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House Freedom Caucus Opposes Spending Bill; Trump Takes on Biden; When you Eat Matters; AT&T and Time Warner Trial Begins. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired March 22, 2018 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Of Arizona, a member of the House Freedom Caucus which opposes the bill.
Paul, good to see you.
REP. PAUL GOSAR (R), ARIZONA: Good seeing you, Chris.
CUOMO: So you standing firm on that? Are you against this bill?
GOSAR: Absolutely. This represents everything that's wrong with this process. Bad process builds bad policy builds bad politics. And there's enough blame to go all around, Chris.
CUOMO: Well, you know, I was wondering when you guys were going to get your feet stuck in the sand because you've been swallowing a lot of deficit spending in the name of party unity. What made this the break point?
GOSAR: Well, this -- this just -- Chis, this just epitomizes what's so wrong with the whole process is that four people made all the decisions for the whole Congress. That's totally wrong. You know, when I was sent here in 2010, you know, it was to get our finances under wraps and start being accountable to the people. What would -- what's going to happen is, is when we finally get people to read this 20 -- or over 2,000-page monstrosity --
CUOMO: Nobody's going to read it.
GOSAR: No, the thing about it is, when they find out what's in this here, they're going to be shocked, where we can't even pay for our veterans who are fighting Agent Orange, but then we're arming the arts? It's unbelievable what goes on here with the fiscal irresponsibility that goes on.
CUOMO: So here's the big question that you don't hear very often because everybody's so invested in this fight between all you guys. Fix it. How do you fix it? Because I get where you're coming from. I get your convictions. They're reasonable. They should be argued out and decided upon. How do you fix this process?
GOSAR: Well, the one, Chris, is, at least the House passed a budget in the 12 appropriation bills last year, albeit (ph) they were shortened. But the problem exists in the Senate. And when you do none of the appropriation bills, then you forfeit your power of the purse. That's the whole key here is that Congress has to go line by line and fund those projects that they want to fund and mandate that that money be spent accordingly.
CUOMO: Right.
GOSAR: But when you don't do that, what we do is we throw this money at problems --
CUOMO: Right.
GOSAR: And hopefully it filters down to the right process. That's not the way things need to be done here.
CUOMO: I know, but that is the way it is done, and that ain't new.
GOSAR: Well, and, Chris --
CUOMO: So how do you change it?
GOSAR: No, and -- Chris, I have been no wallflower. I've called out my two senators in our state. I've called out Mitch McConnell. Because what ends up happening, you don't start strategy at the last minute when there's a mayday call.
CUOMO: Right.
GOSAR: You start from the very day you start. And so, you know, what's fair for one president should be fair for another. Confirmation processes. If we're going to hold things up like that, where is the guts on the majority leader and the Senate --
CUOMO: Right.
GOSAR: To say, OK, guess what, you folks aren't going home until we get this done. We're going to go 24/7.
CUOMO: You know, I hear you. I hear you on that.
GOSAR: So, you know some --
CUOMO: You emboldened it a little bit, though.
GOSAR: You know some --
CUOMO: You emboldened it a little bit. You went along with the tax bill, even though there's a huge deficit fallout on that, even by pretty modest projections.
GOSAR: But, Chris, on that --
CUOMO: The health care is lost (ph). It's going to add. You know, so you guys went along with it. They think they can push you now. They think they can push you.
GOSAR: No. I mean, you know, once again, you have to identify and diagnose the real problem. And so if you're not talking, you can't fix. And so one of the things that we have to have is get back away from these four people -- maybe there's enough people now on the sidelines, maybe John Cornyn in the Senate is upset because he wasn't part of those dictations. You know, a bunch of people in the House, maybe they're upset because they weren't part of that dictations.
But when you take personal property rights away, when you -- when you take and infringe on the Second Amendment, when you do all these different things that you promised the American people you weren't going to do, that -- there's a day of reckoning coming, Chris.
CUOMO: I know, you know what, it's always about compromise and how they feel about their leverage on the leadership level and this balance of conscience which goes like this, you know, really high, because consequence is what winds up weighting their decisions. They got you on the taxes. They got you on the health care, even though you know it may wind up adding to our fiscal responsibilities. And they know they're going to get you know because if you don't vote for this, you may be exposed in the midterms. How do you deal with that?
GOSAR: I'm not voting for it. And not only that, I'm not voting for the rule, you know, because this is such a poor process. And a number --
CUOMO: Now, are there enough of you left that that will make a difference?
GOSAR: It will make a difference because what this is going to show is, is they're going to actually have to go across the aisle to get those votes.
CUOMO: Right.
GOSAR: To make sure that that rule goes forward. And what ends up happening is, Ms. Pelosi is extrapolating a pound of flesh for every vote that she has to give Paul Ryan.
