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Nashville Council To Vote To Reinstate Ousted Lawmaker Justin Jones; DOJ, Drug Manufacturer Appeal Texas Medication Abortion Ruling; Texas Governor Seeks To Pardon Man Who Killed BLM Protester; Trump Indictment Stirs Outrage And Uncertainty; 417 Anti-LGBTQ Bills Introduced Across The U.S. In 2023; White House To Debut Easter Bunny Mascot At Annual Egg Roll; John Rahm Wins 2023 Masters, Second Major Title. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired April 09, 2023 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:12]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are alive in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

It may be a tense 24 hours of Nashville coming up where a key vote is likely tomorrow on one of the lawmakers expelled from the Tennessee legislature. The Nashville City Council could vote on whether to send Justin Jones right back to his seat. He was one of the three state lawmakers, all Democrats, targeted by the GOP supermajority for their loud but peaceful protest on the House floor there in Nashville. They were demanding gun reform after the Nashville school shooting that left six people dead, three adults and three 9-year-old children.

Two expelled lawmakers Jones and Justin Pearson are black. Gloria Johnson who is white kept her seat by a single vote. Jones and Pearson have called for protesters to return to the capitol tomorrow when the House is back in session.

So let's go to Nashville right now, and CNN's Isabel Rosales.

Isabel, I guess, first of all, if you can tell us, do we expect those protests to materialize? Might they be as big as we were seeing at the end of last week as they were huge, and the Nashville City Council, does it appear they have the votes to get Jones back in the statehouse?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, the passions don't seem to be tampering down. We are expecting a day of action is what has been organized on social media with folks organizing right here in front of Metro Council an hour before that city council meeting and then afterwards are going to march over to the statehouse.

Now in terms of the votes tomorrow, there's actually three votes that are going to happen tomorrow here at Metro Council. One vote to nominate the ousted lawmaker, former representative Justin Jones. Then there's going to be a vote to suspend a council rule that prohibits both nominating and then appointing someone within the same meeting. That's going to be a critical point right there because if there's any objections, two, it will take two. If they object to suspending that rule, well, this is going to push

the appointment of Jones for another four weeks. Now if they successfully suspend the rule then they can go ahead and appoint him. And that will take a supermajority that will take 27 council members out of the 40.

I did speak with a council member, Jeff Syracuse, who says that on that note they do think that they have the support there, the numbers, but with the suspension of the rules, he doesn't know one way or the other how tomorrow is going to pan out.

We have seen political tensions rising. The chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, says that Memphis and Shelby County, there have been threats made to them against reelecting Justin Pearson at the risk of losing state funding to key projects happening within Memphis and Shelby County. We have reached out, CNN has reached out to Shelby County, the Shelby County Commission, for a comment on that.

Now this Easter Sunday, we did hear from that ousted lawmaker Justin Pearson as he delivered a powerful sermon at his father's church. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN PEARSON (D), EXPELLED TENNESSEE STATE LAWMAKER: Resurrection is always promised. Let them beat. Let them lecture. Let them expel. Let them kick out. Let them do what they must. There's a promise. This Sunday's resurrection is on the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALIE: And I do want you to take a look at this Twitter posts posted by Representative Gloria Johnson, who survived that expulsion vote. She is with Jones. They are on their way at the Nashville airport on their way to New York City. And that woman that you see on the left there right there, that is legendary folk singer Joan Baez, who is having a show here in Nashville and is supportive of their movement -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Isabel Rosales, should be very interesting tomorrow. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.

Earlier today I spoke to a member of the Nashville Metro Council who will take part in that special meeting tomorrow. Councilwoman Kyonzte Coombs says if Republican lawmakers were trying to silence Pearson and Jones, their efforts backfired. Here's a bit of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYONZTE TOOMBS UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The actions of the legislature on last week have definitely given Representative Jones and Pearson a larger stage. As you said they are activists. They speak for the people. They've been involved in the community for years when individuals elected them to that seat. They knew who they were. They wanted an activist in those seats, someone who would be unapologetic and speak for the people, and so you'll see the people won't be silenced.

And so you'll see a lot more protests until they are restored to their seats, and also you'll see protests because there's still the issue of commonsense gun laws and you know, we're still experiencing gun violence at a high level in this country and in this state.

