." you spend a lot of time at the table across from Whoopi Goldberg. We had a lot of grunts from Ana Navarro today about these concerns. We got one from DeSantis --
CAMEROTA: We're striking a chord with Ana.
BLACKWELL: So, let's go to this. Do you think she should be on two- week suspension after what she said about the Holocaust not being about race and then apologizing?
NAVARRO: Imagine the week I've had. On Tuesday my friend and mentor and colleague Whoopi gets suspended on Wednesday. My friend and mentor and colleague Jeff Zucker has to resign under pressure. So, I'm beginning to feel there's something wrong with me. Look, as to whether Whoopi should be suspended or not, that's obviously above my pay grade. That's is a decision made by ABC executives. And I think -- I don't think it was an easy decision.
What I can tell you and I was there when this conversation happened. And you all know this because you do it on a daily basis. Trying to discuss very complex issues in five-minute segments on unscripted live TV with five women all trying to bring in their opinion and their perspective can sometimes be very difficult and sometimes things don't come out right.
I think -- you know, two things I know for sure. I know for sure the Holocaust is all about race because Hitler thought he wanted to build a master race, an Aryan race, and Jews and gays and many other groups he did not deem fit to be part of his master race. So, I know for sure the Holocaust is about race. I know for sure Whoopi Goldberg is not an antisemite, has no malice in her heart and had absolutely no intent to hurt anybody. And I do think we've had a lot of conversations this week that have been spurned by what happened on "The View," conversations about race.
CAMEROTA: And just very quickly, have you spoken with her this week?
NAVARRO: She's my friend. She's my friend. When I'm your friend, Alisyn, I'm your friend through thick and thin. And when I say thick and thin, I'm not just referring to myself. I'm referring to life.
CAMEROTA: Ana never fails. All right, now to our most puzzling and possibly most entertaining topic. Five words I never thought I would say Rudy Giuliani, "The Masked Singer." Go.
NAVARRO: Well, I heard Victor ask what costume, so I've got a few suggestions here. A jackass.
BLACKWELL: Oh!
NAVARRO: A skunk. Or maybe squid. He could be a squid. No backbone and squirts out dye. And I've got some great suggestions for songs, too.
CAMEROTA: Go.
NAVARRO: There's "From Russia With Love."
BLACKWELL: Oh, there's one.
NAVARRO: "Bring in the Clowns." "Jailhouse Rock." I like that one. Classic. "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me." "My Stupid Mouth." Oh, you know what? It could be anything by the Four Seasons. But I think the best one is "Creep" by Radio Head. And the lyrics say, but I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo. What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here.
CAMEROTA: Yes, I think that's the one. OK, we had no idea she was coming to play.
BLACKWELL: With a list.
NAVARRO: "Creep" dressed as a squid squirting out dye.
BLACKWELL: I don't even know where to go with this.
CAMEROTA: I don't either. It's so good. We were trying to think of our own songs. "I'll Melt With You."
BLACKWELL: Classic, yes.
CAMEROTA: What was your favorite one?
BLACKWELL: I had a costume idea -- oh, mine was "He Works Hard for the Money."
NAVARRO: OK, that's good.
BLACKWELL: The costume situation --
CAMEROTA: Yes, OK, so we do know this little bit. They're being very tightlipped on the "The Masked Singer" about what the theme is.
[15:40:00]
But we know that it is the good, the bad and the ugly.
BLACKWELL: Cuddly.
CAMEROTA: Oh, sorry, the good, the bad and the cuddly. Sorry about that. We'll tell this is the good -- I don't' even know. What is this Victor?
BLACKWELL: It's a frog and -- I don't know the one in the back -- a fish of some sort. CAMEROTA: OK, that's the good. The bad is --
BLACKWELL: OK, a cyclops and a ram, I think.
CAMEROTA: OK, and here's the cuddly.
BLACKWELL: Which is a meerkat, and a chipmunk or a beaver of some sort.
CAMEROTA: OK great. So, I mean, we don't know which one of those.
NAVARRO: I'm sticking to the squid.
BLACKWELL: I think if you go with the single scoop sundae with just a few drops of caramel coming down the side --
CAMEROTA: That would be the classic.
BLACKWELL: -- that would be a classic costume. Just a few drops of caramel.
CAMEROTA: But I mean, Ana, last question, why? Why is he doing that?