I hope that the American people are actually watching this charade because it is exactly that, a charade. A charade of (INAUDIBLE).
CUOMO: Oh, but you see how I'm talking to you about it, right?
GOSAR: Yes.
CUOMO: I'm not nitpicking different things and saying, well, the left says this and the right says this.
GOSAR: No, I know. I -- no, Chris, I agree.
CUOMO: I'm saying that this process is malignant --
GOSAR: I agree.
CUOMO: And it's not serving the commonwheal. Remember that word, you know, c-o-m-m-o-n-w-h-e-a-l. It's not working anymore.
GOSAR: Yes. Yes. CUOMO: And I get that there's a lot of value in just pointing back and forth and saying, well, it's really them. That Pelosi, boy, she's (INAUDIBLE). And that Ryan, oh, you know, he's doing his thing. But that's the way it's been for too long. Who's going to change it?
[08:35:04] GOSAR: So, we've actually put things on the table, Chris. For example, you know, starting to allow our military to start making some changes within their budgetary process, prioritizing, getting rid of -- where is the reforms so that instead of every 20 cents out of every dollar being wasted in the military, why don't we reinvest that and find it? You know, when you have eyes from inside, sometimes that actually helps.
We were talking about health care. How about breaking down everybody to the lowest common denominator so that everybody's competing for a patient friendly patient centered focused type health care system. You know, it's amazing when we're sitting here and make fat cats out of the insurance industries and the pharmaceuticals and the hospitals, and you still --
CUOMO: Now, how about that, though?
GOSAR: Well, I --
CUOMO: Why didn't you guys go after the insurance companies the way you went after the consumers?
GOSAR: Oh, Chris, I'm that guy that has that bill that says --
CUOMO: I -- not to --
GOSAR: To revoke. No, I --
CUOMO: But that's not what happened.
GOSAR: Oh, no, but I have a promise by the majority leader in the Senate to have a vote on breaking up the insurance industry. (INAUDIBLE).
CUOMO: Yes, when's that going to happen?
GOSAR: Well, that's what I need the American people to start doing is, Mr. Majority Leader, when's that vote coming?
CUOMO: Well, look, you know what, Paul, any time you want to come on and push for something that will create progress -- because, you know, you guys are just banging on the little guy all the time and the consumers and how they're priced to (ph) plans (ph). How about the people who are controlling the prices? You want to talk about them and what can be done to make this better, you are welcome here any time. We've got to be able to do better than this.
GOSAR: Well, this is one of those things. When you start looking at the competitive marketplace, putting some focus in competition into that marketplace --
CUOMO: Right.
GOSAR: As a health care provider, I see the benefits of this over and over and over again where all of a sudden the patient becomes the focus instead of the premium.
CUOMO: Well, you know, look, it's the -- it's a -- it's a legitimate fight to have. You can't have funding from now to September be 2,200 pages. I could barely even lift it and that is remarkable.
GOSAR: Well, you can't read --
CUOMO: Mr. --
GOSAR: If you can't lift it, we can't read it, Chris.
CUOMO: Oh, no, I can't read it. I didn't say I was smart. I said I was strong. Paul Gosar, thank you very much for joining us.
GOSAR: Well, I mean -- thanks, Chris. You betcha.
CUOMO: And you are welcome here to have this conversation any time you want.
GOSAR: We'll take -- we'll take you up on it.
CUOMO: Erica.
HILL: President Trump taunting Joe Biden in a tweet this morning, attacking his predecessors as well while defending his call to congratulate Vladimir Putin. The big question, why? Well, that's in "The Bottom Line," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:41:17] CUOMO: All right, so the president is tweeting this morning. Oh, so what? Well, listen to these, OK?
Joe Biden is in his crosshairs, and he says if Joe doesn't stop talking trash, he's going to go down hard and fast crying all the way in a fight. This is all true, OK? Biden said that he would, quote, beat the hell out of someone like Trump if he was in high school if he disrespected women the way the president has alleged to have done.
Let's get "The Bottom Line" with CNN's senior political commentator David Axelrod.
Well, we can check the box of --
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: A big charity match coming on.
CUOMO: I know, right?
Here's how we figure out the cure to cancer.
AXELROD: Exactly. CUOMO: We'll check the "you can't make it up" box.
AXELROD: Yes.
CUOMO: Fine. The idea of the president not wanting to discuss these women and their lawsuits, right? But Biden was talking about it in that context when he says this. And there was something about what Biden said that made him forget the no-go zone and take him on. What is that instinct? What does it do to us?
