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Inside Politics

19 States and DC Have Fully Vaccinated at Least 50% of Adults; Cases, Deaths, Hospitalizations Declines as More People Get Vaccinated; New Reporting on Speaker Pelosi's Future; Trump Organization CFO Under Criminal Investigation. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired May 20, 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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[12:31:12]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Most of the latest COVID numbers are encouraging, positive and that is ironically stirring a whole new debate, a new twist on the mass debate. Let's walk through the numbers first. If you look at the new cases, this is the horrific winter peak 300,000 new infections a day, look where we are now, May 19, 29,000 new infections a day so a big drop here. The question is can you keep pushing it down but significant progress in the case count?

Why is that happening? It's happening because more Americans in part it's happening anyway because more Americans are getting vaccinated, the percentage who are vaccinated partially nearly half 48% of Americans at least have one shot, 37 not 38% if you round that up, fully vaccinated, so progress in the vaccination front.

So one of the best states right now, Maine percentage of adults who are fully vaccinated Maine at 61%, Mississippi is at the bottom of the pack at just 34%. Look at it from this perspective. This is the percent of the entire population who are fully vaccinated. On this map, the deeper green the better. Maine 50%, 40% in Pennsylvania, 45 out here in New Mexico, you see the 20s here in Alabama and Mississippi, 26 and 28 respectively.

So here's a question as we go through the spring in the summer and into the fall and it gets colder, when coronavirus comes back a little bit, will we see the states with a high vaccination rate? With a pretty low case count and maybe spikes and surges in some of these states that are lagging. Dr. Anthony Fauci says maybe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: Unfortunately would likely what happen is that you're going to see a much higher risk of outbreaks of some sort or of sustained level of infection in those areas that are not fully vaccinated or at least not vaccinated to a high percentage. It's not going to be a, you know, homogeneous uni-dimensional issue when it comes to this. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Joining me now to discuss the latest number is Dr. Tom Frieden. He's the former CDC Director. Dr. Frieden grateful for your time today, expand more on that challenge, since you have, you know, we're in the spring and then the summer, this is the time if you're going to, if you're one of those states that's lagging, this is the time to ramp up your vaccine rollout, how worried are you that we could have a blue state, red state, the way I look at it politically surge come later in the fall?

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: Well, first off, I think it's important to emphasize that we are in as a much, much better place than we were before. The numbers that you just went through show it. We have 10 times less COVID than at the peak.

Unfortunately, we still have about three times more COVID than the levels that will allow us to get it controlled. And of course, it's not the same everywhere in the country, there are much higher rates of COVID, lower rates of vaccination in different places, even within states, even within cities and communities, you have some groups that are less protected.

So we're not out of the woods yet, but the worst is definitely behind us. We're making progress, I anticipate that we will continue to see those numbers decrease the case numbers decrease over the coming weeks. By summer, they should be quite low. By fall, we should really be at a new normal.

But that new normal is going to mean we're still going to have to think about the risk of cases and clusters in nursing homes, prisons, homeless shelters, communities that don't have large vaccination rates or high vaccination rates. And in those situations, it's really important we respond quickly. COVID is going to be with us for the foreseeable future. And we're going to have to stay careful, but we can do more and more of the things we have so missed doing for the past year, nearly year and a half.

KING: Amen to that. And as you mentioned, it's very important, we can look at national numbers, but this is different state by state and sometimes it's different within states, different parts of states as you go county by county. Right now, as at every key moment you've had your political leaders making decisions, do we ramp up restrictions, do we dial back restrictions?

[12:35:00]

In Texas and Iowa, the governors, there's new policies in place mandating, and Utah, this is in the legislature, but in Texas in Iowa, it is now policy that a local school district or a local government, the governor's have mandated no longer can you institute a masked mandate? Is that smart public policy? Should you want to statewide level be telling counties, mayors, school districts, no more masks?

FRIEDEN: No, it's a mistake to be perfectly blunt. The fact is, masks are highly effective at preventing the spread of COVID. The main freedom that a mask inhibits is the freedom of the virus to spread to people and make them very sick or killed them.

Now, the good news that we have fewer cases and more vaccines means that masks are less and less necessary in certain circumstances. What you really have to ask who you are, where you are and what you're doing?

So if you're immunocompromised, you might need to think about wearing a mask. Even if the general population isn't, even if you've been immunized if there's still COVID spreading in your community, and you're indoors in an environment that may create a risk where you are, are you in a place where COVID is spreading.

And if flu season comes and you don't feel like getting the flu, maybe you want to wear a mask then in crowded indoor, poorly ventilated spaces, and what you're doing things like choir and shouting in aerobics classes in poorly ventilated indoor spaces that increase the risk.

