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Israel-Hamas War; Rafah Border Crossing Taken Over by Israeli Military; Bomb Shipment to Israel Suspended by U.S. Due to Worries About Rafah Situation; Interview with Armed Services Committee, Congressional Progressive Caucus, Select Committee on China, and Biden Campaign Surrogate Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA); Talks to Reach Ceasefire Agreement in Cairo Underway Today; Young People's Approval of Biden's Israel Policy Just 19%; According to CNN Poll; Due to Possible Ban, TikTok is Suing U.S. Government; Congresswoman Greene's "Simple Demands"; Leading Republicans Implore Johnson to Disregard Greene's Requests; RFK Jr. Claims a Dead Worm was Discovered in His Brain by Medical Professionals, According to NYT. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired May 08, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: President Biden's handling of the Israel- Hamas war is splitting the Democratic Party with progressives and moderates at odds over whether the U.S. should reconsider its support of Israel amid its operation in Rafah.

Joining us now to discuss Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee. He's also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a Biden campaign surrogate. Congressman, you're doing a whole lot these days. But let me ask you this, your reaction to the Israeli military moving into Rafah, what do you think the President's response to all of this should be? And your reaction to hitting the pause button, the administration hitting the pause button, on some of these larger munitions going to Israel?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Jim, I think the President has taken exactly the correct action, something that many of us have been calling for, for weeks. He has paused offensive weapons going in to Israel. He's made it clear that Netanyahu cannot continue to blatantly defy the United States President, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of State.

Allies don't do that. They don't treat friends that way. And this is why 37 of us voted no on the offensive weapons, and the President basically has now, embraced our position.

ACOSTA: And ceasefire negotiations are set to continue. Hamas says, it accepted the terms of a ceasefire proposed by Egypt and Qatar. Prime Minister Netanyahu says it's very far from Israel's core demands. Are you optimistic something's going to get done here?

KHANNA: I'm hopeful, but we've got to make sure that something gets done. I mean, it's been seven months. I don't understand. We're the greatest superpower. We've got to figure out how to get this done. How to stop the war. Stop the killing. Stop people from dying. That's what young people across the country are saying.

[10:35:00]

Look, I have respect for Burns, but if he can't get the job done, send someone else. I mean, seven months, they haven't been able to get this done. It's time to figure out who's going to get this done and get a ceasefire and the release of the hostages.

ACOSTA: Are you losing a little confidence in the CIA director here?

KHANNA: Well, I -- I'm not saying -- look, I've heard great things about him. But my point is, I look at the results and we've had seven months of lack of results. And so, my view is we've got to get this war to end and release the hostages. And I do think Burns needs to come to Congress.

I mean, Sullivan did to the Progressive Caucus, and he needs to explain what he's doing and why it's not working. Why do we keep hearing week after week, we're close, we're close, we're close, and then nothing happens? Is the problem just Hamas or is Netanyahu being inflexible? But the American people want to know why this war continues. Why people are continuing to die and how do we end it?

ACOSTA: And I don't have to tell you this, but the latest CNN poll shows just 19 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 34 approve of how President Biden has handled the war, more than 80 percent disapprove. I hate to throw your own words back at you, Congressman, but just a few moments ago you were saying that the President is handling this right. That's not what a lot of young Americans are saying right now, and you absolutely need them to turn out in the fall.

KHANNA: Well, I said he's been right on this recent decision to suspend offensive weapons. I mean, I have -- it's common knowledge, disagreed with him in over the last seven months. I mean, I think he should have called for a permanent ceasefire and release of hostages earlier. I don't think we should have had the same carte blanche to Netanyahu that we have had. I'm glad the administration is coming around to the position many of us in Congress have articulated. And I'm -- hope it's a change in direction.

But, you know, we need to see leadership where America comes and says, hostage is released. End the war. None of this Netanyahu stuff, if I want to still go into Rafah, knock it off. Too many people are dying. You have Cindy McCain saying that there's a famine there. This is the time for America to lead and bring an end to this war.