NAVARRO: Well, first of all, why is the program doing that? And I think it's a desperation for ratings and why is Rudy doing that? Listen, three divorces, lawsuits of the wazoo, a lot of expenses. You know just how much his cigar habit cost as month? Did you see in his divorce filings, how much he spends on pens a month? So, you know, honestly, joking aside, it's rather sad. It's rather sad to see America's mayor become America's joke.
BLACKWELL: Ana Navarro.
CAMEROTA: He had sad moments before this too. But Ana, fantastic.
BLACKWELL: Always delivers.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Thank you.
CAMEROTA: Great to talk to you.
OK, moving on, prices at the pump rapidly approaching new highs. How much longer will this last? Details next.
[15:45:00]
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BLACKWELL: Gas prices are rapidly approaching the highest-level in years.
CAMEROTA: AAA says the national average for regular unleaded hit $3.41 a gallon. CNN's Matt Egan is here to explain. So, what's happening?
MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Well, you know, the story is still the same, supply just cannot keep up with demand.
And as you mentioned this national average up to $3.41 a gallon, that is up 6 cents in just a week, up nearly $1 from a year ago. And it's just a penny shy of the seven-year high that was set last fall.
So, what's going on? You remember last fall President Biden just before Thanksgiving he came out and announced the largest ever release of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and it did seem to cool off gas prices a bit and then Omicron hit and gas prices went down.
But you know what? It really was pretty short-lived. As that chart shows prices just went down by 14 cents from $3.42 to $3.28 and then they came right back up. And that's because the SPR was never really going to be a game changer. It was always more of a band-aid. I mean they announced 50 million barrels that were going to be released but that's just 12 hours of world demand, 12 hours.
So, we got more bad news on the supply front just yesterday. OPEC Plus, the producer group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, they pretty much telegraphed that they're not coming to the rescue. They're going to stick to their plan to increase production just modestly. They're not doing something more aggressive that would have really cooled off prices.
U.S. oil companies, they've been pretty reluctant to ramp up production, too. You put it together and you have prices going up. Oil today, U.S. oil prices closing above $90 a barrel for the first time since October 2014. They have completely recovered from that amazing trip below zero back in the spring of 2020. And because gas prices move with a lag to oil, that suggests that prices at the pump are going to keep going higher from here.
CAMEROTA: That graph really tells the story. Matt Egan, thank you very much.
BLACKWELL: Thank you, Matt.
Well, countries like China and Russia are outpacing the U.S. when it comes to hypersonic weapons. So, the Pentagon wants America's largest defense contractors just to play catch-up. Much more on the growing arms race next.
[15:50:00]
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BLACKWELL: High-level Pentagon meeting today. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to press America's largest defense contractors to pick up the pace on the development of hypersonic weapons. A recent test by China and Russia surprised national security officials and raised some concerns that the U.S. is falling behind its main geopolitical rivals.
CAMEROTA: CNN's Kristin Fisher has more on today's meeting. So, Kristen, the purpose of this meeting was supposedly to, quote, light a fire underneath the entire hypersonic industry, end of quote. How far behind is the U.S.?
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, U.S. Space Force General David Thompson put it very bluntly. He said that the U.S. has a lot of catching up to do and that the U.S. hypersonic program is simply not as advanced as the Chinese or the Russians.
And so, the Pentagon has really been pushing the defense industry to pick up the pace on hypersonic weapons development ever since China and Russia tested those recent hypersonic weapons of their own.
But today the Pentagon really stepping it up a notch by holding this very high-level meeting. And you know, it is very rare for the Secretary of Defense to meet face-to-face as he is expected to do, albeit virtually, with about a dozen of the CEOs of America's top defense contractors.
[15:55:00]
I spoke with one of the CEOs who was expected to attend and he said that in addition to sort of lighting this fire under the entire industry, they're also expecting that this meeting to be about encouraging these defense companies to not be afraid to fail and have testing failures when you're dealing with these very complicated weapons systems.
And that's really something that retired General John Hyten often talked about, how this fear of failure is slowing down the testing process.
[15:55:00]
Alisyn and Victor, he said, General Hyten said back in October that the U.S. has conducted nine hypersonic tests in the last five years, while the Chinese have conducted hundreds, that is how they are getting so far ahead here -- Alisyn and Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right, Kristen Fisher, thank you so much, we'll see if we get some updates on that.
CAMEROTA: OK, and "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right after this quick break.
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