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Primary Day; President Biden Calls Out White Supremacy. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired May 17, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:24]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Good afternoon, I'm Erica Hill, in today for Alisyn Camerota. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell in Buffalo.

President Biden is taking an unequivocal stand against white supremacy. He's calling it a poison. Now, his condemnation came after he visited the site of the latest racist rampage that ended with 10 Americans, 10 black people in this country dead. It is the deadliest shooting so far this year.

HILL: This morning, the president and the first lady laying flowers at a memorial at the Tops market. You see that makeshift memorial there.

During his remarks, President Biden blasted the surge in white supremacy that had motivated him to run for office more than three years ago and that police say radicalized a white teenager to commit that mass murder in Buffalo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: White supremacy is a poison. It's a poison running through -- it really is.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Running through our body politic.

And it's been allowed to fester and grow right in front of our eyes. No more. I mean, no more. We need to say as clearly and forcefully as we can that the ideology of white supremacy has no place in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: More on the president's speech in a moment, but, first, the latest on the investigation.

And online postings show that the suspected gunman visited the scene of the Buffalo massacre, the store right behind me, three times on a single day in March. And he wrote about carrying out the attack on March 15. But then he delayed several times. Reportedly, the suspect also visited the supermarket just the day before his shooting spree. The store manager told ABC that she saw the suspect in the same

camouflage outfit that he wore the day of the attack. The manager said after the suspect entered the store that he was apparently bothering customers, so she asked him to leave.

And, reportedly, she did so without incident. The manager's brother told "The Buffalo News" that the shooting suspect had been posing as a beggar outside the store.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz joins me now with more on the investigation.

So, from his online writings, we're learning that the suspects thought about possibly shooting that guard at the market.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right.

So he was thinking about that back in March, when he first visited the supermarket here three times in one day, according to his writings, and now police believe that is in fact accurate, that he was here three times in that one day.

And what he was doing was mapping out the location. He drew maps. He figured out where the exit was, the type of people who were inside, noticed that most of the people inside were black. These are the people he was targeting. And then he talked about the security guard, the security guard that he was probably going to have to kill him.

And we heard that heroic effort by this security guard, who tried to take down the shooter, but couldn't because he was wearing that body armor. So, he knew already, they say, the police say, what he was facing when he was coming here. He also came the day before the shooting in sort of what they call a reconnaissance to see what else was going on here.

And then investigators really -- the president today talked about this poison and -- white supremacy and this poison.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PROKUPECZ: This is what investigators say the alleged shooter was consuming, this poison online.

One of the things that he was most consumed with was the Christchurch shooting back in 2019 in New Zealand, where that white supremacist shot 50 -- over 50 people. They say that he was studying that shooting, and in many ways replicated what happened there here, with the camera, the livestream, but also writing names and white supremacist slogans on the guns that police ultimately found.

So, a lot of it was just -- went on for months and months, maybe even over a year, where he just sat at home and online consuming and studying this poison that the president is talking about. And, of course, this is very concerning for investigators. And now we wait for the next steps here.

Look, they're really trying to figure out, were there any missed signs here along the way? We know he had some interaction with law enforcement along the way, but were there any missed signs? And what can they do to prevent this from happening again? Because this consumption of this information is clearly radicalizing people.

And this is what it leads to.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we heard from the New York A.G., Letitia James. She said it was a daily diet of hate that he consumed.

PROKUPECZ: That's exactly...

BLACKWELL: So, we know that there is, of course, this state investigation as the charge he's already pleaded not guilty to of first-degree murder, but there's also the federal investigate issue.

Where does that go from here?

[14:05:01]

PROKUPECZ: So, that's ongoing.

Look, we do expect the Department of Justice, the U.S. attorney here in Buffalo to bring federal hate crime charges, which could -- are very significant, because they could potentially carry the death penalty. Under the state charges, there's no death penalty.

But the federal charges there could potentially be death penalty. And that's going to be ultimately up to Merrick Garland, the attorney general. But they are still working through it. They could be presenting some information to the grand jury, or they may just file a criminal complaint. It's still unclear.

But we do expect that in the next few days.

BLACKWELL: All right, Shimon Prokupecz, thank you so much.

All right, the president, he called out those who pushed the fallacy that white Americans are being replaced, this Great Replacement Theory. He says he condemns it and those who spread the lies for power, political gain, and for profit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The media and politics, the Internet has radicalized angry, alienated, lost, and isolated individuals into falsely believing that they will be replaced.