So if you have the combination of COVID still in the community, lots of activity that could spread it and people who could get very sick from it, you still have the benefit from wearing a mask if you want to wear a mask, you can but prohibiting schools from enforcing or passing mask mandate is a big mistake.

We want our kids back in school learning. We don't yet have vaccines approved for kids under the age of 12, lots of their brothers, sisters, parents may have underlying conditions, may be susceptible. We know that schools can be back in in-person learning, but doing that requires a multi-layered system to prevent problems.

KING: It would be nice if the politicians would listen to the science and experts like yourself but as we've learned the last 14 months sometimes, sometimes, Dr. Frieden that's wishful thinking. I'm grateful for your time today sir. We'll continue this conversation.

Coming up for us, some brand new reporting on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's future.

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[12:41:54]

KING: We have some new CNN reporting this hour about the most powerful woman in Congress and the questions about how long she hopes to wield the speaker's gavel. Nancy Pelosi bristles at the question because discipline is our calling card and she believes any talk about her future is a distraction from her party's policy and political agendas. But Congress is like any workplace. There's always jockeying for promotions, especially when the boss is on the record saying the time for a transition is approaching.

CNN's Manu just filed some extensive reporting. Manu Raju just filed some extensive reporting on this and joins us now live. Manu, this is one of the great subplot dramas up on Capitol Hill. What are your big headlines? MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, especially given how much power she wields in Congress in over her own party that she has overseen for the past 18 years. She has indicated previously that she would step aside after the end of this Congress. But it's still not clear at all about what you would do.

We -- my colleague, Alex Rogers and I, we spoke to a number of confidants, allies, people in California and in Washington, it's very clear, she's keeping her decision very close to her dates. There's some bits of rumors perhaps that she could step aside.

This Congress may not run, it may not serve out her term, her confidants or allies completely reject that possibility, saying that she is raising just in the stunning amount of money to try to keep the Democrats majority in the House right now, which is imperiled and believing that if she were to step aside too soon, that could hurt that effort. And also, there are questions about whether she will in fact run for reelection again. There -- right now she is keep clearly, keeping that option open her campaign is raising a ton of money for that race as well.

So then if she does run for re election, will she in fact try to retain the speaker's gallop -- gavel. If the Democrats keep the majority and the new Congress that is still an open question to, even though she has signaled that she would step aside after this term. Part of it is to she does not want to be seen as a lame duck. So she wants to make clear that some options here are open, but it's also the way she strategize and plays which is keeping our cards very, very close to her best.

Now, John, that was also people are watching because their own careers could be affected directly about this. First on Capitol Hill, what will happen about the speakership at the top?

Democratic job, there's wide speculation that Hakeem Jeffries would be the likely heir apparent, he right now is a member of democratic leadership. But there are two, there are other people ahead of him. Steny Hoyer, Jim Clyburn, but they are older than him to, it is the expectation that they may go away.

But I've talked to all of them, none of them would say and one thing to watch out, John, is what will happen to her House seat? Her daughter Christine Pelosi seen as a possible as someone who could run for that seat as well. She also would not -- we reached out to her, we didn't hear back, but a lot of people watching about what she may do in the weeks ahead here, John.

KING: Manu, stay with us. Let's bring the conversation in the room. Look at a time you are most busy is when these conversations come up. Congress is incredibly busy right now. You've been very busy with an election insurrection. The Washington Post has a new editor. She's great, by the way, she's a former colleague of mine, we occasionally we're not going to talk about it. We occasionally have management conversations around this company as well. They have it, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh no we don't. KING: Oh no, we don't. Judy woodruff for PBS put the question to Speaker Pelosi a couple weeks ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY WOODRUFF, ANCHOR AND MANAGING EDITOR, PBS NEWSHOUR: Would you consider extending your time as speaker?

[12:45:03]

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) HOUSE SPEAKER: Well, let's take it one step at a time. I myself had thought I was leaving in 2016 when Hillary Clinton would be the president of the United States. But I don't have any intention of declaring myself a lame duck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: She gets straight to the politics there. But she was, you could argue, she still is but that we have the vice president, now we have a woman of color as vice president of United States. Nancy Pelosi for a long time understandably, she's a historic figure in American politics. That has been her badge of honor, the highest ranking woman in American politics, a trailblazing woman.

To Manu's point, she's already raised more than $32 million in the first three months of 2021 for Democrats, part of over 1 billion she's earned for the party in the past 20 years. In some ways, she's irreplaceable.

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: As certainly as she is a prolific fundraiser for the Democratic Party, and also a just an amazing vote counter. I don't think there is a better whip on Capitol Hill among the leadership that Nancy Pelosi who knows exactly what our members need to get to yes, or she knows exactly who needs to vote no.

