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Greene Questioned If 9/11 Was Real, Claimed School Massacres Were "False Flag" Operations, Promoted QAnon Conspiracies; CDC Director: Not Wearing Masks Contributes To Variant Spread; State Dept. Designates Military Takeover In Myanmar A Coup. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired February 03, 2021 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Warning about the precedent, Dana and Jackie, but at the same time, this is a mess of their own making. Again, you could get the idea that, you know, nobody's perfect. Maybe she said one or two things before she came to Congress. If she were contrite, if she would say I'm sorry, if she would say I've learned a lesson, that's one thing. She says she will not apologize. She has backed off a little bit on the school shootings under pressure. But she questioned if the plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. She implied the Clintons were somehow involved in JFK Jr.'s death. She's indicated support for executing Democratic lawmakers liking social media posts that suggest such a thing, she's harassed the Parkland shooting survivor, she's promoted QAnon conspiracy theories.

Dana, the Republicans knew this. She was an issue, but they put her on the committee's there wouldn't be a debate about taking her off if they didn't give her those committee assignments. Did Kevin McCarthy just think Joe Biden was elected, that's where the energy and the attention is going to go, and we can somehow sneak the conspiracy Congresswoman through?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Who knows, possibly, or it was just lack of foresight or the fact that they --

KING: Had the leadership.

BASH: Yes, the fact that they didn't, you know, as you said, they didn't think anybody was really going to notice, which is kind of hard to believe. What are the things that Manu mentioned Steve King, one of the things that Steve King and so far Marjorie Taylor Greene have in common is lack of contrition. And I am told that one of the big points of discussion within the Steering Committee which as you said decides such things who's on specific committees in the Republican Party, but also with Kevin McCarthy is.

You have to go out there and apologize, you have to show contrition. And so far, she is defiant. She is absolutely defiant. And so the question is whether or not she's going to come around, and more importantly, whether that's going to matter and whether anybody is going to take that seriously, given where she has been over the past, you know, never mind before she got to Congress but over the past few weeks since she was actually sworn in.

One of the things, I know Manu talked about, you know, a lot of options about that Republicans are talking about short of totally taking her up all committees, I was told by a source who's familiar with conversations, that they are also thinking about maybe taking her off of the Education Committee, the Budget Committees, which are big committees, and obviously very pertinent to the conspiracy theories that she's been pushing and putting her on other committees, but this seems to be a huge jump off.

KING: Yes. And it's a huge jump ball, Jackie Kucinich, in part, many would say because she has the leverage here because she had a phone call with President Trump, as former President Trump as this was playing out. Apparently she says she's planning a meeting with the former President. He has called her a rising star in the party. She makes clear that she believes she has his total support "The Wall Street Journal" editorial board, a conservative editorial board, by the way, puts it this way, if bowing before all things Trump is the litmus test for being a loyal Republican, the party should get used to continued losses in the suburbs. Mr. McCarthy should be defending his colleague's vote as a matter of principle, that is in Liz Cheney's case, and rather than living in fear of the wrath of Mar-a-Lago.

So on both of these questions that does seem to be one of the defining challenges. Are you willing to say to the former President, go away, we're going to try and take the party in a different direction?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the answer is no, if Kevin McCarthy, let's not forget, just last week, he was down at Mar- a-Lago kissing the ring. You know, Dana mentioned something that Marjorie Taylor Greene and Steve King have in common. One of the things that they -- what that they don't have in common is Steve King was kind of out there on his own racist island and was easily dispatched by Republican leadership after, you know, 10 years of doing the same thing that he'd been doing, but eventually lost his committee seats for.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has the backing of the President. She has the backing of certain aspects of the Republican Party. And they risk elevating her by punishing her here and, you know, whether or not that happens a lot to see. And at the same time, if she is not punished, and Liz Cheney is, that sends another message because there are, you know, certain parts of the Republican Party that are very supportive of Liz Cheney, someone like Mitch McConnell, who made that very clear of which side of the debate he's taking.

So, you know, a lot of pressure for Kevin McCarthy today and not a really a lot -- not a lot of really good answers.

KING: Conservative or conspiracy seems a pretty easy choice.

BASH: Well, right and wrong.

KING: Right or wrong, right or wrong --

KUCINICH: Yes. KING: -- is another way to put it. Yes.

BASH: Another option.

KING: Yes. There's another option as well. Dana, Jackie, Manu, appreciate the reporting and the insights. We'll continue to attract that story.