[19:05:03]

So you'll still see protests and you'll still see constituents getting behind Representative Jones and Pearson and pushing them forward for it even more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And Councilwoman Toombs also said she has heard from her constituents, thousands of her constituents, she says, who are demanding that both Jones and Pearson be returned to their seats in the statehouse.

New drama ahead this week for abortion rights in the U.S. What is the Biden administration prepared to do as a Texas judge -- federal judge in Texas suspends FDA approval on a widely used abortion medication. Here's Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XAVIER BECERRA, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I believe that an appeals court, the Supreme Court, whatever court has to understand that this ruling by this one judge overturns not just access to mifepristone, but possibly any number of drugs.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: What if they don't?

BECERRA: That's speculation that I think is not worth engaging in.

BASH: But are you taking it off the table that you will recommend the FDA ignore a ban?

BECERRA: Everything is on the table. The president said that way back when the Dobbs decision came out, every option is on the table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN's Alayna Treene is here with more.

Alayna, late this afternoon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, did they walk back what the secretary was saying there? Can you tell us a bit more about that?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They did. A spokesperson on Twitter said that they understand there's a lot of frustration around this and the sentiment but that essentially they think that this needs to be reversed. And here's a tweet now from them, saying, "People are rightly frustrated about this decision, but as dangerous a precedent it sets for a court to disregard the FDA's expert judgment regarding a drug's safety and efficacy, it would also set a dangerous precedent for the administration to disregard a binding decision."

Now that's something as well that I think other people in Congress, Democrats in Congress like Senator Patty Murray, she said the same thing when people like Senators Ron Wyden and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came out and said that they think President Biden should just ignore the ruling altogether and that the FDA has that authority. But Murray said that she thinks the first step in this is really reversing this decision in court and having it be appealed.

ACOSTA: And what are we hearing from Republicans on this?

TREENE: So Republicans have been far less outspoken ever since the court's decision came in on Friday, but we did hear from some of them today when pressed on the Sunday shows, including Congressman Tony Gonzales. He's from Texas where this judge made that decision. And then also Senator Lindsey Graham. Let's listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): We can win this issue at the ballot box if we show reasonable positions. If we have our head in the sand, we're going to lose.

REP. TONY GONZALES (R-TX): I think it's important that we take care of women and it's important that we have real discussions on women's health care and get off the abortion. Get off the, you know, the abortion conversation. Women have a whole lot more other issues than just abortion. Let's have those real conversations and let's talk about, you know, let's talk about the other things that are happening in this world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, clearly, Jim, this is something that Republicans are struggling to navigate, and it's understandable. I mean the political environment around abortion hasn't been a winning message for them ever since the Dobbs decision last year, and we saw that very clearly in the 2022 midterm elections.

And I do think that with Senator Graham said about wanting to frame the narrative around this as more reasonable, and try to show that they're offering practical solutions is something that many Republicans I'm told are going to be pushing in the weeks ahead, and really hoping to maybe, as Gonzales said, steer the conversation away from abortion and onto other women's issues.

ACOSTA: All right. Well, you can't steer the conversation away if they keep having these rulings coming out and other developments on that issue. It's something that Democrats are going to certainly seize on.

All right, Alayna Treene, thank you very much.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is pushing the state's parole board to recommend a pardon for a U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder on Friday. Daniel Perry was convicted of killing a protester during a Black Lives Matter rally back in 2020. He says he fired his weapon in self-defense after he says protesters surrounded his car as he drove through downtown Nashville. His lawyers argue he had the right to open fire after one demonstrator, he says, raised an assault rifle at him.

CNN's Camila Bernal joins us now with the latest.

Camila, very unusual case to see a governor weigh in so soon right after this whole matter was adjudicated in court.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is not over, but Governor Greg Abbott is pointing to self-defense, pointing to standard ground laws in Texas. And look, there are some in conservative media that have been encouraging the governor to pardon Perry. And even Kyle Rittenhouse has been very vocal on Twitter. Rittenhouse was acquitted after he shot and killed two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during protests there. He's been asking for money for the legal defense. He says he knows what this is all about.

[19:10:03]

On the other hand, the Travis County district attorney speaking out recently and saying that this is very troubling and saying that in the legal world, it is a jury, not a governor who gets to decide this. That's a statement that we got from Jose Garza of Travis County very recently.

