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Trump Peddles 2020 Election Lies In First Post-Presidency Speech; Soon: Biden Meets With Mexico's President To Discuss Migration, COVID-19; Trump & His Allies Continue To Peddle Stolen Election Lie. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired March 01, 2021 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:32:35]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: The big lie is back.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Actually, as you know, they just lost The White House, but it's one of those. But who knows? Who knows? I may even decide to beat them for a third time. This election was rigged. And the Supreme Court and other courts didn't want to do anything about it. So how to hell is it possible that we lost? It's not possible.

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KING: You can do the math yourself. There is no doubt the former president lost the 2020 election by more than 7 million votes. No doubt, the former president then is a liar. Yet no doubt is demonstrated by the CPAC embrace yesterday, he retains giant sway over the Republican Party's future. How much sway though is the big debate?

Joining our conversation to discuss, Republican strategist Alice Stewart and Toluse Olorunnipa of The Washington Post. Toluse, let me start with you, the former president says the Republican Party is unified and will be more unified. But in that speech in which he said unify with me telling the big lie again about the election being stolen when it was not. He also went on for I think was 49 seconds just shy of a minute named 17 Republicans who either voted to impeach or convict by name and said the party he says is unified must get rid of all of them.

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, he wants the party to unify around him, around Trumpism, not around these conservative values that the party has long been known for. So he wants to call from the party anyone who would show any kind of disloyalty against him personally, even if they are long standing Republicans, people like Mitt Romney or Liz Cheney, who have been part of the party even before he became a Republican before he essentially took over the party. So he's having this loyalty test in which he's essentially saying, we are going to unite the party around my presidency around my persona and not necessarily around policy goals or policy ideas beyond anything that would be reminiscent of Trumpism. So it's very clear that the president, the former president is trying to unite the party around himself trying to build enough support for a potential third or second run for the presidency at the second term after losing the House and the Senate and the White House.

He wants to essentially make sure that the party is behind him so that if he wants to make a political comeback, he will not have to fight a civil war within his party. He wants to show that he has the dominance over his party and that he can run again and potentially be the Republican nominee once again in '24.

[12:35:06]

KING: And Alice, we knew, we just knew, despite some advisors asking him not to. You knew when he returned to the stage, he was going to tell the big lie, he was going to say that he won and all that. There was a piece and let's listen here, there was a piece here, where he just went after the new president. Now, it's unusual for a former president to go after a new president so young in the new administration, if you will, but Donald Trump, you know, doesn't adhere to tradition. This is his take on Joe Biden.

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TRUMP: Biden's radical immigration policies aren't just illegal, they're immoral, they're heartless, and they are a betrayal of our nation's core values. There's no reason whatsoever why the vast majority of young Americans should not be back in school immediately. But if the Democrats have their way, we are heading from energy dominance to energy disaster.

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KING: Now, some of that could be fact checked. But that is within the range of what you'll call normal political hyperbole for the most part. That's the Trump that if he's got to be on the national stage, many Republicans are like, OK, do that but don't do that other thing.

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right. And look, we knew that he was going to bring up immigration that was the cornerstone of his first selection that helped to garner support for the White House. But the problem is he didn't get anything done with regards to that. And if we do want real, meaningful change with immigration, it needs to be bipartisan pro-growth immigration reform.

But that being said, he clearly does have a path to unite the Republican Party against the policies of this, Biden administration, when it comes to the Green New Deal, when it comes to immigration, when it comes to what they've done with energy and with the minimum wage increase.

But the interesting thing, John, is that while he is the de facto head of the Republican Party right now in the GOP, and certainly at CPAC, I was really surprised to see with the poll that they had at CPAC yesterday. Those people certainly support him. He had a 97 percent approval rating amongst those people. But when they ask the question, who would you support for president in 2024? Former President Trump only got 55 percent of that support.

So it's really surprising that he didn't get a larger number there. So I think that goes to show that while he is a big factor in the party right now, he certainly is not top of mind for a lot of people that ordinarily would be in his camp, if he were to run again.