[12:34:30]

Up next for us, some encouraging new data on COVID-19 spread, but it comes with a new warning from the CDC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: The new Biden COVID team claiming some progress today in accelerating the vaccine rollout but it also says it needs your help with the Super Bowl coming and other big events saying with the new variants out there, it needs people to continue to wear their mask, practice social distancing until you do get a coronavirus vaccine. Let's walk through some of the numbers.

And if you look at just the cases, new infections, this is -- it's been a long time since we can say this is encouraging and this is encouraging. You see the red line that's the seven day moving average, 114,437 new infections reported yesterday. That's a high number if you go back to the summer, if you go back to the beginning, but not that long ago, we were up in the 250,000 range. So the case direction, new infections reporting is heading in the right direction right now.

Deaths are a lagging indicator Dr. Walensky of the CDC saying today though, that the rate of deaths does appear to be slowing some still more than 100,000 people just the month of January in the first couple of days in February, 100,000 Americans dying of COVID in just that 33, 34-day period right there. The CDC now projects the death toll will reach, you see it on your screen there, 447,000 right now that will reach 534,000 by the end of the month, so deaths continue to be a giant problem in the COVID chase.

[12:40:13]

This is the key to changing it, which is to get these percentages up higher. These are the percentage of Americans state by state here that haven't a first dose of the vaccine. And you see West Virginia is at 11, Connecticut is at 10 percent, New Mexico 10 percent, Alaska 13 percent, most of the states still in the single digits, many of them now finally approaching 52.6 million vaccines distributed, 33 million if you round that up shots in arms, the administration, again, promising to try to accelerate this.

And they do say and they can claim some progress, it's about 900,000 vaccines a day on January 20th, Inauguration Day. They're now up to 1.3 million vaccines a day. So that is progress. But if they don't improve that even more, it will still at the current pace, take a year to vaccinate every American which is why even as they claim some progress, listen to Dr. Walensky here, the new head of the CDC saying every day, you need to be careful, wear your mask, keep your distance, try to get in line for a vaccine. She's also worried we see this around holidays and she says Super Bowl Sunday, don't be a problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Based on contact tracing and recent -- of recent variants cases, not wearing masks and participating in in person social gatherings have contributed to the variant spread. This Sunday, remember, whichever team you're rooting for and whichever commercial is your favorite, please watch the Super Bowl safely, gathering only virtually or with the people you live with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Let's get some important perspective from Dr. Uche Blackstock. She's an emergency room physician, also Yahoo News medical contributor. Dr. Blackstock, great to see you again.

So we're in a race, essentially, the variants are developing and they're beginning to spread in the United States and if you listen to all the public health experts, the key is more vaccines, more shots in arms. But that's going to take a while. So continue to have good behavior. How do you describe this race, if you will?

DR. UCHE BLACKSTOCK, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN: I would say that we are in the toughest part of this pandemic. We really need both individuals as well as state to follow these preventive measures that we know have worked so well. One of the reasons why we're seeing the decline in cases is because of policies and state, like mask mandate and restricting large gatherings. But we also need individuals to make really important decisions, especially, you know, this weekend for the Super Bowl to prevent any further spread.

KING: And with a limited supply of vaccine doses, even as they try to ramp that up to alleviate the concerns, the question is, you know, who should get them? How do you order the line? And obviously, you know, people in assisted living, nursing homes, and the like were first, first responders, healthcare professionals who are on the frontlines, essential workers. I want to show you though, if you look at these new numbers out about the transmission, right now, younger adults are causing most of the spread in the United States, 35 percent of it comes from those aged 20 to 34, 41 percent of it comes from those aged 35 to 49. Could you make an argument that even though those that age group tends to be more healthy, that you should surge vaccines into those age groups, those who are spreading the virus the most, to try to shut down transmission?

BLACKSTOCK: No, absolutely not. What we need to do is get the vaccines in the arms of the people who are at higher -- highest risk for doing poorly if they're infected. And for the younger folks who are being infected, we really need to speak with them and do a lot of advocacy. And explain to them that following those preventive measures are very important, incredibly important to mitigating the spread of this virus. KING: I know an issue you care deeply about we've discussed before is equity and making sure all health care but especially in including these vaccines now get into communities of color, into communities that have health services disparities, into rural communities that may be more distant and the like. If you look at the data right now and we know this data is incomplete, because we're not getting -- the new Biden team has been saying we're not getting enough data from the states and from local governments.

But so far received at least one vaccine dose from December 14th to January 14th, 60 percent are white, 11.5 percent Hispanic Latino, only 5.4 percent Black. So you see below the average of the population, you know, at a rate below the representation in the population, especially in the black community there. The new Biden team talks about this every day. And just today, they talked about new vaccination sites in East Los Angeles and in Oakland. Are you seeing progress in the equity question, especially when it comes to treatment of vaccinations and what else needs to be done?

