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Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) Discusses Lawmakers Renewing Efforts to Pass Stalled Gun Reform Legislation; Witnesses Say Trump Spoke Approvingly of "Hang Mike Pence"; CDC: Firearms Now Leading Cause of Death Among U.S. Children; Secretary Blinken Unveils Long- Awaited China Policy. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired May 26, 2022 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
REP. DAVID CICILLINE (D-RI): Well, look, we know, as the president said in his remarks, when we had an assault-weapons ban in place, it worked. Mass shootings declined dramatically. And when it expired, they tripled in number. So we know it works.
But, look, we have a number of proposals. The Red Flag laws, strengthening background checks, banning high-capacity magazines. I think there are a number of proposals.
My view is we should get as much done as we can to reduce gun violence in the country. And our Republican colleagues won't even pass criminal background checks that have been languishing in the Senate for months now.
But they need to come to the table and recognize that the American people are demanding that Congress do something to respond to this gun violence. And we can't have thoughts and prayers and another moment of silence. People expect action.
We've been fighting hard on the House side. And we've sent over two bills. I think we'll send more.
Our Republican colleagues, particularly in the Senate, need to understand they're going to be held accountable by the American people in the midterm elections if they don't do something to reduce gun violence in the country.
ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Quickly, if you will, are you encouraged that Mitch McConnell, it sounds like, is encouraging and urging Cornyn to talk with Chris murphy?
CICILLINE: Absolutely. And it's important to remember the background- check bill is supported by 90 percent of Americans. The Red Flag laws are supported by 84 percent of Americans.
So the political risk is to not do something. These are broadly supported, enthusiastically supported by the American people.
And I am encouraged. I hope it will result in real progress in getting bills to the president's desk. CABRERA: I hope you're right. I hope that there's room to compromise
here and do something to stop more deaths. Any deaths. Right?
CICILLINE: Absolutely.
CABRERA: Congressman Cicilline, thank you very much for your time.
CICILLINE: My pleasure.
CABRERA: We're following other developments today. You've seen the video. Rioters chanting "hang Mike Pence" as they stormed the capitol. Now new details are emerging from the January 6th committee on how President Trump reacted.
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[13:36:49]
CABRERA: Now to the January 6th investigation. New testimony describes how then-President Trump reacted to those infamous chants of "hang Mike Pence" during the riot."
CNN congressional correspondent, Ryan Nobles, is on Capitol Hill.
What are you learning, Ryan?
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ana, we're told that two different witnesses to the January 6th committee described what President Trump's mood was like as the rally was unfolding, particularly how he responded to the way the crowd was reacting to the Vice President Mike Pence.
And, of course, we knew at that time that President Trump was trying to encourage and really pressure Mike Pence to stand in the way of the certification of the election results.
And he was firing up the crowd that was here in Washington on that day to put that pressure on Mike Pence.
Listen to what he said earlier in the day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mike Pence, I hope you are going to stand up for the good of our Constitution --
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: -- and for the good of our country.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: And if you're not, I'm going to be very disappointed in you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBLES: You can hear how the crowd responded to what Trump had to say there.
Of course, Pence did not comply with Trump's direction. He did not stand in the way of the certification of the election results. And that's part of what led the mob to come here to the capitol and create all that chaos and violence.
We're told, according to this witness testimony, that people inside the White House on that day saw Trump reacting favorably to these calls for things like for Mike Pence to be hanged by the individuals that were in the crowd. Some that were displaying gallows outside of the building.
And this is a key part of the investigation. Because what the committee hopes to demonstrate is the lack of attention that Trump had in terms of trying to quell the violence here and getting his supporters out of the building.
In fact, as things were going on, and leading up to this time, the president tweeted on January 6th. He said this:
Quote, "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what had to have been done to protect our country and our Constitution. Giving states a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones, which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth."
And this tweet was sent, Ana, just minutes after Vice President Mike Pence was rushed off the floor.
According to this witness testimony, Trump was upset that Pence was forced to be pulled out of the situation and was questioning why it needed to happen.
This, a key part of this investigation. And the question, Ana, will it be a part of the hearings coming up in the month of June -- Ana?
CABRERA: And June is just a week away. Less now.
Thank you, Ryan Nobles, for that reporting.
We have this just into CNN. Ray Liotta, known for his roles in "Field of Dreams" and the classic mob film "Goodfellas," has died. His publicist says Liotta was working on a project in the Dominican Republic when he passed away in his sleep. Ray Liotta was 67 years old.
[13:39:37]
We'll be right back.
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CABRERA: Minutes from now an update from officials on the deadly Texas massacre.
As we're learning, guns are now the leading cause of death among children in the United States.
With us now are nationally known psychotherapists Robbie Ludwig, and Daniel Bishop, a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 students lost their lives.
Thank you for being here.
Daniel, I want to start with you.
Four years have passed since you lived through a mass shooting. How are you feeling in the wake of the latest tragedy?
[13:45:06]
DANIEL BISHOP, SURVIVOR OF PARKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTING: I'm heart broken. As a survivor, as an activist, as someone who constantly sees the effects of gun legislation and gun control or lack thereof in this country, I'm just devastated.
And especially someone that wants to go -- as someone who wants to go into education, into the field of education, I'm just -- I don't know what comes after this. You know? Like, I don't know what comes next.
