Return to Transcripts main page

Inside Politics

59 NY Dem Lawmakers Call For Gov. Cuomo To Resign; Trump's Election Fraud Push Takes Deep Root With Republicans; Biden Admin. Ends Trump-era Immigration Policy To Try To Alleviate Overcrowding Of Children At Migrant Facilities. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired March 12, 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]

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: But in a lot of these calls, John, these kinds of questions have come up and that is where he insists, he has insisted previously, that he has had, he has no intention on resigning. We'll see at 1 o'clock how the Governor responds to this, to what the state assembly here wants to do in terms of starting their investigation, but also the growing calls for the Governor from members of his own party to resign.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Small and slowly for the Governor in Albany with the Democrats saying that as well, that impeachment inquiry as we know, once you start getting subpoenas and witnesses, more information on the table. Shimon Prokupecz, grateful for the reporting from Albany.

Manu Raju, still with me here in Washington. And Manu this is largely in New York story, you would think. But then you see it's a delegation, a New York delegation, a lot of powerful people. We could show again, 14 members of the Congressional delegation now saying the Governor has to go. And it ranges the range of the party, if you will, if it were just Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, just the new members like Mondaire Jones, and Jamaal Bowman, you might say, oh, it's the new guard. It's the younger crowd, but it's everybody here. Kathleen Rice, Jerry Nadler, Grace Meng, just across the party here, older members as well, Carolyn Maloney, Sean Maloney, this everybody almost.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Even Jerry Nadler, that's a very significant person. He's the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He's been in New York politics for a very long time. He has a lot of sway. Also, Sean Patrick Maloney, he's the chairman of the House Democratic Campaign Committee. He clearly did not want to be labeled as someone siding with this embattled Governor in the middle of the all these scandals.

But what we have heard from also is silence coming from Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader. I've reached out to his office this morning. They are not responding to questions in the wake of all these members coming out calling for his resignation. Schumer has said that these are serious allegations that need to be investigated. He said that this morning as well, but he has been saying that for days. He has refused to go beyond that. And also Kirsten Gillibrand, remember the New York Democratic senator, she was on the front lines and calling for Al Franken's ouster in the middle of those sexual harassment allegations leading to, ultimately leading to Al Franken's resignation from the Senate. She has not done so at this situation. I asked her this week. How is Cuomo different from Al Franken? She refused to answer that question. She would only say I put out a statement. Her statement said serious allegations need to be investigated. Do they shift the rhetoric? And if they do shift the rhetoric and call him to resign, will that change the governance calculation, John?

KING: And that's what makes -- I want to hear from Chuck Schumer because you're right. That's what makes his calculation now what he says next most interesting, because he did speak this morning. We'll get to that in one second. But we now know, reporting from our Gregory Krieg that these New York -- the House members, they coordinated this yesterday. They decided that if they act as a group, it gives them more power. It also puts pressure they know on any fellow House delegation members who haven't signed on to their letter yet, but also on the senators.

And, you know, Chuck Schumer is the majority leader, his words would carry even more weight. Here's what he said this morning before we knew this letter was coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): I always felt that sexual harassment is not tolerable. You cannot tolerate it. You can't accept it. Though early on, I call for a thorough, complete investigation. It's now being undertaken by Tish James. She is an independent, strong, intelligent woman. And she has full power. She has full subpoena power for both documents and individuals. She will turn over every stone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: That is a, you know, what I'm going to call a safe answer in politics. There's a state attorney general has picked up outside law firm. There's an investigation. However, he also ignores there in the answer. We knew about the impeachment inquiry last night.

RAJU: Yes.

KING: So he's being very, very careful there. The question is, can he stay there?

RAJU: I don't know if he can, because you do see with all these people coming out, he has his own reelection to worry about as well next year. Will that affect his thinking? But clearly, he knows if he does get out in front of this that could change the dynamics here. But he -- the challenge for the Democrats is becoming a big distraction. They want to be talking about their big legislative accomplishment. Now they're facing these questions everywhere they go in and it is not going to stop. The longer the Governor hangs on, the longer these Democratic leaders are going to face questions. Schumer's aren't alone though, Hakeem Jeffries also a member of the Democratic leadership in the House not going as far as calling on them to resign. But those questions will continue the longer that Cuomo decides he wants to hang on.

KING: And for these Democrats, especially the ones here Washington, it does raise consistency issues. You mentioned Gillibrand in the Franken case, he's a also Democrats during the Trump years and in the Kavanaugh confirmation, who said a lot of things. The question is, do they -- are they consistent now with how they handle things? Something we'll watch as this continuous. Manu Raju, grateful for the reporting and insights today for us.

[12:34:41]

And coming up, Trump's big lie echoes a new Republican efforts across America to rollback your voting rights.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: You see behind me here a familiar map. This is the 2020 election, Joe Biden won and he won convincingly. But some new polling numbers today show us sadly that Donald Trump's big lie is taking deep root among Republicans across the country. Let's start by popping into Georgia here and look at this new polling number we have here. We stretch it out for you.

