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Grief-Stricken Family Members of Uvalde Victims Demand Answers; Gallop Poll: American Patriotism Hits Record Low; Biden Blasts Court Decision Overturning Roe, Vows Fight Not Over. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 01, 2022 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Anguished members of the Uvalde community and victims' families are demanding answers about the horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School. 19 children, two teachers were killed. At a city council meeting yesterday, the sister of one of those teachers was outraged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELMA LISA DURAN, SISTER O TEACHER KILLED IN SCHOOL SHOOTING: Nobody is giving us any answers. It's been over a month. You have no idea how frustrating this is. No idea. And we're sitting here just listening to empty words. These kids were obliterated. My sister was obliterated. It closed caskets. I couldn't hug her. I couldn't touch her. I couldn't say my last good-byes. How do you sit here, I don't know, I have no control. It's the D.A., there has to be some help. We're asking you for your help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: CNN's Rosa Flores is in San Antonio for us. Rosa, these families have been so patient. Why can't they get answers at this point?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, that's why they're devastating. That's why they're going to public officials and demanding answers. There's a lot of things that they don't know, Alisyn. But they do say that they know this. They know that the Texas Department of DPS identified the incident commander as Pete Arredondo. He is the man who is the police chief at the school district. And also, an elected city council member. And so, they are demanding that he is both removed from police chief, from the school district, and also removed from being a city council member.

Now, so far, the school district has placed Arredondo on administrative leave. Now they're demanding the city council do something about the fact they're still a city council member. Now according to the city charter, if he misses three consecutive meetings, he can be voted out by his fellow council members if there's a majority vote. And that's exactly why these families are going to these meetings, demanding that that happen once he misses all three meetings. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGEL GARZA, FATHER OF STUDENT KILLED IN SCHOOL SHOOTING: We want you all to look at this, not as mayor. As a city council member. Look at it as a dad, as a parent. Don't do what you can do as a mayor. Go beyond that. I know there's a limit on what you can do. Go beyond that. What if it was your kid. You can't say nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't, you're right!

GARZA: Nobody can. You understand that. So do your part for us. You can't say something, do something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying every day. I promise you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, the next city council meeting is scheduled for July 12th. That would be Arredondo's third meeting, consecutive meeting if he does miss it. So, that vote could happen during that meeting. I should mention that I have reached out to Arredondo's attorney about this and he has not responded -- Alisyn, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Rosa Flores for us there. Thank you.

[15:35:00]

A new low heading into this Independence Day weekend. Patriotism is plummeting in America. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: A new poll reveals American patriotism is at an all-time low.

BLACKWELL: Only 38 percent of adults say that they were extremely proud to be American. That's the lowest rate ever reported by Gallup which started asking the question in 2001. The average has been about 55 percent.

[15:40:00]

Broken down by party, Republicans dropped from 75 percent in 2019 to 58 percent today, independents down to 34 percent. Democrats to 26 percent. That's up four points from 2019. Now, the polling was conducted after mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, but before the Dobbs Decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Julian Zelizer is CNN political analyst and a historian and professor at Princeton University. Julian, good to see you again. So, the lowest point in more than 20 years. Is there any clear indication of why patriotism is so low?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: My guess is it reflects different things. Some of it could be partisan. It could be a reflection of Republicans and independents being unhappy with the administration. Some of it is broader. Look, the economy it's struggling. There are problems with how our democracy works right now from intense polarization to what happened after the 2020 election. And there are some, I'm sure, who feel that the government is not doing everything that it can to broaden how many people can participate in politics and address the issues of our day. So, you put all of that together in a bucket, it's not so surprising to see these numbers.

CAMEROTA: Julian, I find it so troubling. I mean, our country has been through tougher times. You know, we've gone through obviously wars. We've gone through political assassinations, civil war, you know, we've been through tougher times than this. And I'm not saying that these are easier times for everyone, but maybe patriotism would help. I mean, is there any historical parallel to when patriotism was really high, what was happening, or when it was really low?

ZELIZER: Sure, look, when we got out of World War II and the war finally ends in the late 40s and 50s, it's really a high point for American patriotism. Some of this was connected to the Cold War. And the sentiment that that grew. But it also was a reflection of how people saw leadership. FDR, Franklin Roosevelt loomed large in this country. What he had achieved in getting the country out of the depression and fighting totalitarianism, it made people feel positive about the country as did economic growth. So, we've gone through times of depression and war, and we are able to come out feeling differently about the country as a whole.

BLACKWELL: Julian, there is a remarkable age gap here as it relates to people who say they are either extremely or very proud of their country. I don't know what the distinction is between being extremely proud and very proud, but there is one, apparently. 55 and older, 80 percent say they're either extremely or very proud. 35 to 54, 64 percent, and those 18 to 34, less than half at 48 percent. I just wonder, is there something nostalgic about patriotism that you would see older generations who would say that, yes, I'm very extremely proud?

ZELIZER: Look, there's some nostalgia for older Americans, but there's also some reality for young Americans, the people I teach in the classroom. You know, these are generations who have lived through gun shootings as a regular thing. They lived through an incredibly polarized and often dysfunctional political system that doesn't deal with the problems they care about like climate change. So, it's not surprising when you're asking them how do they see the country, they're not overly enthused.

They have also lived through a pandemic where our systems failed them. So, I understand it's not simply the nostalgia of older Americans, it's a realistic look at what's around them from the younger generations and why we need to do better as a nation to boost how people feel about this democracy.

CAMEROTA: I mean, there's so much that people feel they can't control right now on the country, but you can control your own feelings about patriotism and about the hope for the country doing better. You are in control of that sort of positivity and trying to harness that. Is there any way to bring back patriotism without a war?