KING: And Toluse, Alice raises a very important point. You have this, if there's a Trump crowd, it's CPAC. It's big and stacked now with people who support him. We've watched it emerge over the years. It is run by somebody who is a Trump supporter. I'm going to use the polite word supporter, I could get a little harsher, but I'll be kind on a Monday here. But to Alice's point, 55 percent support in a CPAC straw poll, just 68 percent said they wanted to run for president again in 2024. Now the 15 percent said they don't want Trump to run. What does that tell you as this is going to be the question for the next couple of years, is he disciplined enough? Is he popular enough to hold his sway right here? I'm sorry, we you. Alice?

STEWART: I think it will be difficult to keep him tamed, I guess, or in line. And I think the important thing to remember, and Toluse touched on this, when -- while the president is massively popular within his base in the Republican Party. Since he was in office, we lost the House, we lost the Senate, and we have obviously lost the White House. So it's not a winning formula.

The key for Republicans is to focus on the policies, focus on the issues limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual liberties, focus on the policies, and do away and go -- steer clear of the personalities that may unite them but it is divisive overall. And we lost a lot of votes. And specifically, I think in Georgia because of the personality and the divisive tone and tenor of the former president and that's the goal moving forward, focus on the policies and not personalities.

KING: That's the defining question for the party as we go through the next weeks and months and into 2022 as do they listen to you and follow policy or do they follow a person who continues to lie to them, lie to them, that's the biggest crime of all, lying to your own supporters about what had happened. Alice Stewart, grateful for your insights and Toluse as well, a little problem with the technology there.

[12:39:26]

Up next for us, President Biden meets with Mexico's president, one of the world leaders who openly talks about his good working relationship with Mr. Trump.

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KING: Let's show you some important pictures in the fight against the coronavirus. You see right there just moments ago the first doses of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine arriving at a UPS facility in Kentucky for shipment as soon as tomorrow shots in arms from the third vaccine, the J&J vaccine on the U.S. market.

Today, the President Biden meets with his counterpart from Mexico, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The U.S. and Mexican Presidents plan to discuss a wide range of issues including, of course, migration, the economy, the coronavirus pandemic, and vaccines. Our senior White House correspondent Phil Mattingly joins us now live from the White House with more on the agenda. And Phil, the border obviously, one of the big items.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it. I think you can talk about, obviously, the importance of the relationship and the several elements that will likely be discussed, according to administration officials in that call, whether it's security agreements, whether it's the economy, whether it's coronavirus, and the efforts to combat that.

But there's no question about it, the most important issue on the call and the issue that's likely to dominate the most of the call, particularly from the American side of things is the issue of migration. It has grown increasingly pressing of a challenge for the administration over its opening weeks in office. And part of the reason at least according to administration officials is that the administration is currently basically trying to deconstruct and build from scratch and immigration system that their predecessor obviously made a number of significant changes to the Biden administration, obviously completely disagrees with.

[12:45:20]

Now, the interesting element in the relationship between President Biden and President Lopez Obrador is unlike many of the other world leaders who have come to President Biden and spoken to administration officials with some level of relief, I guess, now that Biden is in office compared to his predecessor. That is not the case with the Mexican President who had a friendly relationship with President Trump, who was helpful in many ways on President Trump's immigration agenda.

And one thing you're hearing right now from administration officials in the lead up to this meeting is the need for help and the need to have a good relationship, despite whatever the relationship was with the predecessor. Another thing that you're hearing in Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, was just briefing reporters in the White House briefing a short while ago was the efforts to try and address the surge at the border. And one of those major components of that is trying to get this message out, take a list.

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ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We need individuals to wait. We are not saying don't come. We are saying don't come now, because we will be able to deliver safe and orderly process to them as quickly as possible.

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MATTINGLY: Now, John, one thing that Secretary was asked if he felt there was a crisis at the border right now, he said he did not believe it was. He believes it is a challenge. But if you look at the numbers, there are no question, it is a significant challenge, and one that the President is going to try and address in just a couple of hours with the President of Mexico.