BLACKSTOCK: Exactly. You know, I'm encouraged by some of the measures that the Biden-Harris administration is taking, but we have to be more aggressive. You know, in "The Washington Post" op-ed that my twin sister and I wrote recently, we talked about really prioritizing black communities given the legacy of systemic racism. It's actually impacted the health of our communities, making community members susceptible to being infected and dying from the virus.

[12:45:07]

And so not only do we need vaccination centers in these neighborhoods, but we need them to be even more accessible mobile vaccination centers in schools and community centers, we also need outreach, outreach is going to be key. And that must be done by trusted messengers. And as you mentioned a little bit earlier, we need to complete data from the state. We need to hold the state accountable for ensuring they're collecting complete racial and ethnic demographic data.

KING: Dr. Uche Blackstock, grateful for your insights today. We'll circle back as we watch this play out in the important days and weeks ahead of us. Appreciate your time. Thank you.

BLACKSTOCK: Thank you.

KING: Up next for us, a military coup on China's doorstep, a Putin power play in Russia. It is just day 15. And already the world is testing the new President and his team.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:36]

KING: President Biden visits the State Department tomorrow where he plans to deliver his first major foreign policy speech since assuming office. The new President inherited some steep challenges abroad. And already, the list of challenges is growing, a coup in Myanmar, a crackdown now in Russia, and Iran perhaps on the cusp of a nuclear weapon. Let's walk through some of the big foreign policy challenges facing the new President.

As traditional beginning, if you will, the first Biden calls to world leaders following a familiar script that goes back through almost any administration, your call America's most trusted allies in the world to say hello, and get things off on the good footing. But we do know from the beginning here first you had -- China was going to be an issue anyway, then you have the coup in Myanmar on its backdoor. He has not yet called President Xi Jinping. Also interesting to some, maybe the Trump relationship factors into this one, the new President has not called America's most trusted ally in the Middle East just yet, the leader of Israel. On these questions, the White House says stay tuned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He's had engagements with his national security team about a range of issues including China. We've been here less than two weeks. And when we have a call to reach out, I'll make sure you know. We have a long and abiding relationship with Israel, important security relationship. I'm sure they'll discuss that and a range of issues when they do connect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So we're still waiting on those ones here. But you look at the security challenges. They're every -- through them, issues with China, issues continuing with North Korea, issues with Iran, issues with Russia. Again, Trump administration tough on China. Will the new administration be different? Well, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET YELLEN, TREASURY SECRETARY: China is undercutting American companies by dumping products, erecting trade barriers, and giving illegal subsidies to corporations.

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We are going to stand up for a certain set of principles in the face of aggression and the kinds of steps that China has taken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Interesting to watch that one play out. And with Russia already, you knew there would be tension between President Biden and President Putin. Now, Alexey Navalny thrown into prison just yesterday, what's going to happen here?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: We reiterate our call for the Russian government to immediately unconditionally release Mr. Navalny as well as the hundreds of other Russian citizens wrongfully detained in recent weeks for exercising their rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KING: How to handle that Russian clamp down and protests now an urgent Biden challenge as the administration checks off items on the foreign policy wish list. The United States announcing just this morning it extended a key nuclear arms treaty with Russia for a full five year term. Let's bring into our conversation for some important insights, the former Under Secretary for Defense Policy, Michele Flournoy, she's also a founding partner at West Executive Consulting Group. Michele, grateful for your time today.

You know this from your past experience in government, the world does not hit the pause button, the world does not give a new President a honeymoon. So let's start with Putin and Russia. This was going to be tense anyway, especially after four years of the Trump administration. And now Navalny thrown back into prison, leaders in the Western world essentially saying this is a show trial and a Putin power play. What must President Biden do?

MICHELE FLOURNOY, FORMER UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY: Well, I think you're going to see the Biden administration take a more strategic and nuanced approach to Russia. And he's been very clear that he intends to hold Russia accountable for bad behavior, whether it's the solar wind, cyberattack, whether it's the jailing in Navalny and the violation of democratic and human rights, or whether it's, you know, mischief in Russia's near abroad.

But at the same time we saw today, President Biden understands that we have important business to do with Russia. And it's very much in our interests, that he would extend the New START treaty, that's the only arms control treaty left, it provides a framework for strategic stability and prevents an arms race, a strategic nuclear arms race between the two countries. So you're going to see a much more nuanced and strategic approach, I think, from this administration, but a very tough one to manage.

