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Confirmed Or Suspected Monkeypox Cases Reported In 15 Countries; GA GOP Primary Next Big Test Of Trump Endorsement; TX Runoff Race For Congress Pits Moderate Cuellar Against Progressive; Report: Some Republicans Pushed To Stop Trump's "Vendetta Tour" In Georgia; Senate Candidate Mo Brooks Goes After McConnell; Russian Soldier Gets Life In Prison In First War Crimes Trial; Russia Threatens Trials For Ukrainian Soldiers Captured From Azovstal Steel Plant; Alleged Gunman In NYC Subway Shooting Remains At Large. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired May 23, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: I know these are obviously isolated cases, however it's now in 15 countries. There have been cases reported in 15 countries. So how concerned are you?

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: We in public health are concerned. I think the public should be interested.

This is not a virus that spreads like COVID widely. It spreads very slowly through intimate, close contact.

One of the epidemiologic features of this outbreak is that a very substantial proportion of the persons who are affected across the world now have acknowledged that they are men who have sex with men.

So this may be a chain of transmission going from one close romantic relationship to another.

The public health authorities are working on that, they're trying to find every case, all of the contacts.

And I would hope that that on-the-ground public health work will allow us to get our, if you will, arms around this outbreak within another week or two.

CAMEROTA: Dr. William Schaffner, thank you very much for all the information.

So voters in Georgia are getting ready to vote in the state's primary tomorrow. And on the ballot is really the direction of the GOP, and whether it remains the party of Trump, how big of a kingmaker is he. We'll discuss all of that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:36:04] CAMEROTA: Tomorrow's primary election in Georgia will serve as the biggest test so far of Donald Trump's endorsement.

In the race for governor, polls indicate that former President Trump's hand-picked candidate, David Perdue, is trailing the incumbent, Brian Kemp, by high double digits.

Trump is targeting Kemp for not going along with his 2020 election lies. Interestingly, Kemp does have a big name from the Trump administration stumping for him, and that's former Vice President Mike Pence.

Let's get to CNN's political director, David Chalian.

David, tell us what to watch for tomorrow in Georgia.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Alisyn, you are right. Governor Brian Kemp, the incumbent Republican governor in Georgia, Donald Trump's number-one political target of his post presidency.

Why? Because Brian Kemp, rightly and correctly, certified the legitimate and fair election of Joe Biden over Donald Trump in that battleground state that helped propel him to the presidency.

But Donald Trump has been telling his lie about the 2020 election ever since and that's what makes Kemp target number-one.

Donald Trump may be in for a big loss here tomorrow if those pre- election polls are correct.

You mentioned the Trump-versus-Pence factor. Tonight, Pence has that rally for Kemp. Trump is holding a tele-rally for Perdue. So the former president and vice president, the former running mates all in.

Except, as you know, they are on other sides of this. They're trying to carve out their own political turf inside the Republican primary in advance of 2024.

Look at this statement from Donald Trump's spokesperson today to "The New York Times" about Mike Pence: "Now, desperate to chase his lost relevance, Pence is parachuting into races hoping someone is paying attention."

That's pretty direct and snide. So clearly, no love lost between these two despite Pence's four years of total loyalty to Donald Trump.

The other thing we're watching in Georgia are early voting turnout records. Take a look here. On the Republican side, pre-election primary votes cast thus far, in 2018, it was 172,587. In 2022, 406,388 Republican pre-election primary votes. Record setting.

And, by the way, Democrats are coming out to vote, too, even though they don't have a very competitive contests at the top of their tickets for governor or Senate race.

In 2018, where there was a competitive Democratic primary, 151,204 pre-election votes cast. In 2022, it's nearly 300,000, nearly double what it was four years ago in the primary season -- Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: David, really interesting stuff. Look at that level of engagement. Looking at the numbers is fascinating.

And you're following a Democratic race for song in Texas and how abortion is playing into it.

CHALIAN: Yes, this is a fascinating race. It's a runoff between the Henry Cuellar, the incumbent moderate, establishment Democrat, one of the very few Democrats that still portrays himself as a pro-life Democrat in the Congress.

He does have Speaker Pelosi's backing as the incumbent. But the more progressive challenger, Jessica Cisneros, running with the support of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

When that leak from the Supreme Court came out, it injected a whole new life into this runoff campaign.

Now we'll see if the pro-abortion rights candidate, Jessica Cisneros, can fire up enough progresses to overcome the incumbent, Henry Cuellar, in this race. And then, of course, what that may mean for Democrats trying to hold onto the district in the fall -- Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: David Chalian, we'll be watching, as we know you will be. Thank you.