ACOSTA: I did want to ask you about TikTok. I know you have been working on that issue. TikTok has announced it's suing to block this new law that would force the owner to sell the app or face basically a ban here in the U.S., saying it violates the First Amendment. You're on this House China Select Committee. What's your reaction to all of this? How's this going to play out? KHANNA: Well, I have serious First Amendment concerns. I mean, you had Senator Mitt Romney at a recent conference saying that one of the reasons that they blocked TikTok, or that people voted to block TikTok is that there were too many concerns about Palestinian human rights on the app.

That, by definition, is viewpoint discrimination. In this country, we can't just take away the free speech rights of 170 million Americans. We should have narrow legislation to prevent our data from going to China for -- to prevent Chinese Communist Party interference and algorithms. But I think the courts are going to look at this very carefully on First Amendment grounds.

ACOSTA: Are you worried that -- I mean, a lot of young people use TikTok. I mean, this might not be the time you want to alienate -- further alienate younger voters.

KHANNA: Well, Jim, I use TikTok too. I mean, I think it's a place where you can have speech and you can have conversation, and 170 million Americans use it. And so, I -- that's why I voted no against the ban. I think it's hurting speech. And if you look at some of my TikToks that have gone viral, it's speaking out for free speech. So, I agree with you that there's a disconnect here between the Beltway establishment and what a lot of young voters and frankly, a lot of Americans around the country believe.

ACOSTA: All right. We know you go viral all the time, Congressman. All right. Congressman Ro Khanna, thanks for your time this morning. We appreciate it.

KHANNA: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. Still ahead, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says she has, "Simple demands" as she threatens to force a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson. What those demands are and what they could cost Johnson, that's next.

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[10:40:00]

ACOSTA: Up on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are waiting to see if and when Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene makes good on her threat to oust the House Speaker. The Georgia Republican has met with Mike Johnson twice in the past couple of days with a list of demands in hand. Top Senate Republicans are urging the Speaker not to give in to Greene.

CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju joins us now from Capitol Hill. Manu, how are those talks going?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR, INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY AND CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Well, look, there are actually no more talks scheduled at the moment. In fact, the speaker of the House said -- says that he's actually not negotiating with Marjorie Taylor Greene, even as she has laid out several demands. All of them, she has said, must be met in order for her to not move forward on calling for the ouster of a sitting speaker. Several of those, including no more aid to Ukraine. Aid to Ukraine, of course, was just approved with Johnson's support, $61 billion of that. She doesn't want any more aid to Ukraine.

She is also calling for an across-the-board spending cut and the next round of appropriations legislation, that won't play out until the fall. She also wants commitments that any more legislation moving forward has a majority of Republicans in the House, their support before moving ahead on the floor.

Several couple of recent bills, including on that Ukraine aid package, did not have a majority of House Republican support. But Johnson says, he's not negotiating. He said he's listening to her concerns and he's ready to move ahead with his own agenda. This comes as I've asked -- put the question to Marjorie Taylor Greene. She said last week she would move this week to call for a vote for Johnson's ouster. Is she ready to do it? Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): The balls in his court, so we'll see what happens, and today's only Tuesday.

RAJU: Could it happen -- do you think it could happen before we leave town?

[10:45:00]

GREENE: I think Mike Johnson has an opportunity right now to be our Republican Speaker of the House. I've been patient. I'm not being reckless with this. I'm being very careful. And we'll see what happens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm paraphrasing here, she wants to hear an answer soon or something like that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Surely.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: Look, I'm going to -- we're going to process these ideas just like we do, all ideas and all input from members. And this is not a negotiation. I'm doing my job. And one of the -- part of the job is taking suggestions and thoughtful ideas from members, and that's what we're doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now, Marjorie Taylor Greene has indicated that she has a short window. She said, Johnson has an order for her -- him to fulfill those very demands. But even if she does call for that vote, Jim, she doesn't have the votes to oust Mike Johnson, unlike in the fall when Democrats voted with eight Republicans who led that effort to oust Kevin McCarthy.

This time, Democratic leaders are saying they will come to Johnson's defense because of his actions, including on aid to Ukraine. Meaning that if she moves ahead, they're going to move to kill this pretty quickly. And this whole episode could be over for now.

And one other key person who is not really -- doesn't have much of an appetite for a fight, Donald Trump. He has indicated privately he supports Mike Johnson. He does not want him to be facing this kind of threat. Marjorie Taylor Greene has indicated she continued to talk to Donald Trump but that's not necessarily influencing how she decides to move ahead.