KING: It's an important and fascinating meeting. It's hard to change such a policy with things as things move. You can't stop things at the border and change policies. Phil Mattingly, grateful for live reporting from the White House. We'll track that meeting.

Up next for us, another big meeting today could determine if President Biden loses the Cabinet pick and suffers his first big defeat in the Congress.

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[12:51:44]

KING: Topping our Political Radar today, a bit of an international mystery. Three names removed from the initial Intel report that found the Saudi Crown Prince responsible for proving the operation that killed the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A second version of the report omitted three names of people who quote participated in, ordered, or were complicit in or responsible for Khashoggi's death. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the first reporter erroneously contained those names.

Today a very important meeting, the Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski sitting down with Neera Tanden, President Biden's director to be choice to be the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Tanden's confirmation is uncertain, as at least one Democratic senator and several Republican senators have already said they are opposed to her nomination because of past comments and social media posts. Murkowski has not said how she plans to vote. A yes vote from her could save the Tanden confirmation.

Up next for us, the return of Trump through the eyes of those who see his lies as truth.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to know. We're waiting to hear the next step. We're all looking for guidance.

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[12:57:20]

KING: Earlier today on CNN, two former believers of the QAnon conspiracy shared some of their experience and they shared their fear so many still listen.

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ASHLEY VANDERBILT, FORMER QANON BELIEVER: Some that I started talking to anyways that had initially got me into QAnon, he was like, you know, Joe Biden is not even real. Like that's why he's wearing a mask all the time because the fake face but he's wearing, the mouse doesn't move correctly when he talks.

JAY GILLEY, FORMER QANON BELIEVER: It just seems to what some of the people say. There's a lot of anger and a lot of confusion. I think it's going to get worse. I worry about a lot of violence.

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KING: QAnon of course is based on a lie. So too as much of this weekend's meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference, former President Trump spoke. And of course, he claimed he won the November election. And there were several workshops at CPAC pushing the big lie to people who paid to be there and who for whatever reason still see Trump as a truth teller.

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan joins us now from Orlando, Florida, where CPAC played out. Donie, what did you learn?

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Hey, John, yes, we've been speaking to Trump supporters from California to Florida over the past week or so. And not all Trump supporters are QAnon believers, but pretty much every Trump supporter we have spoken to are motivated by this big lie, the conspiracy theory that the former President continues to perpetuate that he didn't lose the election in some way.

And we've even heard from some who are still convinced that Trump is going to come back. And they're even looking to Myanmar, where there has been a deadly military coup where 18 people were killed yesterday. And they're hoping that happens here in the United States. Have a listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's going on in Myanmar right now? The government took over during the election.

O'SULLIVAN: Would you like to see it happen?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to see it happen.

O'SULLIVAN: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, why, because the election was stolen from us.

O'SULLIVAN: You don't trust the election officials?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

O'SULLIVAN: You don't trust the FBI?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

O'SULLIVAN: You don't trust the courts?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

O'SULLIVAN: Who do you trust?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump and his supporters.

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O'SULLIVAN: So John, as you can see there, I mean, extremely troubling. But these conspiracy theories, they're undermining trust in every pillar of American democracy. And you even have some Trump supporters cheering on a violent military coup and hoping that it happens in this country, and yet they claim to be the patriots, John?

KING: Yes, that's the hard part. They claim to be the patriots. Donie O'Sullivan, grateful for this reporting and it's important, look, they're Americans, they believe what they believe. And part of the problem is the man they believe keeps lying to them. The man they believe keeps lying to them. So it's hard to convince them to back off. Donie, grateful, it's very important reporting especially as we track the future of the Republican Party and those Trump voters.

[13:00:03]

Grateful for your time today on Inside Politics, hope to see you back here this time tomorrow. Brianna Keilar picks up our coverage right now.

Have a good day.