And with the narrowest of margins that they have in the House, you need someone like that at the helm. But at the same time, as Manu pointed out, she has been in charge for 18 years. And I think one of the ongoing storylines in the Democratic Party that has existed under Pelosi's leadership is the younger generation of House Democrats who have had to look for jobs elsewhere because they were kind of blocked out of leadership.

You have Xavier Becerra now in the cabinet as the HHS Secretary, you know, Chris Van Hollen down the Senate.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Center of Richmond.

KIM: Center of Richmond, exactly, so there's a -- So once that seat opens up, the jacking is just going to come out.

KING: To that point, Steny Hoyer, 81, her deputy. Jim Clyburn and the number three in the Democratic leadership, 80 years old, then you get Karen Bass, 67, Adam Schiff, 60, Hakeem Jeffries, 50, that's where you see the next class, the potential class of leadership, if you have the generational shift, if.

HENDERSON: You know, if and what we don't know is, does the -- does he lose the speaker's gavel, right? I mean, they only, the Republicans only need to flip five seats. And history has shown that the incumbent president typically loses something like two dozen seats. So they've got a real big task ahead of them. And I think that's the main question because you can imagine her giving up the speaker's gavel and sort of remaining in the House just as the leader of that caucus.

KING: Right.

HENDERSON: We will see.

KING: And to that point, Manu, you talk to -- you and your colleagues talk to these, Hakeem Jeffries, I'll let the drama exist on the Republican side of the aisle. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, I don't think any selection of leadership should ever be a de facto thing.

Abigail Spanberger has voted against Pelosi twice, I've been consistent of the fact that I think we need new voices spreading the word. Is there any conceivable way she would say before the midterms, before the midterms what her plans are, win or lose in the next Congress?

RAJU: It's hard to see that because what her concern is that if she were to say I'm not running again, or, or anything like that, that could hurt our ability to raise money. And that is what's so essential here.

So perhaps there's some speculation that she could run again, when her seat maybe step aside and the new Congress, and a lot of it has to do with, can they win the majority if they lose the majority, then there'll be a lot of calls for some new leadership as well on the hill. But as I said earlier, John, she is someone who does not say what she's doing here is making very clear to her allies, closest confidants, they don't know what she'll do.

KING: It is. So as I said, it's a great mystery playing out at a very important time in the United States Congress. Manu Raju, grateful for the reporting.

Up next for us, some more news CNN reporting this on how prosecutors now turning up the heat on the man who knows just about everything about the Trump Organization.

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[12:53:21]

KING: The money man at the Trump Organization also now under criminal investigation. For months, we are told the New York Attorney General has been looking into the taxes of the Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg. You see him there, people familiar with the investigation telling that to CNN. CNN's Kara Scannell broke this important news and she joins us now live. This is about Mr. Weisselberg, Kara but it's also about much more. KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: That's right, John. I mean this is about Allen Weisselberg but ultimately what prosecutors want is they want him to cooperate and who do you cooperate against but the former President Donald Trump.

So what we've learned, sources tell us that the New York Attorney General's Office opened a criminal tax investigation into Weisselberg several months ago, and they've been looking into some of the personal benefits that he had received from working at the Trump Organization as well as benefits that he gave to his children and ultimately whether he paid taxes on that. This investigation stems from information that was provided by his former daughter-in-law Jennifer Weisselberg.

She has been cooperating with prosecutors at both the New York Attorney General's office as well as the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and she'd been married to Allen Weisselberg son Barry for 14 years. They divorced in 2018. She has told CNN she's 25 years of tax records and that she has also said that, you know, she believes that Donald Trump paid for her children's school tuition that is a topic that all the investigators are digging into. John.

KING: Kara Scannell, grateful for this important reporting. Stay on top of it. Come back to us when we know more. Up next for us, a nail biter up on Capitol Hill, money to protect the Capitol is the issue. Progressive Democrats, several of them say you can't vote yes.

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[12:59:30]

KING: Toping our political radar today, just moments ago suspense on Capitol Hill, a big decision in the House coming down to a single vote. The legislation is adds $1.9 billion in new money to bolster security at the U.S. Capitol but it survived just barely. Final tally, 213 to 212, that after six progressive Democrats voted no or present. The bill now goes over to the Senate.

There are now calls for Georgia to go the way of Arizona and conduct a fraud, a partisan unsanctioned audit of the 2020 election results. Bernie Jones, the Republican challenging the governor Brian Kemp, in the Republican primary says the only people who don't want election transparency are the people with something to hide. That's what Mr. Jones says. The Arizona audit is a farce.

Thanks for joining us today. We'll see you back here at this time tomorrow. Ana Cabrera picks up our coverage right now.