ZELIZER: Sure, look, the social movements of the 1960s were often very patriotic. I often think of Martin Luther King standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial criticizing the racial legacy of this country and the way racism worked but calling on the country to live up to its best ideals. I think movements often can achieve that goal as can repairing the problems we have.

[15:45:00]

Right now, with the January 6th committee, we are seeing some of the fundamental problems that exist in our election system, and making our democracy stronger, more vital and robust is another way without war to achieve the sentiment that this country can be great and is doing well.

CAMEROTA: Professor Julian Zelizer, great to talk to you, happy Fourth of July.

ZELIZER: Happy Fourth, thank you.

CAMEROTA: President Biden predicts if the GOP wins the House and Senate in November, Republicans will pass a nationwide prohibition on abortion. More on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: President Biden is, again, condemning the Supreme Court's decision to overturn roe v. Wade.

[15:50:00]

CAMEROTA: During a virtual meeting with nine Democratic governors this afternoon, President Biden called the court ruling a terrible decision and renewed his calls for Congress to take action to protect abortion access. CNN's MJ Lee joins us now. MJ, did some sort of plan come out of this meeting with the governors?

MJ LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, Alisyn and Victor, we again heard President Biden condemning this decision from the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade using pretty strong language. He said that this was a terrible and extreme decision that that is going to move the country backwards. And what we saw happen was this meeting take place between the president and these nine Democratic governors where he got a chance to hear from these governors what actually they have been seeing on the ground since this dramatic ruling. And talk about some of the different ways in which the federal government could try to help the individual states protect abortion rights.

Now, we did hear the president once again saying that he would like to see Congress codify Roe v. Wade. But he also acknowledged that he knows that the votes are not currently there to change the filibuster rules. And he said this is one of the reasons why the midterm elections are going to be so important for Democrats coming up. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The reasoning of this decision has an impact much beyond Roe and to the right to privacy more generally. Justice Thomas himself said that. If we don't keep the Senate, increase it in House, we'll be in situation where the Republicans are going to pass a nationwide prohibition consistent with what the Supreme Court rule. And so, there's a lot at stake here.

LEE: Now, one idea that we heard from New York Governor Kathy Hochul was this idea of using federal lands to provide abortion services in states where those services are now banned. The White House is previously come out against this idea saying that it is potentially dangerous for women and health care providers. The White House saying this afternoon they are still opposed to this idea. And so, we're going to have to see in the coming days and weeks whether the president and this administration has additional ideas and other announcements. Given that the president has said he is going to do everything in his power to try to protect abortion rights across the country.

BLACKWELL: MJ Lee at White House. Thank you, MJ.

The White House announced its list of 17 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It's this nation's highest civilian honor. On the list, gold-medal Olympic gymnast and activist, Simone Biles. Also, Former Congresswoman and gun reform organizer Gabby Giffords.

CAMEROTA: Also, there's soccer star Megan Rapinoe, who pushed -- as you remember -- for equal pay for female players as well as LGBTQ rights. There's also Denzel Washington, Oscar-winner of course and national spokesman for the Boys and Girls Club. The award will also be given posthumously to several Americans including John McCain and Steve Jobs.

BLACKWELL: Secret Service sources tell CNN they've heard accounts of former Trump angrily demanding to go to the Capitol on January 6th. We've got more on that, ahead.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: When millions of people lost jobs and schools were closed during the pandemic, some were at risk of going hungry for the first time.

CAMEROTA: That's when Aidan Reilly stepped in. Meet this week's CNN hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AIDAN REILLY, COFOUNDER, FARMLINK PROJECT: I spent the first few weeks, honestly, in a state of depression. All the plans I'd been making in the progress were no longer viable. We ended up seeing an article about farmers having to throw out their food. Like mountains of potatoes in someone's backyard or milk just being dumped into the dirt. And we would see lines of people, miles and miles long, thousands of cars lining up to get a bag or a box of groceries.

We called up my friends and we just said why don't we join forces, calling food banks, calling farms. We called a whole bunch, a couple hundred. We quickly put together what was a fully functioning organization with young people, mostly students, average age of 21 volunteering their time when they can, to help feed people that they might never meet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Good work. To find out more about Aidan's work go to CNNheroes.com right now and while you're there, you can nominate someone you think should be a CNN hero.

CAMEROTA: OK everybody, heads up, if you're going to Cape Cod this weekend, you're going to need a bigger boat. Researchers from the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy are warning that great white sharks are being spotted all around the Cape.

BLACKWELL: Officials say great whites will be, quote, constant presence on the east coast from now until fall.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I don't like this. The ocean should be big enough for all of us but it's not. Why can't the great whites stay away from my portion of the ocean, like 20 feet out.

BLACKWELL: They what to come into the state too.

CAMEROTA: They have the rest of it. They have the rest of it.

BLACKWELL: All right, may see an alternative to Fourth of July fireworks this year. Drones that can simulate fireworks. They are appealing to dry areas out West where sparks cause wildfire. Handful of companies that operate drone light shows say they've been completely booked for months.

[16:00:00]

But can we just listen to this though.

CAMEROTA: They're silent. There's a buzz. Kind of high.

BLACKWELL: If you ever heard one drone, imagine 200 of them. It feels like an artificial Christmas tree to me. You know like I --

CAMEROTA: I'm with you. I haven't completely embraced this yet. It's kind of mesmerizing though. Looking at it is kind of mesmerizing but I don't know about the sound.

BLACKWELL: Oh, I'll take the boom.

All right, "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now.

CAMEROTA: Have a great holiday.