Now, in terms of the case, what happened here was in 2020 in Austin, Texas. Daniel Perry is driving for ride share company and he gets to the area where all the protesters are. The key here is that he encounters Garrett Foster, who was 28 years old at the time. He was carrying an AK-47. And Perry's defense says that Foster held up or was trying to essentially raise that AK-47. And that's when Perry felt that his life was in jeopardy. He shot and kill Foster who you see there on your screen.

So, yes, this is political. This is also in terms of what happens next, part of the legal process, because, look, Perry has not been sentenced. He has not appealed his conviction. So this is really not over and the family only of Garrett Foster, reacting after that verdict on Friday. Here is his father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN FOSTER, FATHER OF GARRETT FOSTER KILLED IN 2020 PROTEST: Just like to say we're thankful for that legal team that represented us, and the jury. And we're happy with the verdict. We're very sorry for his family as well. There's no winners in this. And just glad it's over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: Now, Governor Greg Abbott is asking for this process to go quickly, to be expedited. We'll see what happens. Of course, there is going to be a lot of opposition on the side of the D.A. and those who are really trying to support the Foster family through all of this -- Jim. ACOSTA: All right. Camila Bernal, thank you very much.

Still ahead, new polling on former President Donald Trump, and whether all the legal chaos he's caught up in is shaping voters' opinions. Plus 417. That's how many -- 417. That's how many anti-LGBTQ bills have been reportedly introduced across the U.S. already this year. We'll look at where and why this is happening. We'll talk about it. That's coming up.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:16:25]

ACOSTA: Hard to believe it's only been five days since the U.S. saw a former president arraigned in a criminal case. The first time that's happened in our history. With at least three more criminal cases pending against Donald Trump there are surely more drama to come. And some new ABC News-Ipsos polling shows that may be affecting voters' views on the former president. Asked if they think Trump acted illegally in the hush money case in Manhattan, 53 percent said yes, and it was intentional. 11 percent said yes, unintentionally, only 20 percent said he did not act illegally.

And joining us now to talk about this and more, former Republican Congressman Denver Riggleman.

You worked on the January 6th Committee, obviously. Let me ask you this. I mean, let's get your thoughts on this polling in a moment, but let's listen to what Trump's attorney Jim Trusty was saying earlier today on the Sunday shows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM TRUSTY, TRUMP ATTORNEY: It is an absurd situation that multiple prosecutors passed by this rancid ham sandwich of an indictment and Alvin Bragg suddenly decides to do it. I think there's going to be some very well-placed motions to dismiss based on the legal frailties of this kind of, you know, mental gymnastics indictment that Alvin Bragg is trying to piece together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes, I know this Manhattan D.A. case is not exactly in your wheelhouse. You worked on the January 6th Committee. But what do you make of what Trusty is doing? It sounds like the old Trump playbook, delay, delay, delay.

DENVER RIGGLEMAN (R), FORMER VIRGINIA CONGRESSMAN: Yes, I mean, the lawyers are going to message for his client, right?

ACOSTA: Yes.

RIGGLEMAN: That's what he's going to do. But we don't know how they have layered the evidence, right? We don't know what kind of data they have, if they had extra evidence after the fact. And when you're doing something like we did on J-6 that evidence builds and builds and builds and builds, and even today, I think if we looked at all the data from J-6, which we haven't been able to do yet, really, I think we would even see more of the key players.

So when I hear attorney talking about a client that, you know, it's a rancid ham sandwich, you know, for me, I'm like you don't know the data. He has to message for his client. He's getting paid. So for me, you know, it's just somebody else, you know, sort of screaming into a popcorn box. You know, it's just really what it is.

ACOSTA: And this ABC News-Ipsos polling, when asked if they have a favorable view or unfavorable view of Trump, only 25 said favorable. I mean, obviously, he's looking like somebody who could win the Republican nomination. We're talking about this yesterday, but these are devastating numbers. They're general election. And they're worse than they were.

RIGGLEMAN: I mean, even if you didn't get charged --

ACOSTA: November 2020, yes.