What's the bigger problem in U.S. elections? This is a question asked of Republicans. Six percent of Republicans say it's too hard to cast your ballot. Look at this, 92 percent of Republicans say the rules aren't strict enough to prevent illegal votes. That is the legacy of the big lie, 92 percent of Republicans say the problem is too many illegal votes. We know that is not the case.

Again, we know it's a lie. There is no evidence of major fraud in the 2020 election. But we also know that in 43 States right now, Republicans are pushing to rollback voting access using the lie of massive fraud of one of their main reasons. New numbers shed some light on that too. Let's go out to the state of Arizona, one of the states where you do have Republican efforts to rollback voting.

[12:40:14]

Look at this poll. This is among Republicans. They're still loyal to President Trump. Many of them still believe we're back at the big lie, 67 percent in our new poll say Donald Trump was good for the Republican Party. Only 16 percent of Republicans say he was bad for the Republican Party.

On that point, let's bring in our next guest. He is the former Republican senator from the state of Arizona now a CNN contributor, Jeff Flake. Senator, in your state, there's an effort to rollback voting rights in 43 states across the country effort to rollback voting rights. Many of the Republicans pushing these continue to say you need to do this because there was so much fraud. How do we get truth back into the discussion? Let's have a legitimate debate about voting. But let's do it on facts.

JEFF FLAKE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's going to be difficult given those numbers. I mean, so many, I mean, right around the time of the election, I think 77 percent or after the election felt that President Trump had been robbed of the election. So it's going to be difficult, but it has to be done in these efforts across the country to basically make it harder for people to vote, just is the wrong direction for Republicans to go. There's plenty of things Republicans can do without trying to, you know, make it more difficult for people to vote. That's just the wrong direction.

KING: But part of this is, what role does President Trump have in future conversations when he continues, he wants to dominate Republican fundraising, he wants Republicans to get his endorsement to promote the idea that somehow the election was stolen for him. Just today in "POLITICO," two of your former colleagues, I don't think you were here when Josh Hawley was here. But Senator Rubio says he brought a bunch of new voters into the party that we want to keep. He's the most influential Republican in America. He's not going to ride off into the sunset, write his memoirs and open a library.

Senator Josh Hawley, who's calling Roy Blunt is retiring so there'll be a big Senate race in Missouri says, this is a state that voted for President Trump by almost 20 points in 2016 and 17 this last time around. So I expect you'll see it reflected in the primary field. Do you see enough voices stepping forward to make the point you make that in your view in the long term future of the Republican Party Trump has to be pushed to the side?

FLAKE: Certainly not yet. I do think the President will lose influence as we go along. But he still has tremendous influence now particularly in states like Missouri, where there will be a primary to replace Roy Blunt. But in states like Arizona, no Republican is going to win by really hewing to the Trump line. That's been tried in the last two cycles. And we have two Democrats representing Arizona in the United States Senate for the first time in 72 years.

So yes, it has to change. But there aren't enough people yet coming forward and saying we need to chart a different path, partly because in many states, you know, hewing close to the Trump line will win you a primary. But that's certainly not the case in many states.

KING: Grateful to talk to you today, because I wanted your experience and your insights on this. As I dig through our new polling with this really fascinating moment, the President just gave me prime time address last night. If you look at the policy proposals in this COVID Relief Act, most of them poll quite well, some of them off the charts, 85 percent, for example, support family tax credits. But when you ask about Biden, specifically, you see polarization, which has been a feature of our politics for some time.

I want to walk through some numbers with you, as we go through right here. Number -- first, you know, a lot of -- do you have a lot of confidence in the President's ability to lead us out of the pandemic? Eighty-two percent of Democrats say, yes, they do. Only 35 percent of Independents, just over a third, and only 6 percent of Republicans right now, just 50 -- just past the 50 day mark, day 52, I believe, and only 6 percent of Republicans have any confidence in the President's ability. That skepticism among Independents and outright opposition among Republican, Senator, is what's driving these numbers.

Does the President have a clear plan for restoring the economy? Right now a majority of Americans 55 percent say, no, he doesn't have a clear plan to restore the economy. Similar on another big question facing the country, does he have a clear plan for putting kids back in school? Fifty-three percent say no, 44 percent say yes. I asked in the context of this. One of the conversations here in Washington now is very familiar to me from back in 2009. Republicans are voting no. And so many people in Washington are saying wait, the President's pretty popular. He's new. Why won't Republicans give him a chance, right? Out there in the country, some of this is popular.

Do you see what happened? I'm going to go back in time here. This is 2008. This is the House map. Barack Obama was president. Democrats had a big majority. They thought he should be popular. They thought why are all these Republicans voting, no. Republicans kept voting no, a lot of people in this town said that was wacky. And in 2010, Republicans won 63 seats and took back the House of Representatives. Do you see your party making the calculation if we just say no, we can do this again?

