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First Batch Of Baby Formula Arrives From Europe; Trump Influence Looming Over GOP Primaries; CDC Monitoring Monkeypox Virus; Increasing Sextortion Cases Targeting Teenagers; Madison Cawthorn Concedes, States Dark MAGA Must Rise; Peter Davidson And Kate McKinnon Bids SNL Goodbye. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 22, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. And the formula has landed, but the crisis is far from over. The first overseas shipment of baby formula arrived in Indianapolis this morning. A U.S. military cargo plane landed with more than 70,000 pounds of formula that's enough for 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers for one week according to the Department of Agriculture.

But this first shipment is not going to stores. A Biden administration official told CNN it's hypoallergenic formula headed straight to hospitals, doctors, home health care facilities and pharmacies in the hardest hit areas. So while it's a critical first step and shoring up the nation's baby formula supply, it also means thousands of parents have to wait a few more days for relief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN DEESE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Because of the actions that we're taking right now we're going to see more formula coming off factory lines.

UNKNONW: When?

DEESE: And more formula in stores starting as early as this week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Let's go straight to M.J. Lee. She is in Tokyo covering the president's visit. M.J., the White House is touting this first shipment of formula. Have they given any indication of how many more of these shipments we might see in the coming days? Parents are, I'm sure, happy to hear about formula going to hospitals and health care facilities and that sort of thing, but they want to know when that formula is hitting the store shelves?

M.J. LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that is such an urgent question right now, Jim, and what you might remember is that through Operation Fly Formula, this is the operation that the government launched urgently to try to get more formula to the U.S. The U.S. had secured some 1.5 million bottles worth of this specialty formula and what we saw arrive in the U.S. earlier today, your time, was around half a million bottles.

So, we do expect that the bulk of what had initially been secured that that should still be on its way, but a logistical piece of this that has been tricky for the U.S. government is securing the aircraft to bring the specialty formula from Switzerland to the U.S. You'll recall that the government announced that they were actually making the -- taking the unusual step of using a military plane to bring this first batch of formula because they had a hard time getting a commercial aircraft that is DOD contracted to bring the formula over.

So that is something that they are going to have to work out. But you make a really important point that this is specialty formula that we are talking about for the time being. It isn't suitable for healthy babies. Healthy babies that can use any kind of formula. It needs to first be prioritized and go to babies and toddlers that have special dietary needs, Jim.

ACOSTA: And, M.J., what about stepping up production of formula here in the U.S.? Where does that stand?

LEE: Yes. Well, what the U.S. has announced as well is the invoking of the U.S. Defense Production Act. This is basically a step that should allow producers to get their hands on supplies faster, to cut through some of the red tape that's typically in place so that they can make this formula faster at home.

So we're talking about both the importing of formula from overseas and then this piece of it which is just as important and that is to make production formula at home faster and easier. But we don't have sort of a clear time line of when exactly that is going to mean more formula in stores.

What we heard from a cabinet official earlier in the day was that it could be a number of weeks before things start to feel more normal, but then we heard from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre who is here traveling with the president in Asia that she doesn't have an exact time line.

So, it's clear that there are government officials who are hoping that it could be a number of weeks before things feel normal, but they are also sort of reticent to say this is exactly the time line in which parents are going to feel like, okay, things are just back to normal, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, M.J. Lee, domestic concerns often overshadow those presidential trips overseas. It's happening this time as well. M.J. Lee, thanks very much.

A big primary contest is playing out in Georgia this week. If the polls are right, Georgia Republicans are about to deal former President Donald Trump his biggest political defeat this year with Governor Brian Kemp on his way to a landslide primary victory over David Perdue despite 18 months of Trump attacking him for not helping steal the 2020 election.

In addition to that, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger who resisted Trump's pressure to find 11,780 votes to overturn President Biden's victory in 2020 is also up for re-election against a big lie proponent, Jody Hice.

[17:05:04]

In the meantime, in Pennsylvania, known 2020 election denier Doug Mastriano who attended the January 6 rally of all things has already locked in a victory in the Republican primary for Governor. Joining me now is attorney and "Washington Post" contributing columnist George Conway. George, thanks so much for being here.

You know, when I read that windup to get to you, it's almost mind- boggling to get my head around what I'm talking about, you know, candidates running for office who, you know, tried to steal an election or wanted to see the election results overturned and so on. But Georgia and Pennsylvania are two big states with a lot of electoral votes. So, to have these election deniers in the running for these top posts, what's at stake here?