CHALIAN: Absolutely. Thanks you.

CAMEROTA: So let's discuss further with CNN political commentator, Scott Jennings. He served as special assistant to President George W. Bush.

Scott, great to see you.

Let's talk about what's going on in Georgia with Brian Kemp. So he had to today try to explain his relationship with Donald Trump, and here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:40:02]

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA) (voice-over): I had a great relationship with Mike Pence. I had a great relationship with President Trump. I've never said anything bad about him. I don't plan on doing that. I'm not mad at him. I think he's just mad at me and that's something that I can't control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK, so number one, what do you hear in that statement?

And, number two, if Kemp wins bigly, as President Trump used to like to say, does that change Donald Trump's kingmaker status? SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, for

Brian Kemp, I think the kind of authenticity you heard in that answer is the way he's run his campaign. And it's, in large part, why he's winning so big here.

He didn't try to contort himself. He didn't try to play semantics games about how this has gone down. He just accepted the reality, leaned into it, stated his position. And I think the voters have rewarded him for it.

Governors races are often about competence, likability, authenticity and the future. And Kemp has just really done great in every single category.

Regarding the future of the Republican Party, I think that was the second part of your question, Alisyn

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Well, the kingmaker status, do you think his kingmaker status, Donald Trump's, hinges on this?

JENNING: Well, I mean, look, I think he's still extremely influential with Republican voters. It's just, in this particular case, he ran up against somebody who figured out how to solve the equation. It doesn't mean Donald Trump isn't an influential person anymore.

But Kemp has had the benefit, too, of having -- and sometimes, in the Republican Party, the way you can explain success is by having all the right enemies. DeSantis, in Florida, has this right now.

Kemp, in many ways, has had all the right enemies. He defeated Stacey Abrams. He stood up against some of the corporations in Georgia in 2020. He stuck to his guns on the Georgia election law that a lot of the national liberal establishment came down on him for.

So even though Donald Trump was mad at him, he then cultivated some of the right enemies that I think signaled to Republican voters, hey, Brian Kemp really is one of us, despite Donald Trump's opinion.

So does it totally throw out his kingmaker status? No. Does it show a way to stand up to Donald Trump? Yes. And does it show the right way to run a campaign when you have this dynamic? Absolutely.

People should study the Brian Kemp model.

CAMEROTA: It's interesting to hear what some Republican governors are saying about Donald Trump and how he's conducting himself in 2022. Basically, they're calling his involvement his personal vendetta tour.

And one of the people talking about it is former New Jersey governor, Chris Christie.

He said this yesterday: "This is just not the best use" -- OK, basically what he's talking about is having to spend money in Georgia to fend off Donald Trump's attacks. And he says, "This is just not the best use of our money. We would

much rather use it in races against Democrats. But it was made necessary because Donald Trump decided on the vendetta tour this year. And so we need to make sure we protect these folks who are the objects of his vengeance."

So what is the larger point here?

JENNINGS: Well, the larger point is Chris Christie is exuding the quaint notion that political parties are about the team and the health and future of the party as a whole.

He's doing that in the era of Donald Trump, who has made the Republican Party all about himself. Donald Trump doesn't think about it would be better spent here or there and this is how we win more races. He doesn't view the world through that lens.

Fortunately, the Republican Governors Association decided to view the world exactly through that lens. And that's the role of a party or party committee, to help the party's incumbents and the party's rock- star office holders win election.

In Georgia, that's a big deal because Stacey Abrams is one of the top Democrat recruits in the country. She will not lack for resources.

So every dollar we've thrown away in the useless Republican primary is a dollar we could have spent in the fall. That's a really good party strategist way to look at it. And that's what Chris Christie has been in his career.

And I'm glad he's standing up for that point of view because it strengthens the party when people do that and it works.

CAMEROTA: I'm not sure that Congressman Mo Brooks is following your credo about the team. He's running for Senate in Alabama and he is doing so by going after your long-time boss and colleague, Mitch McConnell.

So let me read to you what he says. Mo Brooks says on Twitter, "We only have a couple of more days until the primary election. Remember this election is a battle between Mitch McConnell and the swamp versus grassroots conservatives."

Is that a winning strategy?

JENNINGS: Well, I mean, Mo Brooks' problem is that Donald Trump was for him and now he's against him and bailed out on him and he's trying to make this race about something else. I don't think it's going to be a winning strategy.

That race has gotten interesting, though. Brooks had fallen back and now the latest polling shows him rising. It seems like we're heading for a runoff in Alabama.

Actually, for all of the races Tuesday night, Alabama Senate is one of the most interesting. It's one of the closest races. It's got some of the strangest dynamics. And really, I think one of the best candidates in the country, Katey Brit, that the Republicans can nominate.