RIGGLEMAN: Even if you don't get charged, I don't know if paying off porn stars is that sort of resume builder that you want as a POTUS, so I think that's what you get, too, is you have a lot of individuals out there saying, hey, you know? Was the indictment politically motivated, right? Some of you say it is, but it still should have happened. But again when you're paying off porn stars and you're using your sort of almost like a legal type of way of funneling that money, I think normal people, you know, they go to work every day around businesses like me.

You look at that and say, OK, you know what? I haven't even paid off any porn stars lately myself. I don't know if that's really what we should be doing as the American president. I think it's just sort of pathetic.

ACOSTA: Let's turn to January 6th because there's been a lot of developing news on that front. Let's get your reaction to Mike Pence saying this week that he will not appeal the subpoena, paving the way for him to testify in this special counsel probe of Trump related to the January 6th attacks. I mean, this is sort of -- I mean, this is kind of the motherlode here, no pun intended.

You guys wanted to hear from Pence?

RIGGLEMAN: Absolutely.

ACOSTA: Couldn't do it.

RIGGLEMAN: We couldn't.

ACOSTA: What do you want to hear from him?

RIGGLEMAN: My goodness, what I want to hear is exactly what was related to him that day. You know, he did the right thing that day, but for me, I want to know what was related to him that day, what he knew as far as any intelligence issues that he had. You know, Marc Short was talking about, hey, we're both a bit worried about the vice president right now.

[19:20:00]

So for me, I've always not only just been interested in J-6, the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, you know, sort of the calls to the White House back and forth, and things like that that I found. I've always been interested on what the actual intelligence posture was that day. What Mike Pence knew, and what Trump told him specifically.

I mean, for me, that sort of opens up where you can go with other individuals that might have been involved with J-6.

ACOSTA: And I know this is a topic that you've been hot on, that you've been very interested in and wanted to pursue further, and that is, the activities surrounding through Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, his wife, Ginni Thomas, as it relates to January 6th. As you know, there's been this story in the news, Pro Publica reported, Thomas has been on these luxury vacations with a GOP mega donor.

He claims that these trips didn't need to be disclosed. We've been talking to lawmakers all weekend about what should be done about Clarence Thomas. But have all the questions been resolved in your mind as to what was going on with Ginni Thomas's activities regarding January 6th?

RIGGLEMAN: Well, absolutely not. You know, our team was the first to find the text messages and we saw that she had access. She said she had access to Jared Kushner. She was actually forwarding text from the chief of staff for Louie Gohmert. She was using QAnon terminology and QAnon belief systems, and we know afterwards she was sending e-mails downrange to these states trying to, you know, convince people that the alternate electors strategy would work.

But when you see something like Harlan Crow, you wonder how much money he's given to GOP causes. I think there's a Dallas Report, Dallas news, the $13 million to the GOP. The fact that she funnels a lot of money through her lobbying efforts, you know, she's probably member of seven to eight, nine, significant lobbying groups for the GOP since 2009.

For me it looks like it's -- Clarance and Ginni has their sort of their own business models like the Thomas business enterprise, right, that they're able to leverage her access based on the fact that she's married to the most -- probably the most powerful Republican in the country, right? A guy that's forever and when you look at what happened on J-6 and sort of, you know, I read her deposition multiple times. It seems completely vague.

We know that she was involved. And now we have an individual, you know, like Harlan Crow, who's a billionaire, right, who probably millions of dollars, right, funneled through vacations for the Thomases but also in constant contact with other people who are very high up in the GOP. Even if it's not illegal, it feels pretty slimy and unethical.

But again when you're talking about making money, what better way than to influence peddle, right, with the last name of Thomas? Right? And you know the hob knob with billionaires and other individuals that are high up in the GOP, and you know, that's how they make money and again it just, it does look like the Thomas business enterprises is pretty healthy and robust.

ACOSTA: All right. Denver Riggleman, we know you're passionate about this topic. We'll talk to you again in the future on it. Thanks so much for your time.

RIGGLEMAN: Thank you. Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: Happy Easter. We appreciate it.

RIGGLEMAN: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Still ahead, from the arrest of Donald Trump to the expulsion of Tennessee lawmakers to dueling rulings on abortion medication, we'll discuss the divisive week in politics. We just lived through what might come next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:27:23]

ACOSTA: You can't say it's been a dull week in politics. A former president arraigned on criminal charges for the first time in U.S. history and what some are calling a return to the Jim Crow era in Tennessee, as two black Democrats are expelled from the statehouse for leading a noisy gun reform protests.