AXELROD: Well, look, I mean obviously he was provoked by something. The one explanation is the one you offered. The other is that just generally Biden challenged his manhood. The third is that Biden has a big announcement this morning in Washington, D.C., where he's rolling out his ideas on the future of work. But it's really going to be viewed as a preliminary rollout to the 2020 campaign. And it just may be that Trump decided to throw a stink bomb in the middle of those proceedings so they'd be talking about something other than what Biden wanted to be talking about.
HILL: Does he care enough about Joe Biden's announcement to do that?
AXELROD: I think he -- I think -- look, Erica, you know, a guy on a street corner can tweet and the president of the United States might respond to him certainly.
HILL: Right.
AXELROD: And he knows that Joe Biden is on the radar screen.
HILL: Yes.
AXELROD: Joe Biden, right now, would be the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. So, I -- yes, I think he would take that provocation.
CUOMO: Biden is not the only one that he was coming after, though, of the Democratic variety this morning. There was another tweet where he seems to be doing something that's becoming very familiar within his support base, which is, if there's something for him to account for, he will immediately reflect it on what others, specifically Democrats, have done in the past.
For instance, I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory. In past, Obama called him also. The fake news media -- he's talking about you, Axe -- is crazed because they wanted me to excoriate him. They are wrong. Getting along with Russia and others is a good thing, not a bad thing. They can help solve problems with North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, ISIS, Iran, and even the coming arms race. Bush tried to get along but didn't have the smarts. Obama and Clinton tried but didn't have the energy or chemistry. Remember reset. Peace through strength.
Analysis?
AXELROD: Well, first of all, it's not peace through strength if you're appeasing Putin. Putin doesn't understand -- you know, you can't send Putin flowers and chocolates and get his cooperation. Putin will cooperate for two reasons. One is, it's because it's in his interest. That's why he cooperated with Obama on Iran, on Afghanistan. Or because you're taking tough actions against him, like going after the oligarchs on whom he's so reliant, which Trump won't do.
The problem for Trump is that he puts this -- this has to be put in the larger perspective. He never is willing to challenge Putin, never. It isn't what he said on that call, it's what he didn't say. How can you talk to Vladimir Putin and not at least reference the fact that he invaded our elections, he just -- he just --
CUOMO: The nerve gas.
AXELROD: Knocked -- tried to knock someone off with nerve gas in London. And he is more and more emboldened. And the president of the United States won't set limits for him. And that's the real issue here.
[08:45:10] So, yes, President Obama called him. I don't -- I'm not as troubled by the fact that he called. I'm troubled by what he is unwilling to say and do.
HILL: So you're troubled by the part of the call that didn't happen?
AXELROD: Exactly.
HILL: The part that didn't happen, addressing the poisoning of the spy and the --
AXELROD: And our own -- and his ongoing efforts to --
HILL: And address the meddling.
AXELROD: To mess with our -- with our electoral system and our democracy.
CUOMO: But he says he's still stronger because he didn't arm -- Obama didn't arm Ukraine. He did. Obama wouldn't bomb in Syria. He did.
AXELROD: Yes. And he did take those actions. But the big action that needs to be taken now is to fully implement those sanctions. And so -- and in terms of his cooperation, as I said before, he needs to find common interest with Putin. Putin is not interested in being pampered. He will take that as a sign of weakness.
HILL: Good to see you. Thank you.
AXELROD: Good to see you guys.
CUOMO: Oh, podcast coming up.
AXELROD: Yes.
CUOMO: Axe interviews me on his podcast. Out now.
AXELROD: That's up this morning.
HILL: This is the one you don't want to miss.
Best episode yet?
CUOMO: It was tough.
AXELROD: Yes.
CUOMO: It got ugly. He threatened to take me behind the building. I said, I don't go for that kind of violence. He apologized. We moved on.
AXELROD: Yes.
HILL: You said you only talk about that violence on Twitter.
Just ahead, a chilling look at the Las Vegas killer before the massacre. Never before seen video of what he did in the days leading up to that night when he killed so many.
CUOMO: All right, but, first, the time of day that you eat may impact your weight loss. You've heard this before. But Lisa Drayer has more, stuff you may not know, in "Food as Fuel."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA DRAYER, CNN HEALTH CONTRIBUTOR: In addition to counting calories, the timing of your meals may also influence weight loss. That's due to changes in our daily internal body clocks or circadian rhythms.
One study found people who ate a late lunch lost less weight than earlier lunch eaters despite consuming the same amount of calories. Another study found that everything else being equal, folks who ate large breakfasts lost more than twice the weight of those whose big meal was dinner. The takeaway, it's better to front load your calories and carbs. So don't skip breakfast.
Your morning meal should have at least 300 calories with a mix of fiber and protein. Lunch should be your main meal of the day. Half your plate should be non-starchy veggies with one quarter protein and the other quarter high fiber carbs.
If you need an afternoon snack, make sure it's high in protein and fiber and under 200 calories.