[14:45:01]

So I'll be up in New York for election coverage Tuesday night. That's one I'll be watching closely. Because I think it may say quite a bit about where the Republicans are headed in the fall.

CAMEROTA: OK. Scott Jennings, thank you so much.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Ukraine's President Zelenskyy estimates that 100 Ukrainians a day are being killed as fighting intensify in the eastern part of the country.

[14:50:02]

The U.N. says more than 6.5 million people have fled Ukraine with another eight million internally displaced.

And today, the first Russian soldier tried for war crimes in Ukraine was sentenced to life in prison.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is in Lviv for us.

Suzanne, tell us about the life sentence for the Russian soldier.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, all eyes were on a Kyiv courtroom today. This is the first case of its kind.

Vadim Shyshimarin, he is 21-years-old. He has been -- basically, pled guilty to shooting an unarmed Ukrainian civilian. The court, in fact, found him guilty of this and sentenced him to the maximum, which was life in prison.

It was a very dramatic moment when he was in the courtroom. Everyone had to stand as the judge read the explanation for about 15 minutes or so. And this really is the very first case of its kind to actually prosecute this war crime.

The prosecutor itself actually had a statement where he said this was not just justice for this unarmed Ukrainian civilian shot in the street during the war, but really a message for the Russian soldiers, those in the country now who have arms, to go home, to put down those arms.

Or for the Russians, who are going to consider coming to Ukraine to contribute in some way to the war, in this invasion, not to come at all.

That was the message that the prosecutor said to many. And many Ukrainians here feeling like it was the appropriate thing to do.

CAMEROTA: Certainly, if this information can get to Russians. And then, Suzanne, there are also the threat of a trial for the

captured Ukrainian soldiers from the captured Azovstal Steel Plant. What do we know?

MALVEAUX: Yes, that's right.

I had a chance to talk to Natalia Zarytska. Her husband, she has not heard from in four days. One of the people we're watching closely. He is in captivity with the Russians. He surrendered to that steel plant in Mariupol.

She is desperately hoping to hear from him, and, potentially, if there's any kind of prisoner of war swap to be had, negotiations. But so far, no word about his whereabouts and how he is doing.

I had a chance to talk to her, and she is very fearful for what is taking place right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATALIA ZARYTSKA, WIFE OF UKRAINIAN SOLDIER CAPTURES AT AZOVSTAL STEEL PLANT: Each message I write is a lost one.

MALVEAUX: What is the last message that he typed to you?

ZARYTSKA: I love you. He was worried about his mom. He asked me to let her know that he is alive and to wait for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And so she is part of a small group of wives and mothers who essentially is working with the Turkish government as well as the Turkish president to try to move forward the negotiation process to bring light to the situation.

So far, Alisyn, we don't know whether or not there's going to be much progress on that front, but she certainly is making an appeal -- Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Suzanne Malveaux, thank you.

Back here, a manhunt is under way in New York City for this suspect. Take a look. He is wanted in a deadly subway shooting. And we have the latest on the search and what we know about the victim.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:58:13]

CAMEROTA: Police in New York releasing these images. Take a look at your screen.

This is a man wanted for homicide in that New York City subway shooting. The suspect was last seen wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and white sneakers. The victim was 48-year-old Daniel Enriquez. Police say he was on the

"Q" train when the suspect pulled out a gun and fired without provocation.

CNN's Alexandra Field is following the story.

Alex, do the police think the suspect is still in New York City?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He was last seen getting off the train as it pull into the Canal Street station. They're saying they need help from the public. They want all eyes on those photos that they put out in term of tracking down and identifying the suspect.

The shooting happened around 11:40 on Sunday morning. What is so chilling is the fact that witnesses, who were onboard, say there was no kind of incident that proceeded the shooting.

They say they saw the suspect walking up and down the car before he shot the victim at close range, striking him in the chest. Daniel Enriquez, just 48 years old, was rushed to the hospital. Did not survive his injuries.

This comes about six weeks after another shooting on the "N" train in Brooklyn. Ten people were injured then.

Mayor Adams responding to this shooting, again vowing his administration will fight the over-proliferation of guns on New York City streets, as he says.

He's saying, along with putting more police on the ground, the city is continuing to look at more ways to secure the subways.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:59:47]

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NY): I want to bring technology, not metal detectors, but technology that could identify a gun. And I want to bring that, move it around in the subway system so that we can identify guns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: Daniel Enriquez, the only victim of the shooting, the only person who was injured in that car. Again, he was 48 years old. He had worked at Goldman Sachs since 2013.