And I don't know what more we can do as citizens to try to urge our lawmakers to defend us. I'm just heart broken.
CABRERA: On a personal level, when you hear of these shootings, does it take you back? Do you have some kind of an emotional response and put yourselves in the shoes of the children having gone through it yourself?
BISHOP: Of course. Yes. Of course, you think about all the things you thought when you were in that situation. Right?
But what I constantly think about in these times, I think, like, this can happen to anyone. There's nothing special about me. I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
That can happen to anyone. Even the people who refuse to pass legislation in order to support gun control.
And children, like are we going to put children's lives in front of profit? Are we really going to put profit in front of children's lives? It doesn't make any sense to me.
I just don't know what comes next from here. Even with people in office that want to pass legislation, it still can't get done. Right? It can't get done. It breaks my heart.
CABRERA: And, Robbie, in this case, the victims are so young when you think about 9- and 10-ten-years-old, those who died. Even younger children at this school who had to go through the fear of being in there and, thankfully, escaping.
What do you think those survivors are going through right now? ROBBIE LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST & AUTHOR: I am sure it is extremely
traumatic that they had to see. And they will experience probably Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
It's horrific for the parents as well, and very scary. And hopefully, their community will provide the opportunity for them to talk and have the feelings and figure out ways that they can be part of the solution.
During dark times, we need to tell both ourselves and our children that they can work toward a change that's very powerful.
And I think, when we shift from feeling like there's nothing we could do -- that's not accurate -- and focus on what we all can do or what we can do, those small changes can make a huge impact.
And that's what I think is really important to focus on.
CABRERA: And so, Daniel, if you could speak with any of these young survivors of this latest shooting, what would you tell them?
BISHOP: It's hard to say, because they're so young. It's hard for them to even understand the full debate picture here.
But I think the most important message I would try to get across is there are people that are thinking about you, that are praying for you, that care about you, and that are going to work for you from here on in to make laws to protect children just like you.
And I think that's important to remember, that there's always -- from now on, there are always going to be people thinking about them and want them to prosper after such a tragedy.
CABRERA: And they had this whole community there that they know so intimately. But then there's this broader community around the country lifting them up, holding them in our hearts, and through this horrific tragedy.
Robbie, I have two elementary-year-old children, a 10-year-old and 6- year-old. I have taken the approach of largely shielding them from the news the past couple of days.
LUDWIG: Yes.
CABRERA: I don't want them to have a fear of going to school, to know that this nightmare is a reality.
How should we as parents be talking to our children about this?
LUDWIG: Well, if your kids are in school, they can hear what's going on. So parents may want to stay on top of this.
Traumatic events happen, and you want your kids to hear it from somebody they feel safe with, and they trust. If they hear it from other children, maybe they won't get accurate information, and it could be scarier. So it's OK for a parent to say, I heard about this story in the news.
It's very sad. What have you heard? And then give them an opportunity to talk and share their feelings or what they know about the situation.
CABRERA: That's such useful advice.
Thank you for being here, Robbie Ludwig and Daniel Bishop. I really appreciate both of your perspectives and what you shared today.
[13:50:02]
We'll be right back.
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CABRERA: Welcome back. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not mince words today as he outlined the Biden administration's policy toward Beijing.
He called China the most serious long-term challenge to the international order, as officials try to walk back President Biden's comments earlier about U.S. willingness to defend Taiwan.
CNN's Kylie Atwood is at the State Department for us.
Kylie, what did the secretary say about the U.S. approach to China?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, Ana, he really homed into the idea of competition with China, talking about how the United States is investing at home and aligning with allies so that they can really compete with China on the world stage.
Particularly because of that threat that China poses to international world order, as you said.
But he was also very clear in saying that the United States does not want that competition to lead to conflict. Said the United States isn't seeking a new Cold War with China, doesn't want a conflict of any kind,
And was very clear in saying that the Biden administration isn't trying to overturn the political order in China. They're not trying to sever the economies of the United States and China.
But he was also clear in saying that the U.S. will clearly articulate opposition to certain things that China is doing, things such as their continued support for Putin's war in Ukraine.
[13:55:11]
And talked about the need to really focus on that, not just for the United States but for the world globally. Saying in the Indo-Pacific, that support for Putin's war in Ukraine should raise alarm bells.
When it comes to the Indo-Pacific, I also want you to listen to what he said about U.S. policy, vis-a-vis Taiwan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: On Taiwan, our approach has been consistent across decades and administrations. As the president has said, our policy has not changed.
The United States remains committed to our Ine China policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three joint communiques, the six assurances.
We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We do not support Taiwan independence. And we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ATWOOD: Now, of course, those comments come just days after President Biden caused some confusion, talking about the United States being willing to intervene militarily if China were to attack Taiwan.
Which, of course, isn't exactly in line with what Secretary of State Tony Blinken and what decades of U.S. policy on Taiwan have been, where they have essentially tried to create some confusion over what the United States would do if there was that conflict.
But the secretary of state being very clear in saying that that is the policy. And the United States doesn't support an independent Taiwan -- Ana?
CABRERA: Yes, the policy of strategic ambiguity.
Kylie Atwood, thank you for that update.
That does it for us today. Thank you for being there.
Our coverage continues after a quick break.
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