George, turn your mic on real quick, if you can. All right. Let's let George sort that out. We're going to take a quick break. We're still in the era of Zoom interviews. We'll be right back.

GEORGE CONWAY, ATTORNEY: Is that there?

ACOSTA: Oh, he's here. There he is. I almost went to a break. You're right there, George. Good to go.

CONWAY: Yes, I think I am now. Apologies for that.

ACOSTA: I've done it myself.

CONWAY: I mean, I think, you know, what's at stake is our democracy. And I mean, I think it's very disturbing. I mean, what's great -- Georgia is great, but what happened in Pennsylvania was very disturbing where you have a man who was actually on the capitol premises on January 6th and who has been promoting election lies ever since. I mean, he didn't go into the capitol but he's been promoting these election lies ever since.

And he gets to a point, the secretary, if he's elected, he would get to a point the Secretary of State of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania who is in charge of monitoring and administering elections in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and that's just a very dangerous thing.

And if you put that on top of a number of state legislators who have been elected and are continuing to propagate the big lie, there was a great "New York Times" article about that today, you know, our democracy is very much endangered by the refusal of people to abide by basically the rule of law and the majority rule.

ACOSTA: And just to follow up on that, I mean, do you get the sense that there is great urgency about this or are we sort of sleep walking into this scenario where we might, you know, find ourselves on the other side of these midterms with candidates up and down these ballots and various, you know, very important states around the country, who are election deniers, who might conspire to overturn the results of the next presidential election. And then we're just stuck in this, you know, spaceship back to earth two. I mean, is that a scenario that you think very well could happen?

CONWAY: Yes, I do. And I think it's a problem. I think we are as a nation, to some extent, sleep walking through this because we've gotten so used to the perpetually abnormal concept of having people basically challenge the basis for our democracy, which is fair election elections and majority rule.

It's just a remarkable thing we even are talking about people who still are seeking to challenge the 2020 election, that these people could be elected, but here we are.

ACOSTA: And this week, I have to ask you about this because you're no stranger to CPAC conventions. We know that they've happened here in Washington for so many years. We've covered them. We've talked about them. But there's one this week not in Washington but in Hungary where the featured speaker was the country's anti-immigrant authoritarian prime minister Viktor Orban. He told the crowd there that the path to power was to have their own media and he had plenty of praise for Fox's Tucker Carlson. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIKTOR ORBAN, PRIME MINISTER OF HUNGARY (through translation): Of course, the grand old party has associates in the media, associated media. But they do not compete with the dominance of the liberal press. Only my friend Tucker Carlson places himself on the line without wavering. His new program is the most watched. What does it mean? It means that programs like his should run day and night, as you say, 24/7.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And, I mean, CPAC is now a place for authoritarians to spread their ideas. And by the way, they had a bunch of other wacky, you know, very out of the mainstream speakers as well, people with all sorts of track records of saying despicable things. What is going on with CPAC?

CONWAY: It's going, headed toward full fascist. I don't know how to put it any other way.

[17:09:54]

I mean, Hungary was a back sliding democracy and now it's barely a democracy if it is a democracy at all by any group's ratings. You know, they've suppressed a -- they are suppressing the press. They are -- they've thrown out an independent judiciary in effect and it's basically a scary thing.

Of all the countries to pick to have this, they're picking Hungary, and that sends a message. It's a move toward authoritarianism. It's a move against democracy. It's a move against this contempt to the rule of law. And I just, it's just shocking that they're there. And it's shocking that there are speakers there who are anti-Semitic, anti-Roma who preach all sort of nasty hatred.

And then, you know, we have to -- we have him join forces -- we have the Orban there joining forces with Tucker Carlson. I mean, this is just -- it's just -- hard to believe that's where we are, but that's where we are.

ACOSTA: And I have to ask you about this. You mentioned the judiciary. There's the judiciary in this country, "The Washington Post" has obtained e-mails that is show Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, pressing Arizona lawmakers to overturn Biden's win in the 2020 election.

She wrote in part, "Please reflect on the awesome authority granted to you by our Constitution. And then, "Please take action to ensure that a clean slate of electors is chosen for our state. I also wish to request a meeting with you so I can learn more about what you are doing to ensure our state's vote count is audited and our certification is clean." I love the use of the word clean there; it's anything but.