That's the word, replaced by the other, by people who don't look like them, and who are, therefore, in a perverse ideology that they possess and being fed, lesser beings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Joining us now, CNN political analyst Astead Herndon and April Ryan.

April, you wrote the book "The Presidency in Black and White." I'm going to start with you on this issue of race and the White House.

This president ran on the slogan of restoring the soul of America. And, listen, every president runs on these optimistic, aspirational slogans. Trump had make America great again. Obama had change you can believe in. But what's the progress that this White House says it's making on that restoration and doing more than these speeches?

APRIL RYAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, that's interesting, because I asked that question yesterday in the White House Briefing Room of Karine Jean-Pierre, the first black White House press secretary.

And, actually, the president has, in this moment, tried to strengthen the Department of Justice and its Civil Rights Division, and all the civil rights divisions within the federal government. But I asked the question, does there need to be more teeth, as this continues?

Even as this president ran on the issue of Charlottesville, the hate that was born out of Charlottesville, he said, it condemned the soul and hurt the soul of this nation. And they are talking about things that they can do moving forward.

Victor, there are conversations, loud conversations that civil rights leaders are having right now to discuss the very issue of what this administration can do to fix these kinds of hate-filled deadly crimes. And if there is a meeting with civil rights leaders, on what they can do beyond what's being done now, it will happen after this Asia trip.

And there are conversations about the possibilities of those meetings.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

Astead, the president did not name names, anyone in media or in Congress. He was asked about specific figures, Tucker Carlson, members of Congress, on the tarmac. What do you make of the decision to speak about the ideology and not those who are spreading it?

ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think that makes sense from this White House. They're trying to focus that criticism on the hateful ideology itself, not necessarily individual -- individual actors.

I'm sure the White House doesn't want to be drawn into a back-and- forth with some of those prominent conservative figures. You mentioned Tucker Carlson and others, folks who have pushed some of these theories.

But I think we have to separate kind of the hateful ideology from the political ideology here. Great Replacement Theory is a conspiracy that links in antisemitism, racism, and that fear of replacement. But we have a real growing white anxiety in this country that's based off of the true demographic changes that are happening in cities all across the country, in neighborhoods all across the country.

And that is something that is also playing into this. When you look and kind of engulf yourself into the media sources that are really pushing this, it is not just the conspiratorial aspect. Some of it is in panels just like this, and, increasingly, black and brown people having voice in media and culture. And that's going to have to be addressed as well.

BLACKWELL: April, the president said that he's asking Congress to bar people with mental illnesses from acquiring weapons. He was asked on the tarmac about legislative moves. He says he's -- he wants to do what he's done before.

Now, that was an assault weapons ban. That is not going to happen. But how much energy is this White House going to put into the effort of stronger gun safety legislation?

RYAN: The effort may be strong, but you have organizations and lobbying groups that are just as strong or even stronger, like the NRA, that has thwarted them at every moment.

[14:10:09]

Every time there is a major shooting, multiple shooting, the NRA has found a way and other lobbying groups have found a way to create this chasm that it cannot build a bridge over to create change.

But at the issue, at the base of this, it is guns, and it's also the issue of racism and hate. And I talked to Ben Crump over the weekend, civil rights attorney, who happens to be one of the attorneys for one of the victims' families.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

RYAN: And he said there needs to be more laws, not just gun laws, but laws about hate. If they can create laws about Asian hate, why not create laws about hate on black America?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

Astead, last one to you. This president knows the effort of trying to get gun legislation passed. He was the point person in the Obama administration in 2013...

HERNDON: Yes.

BLACKWELL: ... after the shooting at Sandy Hook, and could not get even universal background checks, which has huge support, especially in the polls at that time.

If it couldn't happen after 4- and 5-year-olds were mowed down in a classroom, what makes it any more possible now?

HERNDON: Yeah, I think this is -- we should be clear here. The likelihood of this passing is low.

And no one knows that more than President Biden himself. He was there in 2013, as you mentioned, when that legislation failed. And we only have a more divided Congress, a Congress that seems more unlikely to pass any legislation on that president's -- a major part of his agenda, much less what we have now. I think we're getting to see Democrats try to really hone in on those reactive measures, strengthening Department of Justice, strengthening kind of anti-hate crime laws, and targeting those supremacists. But we should be clear that those are, again, only reactive.

The things that are driving this, the things that are sparking these things is a pervasive ideology. That is going to take more than just legislation, but really a country that decides that it's for everyone and that -- and that enough is enough.

BLACKWELL: And some things, you can't legislate away.

