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American Morning
Interview with Michael Lewellen
Aired December 16, 2002 - 09:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to talk about Trent Lott's future. With each passing day, his future as Senate Republican leader seems most uncertain. At least three GOP colleagues are now calling for a rank and file party conference in the Senate to determine whether the senator from Mississippi can still be an effective party leader.
Gary Tuchman is standing by in Pascagoula, Mississippi this morning with the home folks position on this race-based controversy, and a beautiful day indeed down there -- good morning, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Paula, it is a beautiful day, about 30 degrees warmer than where you are in New York City. So yes, a couple days before Christmas, we are able to stand out here without coats. But it is a cold day and a cold weekend it has been for Trent Lott in a figurative sense. Today, he plans on publicly apologizing one more time. This afternoon, he'll tape an interview on Black Entertainment Television. It will air tonight. That interview comes one day after his former lieutenant spoke out against him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): A fellow Republican senator calls for a vote for a new Senate Republican leader. Trent Lott learns about it before he heads for church.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: It's Sunday morning, and we're going to my hometown church. So, that's what I'm focused on this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just have one quick comment about that, though, Senator Nickles made a point to also say this on Sunday.
LOTT: Well, you let him explain that. See you.
TUCHMAN: Oklahoma's Don Nickles, former Republican whip, who could become a candidate for majority leader, declared: "I am concerned Senator Lott has been weakened to the point that it may jeopardize his ability to enact our agenda and speak to all Americans. There are several outstanding senators who are more than capable of effective leadership, and I hope we have an ability to choose."
Nickles is the first Republican to call for a vote. But if five Republican senators call for a closed-door meeting to discuss the possibility, then such a meeting will be held. And Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel and Virginia's John Warner have now called for that. SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: It is our responsibility as a group to come together, make a decision and then go forward. Not to let this thing be dangling out there day after day.
TUCHMAN: Trent Lott received an enthusiastic welcome in his hometown church. Congregates at the First Baptist Church of Pascagoula shook his hand and hugged him. All of the 400 plus people there were white, except for a family of five African-Americans who came in late, saying they were visiting the church for the first time. That family also later greeted Trent Lott.
The Senate majority leader received a 45-second ovation after the pastor said -- quote -- "Senator Lott, we love you, we accept your apology, and you have our prayers and support."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: As you see, Senator Lott publicly did not say much yesterday. However, his aides are telling CNN and Republican senators that they see Senator Nickles as opportunistic, and they also point out that he too voted against a Martin Luther King holiday -- Paula, back to you.
ZAHN: Just keep on getting longer, don't they? Gary Tuchman, thanks so much.
The Senator already has issued several apologies, and you can expect him to do it again today during a 30 minute interview with Black Entertainment Television. It's Lott's first on camera interview since the political firestorm erupted, and Michael Lewellen, VP of communications from BET joins us now from Washington -- good to have you with us. Welcome, Michael.
MICHAEL LEWELLEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATION, BET: Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: Before we get to what Ed Gordon plans to do with this interview, what are your own personal thoughts? Do you think the Republicans should give Trent Lott a chance to become majority leader or do you think he should be thrown out?
LEWELLEN: Well, when you have a scenario where the individual who is supposed to personify the values of the party and represent every level of the party strategy is caught up in this kind of a firestorm, it almost mandates that there be a change in leadership.
Obviously, the Republican Party will sort out its own issues in its own good time, but regardless of his motivation, joking or not, segregation and the state of racial relations in this country has never been a laughing matter, and certainly not the era that he was referring to regarding Strom Thurmond.
ZAHN: Does your reporter, Ed Gordon, go in with the same point of view you have, and if he does, how will he be able to conduct a fair interview? LEWELLEN: Well, it is not -- first of all, Ed Gordon in our opinion, is one of the best interviewers on television, so Ed will certainly be a profession. But this will be a no-holds-barred interview. There have been no prearranged rules of engagement. The senator will not receive any particular special treatment. This is the senator's opportunity to directly address the audience that is affected the most, that is offended the most by what he said, and that is African-Americans in this country.
Like any journalist, Ed has a number of hard questions that he will ask. I think near the top of that list will be, Why did he say it? Because, again, you really can't take something that he himself described as a stain on the soul of this country and treat it as a laughing matter.