KING: Well, that is always the hard part when it comes to the big global partners -- powers, excuse me, like Russia, not a partner, like China, not a partner. But there are issues climate when it comes to China, for example, where you'd like to have some progress into some business. And then there are issues that are more thorny. How does the Myanmar coup on the doorstep of China, Myanmar, hardly a perfect democracy. But still, you have now a country on China's doorstep that the administration took a little time before it officially use the word coup, which means cuts off sanctions, given where it is in the world, the neighborhood of the world in which how much does that make it even more important that this one be handled right?

[12:55:11]

FLOURNOY: I do think it is important to handle this right. But, you know, China is its own file. And here again, there's a complicated strategy to manage. China is going to be our major competitor economically, technologically, politically, even in Asia militarily. But we also have important business to get done with China, as you noted, whether it's, you know, addressing climate change or preventing the next pandemic. So I think you're going to see a very clear right approach from the administration. They are not, you know, rose -- they don't have rose colored glasses on in terms of assessing Chinese behavior and the challenge it poses. But again, I think you're going to see them be tough, where they need to be tough, but also reach out and engage China to have a strategic dialogue on the areas where we have to cooperate. And I would hope -- I would think that Myanmar or Burma would be one of those issues.

KING: One of the things we saw frequently in the Trump administration, I know it frustrated career foreign policy experts like yourself, is that President Trump, now former President Trump, but while he was president put a lot of stock in these personal relationships. He said Kim Jong-un and I get along. We exchanged these glowing letters. Therefore there will be progress.

Well, there has been no progress on the big issue, which of course, is the nuclear program. He said the same thing about the President Xi, early on. We had a great meeting at Mar-a-Lago we get along early on, there was some hope or progress with China. I want you to listen to the former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, now out of government trying to set a bar for the new administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: When I hear people talk about places we can cooperate, I dealt with these folks, I dealt with the senior leadership, I was in meetings with General Secretary Xi Jingping. His view of the places we cooperate, are only those places they can dominate and inflict real costs on ordinary American citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You can get the sense there. And I know you're not a fan of former Secretary Pompeo. But you can get a sense there that now that they are out of power, the Republicans are looking to watch closely how the new President handles China.

FLOURNOY: Yes, that's true. But I think you have a very experienced President, and you have a very experienced national security team. And they understand this is not about personal chemistry, or looking into the eyes of the other leader and seeing his soul. This is about identifying the interests, values, negotiating to try to protect our interests and finding solutions that will bring them along.

And on things like climate change and preventing a pandemic, I think there's a lot of common interests that the U.S. and China share, and we can work with them. Elsewhere, we're going to have to be tough in communicating our resolve and being very clear about what interests we will defend and where we will not accept any sort of, you know, mischief from China. I also think they'll be working alongside our allies. We're going to be much more effective if we engage China, not just as the United States unilaterally but alongside all of our allies and partners who share many of the same interests and goals that we do. KING: Another giant question, the Trump administration walked away from the Iran nuclear deal negotiated during the Obama-Biden administration. There's the expectation, and as a candidate, Joe Biden said he would like to get back into it. However, he said Iran first had to demonstrate good behavior. Listen to your friend, your former business partner, Tony Blinken, now the new Secretary of State.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: Bottom line is, they are getting closer to the point where they would be either a threshold nuclear power or actually a nuclear power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: That's stern words there. You know, Tony well. He understands his words are going to be closely watched in Tehran, making clear at the get go, he thinks Iran needs to dial it back before he's willing to talk.

FLOURNOY: Well, we've seen this movie before. You know, we it's very dangerous for Iran to amass enough nuclear material, highly enriched material, to be able to put together a weapon that's going to be unacceptable to the United States and other countries in the region. And so Iran has to understand that that's not going to be acceptable.

And so I think we're going to have to get back to the negotiating table and get them back into compliance. But I think one of the key things you'll see from this administration is a very consultative approach where they're going to be reaching out to our partners and allies in the Middle East, engaging them, reaching out to the other allies who are at the original negotiating table, to try to move forward with this not as just a U.S. project but an international community project to get Iran back under compliance and also address other issues like the ballistic missile threat and their malign behavior in the region.

KING: As I said, the world does not give you a honeymoon, does not hit the pause button. They give you time to get your team in place. This is the law and we only touched on some of them, a handful of the many global challenges for the new President and the team. Michele Flournoy, grateful for your insights and expertise, we will keep in touch as this all plays out and grateful for your time today.

[12:59:58]

A busy hour on Inside Politics, we'll see you back here this time tomorrow we hope. Don't go anywhere, Brianna Keilar picks up our coverage right now. Have a good afternoon.