HERNDON: Exactly.

BLACKWELL: Astead Herndon, April Ryan, thank you -- Erica, back to you.

HILL: Victor, voters heading to the polls in five states today.

One of the brightest spotlights is on Pennsylvania, where celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz is banking on a Trump endorsement to push him across the finish line. Will it work? In North Carolina, GOP Congressman Madison Cawthorn fighting to stay above water after a series of scandals.

We're going to take you live to both states next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:17:09]

HILL: Right now, voters heading to the polls in five states.

This is the biggest primary day so far this year, ballots being cast in Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Idaho, and Oregon. One of the biggest spotlights, though, is on Pennsylvania and the pivotal races there for governor and U.S. Senate.

And that's where we find CNN's Jeff Zeleny.

So, Jeff, the GOP Senate race now in an unexpected three-way competition, which is really putting the power of the Donald Trump endorsement to the test. Set the stage for us. Where do we stand on this Tuesday?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, we're about at the halfway point of this Election Day, about six more hours left to go, a little bit less than that.

Voters have been going to the polls throughout the day across the state. And it is the Republican Senate race that really is one of the most competitive in the country, one of the most closely watched in the country. And this is why.

Republican Senator Pat Toomey is retiring. That is creating an open seat. So Democrats see this as their best pickup opportunity. Republicans, of course, want to hold this seat in their effort to win control of the majority in November.

But it is all going to come down to who wins the primary today. There are a lot of nervous Republicans from Washington to beyond, because they are uncertain of the outcome of this. It looked just a couple of weeks or so ago that either Dr. Mehmet Oz or David McCormick would win this race. It's been a hard-fought campaign, no question.

But, in recent days, Kathy Barnette, a conservative activist and commentator, has been coming on strong and is now locked in a close contest with both of those men. So, former President Trump, who was endorsed Dr. Mehmet Oz, called into a rally last night.

He had this to say:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Go out and vote for Dr. Oz. I think you're going to be extremely happy. If you're not, you will blame me. And that's OK.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: But you're going to be very happy. I don't worry about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So the question is, has the former president been able to convince conservatives that Dr. Oz is one of them, that he is a true conservative candidate?

Many voters we have spoken to here simply are not sure of that. But Dr. Oz also bringing other people into the primary as well. So that is one of the things that we are watching here.

But, also, Erica on the Democratic side of the Senate campaign, the primary, very interesting. John Fetterman is the lieutenant governor, the leading candidate. He's in the hospital. He's not campaigning today. This is his fourth day off the campaign trail. He suffered a stroke late last week.

We're told just a short time ago he voted on an emergency absentee ballot. But he's going to remain in the hospital throughout the rest of the day, perhaps for up to a week or so. He's still widely expected to have an edge in this contest. He's running against two other challengers.

But this campaign for the next several months between now and November is certainly going to be up for grabs, in terms of who controls the Senate come November, but, of course, first things first. We have to see who wins the primary here tonight.

[14:20:01]

HILL: Yeah, that's for sure.

And one thing I know is true, Jeff Zeleny, this will not be your last trip to Pennsylvania in 2022. That, we can say for sure.

ZELENY: That's right.

HILL: Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

ZELENY: That's right.

HILL: Meantime, in North Carolina, the Republican primary to replace retiring Senator Richard Burr will be another test of Trump's influence.

Congressman Ted Budd, who landed Trump's endorsement, is facing off against former Governor Pat McCrory, former Congressman Mark Walker, and army veteran Marjorie Eastman.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher is live in Hendersonville, North Carolina, for us this afternoon.

So, a number of races, right, are under the microscope in North Carolina today. What are we seeing so far?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, let's talk about that Senate race first for that seat from retiring Republican Senator Richard Burr.

The Republican side has become a very ugly race between really the top three candidates that we're talking about here. And that's Congressman Ted Budd, who was endorsed by President Trump and has been the benefactor of a lot of outside money in this race, former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, who has battled back.

Look, on TV here in North Carolina, we see ads from Pat McCrory all the time, essentially trying to push his conservative credentials without that Trump backing. And that's what we have seen in that particular race, both of those candidates very busy throughout the day.

Erica, the -- look, polling suggests that Ted Budd right now is in the lead and has been for several weeks now.

Now, on the Democratic side, look, former Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court Cheri Beasley has had a much easier route and been able to save money as well, because, essentially, the Democratic field cleared for her, so her night pretty much in the bag.