And then, I think, secondly, African-Americans, as well as the general population, are very curious about how this has affected the senator, in terms of his mind-set, not only in terms how he approaches his job, whether he remains Republican majority leader or not, as well as just his whole mindset around the state of race relations in this country. We'll be very curious at 8:00 Eastern how he approaches this topic.
ZAHN: How much prep work have you done with Ed? Because I think right now, we could probably script the answers together you might get in this interview, particularly why did you say that, and we've heard a number of apologies, I said it was in the context of a birthday party for an old man. Is he ready to go with the follow-up questions, and is this a collaborative effort on BET's part?
LEWELLEN: Well, rest assured we have a responsibility to the African-Americans who watch our network night and -- night out.
They want an honest answer from the senator. I certainly hope, and we certainly hope, that he will be honest and forthright with what he says.
Yes, he has apologized already through the mainstream media and a number of other channels. But what we, I think, will be looking for is whether or not there is some true sincerity, some true commitment to what he's saying. I think you've seen some of the reports and read some of the assessment of what the senator has said to date, and some people have questioned his sincerity and whether or not he really means it.
If there ever was a time for him to be very sincere and up front and really mean what he is saying, that time is tonight on BET in front of African-American viewers.
ZAHN: Michael, just very quickly here, obviously people in your audience will have very strong feelings about this, and I guess hard not to walk into to watching this without those feelings. But are -- do you think he -- Senator Lott is likely to change any of those preexisting thoughts -- and prejudices probably?
LEWELLEN: That's unlikely because of the nature of racism and the nature of segregation and what is meant here in this country. I'm not sure if his objective would necessarily be to try and change everyone's mind, so much that it is to convince them that he is truly sorry for what he has done. Is he going to ask for forgiveness tonight? We won't know that. Will the senator say something that hasn't been said yet? It's literally up to him, but all eyes and ears will be focused to hear what he says to the audience that has been most affected by what has happened here.
ZAHN: Well, we appreciate the preview of what might happen later tonight on BET. Michael Lewellen, thanks for dropping by. Appreciate it.
LEWELLEN: Thank you, Paula.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 16, 2002 - 09:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to talk about Trent Lott's future. With each passing day, his future as Senate Republican leader seems most uncertain. At least three GOP colleagues are now calling for a rank and file party conference in the Senate to determine whether the senator from Mississippi can still be an effective party leader.
Gary Tuchman is standing by in Pascagoula, Mississippi this morning with the home folks position on this race-based controversy, and a beautiful day indeed down there -- good morning, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Paula, it is a beautiful day, about 30 degrees warmer than where you are in New York City. So yes, a couple days before Christmas, we are able to stand out here without coats. But it is a cold day and a cold weekend it has been for Trent Lott in a figurative sense. Today, he plans on publicly apologizing one more time. This afternoon, he'll tape an interview on Black Entertainment Television. It will air tonight. That interview comes one day after his former lieutenant spoke out against him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): A fellow Republican senator calls for a vote for a new Senate Republican leader. Trent Lott learns about it before he heads for church.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: It's Sunday morning, and we're going to my hometown church. So, that's what I'm focused on this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just have one quick comment about that, though, Senator Nickles made a point to also say this on Sunday.
LOTT: Well, you let him explain that. See you.
TUCHMAN: Oklahoma's Don Nickles, former Republican whip, who could become a candidate for majority leader, declared: "I am concerned Senator Lott has been weakened to the point that it may jeopardize his ability to enact our agenda and speak to all Americans. There are several outstanding senators who are more than capable of effective leadership, and I hope we have an ability to choose."
Nickles is the first Republican to call for a vote. But if five Republican senators call for a closed-door meeting to discuss the possibility, then such a meeting will be held. And Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel and Virginia's John Warner have now called for that. SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: It is our responsibility as a group to come together, make a decision and then go forward. Not to let this thing be dangling out there day after day.
TUCHMAN: Trent Lott received an enthusiastic welcome in his hometown church. Congregates at the First Baptist Church of Pascagoula shook his hand and hugged him. All of the 400 plus people there were white, except for a family of five African-Americans who came in late, saying they were visiting the church for the first time. That family also later greeted Trent Lott.