CONWAY: Yes. And I -- it's just very disturbing that someone in her position would be sending these e-mails. Although, in this particular circumstance, it's probably not as bad as the text messages to Mark Meadows because these were form e-mails of a sort on a website that's designed to set up form e-mails.

But still, I mean, the notion that you can have somebody that close to somebody important in public life advocating overthrowing an election is just scary. And it shows you where the Republican Party has come to. I mean, you know, Ginni was always a little bit out there and I think the rest of the party has gone, you know, basically over to her side and that's a disturbing thing and that's why we see what's happening with CPAC and Hungary.

And that's why we see all these election deniers in the House, in the various state houses throughout the country and why we, you know, why we have an ongoing battle for basically our democracy.

ACOSTA: And, George, I have to ask you about, you know, this thing you posted on Twitter earlier today. You flagged this social media post by Trump on his so-called truth platform which is, you know, very Orwellian, but what Trump was, I guess, re-truthing, I suppose is what they call it, appears to suggest some sort of call for civil war in this country.

You know, this is somebody that I guess Elon Musk wants back on Twitter. It's kind of -- it's just sort of astounding to me. But why are so many Republicans just looking the other way when he engages, when Trump engages in this kind of incendiary rhetoric?

CONWAY: Again, I think they're just terrified of him. Many of these people know better and they're terrified of him but they're also terrified of a Republican base that's become increasingly radicalized, that actually does believe that, you know, people who politically disagree with them are a threat to the nation and therefore, you know, violence could be necessary to fight them off. And that's what we saw in this social media post that Trump re-truthed

yesterday. It's absolutely scary.

ACOSTA: I have been using that term --

CONWAY: I mean, the suggestion was that we are approaching -- I know -- the suggestion is that somehow we are headed towards civil war or there should be civil war or something to that effect. And for a president -- a former president of the United States and leading contender for the 2024 Republican nomination to be even talking about that and suggesting that is just absolutely appalling, but it's all of a peace.

Everything we've talked about for the last 10 minutes is just of a piece, the CPAC, the anti-election deniers in the state. It's all part of a fabric that is tearing -- that is ripping apart in our country. I mean, Trump could basically go away tomorrow and never be heard from or seen again and these termites are set loose in our country, you know, eating through the foundations of our democracy. And that is something that we have to take more seriously.

ACOSTA: Even though his --

CONWAY: I don't think Democrats are taking it serious enough, frankly.

ACOSTA: Yes. Even though some of his candidates are losing, the party is still afraid of him, these other folks in the party are afraid of him.

CONWAY: They're still afraid of him and you know, they're still -- they're still, you know, in 2024, he's got a distinct advantage in a multicandidate field by virtue of the rules, by virtue of the fact that he still will have 33 percent of the vote all the way down the line. I don't know if anybody is going to be able to get past him.

[17:15:06]

ACOSTA: Well, you're absolutely right about that. And that is something that I bring up with folks all the time when people say, oh, no, no, no, there's no way. You know, he can't do it again. You know, there are all these other candidates. There was a large field of candidates in 2016 and he was able to pull it off. George Conway, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it. I hope to have you back soon. Thanks so much.

CONWAY: Okay.

ACOSTA: Coming up, monkeypox, could an outbreak become an epidemic? It's a very important question. President Biden says everyone should be concerned. An infectious disease expert joins me next to breakdown what you need to know. Everybody has been talking about what is monkeypox. We're going to get into that next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ACOSTA: Right now, the CDC is monitoring clusters of monkeypox infections as the World Health Organization confirms 92 cases around the world. At least 12 countries are reporting confirmed cases including right here in the U.S. In the White House, there's a slight difference in messaging.

[17:20:005]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It is something that everybody should be concerned about. We're working on it hard.

ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE CORRDINATOR: I feel like this is a virus we understand. We have vaccines against it. We have treatments against it. And it's spread very differently than SARS- CoV2. It's not as contagious as COVID.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Alright, let's sort through all of this. Dr. William Schaffner who we all fondly remember from our days talking about COVID week after week after week. He's back with us. He's an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbuilt University Medical Center. Thank you, Schaffner for being with us.

Help us out here. For folks out there who don't understand what monkeypox is, please explain what that is. Could I catch it if I'm at an airport or on a plane and somebody has monkeypox?

WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR, DIRECTOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBUILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: So, Jim, it's a new virus, right, and new viruses are different. As Dr. Jha said, it is not spread as readily as is COVID by any means. It takes close, personal contact, often skin-to-skin contact or close face-to-face contact in order to transmit this virus.

So, I don't think we have to worry by going out there. This is a virus from central and west Africa. It resembles that old virus that we eradicated from the world, smallpox. It does create a quite disfiguring rash and apparently someone from one of these countries in west Africa, for example, Nigeria, went to Europe or a European went to Nigeria and picked up the infection and now there's been a chain of transmission or several chains of transmission throughout Europe.

The virus is now in Canada and we have two now documented cases, but only two in the United States. So, public health authorities are out reaching out to all the contacts of these patients in Europe, Canada and here in the U.S. putting them under surveillance. And I would anticipate with all of this activity within a week, a week and a half, we ought to have this outbreak of this exotic virus contained.

ACOSTA: Okay, that's good news. It doesn't sound like a new kind of COVID situation where it spreads all over the world or spreads across the United States very quickly. You don't see that, Dr. Schaffner? SCHAFFNER: I don't see that, Jim, because the two viruses are spread

in such different ways. COVID has a lot of transmission without symptoms. This virus doesn't. And, as I say, it requires really prolonged, almost face-to-face, skin-to-skin contact for transmission to occur efficiently and it goes slowly. It doesn't transmit in large bursts the way COVID has the capacity to spread.

ACOSTA: Alright. And turning to COVID now, CDC data shows that in March about 40 percent of covid deaths among people who are fully vaccinated with at least their initial series, that was true apparently in January and February, too. Can you give us some context to that? What does that mean?

SCHAFFNER: Well, it means two things, Jim. First of all, omicron is out there. This is this new highly contagious virus, relatively new, and its subvariants that are also extraordinarily contagious and they can actually produce mild infections in people who are appropriately vaccinated and people who've had previous infections.

So, you can see, it can spread to you and you can spread it to others even though you've been well-vaccinated. You may not have any symptoms at all or just a mild cold. Now, this virus while it's spreading is finding some people who are particularly vulnerable to more serious disease. The unvaccinated, the partially vaccinated, people who are frail, who are immunocompromised.

And so, we're seeing slight increases in hospitalizations occurring across the country, but so far, they've been slight. And what I would anticipate is continuing these mild spreads, but the increases in hospitalizations should be moderated. And if we would all get up to date in our vaccinations, we can protect our health care systems as well as protecting ourselves.

ACOSTA: Alright. I'm glad you got that one last plug in there for vaccines because they're out there. You can just go to the pharmacy right now. If you're unvaccinated, you could go do it right now. Dr. William Schaffner thank you so much --

SCHAFFNER: And they're free.

ACOSTA: And they're free, exactly. It's such an easy tool to use, I tell you. Great to see you, sir. Thanks so much. Thanks, doctor.

SCHAFFNER: Thanks, Jim.

[17:24:58]

ACOSTA: Alright, coming up, the deadly consequences of sextortion. It's a look at a growing online threat that is now aimed at teenagers. You're going to want to watch this, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: The FBI is warning minors are becoming increasingly targeted in a sextortion scheme and it's not just girls. Boys, too, are being lured by cyber criminals into intimate online conversations and then blackmailed for money. CNN's Josh Campbell reports on how the scheme turned into a deadly outcome for one family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULINE STUART, RYAN'S MOTHER: So, Ryan was 17 years old. He was a Boy Scout, a straight A student.

[17:30:02]

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pauline Stuart's son, Ryan, received a message one evening in February. Hours later a panicked Ryan took his own life.

STUART: Somebody reached out to him pretending to be a girl, and they started a conversation.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Their social media conversation quickly grew intimate. The cybercriminal posing as a girl sent Ryan a nude photo then asked for one of him in return.

STUART: He sent it to them. They demanded $5,000 from him. He told them they couldn't so they lowered the money.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Ryan, a high school senior agreed to pay the criminals from his college savings but their demands only increased.

STUART: They threatened to post those to family members, put them on the internet.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Pauline said good night to her son at 10:00 p.m. Soon after, things took a devastating turn. He was still a happy, normal kid, but by 2:00 in the morning, that's when he took his life.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Pauline says a note left behind stressed how embarrassed Ryan was for himself and the family.

STUART: He really truly thought in that time that there wasn't a way to get by if those pictures were actually posted online. His note showed he was absolutely terrified and no child should have to be that scared.