Here to talk about it are CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, co-host of the podcast "Hot Mics from Left to Right." Also with us former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham.

I want to ask you both very quickly about the Tennessee Three before moving to Trump, and what he's been going through this past week.

But, Stephanie, what did these Republican lawmakers in Tennessee gain do you think by ousting those two Democratic lawmakers?

STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: They gained absolutely nothing. You know, I worked for the Arizona House of Representatives. And so I do understand the importance of decorum when you consider you've got 100 people in a room with different politics serving many different constituents, so there's a reason that there are the rules and they should be held, you know, held in high regard, but this was such a drastic measure to take. And the fact that, you know, the two gentlemen who were expelled are African-American yet the one woman made it and she's white, that I still don't understand that.

And you know, most important, I think the very important message of gun reform, especially in Nashville, it's such a highly sensitive time, is completely wasted now. And we're talking about instead these lawmakers, so the Republicans, you know, in every aspect I had it wrong.

ACOSTA: And Maria, what was going through your mind these last few days, watching all of this unfold, and I guess the other thing I wanted to ask you is Vice President Kamala Harris? Apparently they made some pretty quick preparations to get her down to Nashville for her to weigh in on this. She had a big moment down there. Do you think President Biden should also make this trip to Nashville?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, as I understand it, he has invited the three lawmakers who have been a focus of what happened this past week to the White House. They were on a Zoom meeting with him, so he has been in touch with them. I think Vice President Harris was absolutely right on in her messaging when she went down to Tennessee, focusing on the importance of making sure that Americans do not let their voices go unheard, that Americans do not let of folks who are obsessed with taking away their right to vote to let them take away that right.

And I actually think that what the Republican Party in Tennessee and frankly writ large gained was a world of hurt because they have underscored the fact that their party is all about taking away the rights of Americans, period.

[19:30:10]

Whether that is the right to vote in the case of what happened in Tennessee, whether that is abortion rights across America that we have seen so many laws, whether that's LGBT rights, also in so many States being taken away, and frankly, the right to our democracy.

I think what happened in Tennessee underscores a narrative that is going to be incredibly hurtful for the Republican Party moving forward.

ACOSTA: And Stephanie, let's talk about what took place this past week in Manhattan. Your former boss in Court, indicted, arraigned. What was going through your mind? You were the White House Press Secretary, you've been in the Oval Office with Donald Trump on numerous occasions.

What was that like seeing your former boss in Court like this? Is his past catching up with him, do you think?

STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, for me personally, it was difficult to watch. It was a bad day for the country, no matter, you know, who it was. The fact that that this was going on for the first time in our history.

I do believe his past is catching up with him. I mean, this just happened, and then as we've talked about a bunch and you know, there's still three other criminal cases that he is being looked at. And then let's not forget that in just a few weeks in New York, it's a civil case, but he has been accused of rape. And, you know, I think that no matter what, obviously, you've got the legal wheels of justice turn a little slow, but I do believe, you know, what I heard in your former segment that polling is showing that it is affecting people, I think it is.

You know, there is no way that any of this, first of all, is going to get back any of the votes that he lost in the last presidential term. And you know, it's just a constant reminder, this drip, drip, drip of the corruption and the baggage and the drama that comes with him rather than him talking about his policies.

All he is doing is defending himself, playing the victim and fundraising, of course, off of many people.

ACOSTA: Right. And Maria, I mean, as Stephanie was saying, there are more cases to come.

Let's listen to this comment from the former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr, who used to be a big Trump defender, it doesn't sound that way so much anymore, about the strength of the Mar-a-Lago case, the documents case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BARR, FORMER US ATTORNEY GENERAL: He had no claim to those documents, especially the classified documents. It belonged to the government.

And so I think he was jerking the government around, and they subpoena him, and they tried to jaw bone him into delivering the documents, but the government is investigating the extent to which games were played, and there was obstruction and keeping the documents from them, and I think that's a serious potential case. I think they probably have some very good evidence there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Maria, what do you think about that?

CARDONA: I think he is absolutely right, and I wish that he had voiced a lot of the concerns that we all know he had while he was the Attorney General for Donald Trump while Donald Trump was in the White House, but we are where we are.