The Senate majority leader received a 45-second ovation after the pastor said -- quote -- "Senator Lott, we love you, we accept your apology, and you have our prayers and support."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: As you see, Senator Lott publicly did not say much yesterday. However, his aides are telling CNN and Republican senators that they see Senator Nickles as opportunistic, and they also point out that he too voted against a Martin Luther King holiday -- Paula, back to you.
ZAHN: Just keep on getting longer, don't they? Gary Tuchman, thanks so much.
The Senator already has issued several apologies, and you can expect him to do it again today during a 30 minute interview with Black Entertainment Television. It's Lott's first on camera interview since the political firestorm erupted, and Michael Lewellen, VP of communications from BET joins us now from Washington -- good to have you with us. Welcome, Michael.
MICHAEL LEWELLEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATION, BET: Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: Before we get to what Ed Gordon plans to do with this interview, what are your own personal thoughts? Do you think the Republicans should give Trent Lott a chance to become majority leader or do you think he should be thrown out?
LEWELLEN: Well, when you have a scenario where the individual who is supposed to personify the values of the party and represent every level of the party strategy is caught up in this kind of a firestorm, it almost mandates that there be a change in leadership.
Obviously, the Republican Party will sort out its own issues in its own good time, but regardless of his motivation, joking or not, segregation and the state of racial relations in this country has never been a laughing matter, and certainly not the era that he was referring to regarding Strom Thurmond.
ZAHN: Does your reporter, Ed Gordon, go in with the same point of view you have, and if he does, how will he be able to conduct a fair interview? LEWELLEN: Well, it is not -- first of all, Ed Gordon in our opinion, is one of the best interviewers on television, so Ed will certainly be a profession. But this will be a no-holds-barred interview. There have been no prearranged rules of engagement. The senator will not receive any particular special treatment. This is the senator's opportunity to directly address the audience that is affected the most, that is offended the most by what he said, and that is African-Americans in this country.
Like any journalist, Ed has a number of hard questions that he will ask. I think near the top of that list will be, Why did he say it? Because, again, you really can't take something that he himself described as a stain on the soul of this country and treat it as a laughing matter.
And then, I think, secondly, African-Americans, as well as the general population, are very curious about how this has affected the senator, in terms of his mind-set, not only in terms how he approaches his job, whether he remains Republican majority leader or not, as well as just his whole mindset around the state of race relations in this country. We'll be very curious at 8:00 Eastern how he approaches this topic.
ZAHN: How much prep work have you done with Ed? Because I think right now, we could probably script the answers together you might get in this interview, particularly why did you say that, and we've heard a number of apologies, I said it was in the context of a birthday party for an old man. Is he ready to go with the follow-up questions, and is this a collaborative effort on BET's part?
LEWELLEN: Well, rest assured we have a responsibility to the African-Americans who watch our network night and -- night out.
They want an honest answer from the senator. I certainly hope, and we certainly hope, that he will be honest and forthright with what he says.
Yes, he has apologized already through the mainstream media and a number of other channels. But what we, I think, will be looking for is whether or not there is some true sincerity, some true commitment to what he's saying. I think you've seen some of the reports and read some of the assessment of what the senator has said to date, and some people have questioned his sincerity and whether or not he really means it.
If there ever was a time for him to be very sincere and up front and really mean what he is saying, that time is tonight on BET in front of African-American viewers.
ZAHN: Michael, just very quickly here, obviously people in your audience will have very strong feelings about this, and I guess hard not to walk into to watching this without those feelings. But are -- do you think he -- Senator Lott is likely to change any of those preexisting thoughts -- and prejudices probably?
LEWELLEN: That's unlikely because of the nature of racism and the nature of segregation and what is meant here in this country. I'm not sure if his objective would necessarily be to try and change everyone's mind, so much that it is to convince them that he is truly sorry for what he has done. Is he going to ask for forgiveness tonight? We won't know that. Will the senator say something that hasn't been said yet? It's literally up to him, but all eyes and ears will be focused to hear what he says to the audience that has been most affected by what has happened here.
ZAHN: Well, we appreciate the preview of what might happen later tonight on BET. Michael Lewellen, thanks for dropping by. Appreciate it.
LEWELLEN: Thank you, Paula.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