CAMPBELL (on camera): Had you ever heard of this kind of scheme before?

STUART: No.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): It's called sextortion and an increase in victims now has the FBI warning parents from coast to coast. The bureau says there were 18,000 sextortion-related complaints in 2021 with losses in excess of $13 million. The FBI says the use of child pornography by criminals to lure victims also constitutes a serious crime.

DAN COSTIN, FBI SUPREVIDORY SPECIAL AGENT: To be a criminal that specifically targets children, I mean, it's one of the more deeper violations of trust, I think, in society.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Dan Costin leads an FBI squad working to protect America's children from this truly global threat.

COSTIN: We're seeing a lot of these are coming from overseas, as we've seen other financial scams.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Costin says young males are the primary target and that cases are almost certainly underreported. One reason many victims don't come forward --

COSTIN: I would say the embarrassment piece of this is probably one of the bigger hurdles that the victims have to overcome.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Experts say the developing teen brain makes them especially vulnerable.

(UNKNOWN): It's hard for them to look past that moment and understand that in the big scheme of things, they'll be able to get through this.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): The message to kids, you're not alone. Experts urge parents to warn teens of the scam without shaming them.

(UNKNOWN): You want to make it clear to them that they can talk to you if they have done something or if they feel like they've made a mistake.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Ryan's mom agrees.

STUART: You need to talk to your kids.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Still grieving, Pauline channels her family's pain into action, honoring her son by speaking out and hopefully saving lives.

STUART: How could these people look at themselves in the mirror knowing that $150 is more important than a child's life. There's no other word but evil for me and I don't want anybody else to go through what we did.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Josh Campbell, CNN, San Jose, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Very disturbing. Coming up, the GOP is just not going to take it anymore. From Madison Cawthorn that is. We'll discuss, next.

And a quick programming not, former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed joins Jake Tapper after 985 days in Russian hands. He's ready to talk about what happened and how his imprisonment came to an end. "Finally Home: The Trevor Reed Interview" begins tonight at 8:00 right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:35:00]

ACOSTA: Congressman Madison Cawthorn put out a bizarre message after conceding his North Carolina primary race. In a social media post, Cawthorn told his supporters it's time for the rise of the new right. It's time for dark MAGA to truly take command. RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel responded to Cawthorn's message this morning saying she has no idea what he's talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONNA MCDANIEL, CHAIRWOMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I don't know what dark MAGA is. It sounds like some type of Star Wars

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS HOST: It sounds scary.

MCDANIEL: It sounds like some type of Star Wars thing, like the dark side of the force. I don't know. I don't know what that is. Madison did the right thing by conceding. We need to focus on the Democrats and I would say this to every Republican.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The force is not with Madison Cawthorn. Joining me now, CNN political commentator and host of PBS "Firing Line" Margaret Hoover and CNN senior political analyst John Avlon. He's the author of the book, "Lincoln and the Fight for Peace."

Guys, lots to talk about. Let's just button up this Madison Cawthorn thing because here is the thing that stood out to me, you know, his loss wraps up a re-election campaign filled with all of those scandals. That's what really tanked his campaign ultimately. But, you know, the Republican Party is out there punishing Madison Cawthorn but not Trump? What's the deal?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, look, I actually think the Republican Party rewarded the solid conservative who wasn't a seditionist, who you know, was a strong businessman, strong conservative, represented that district already and punished Madison Cawthorn. I mean, if there's a new force in the Republican Party, it's what you saw rally around Senator Tillis there which marshaled the forces of the Republican Party against Madison Cawthorn, against somebody who had no business being in the House of Representatives.

[17:39:58]

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look. I mean, I think Margaret makes a great point about Tillis finally standing up to the extreme wing of his party when so many other senators and governors have been basically running away scared until recently in the face of Donald Trump.

They're willing to take on a Madison Cawthorn. But to your point will they start standing up to seditionist comments by the ex-president, that kind of bullying tactics of politics? This coming week, we'll see the Georgia primaries, whether Governor Kemp, who's been standing up to Trump, pulls off a primary win against the former Senator Perdue. But that is the real question. They are starting to get a spine, but are they going to really take it where it counts, which is the top of the ticket.