He is right. I think that as much as people complain about the unserious nature of this first indictment, I don't agree with that unserious nature. We still don't know, we don't know the extent of what the DA in New York has on Trump. We will see.

But I do think, and to Bill Barr's point that it was just a curtain raiser, that all of these up are going to be that much worse, a lot more serious. And I think Stephanie is right, these are not just the only ones that are going to be putting the target on Donald Trump about what he represents to this country, which is chaos, which is danger to our democracy, and frankly, a lot of past criminality, that is going to be now catching up to him. ACOSTA: Stephanie, do you think Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee next year?

GRISHAM: So, I'm in the minority, I don't believe he will be. I really don't. I think that again, this steady drip of news at some point just out of, sadly, self-serving measures, I think a lot of Republicans are going to have to sit down and discuss, you know, what they want for the next cycle. So, I don't think he will be.

Again, I really think this upcoming trial, the rape trial is going to remind people of who he is and you know, talking about that January 6th case, let's not forget, a Federal Judge ordered Trump's lawyer to testify and that was monumental.

And so that's where I would agree that Bill Barr is probably right. There is something there. And so I think, again, self-serving, but I think the Republicans are going to have to go behind and back another candidate.

ACOSTA: All right, Maria Cardona and Stephanie Grisham, thanks so much.

CARDONA: They haven't been able to go that far though, but that's interesting. They haven't been able to do anything against Trump thus far, so I'll see that or I'll believe it when I see that.

ACOSTA: Good point. Good point.

CARDONA: Fair enough.

ACOSTA: We've heard this before, we've heard that before.

Maria and Stephanie, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Still ahead, the ACLU says the number of bills targeting LGBTQ rights this year are already double the number proposed last year. We'll discuss what's in these bills and who is behind trying to get them passed.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:39:26]

ACOSTA: It may only be April, but State legislation targeting LGBTQ rights has already doubled last year's total. The American Civil Liberties Union has tracked 417 bills, that's far more than the 180 we saw last year, and it's not just the amount of legislation that has activists worried, but the type.

For example, 2023 is the first year drag shows and performers have ever been targeted since the ACLU began tracking such legislation and Chase Strangio joins us now. He is the Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with the group's LGBTQ and HIV Project.

Chase, why are we seeing this massive jump in legislation now?

[19:40:07]

CHASE STRANGIO, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR TRANSGENDER JUSTICE, LGBTQ AND HIV PROJECT: Yes, as you said, this truly is a record breaking year, not just in the number of bills, but in how quickly they're moving through State Legislatures, and I think the reason for this is twofold.

On the one hand, we are seeing a rise in attacks on LGBTQ people, particularly trans people in the lead up to the 2024 presidential election. This is an effort to mobilize a voting base, very similar to what we saw in the early 2000s with bans on marriage equality for same sex couples, although it is not working for the GOP in terms of trying to turn out voters by targeting trans people.

And then the other reason why we're seeing this is that we are seeing an increase in attacks, particularly on trans people, because of a concern over the freedom and the expansiveness that trans people represent. People are unfamiliar with transness, and there is an unbelievable amount of targeting as a result of that.

So those two things in combination have resulted in these very, very extensive attacks on the community.

ACOSTA: And it's not just the number of bills, it's the types of legislation that we haven't seen before. 2023 is the first year from what we understand that drag performances have been explicitly targeted. And then there are forced outing bills that would require teachers to notify parents if their child starts going by a different name or pronoun.

What can you tell us about that?

STRANGIO: Yes, there are bills pending in so many States across the country that combine so many different types of attacks on trans people.

So the forced outing that you mentioned are often combined with efforts to ban medically supported and evidence-based healthcare. Leading up to 2023, we had two States that had statutorily banned medical care that is supported by every major medical association in the United States.

As of April of 2023, eleven more States have banned that care. This is on top of the efforts that we're seeing to criminally target drag performance, and other protected First Amendment activity, including books in schools and curricula.

We are seeing these broad based attacks on our community that are only escalating and the consequences of these, the practical consequences of these are that parents are not able to support their children. Young people are not able to go to school and feel safe, and adolescents are struggling to find out whether or not they can even maintain the healthcare that they need. This is a crisis in the community and it's only escalating.

ACOSTA: It's tough on young people.