FLAKE: Yes. I think there's some of that certainly, they look back to 2009 and see the big stimulus package that was passed. Now Democrats will say its different today and it is a very different package and that the money will flow much more quickly than the last one. I think it was easier to demagogue the last one, particularly the with the so called shovel ready projects that were not shovel ready. And it was easy to point out some of the pork.

[12:45:16]

This will be a little more difficult to do. But it is doable for Republicans, and they're certainly making that bet. So Democrats who think that because this polls popular now that it'll be popular two years from now, maybe miscalculated. And the President's party always takes a hit in midterm elections. And they can't afford to take much of a hit in the Senate, obviously, and keep control. There are 20 Democrat or sorry, 20 Republicans up only 14 Democrats.

But there are a number of seats where Republicans could gain advantage if they'll get off this kick about trying to make it more difficult for people to vote and spouting the old Trump line and go back to traditional conservatism, limited government, economic freedom, individual responsibility, lower regulation. Those are things that I think some Republicans think will sell. But it's difficult to get beyond the Trump era.

KING: It's fascinating in the sense that you outline there, how complicated things are in the Republican family, and the numbers show you how complicated things are in the Democratic family as well. And the sales pitch, the President has now especially among Independents and Republicans as he gets out of the country. Senator, grateful for your time today and we'll continue the conversation in these quite interesting times ahead.

Up next for us, though an adjustment from the administration, a new adjustment dealing with shelters along the border in hope that more people will claim the thousands of unaccompanied children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:51:23]

KING: A big new change from the Biden administration announced just this hour that the administration hopes will ease the crush of unaccompanied minor children in shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border. The change involves reversing a Trump administration policy that the new White House believes discouraged parents from coming forward to try to claim their children. Let's get more now from CNN national correspondent, Ed Lavandera. He's live for us in McAllen, Texas. Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Well, this Trump administration era agreement was between the Department of Health and Human Services that cares for unaccompanied children after they've been apprehended by Border Patrol agents here on the southern border, and the Department of Homeland Security and Immigrations Customs Enforcement.

And essentially what that agreement did is allowed HHS to share information about the sponsors who were coming forward to care for the unaccompanied children in HHS care. As you can imagine, for years that sent a chilling effect in the number of sponsors who were coming forward to claim the unaccompanied children in HHS custody, because many of these families either undocumented or come from mixed status homes where you have U.S. citizens living with undocumented family members, and that information sharing was a cause of concern.

Biden administration officials said this afternoon that they're hoping that this sends a clear signal that HHS is not in the immigration enforcement business, essentially, that they are in the business of child welfare. And this comes as the numbers of unaccompanied children, John, arriving at the U.S. southern border is escalating. Right now there are about 3,700 unaccompanied children in Border Patrol custody. They are supposed to be moved within 72 hours to the care of HHS.

But those numbers for that agency have also escalated dramatically in recent weeks, nearly 9,000 children in HHS care right now, that number has jumped by almost 1,000 in just the last week. So the Biden ministration is scrambling to make room at the HHS level for these unaccompanied children even looking at a site, a NASA site in California to open up more bed space for these children.

And all accounts are in every indication is that these numbers will continue to escalate here on the U.S. southern border. Critics of the Biden administration say that they're not moving fast enough to handle this surge of migrants even some of the President's supporters are saying that as well. But Biden ministration officials say that they're trying to balance a more humanitarian approach to immigration, at the same time trying to unravel what they described as the build out of the depths of chaos caused by the Trump administration immigration policy for years, John.

KING: Ed Lavandera, live for us in the count. Ed, appreciate it. We'll circle back, give it a little time and see if this new change does anything to help with those numbers. Ed, very grateful for the hustle and the live reporting.

[12:54:22]

Up next, because it's such a big topic here in Washington, members of Congress now heading to the U.S.-Mexico border.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Topping our Political Radar today, border visits. The Republican Texas Senator John Cornyn will join Democratic Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar today for a visit to the southern border. They will tour a detention center for migrant children and get a briefing from federal agents about the unfolding border crisis. And now the House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy says he's planning a trip of his own to the border with some backup from other members.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER: I'm going to the border on Monday. I'm taking 12 other members with me. So we can actually solve this problem if the President wants to continue to try to create it and ignore it. I think it's going to be kind of difficult for him if there's 12 members of Congress who fund these facilities that they won't allow in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: President Trump's time in office may have shielded him from prosecution. But now sources say, Manhattan prosecutors are considering using that a state law that allows the Statute of Limitations to be extended if the target of the investigation, now the former president, stays out of state continuously that could open the former president up to new charges but would likely come from a new district attorney. Cyrus Vance Jr. officially announcing today he will not run for reelection.

[13:00:06]

Grateful for your time today, I hope you have a fantastic weekend. We'll see you back here on Monday. Brianna Keilar picks up our coverage on this busy news day right now. Have a good day.