HOOVER: But these are all proxy wars. I mean, I think to your point, Jim, like why aren't they going after the big guy yet? These are little proxy skirmishes that actually mean something that a Trump- endorsed candidate lost in a primary, okay. So that's like, you know, this Republican Party as we know has not demonstrated moral courage. It has not, you know, given those of us who have associated with the brand for many years, pride. But this is a meaningful loss of Madison Cawthorn to those of us who would like to see something new (inaudible).

AVLON: Yes. And the dark MAGA thing is creepy.

ACOSTA: It is slightly creepy, that's true. I'm not sure where -- let's just not even go down that road. But you know, since we're talking about the former president, I mean, you know, Elon Musk said he would reinstate Trump on Twitter and we were just talking about this with George Conway a few moments ago.

Trump made this post on a so-called truth platform that appears to suggest some sort of call for civil war in this country, we're putting it up on screen here right now. Apparently, Trump has been on his Orwellian, you know, called truth platform all weekend doing this sort of thing. You know, what is going on here, you know, in terms of putting him back on Twitter?

I mean, that just sounds like a massive mistake given what he's been doing all weekend on this truth platform that not a lot of people are on, but obviously is an outlet for him to, you know, get these demons out of his head.

AVLON: Well, the venting of the spleen is something he does, and the question is how much you're going to amplify that. He's trying to create his own platform, Orwellian, as you said. But I mean, if the ex-president is continuing to use the language of inciting not just sedition but a civil war, it falls under free speech, but it's the downstream effect of that.

We've already seen. How much do we need to learn? There's a study out of MIT in (inaudible) lab showing a 70 percent decrease, Jim, in election-related fraud, "related conspiracies" once Trump and the QAnon folks were kicked off the platforms in the wake of January 6th. That data is pretty darned compelling.

So, you know, careful what you read. Careful what you amplify because -- and if the ex-president is talking, you know, stoking fires of civil war, there's nothing more disgusting and despicable than that a democracy.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And it goes to the point of, you know, you go after Madison Cawthorn, you, I guess, run him out of the party, run him out of Congress and so on, but Trump is still there doing these sorts of things.

You know, we often talk about the Republicans during these segments, guys, but I want to talk about the Democrats. We talked to Al Franken in the last hour about President Biden. You know, he seemed to -- Al Franken seem to be pretty confident that Democrats are going to be motivated for the midterms because of the potential overturning of Roe versus Wade, which looks like is going to happen.

And because of these concerns about Republicans going after the elections in this country. What do you think because, you know, we're leading the newscast with this baby formula concern, the gas prices are skyrocketing? This is a serious problem. What are your thoughts, Margaret?

HOOVER: President Biden, first of all, what we know is the political forces are in favor of the Republicans right now. Everything is in favor of the Republicans taking back the House of Representatives. In terms of the normal inertia and the normal pendulum swings of off cycle elections, which is that is the case.

Something like Roe v. Wade being overturned could help Democrats and certainly will mobilize more of the grassroots base and frankly get some of those suburban women off the sideline who might not vote in an off-year cycle but who voted on the presidential cycle. But we all know the number one issue that is facing Americans right now pre a Roe v. Wade overturn, it's inflation, it's high prices of groceries and all the cost of living that are associated with it and the shortages.

And President Biden isn't seemed -- doesn't -- isn't perceived to be leading on these issues. And so, he needs to get out, I think, in front of the camera and make his case to the American people.

AVLON: Well, and also be taking action, though. I mean, I think Margaret makes -- obviously, there are economic headwinds. These are kitchen table issues. And I think that you are going to see Democrats more motivated than a typical midyear election for an in-house party, but the pendulum swing is there. It's the economic issues.

[17:44:58]

The question is what actions can the president, the administration take? You know, our colleague, Fareed, on his show today mentioned that you could rescind some of these Trump tariffs that that might have a positive impact or to counteract inflation.

All of these are complex issues, but you know, difficult is the excuse history never accepts and Biden needs to be showing strength. One of the things that CBS' new poll, just came out this weekend, is people see the Democratic Party as weak and people go for strong and wrong every time. That's on the president. That's on the party to have a strong message, and it hasn't been there yet.

ACOSTA: And, you know, I mean, the question becomes, I think, you know, it's going to be this choice, I suppose, for the American people come November. And, you know, I talked about this with George Conway in the last hour and I'll have you quickly weigh in.

It just feels like people are sleep walking towards this potential reality where you have a party that is just very comfortable having candidates up and down the ballot in very key states across the country willing to overturn election results, willing to conspire with the former president to get him back into office and so on. And they may be helped by, you know, things like high gas prices and so on, John.