Now, here in Hendersonville, the race that everybody is watching, though, is that 11th Congressional District and whether or not freshman Congressman Madison Cawthorn can keep his seat amidst just a slew of scandals, and really lots of money and pressure from Republicans here in the state, as well as in Washington.

He has very few friends left in his own party because of comments he's made, because of run-ins with the law, and because of essentially just going out of line, they have said. Most of these candidates -- there are seven who are fighting to beat him in this here -- have said they're basically just as MAGA, just not as embarrassing.

It's a very red district, and they're attempting to sort of come over that superstar status that Cawthorn gained in 2020. Now, I just spoke to him a few moments ago, actually, here. He got that late sort of push from President -- former President Trump on Monday.

He says that he's feeling very good. Erica, he's got to get at least 30 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off, though, with the second highest vote-getter in North Carolina.

HILL: All right, we will be watching. Dianne Gallagher, appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, joining me now to discuss, CNN political commentator Charlie Dent, former Republican congressman, of course.

Good to see you this afternoon.

So much focus, I don't need to tell you, on your state, and, as Jeff just ran through for us, this last-minute surge that we're seeing for Kathy Barnette, this last-minute push from former President Trump, those robocalls over the weekend. We just saw Dr. Oz holding up the phone there at an event, really trying to grab some extra momentum leading into today.

You had said that a Barnette wind would be a nightmare. What do you think it says about the state of the party in Pennsylvania right now that we are where we are on Election Day?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Erica, I'd say -- I said it would actually a double nightmare, because, if we had Kathy Barnette and Doug Mastriano to be nominated, the gubernatorial candidate, it would be a fiasco.

Doug Mastriano is seen as unelectable in the fall. Barnette would have a very difficult time. And I think really what's happened is, you had the two major candidates, Oz and McCormick, kind of trying to run in this MAGA land.

The problem they have had is that no one really believes that they're authentically MAGA. Nobody believes that. And say what you will about Kathy Barnette. She's authentically MAGA. And she's made all these homophobic and anti-Muslim comments.

And so she has emerged because the two front-runners were just pounding each other for months, and that created a third lane. But the party is in really bad shape. There really is not a mainstream candidate right now, except for Jeff Bartos. But he hasn't -- he's polling behind the three leading candidates.

So the party's in a bad condition. What's even worse, though, Erica, is that the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania did not endorse a candidate in either the Senate or the governor race -- governor's races. I mean, ordinarily, they try to help shape and condition the field. In the governor's race right now, they're trying to get candidates to drop out and stop Mastriano. But these things should have happened months ago, before these candidates got in the race, but they're trying to do it now. This is pathetic. I mean, they played Switzerland. They were afraid to put their finger on the scale.

Well, that didn't stop Donald Trump from putting his whole butt on the scale to try to influence things in both the governor's race with Oz and with -- and in the Senate race with Oz, rather, and the governor's race with Mastriano.

[14:25:04]

HILL: And how much concern is there that all of this chaos, right, and lack of commitment in some cases that we're seeing within the party there could actually be effective and helpful to Democrats?

DENT: Oh, the Democrat -- Josh Shapiro, the gubernatorial nominee for the Democrats, he's been running ads essentially kind of pumping up Mastriano, saying he will be great for the Trump agenda.

He's invading the primary very effectively. The Democrats want nothing more than to run against the Mastriano, because Mastriano will get a lot of swing voting Republicans and independents to cross over. They will go on the Democratic line. This could affect races down-ballot, including the Senate race, as well as there are going to be at least three or four competitive House races in Pennsylvania, as well as U.S. House, plus state legislative races.

So this is a disaster. This is a state, by the way, Erica, that had for years nominated people like Dick Thornburgh, the Scrantons, Tom Ridge, John Heinz, Arlen Specter, the Corbetts, the Schweikers, I mean, main -- basically mainstream people, and always tried to make sure we got the right outcome in these primaries.

But that is not happening now. And again, this could be a double nightmare, a catastrophe for the Republican Party in Pennsylvania if Mastriano is the nominee and Barnette.

HILL: We will be watching to see. I guess we will know in a matter of hours.

Former Congressman Charlie Dent, always good to have you here. Thank you.

DENT: Thanks, Erica.

HILL: Be sure to stay with CNN for "Election Night in America." Our special live coverage kicks off tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

Ukraine reporting heavy casualties north of Kyiv after Russia carried out missile strikes overnight, this as the battle for Mariupol nears an end after the last remaining fighters at the city's steel plant were ordered to surrender.

What this signals in terms of what's next in the war. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)