STRANGIO: It is exceedingly tough on young people. Not only is it tough on young people when these bills pass, and they are passing at record rates not just being introduced. But the debate over these bills are extremely harmful to young people.

Young people are sitting there listening to horrible things said about them, things like they shouldn't be allowed to be who they are. They shouldn't be allowed to go to school and feel safe.

It is already a very hard time to grow up as a young person. We've been living in a pandemic. There is a crisis of mental health among adolescents across the board, so imagine the compounding harms that these bills cause in an already crisis situation.

ACOSTA: Absolutely, and a tender age as well.

Chase Strangio, thanks so much. We appreciate it. Very important topic. We'll stay on it.

We'll be right back.

STRANGIO: Thanks much for having me.

ACOSTA: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:36]

ACOSTA: Now to some egg-citing news coming out of the White House: President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are set to debut a new Easter Bunny mascot at the Annual White House Egg Roll tomorrow.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is live with a preview of what to expect.

Arlette, and you have Easter colors on as we speak. That's so nice.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

ACOSTA: That event is just a short hop from where you're standing, I'm sorry for all the puns. What can you tell us?

SAENZ: It's okay. Jim, I mean this is some breaking news as the White House is getting ready to debut these new bunny costumes. People probably remember seeing these bunnies from past Easter Egg Rolls here at the White House and the White House Historical Association which is privately funded is now providing a revamp for these bunny costumes.

The White House releasing some video over the weekend of them hopping around over on the South Lawn where this Easter Egg Roll will take place.

Now, these bunnies often have pretty prime spots and cameos over the years at these Easter Egg Rolls. They are often seen with the President and the First Lady on one of the balconies at the White House, staffers will wear those bunny mascot outfits including former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, he was actually a bunny back during the George W. Bush administration when he was a staffer.

And I was texting with a former bunny because apparently some of these bunnies have phones, and they told me they were happy to see that they're getting a bit more of a modern refresh for this Easter Egg Roll.

Now the White House is expecting to welcome about 30,000 people over the course of the day tomorrow here at the White House, many of them military and veteran families.

The theme for this Easter Egg Roll once again is Egg-ucation which just falls in line with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden's passion for teaching.

Now, there will be about 30,000 hard-boiled eggs for these families and the kids will partake in that tradition of rolling these hard boiled eggs with wooden spoons across the South Lawn.

So there's going to be a lot of hopping over on the South Lawn tomorrow as this Easter Egg Roll takes place.

ACOSTA: All right, very good. Thank you, Arlette Saenz, we'll be hopping on over to watch it tomorrow. We appreciate it. Thanks so much.

SAENZ: Yes.

ACOSTA: A Spaniard is now being fitted for his first green jacket at Augusta National. Jon Rahm is this year's Masters winner after a 69 in Sunday's final round.

CNN's Don Riddell joins us live from Augusta, Georgia.

Don, this was kind of a come from behind win for Rahm. He was not leading. He was close, but he was not leading throughout much of this, but then came on strong at the end.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: Yes, hey, Jim. Yes, it was a come from behind story in more ways than one.

Jon Rahm began his tournament on Thursday with a double bogey. He has ended it tonight as a double Major champion, and at the start of the day, you're absolutely right, he was four strokes behind the American, Brooks Koepka. The start of the day, by the way, wasn't the start of the fourth round, they all had to come back and finish their third round, because of the just awful, brutal weather conditions that we experienced here on Saturday.

But on the very first green, the very first action of the day, Rohm was able to pull two of those strokes back and in the end, he finished four clear at the top of the leaderboard.

It's a wonderful story. He's a young man with a real passion for the game, a love of the history of the game. He was inspired by the great Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal. This just so happens to be or what would have been the birthday of Seve Ballesteros, who previously won two Masters titles.

So Jon Rahm now joins a very, very special group of Spanish golfers and athletes and I met him a few weeks ago and I was asking him, where did he get this will to win because he has been on a crazy run since October. This is now the sixth title he has won globally. And he said, you know, some people learn to win, some people are born with it, I was born with all of it.

This is a guy who just exude so much confidence out on the golf course. He's got such a calm demeanor, and he is going to be a very, very popular champion.

The images of him celebrating with his wife and his young kids will be shown all around the world and a lot of people are going to be really happy for him -- Jim.