AVLON: Yes. I mean, those are the head winds but I do think you need a broader coalition to sort of defend democracy. There are going to be responsible Republicans running against extremes and those responsible Republicans where they exist, they have the headwinds in the primary, but they're going to be better positioned to win a general election.

So, I think that's the key. We need to -- as citizens, we need to be paying more attention to roles like secretaries of state because we know now that there are candidates running to go overturn elections and that should be something where people form the broadest possible coalition.

And Republicans need to realize that they're going to have a better chance in general elections by nominating people who actually want to uphold the Constitution of the republic and not undermine it, but that's going to be the tale of the tape. We're going to have to see who wins and who loses come (inaudible).

ACOSTA: Yes. And that is certainly on the Georgia ballot coming up this weekend. We'll all be watching that as well. John Avlon, Margaret Hoover, thanks so much. We really appreciate it.

Coming up, it's the end of the line for some popular cast members on "Saturday Night Live." I asked SNL legend Al Franken where Kate MacKinnon ranks on his list of all-time greats. His very specific answer is next live in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE DAVIDSON, COMEDIAN: I never imagined this would be my life, you know. I mean, look at me when I started here. Like back then, I was just like a skinny kid and no one knew what race I was. And like now everyone know I'm white because I became hugely successful while barely showing up to work. And like, look at me now, I'm aging like an old banana.

COLLIN JOST, WRITER, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: So, are you officially leaving?

DAVIDSON: Yes, man. Lauren (ph) accidentally gifted me a sock so I'm free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: That was Pete Davidson last night saying goodbye to the "Saturday Night Live" during the finale of its 47th season. Also leaving, fellow cast member Kate McKinnon. Here are just some of what made her a comedy icon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE MCKINNON, COMEDIAN: Thank you for having me. I'd like to begin tonight by attempting a casual lean. Got it.

It's me. Kellyanne Conway. (Inaudible) Kelly-wise. Kelly-wise is the dancing clown. It's Kellyanne.

We're going to demand that I do the recount personally and our silver bullet is, I can't count very high. Also, also, we're suing all the states we lost.

JOST: You're suing all the states for what?

MCKINNON: I don't know, child support. Manslaughter. I don't know.

I like my men like I like my decisions, 5-4. That's a third degree Ginsburn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I could definitely watch a best of Kate McKinnon all day long. Last hour, I asked "SNL" legend and original writer Al Franken about Kate McKinnon. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I have to ask you, Al, you know, where does Kate McKinnon rank on your list? I mean, is she going to go down as one of the all-time great itself on that show, I have to think?

AL FRANKEN, FORMER UNITED STATES SENATOR: Absolutely. Number 7. No, I think there is no -- there is so many, so many great people. Look, these four all made great contributions over the years and they'll leave a number of others who will be able to be on more and who -- this is how the show has worked throughout the years and they will emerge as stars as well. That's how the show works.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: We're going to miss her. And tonight, Stanley Tucci goes searching for Italy in London. An unexpected mecca of amazing Italian food.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STANLEY TUCCI, ACTOR: Is Felicity here? Felicity?

TUCCI (voice-over): Sadly, a romantic meal for two is being interrupted by my wife.

(On camera): We're going to make this again quickly for her. Oh hi, you're back. How is the dentist?

FELICITY BLUNT, STANLEY TUCCI'S WIFE: Ever a pleasure.

TUCCI: Let me see. Oh, looks good.

BLUNT: Go away.

TUCCI: We just made this and ate it.

BLUNT: You didn't wait for me?

TUCCI: We're making it now. It's fresh. It's fresh.

BLUNT: Oh, yum.

GENNARO COONTALDO, CHEF: Fantastico.

TUCCI: A little zest.

BLUNT: Zesting me. You are very zesty.

TUCCI: And told (ph) that for years.

[17:55:00]

BLUNT: Thank you. Oh my god.

TUCCI: Isn't that incredible?

BLUNT: It's amazing. I'm trying to get a more manageable bite but it's just not coming.

TUCCI (voice-over): And just like that, another Londoner converted by the gospel according to Gennaro Contaldo.

BLUNT: Would you like to move in? We can form a bubble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy" airs tonight at 9:00 on CNN. That's my weekend update That's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. I'll see you back here next Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Pamela Brown takes over the CNN NEWSROOM, live after a quick break. Good night.

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