And keep dinner light and no carb, since our bodies are more prone to storing fat in the evening.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:51:58] HILL: "The New York Times" releasing never before seen surveillance video from the Mandalay Bay Hotel. It captures the Las Vegas killer preparing to carry out that massacre in the days leading up to it.
So in the video, you see hotel workers unwittingly helping Stephen Paddock move more than 20 bags into his room over a seven day period. In those bags, the arsenal of weapons he would later use to carry out that massacre.
He was a regular hotel guest, remember. He's seen interacting with staff in the video, playing video poker for hours, eating at restaurants and going to his room.
On October 1st he opened fire on 22,000 concert goers from the 32nd floor of the hotel. Fifty-eight people were killed, nearly 500 injured, before he took his own life.
Earlier this year, authorities released a preliminary report on the investigation. That report, however, stated they still do not have a motive for what is the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
CUOMO: And what gets you is, the contrast, right, because you believe that this kind of sinister, this kind of evil, this kind of madness must have been all-consuming, and yet the guy is just like wasting away his days doing whatever everybody else in the casino does.
HILL: Yes. Yes. And that's the part I think that is oftentimes so tough to wrap your head around is, you know, we make fun of, oh, he seemed like such a nice guy, or he seemed so normal, we'll often hear after events like this.
CUOMO: Right.
HILL: And it's so hard that there aren't necessarily those outward signs every time.
CUOMO: That's right. And I get why people say, well, who cares. I don't want to know too much about him. But we do want to know about why.
HILL: Yes.
CUOMO: Because it gives us an insight into how to identifying those instincts in people maybe the next time. Anyway, important to see.
Opening statements today in the Trump administration's lawsuit to block AT&T from buying Time Warner, which, of course, owns us, CNN. So, what can we expect? What's at stake?
CNN's Brian Stelter joins us now with more.
What have you got?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, FaceBook's been in the news. We've been talking about FaceBook all morning. FaceBook will be discussed at this trial as well.
AT&T and Time Warner say they need to be able to merge in order to stay competitive. But these tech giants, like FaceBook and Netflix and Google. So that's going to be one of the backdrops of this case.
Opening statements star in a couple of hours. This case will go on for six to eight weeks and then a judge will make a decision about whether this deal can go forward.
The other backdrop is President Trump and his words, his disdain for CNN. There's been widespread speculation that perhaps somehow he spoke to the Department of Justice and he tried to stop this deal. No proof of that, but a lot of speculation.
But really what's going to be debated in court is marketplace competition. What is the state of the cable marketplace? Will this deal encourage innovation, create better ways for you to watch TV on your phone, or will it actually stifle competition? Will it cause your cable bill to actually go up in the future? Those will be the debates that we're going to hear about for the next six to eight weeks.
The Trump noise, all of that is kind of outside the courtroom. Inside the courtroom, it's about the future of media, the future of TV. And depending on what the judge decides, this could have ripple effects all across corporate America.
CUOMO: True.
STELTER: Not just the media business. Because if the government is going to get tougher on companies trying to merge, that could cause other companies to back away from the table. We'll see about the economic effect of this deal and others as well.
[08:55:03] CUOMO: Especially these kinds of deals. This is not the category of merger that is usually subjected to this kind of exactitude from regulators as is going on right now, which fuels some of the speculation.
STELTER: Right.
CUOMO: Brian Stelter, thank you very much. We know you'll keep a watchful eye.
STELTER: Thanks.
CUOMO: All right, it's Thursday. What do you say, you feel like a little bit of "Good Stuff"? You need a little something?
HILL: Yes. Yes, I do.
CUOMO: Right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: It's time for "The Good Stuff."
A Florida teenager risks his life to save his neighbor. Collin Alley, outside the house, noticed a boat flipped over on a lake. What does he do? He immediately spotted his neighbor in danger and went into action. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLIN ALLEY, BOY WHO SAVED NEIGHBOR: I was running out here and basically just came down to the shore, threw my board into the water and just swam as fast as I could.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: He didn't just tell you, he showed you. Collin grabbed Cliff Boyle, brought him back to shore. The 76-year-old says Collin was a guardian angel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLIFF BOYLE, MAN RESCUED BY NEIGHBOR: If he didn't come along, I might not be a great grandfather anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: You don't have to be the oldest, don't have to be the strongest, you don't have to be the smartest, you've just got to want to do something and do it.
HILL: Yes.
[09:00:02] CUOMO: What do you say, you like it? "Good Stuff." Did I deliver?
HILL: Yes, I love it. I do. That was "Good Stuff." I like ending on the high note.
CUOMO: Good.
HILL: Thank you, my friend.
How about a little CNN "NEWSROOM" with John Berman.