ACOSTA: And were there some missteps by Koepka that allowed Rohm to come back and win this thing? Is that what happened there?

RIDDELL: Yes, for sure. I mean, Brooks Koepka did make a few mistakes on his final round. Some people will perhaps point to his experience on the LIV Tour where they only play three rounds of golf. But for the first three rounds, Koepka was absolutely brilliant.

And you know, his performance has kind of put a spotlight back on the LIV Tour, which some people were saying was a bit of a graveyard for the players who took the Saudi money and kind of became rebels and left the PGA Tour. But three of those guys, including Phil Mickelson who had a 65 today have, you know three LIV golfers finishing in the top six says a lot about their tour.

Mickelson by the way, the first player, aged 50 or more to shoot around that low at the Masters. So Mickelson making history as well today even though he finished up not quite at the top of the leaderboard.

ACOSTA: Fascinating developments.

All right, Don Riddell, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

All right, we'll be right back

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:57:09]

ACOSTA: New information tonight about King Charles' Coronation. Buckingham Palace has released details about the carriages the King and Queen Consort, Camilla will ride on Coronation Day, May the 6th. The pair will be in this carriage, the Diamond Jubilee Coach for the trip to Westminster Abbey and after the ceremony they'll travel in this, the Gold State Coach during the Coronation procession.

The Palace has also commissioned a coronation emoji, if you can believe that, this is what will appear on Twitter when anyone uses "coronation" hashtags.

In the new CNN Original Series, "Searching for Mexico," actress and activist Eva Longoria is taking us on a journey across the country to see how its people, culture, landscape, and history have shaped its diverse culture. I sat down with Eva to talk about this week's episode.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVA LONGORIA, CNN HOST, "SEARCHING FOR MEXICO": Chocolate, yes, chocolate endemic to Mexico.

ACOSTA: It's bitter.

LONGORIA: And it is bitter. It's not sweet. Chocolate in its pure form is very bitter. If you eat a cacao bean, you're like, oh my God. I was like -- so it was great for savory sauces like a mole. There are sweet moles now and there are many moles and it takes years to perfect a mole.

But yes, chocolate -- chocolate and chilly really go hand in hand.

ACOSTA: And you like mole. I mean --

LONGORIA: I didn't I was not a fan of mole, until I went to Oaxaca, and I experienced many moles, like there was green and dark and black and red.

ACOSTA: Exactly.

LONGORIA: And there's all kinds of moles and I wasn't a fan of the ones that I had tried, and I really needed to go down to the origin.

ACOSTA: Some of the cooking you experienced in Oaxaca and all around Mexico uses these very traditional and sometimes ancient techniques.

LONGORIA: Yes.

ACOSTA: You saw that in the making of queso.

LONGORIA: Oh, yes.

ACOSTA: The famous Oaxacan cheese.

LONGORIA: Yes. Yes, yes.

ACOSTA: Of course, Oaxaca is also known for their cheese as well. I've had that before.

LONGORIA: Yes. So, you've had queso. So if you're in Mexico, you can't call it Oaxacan cheese. They get very mad. It has to be queso. It is called queso. If you're here in the supermarket in the United States, it is Oaxacan cheese and then you know that's queso.

ACOSTA: Yes. Oaxaca is also the birthplace of a food at the heart of Mexican cuisine, corn. LONGORIA: We went to a lot of these corn farmers and corn has many species. There's blue and purple and black and yellow and gold and white, and it is like rainbow -- a rainbow -- and a lot of those species are dying, because there's no -- because of globalization, because of NAFTA, because of what the United States only wants, which is white corn, a lot of the farmers aren't planting the other types of corn.

And so when you don't plant it, you know those species start to die and so there's a lot of farmers there that are trying to keep these other corns alive.

So you know, Oaxaca is a big tug-of-war of tradition and modernizing for tourists who are coming, right, and so -- but it's a beautiful tug-of-war because in that creates this, you know, amazing food scene, and so you have all these amazing restaurants and amazing new chefs trying really bold things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: If you watch the show, you're going to be hungry.

Be sure to tune in an all-new episode of Eva Longoria's "Searching for Mexico." It airs tonight at nine only on CNN.

That's the news, reporting from Washington. I'm Jim Acosta.

I'll see you back here next weekend.

Have a great week., Good night.

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