Johnson does not want to have this vote though, Jim, because he could lose some Republican votes on the floor and it could show some weakness as his hold on this very narrowly divided and bitterly divided House Republican conference. Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Very interesting. Manu Raju up on Capitol Hill for us. Thank you, Manu. Appreciate it.

Still ahead, a story that got our attention this morning. Strange health news about presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. What we know about a worm that he says got into his brain and ate part of his brain and then died. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta who is an expert on all of this comes up in just a few moments. Stay with us.

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[10:50:00]

ACOSTA: Right now, four Michigan counties are under a state of emergency after two tornadoes through -- tore through the city of Portage. A FedEx building ripped to shreds, reports of gas leaks and downed power lines. After this storm, 50 workers were trapped at one point. Officials have now cleared that facility. It was the 13th consecutive day of tornado reports across the country. Millions are under threat of severe weather today.

New video this morning shows a FedEx plane landing on its nose in Istanbul. Take a look at this. You can see the Boeing 767 tip forward because its front landing gear failed. Turkish state media reports that all crew members evacuated the plane safely.

And overnight police here in the nation's capital arrested dozens of people as they cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment at George Washington University. It stood in and around the university yard on campus for nearly two weeks.

In the meantime, several protesters were arrested overnight in Massachusetts after the UMass Amherst chancellor asked police to dismantle an encampment there. So, obviously these tensions on college campuses continue. We'll be right back.

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[10:55:00]

ACOSTA: It is a story you cannot make up. "The New York Times" is reporting that independent presidential candidate RFK Jr. said in a deposition in 2012 that a doctor told him a worm got into his brain, ate a portion of it, and then died.

CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joins me now. Dr. Gupta -- Sanjay, great to see you as always.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

ACOSTA: We thought you would be perfect for this. You are a neurosurgeon. And I have to -- I -- the question I had instantly when I saw this is, well, besides of -- the question, do I have one, but how common might this be? Does this happen?

DR. GUPTA: Yes, this does happen. I mean, obviously we're just hearing about it from RFK himself. But I can tell you, as a neurosurgeon, this is a -- it's a rare condition, but it's a -- it's typically something that is caused by eating undercooked pork.

And again, we don't know this for sure, but just based on the description that we're hearing sounds very much like this. Where you eat under cooked pork and the larvae get into your bloodstream and then basically it can spread throughout the body in the bloodstream. They can go to all sorts of different organs, including the brain, Jim.

So, again, it's unusual. Let me show you an image here. This is what it might look like in someone's brain when you do an MRI scan. You might see these areas and you can see them in purple there, Jim, where they basically look like little cysts, essentially, in the brain. And that is the pork worm larvae that gets in there.

Sometimes it just, sort of, sitting there. It doesn't cause any kind of problems. Sometimes it can cause other symptoms like headaches or even seizures. And again, we don't know specifically what happened with him or if this is actually it. But this does happen a few thousand times a year, and sometimes they even require surgery, Jim.

ACOSTA: I was going to say, and you've actually operated on these kinds of worms? What is --

DR. GUPTA: Yes.

ACOSTA: -- what's that like?

DR. GUPTA: Yes, it's really interesting. I'll show you if I can on this brain model if you can see this. But basically, you know, imagine that image that I just showed you and you could have these tiny little spots on -- typically on top of the brain or closer to the surface of the brain. And you basically go in and similar to a tumor in a way, you would go in and basically just remove that cyst.

Now, that is not typically necessary or often necessary. Sometimes it doesn't require any treatment at all. Sometimes it requires medications, anti-parasitic medications, and in some cases, it might require surgery. I will say this, that because of the location of these types of cysts, they're not usually associated with memory loss because I think that's what took RFK to the doctors in the first place --

ACOSTA: Right.

DR. GUPTA: -- memory loss and generalized brain fogginess. Typically, it's more associated with -- if any symptoms, headaches and seizures and things like that.

ACOSTA: Well, yes, that was one thing I was wondering, Sanjay, and that is to -- might this affect somebody's cognitive function, the way their brain functions?

[11:00:00]