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Boehner: "There Is No Republican Party, There's A Trump Party; Cleveland Cavaliers' Costly Last-Second Error; Samantha Bee Apologizes To Ivanka: "I Crossed A Line." Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 01, 2018 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:44] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I want to talk to you about what's happened with the Republican Party.

JOHN BOEHNER (R), FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: There is no Republican Party. There's a Trump party. The Republican Party is kind of taking a nap somewhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: That is the former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, next to a Bloody Mary, addressing a crowd at a policy conference in Michigan, offering that blunt assessment of the Republican Party, suggesting it's in the middle of a nap right now.

So let's discuss with a couple of lifetime, longtime Republicans, CNN political commentator Scott Jennings and Ana Navarro.

What I really want to talk about is the Bloody Mary and we can all agree that John Boehner is living his best life right now.

But, Ana, this concept, as he puts it, that there is no Republican Party, it's a Trump party. Republicans are taking a nap.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't know if they're taking a nap or they're in a self-induced coma or they're just playing stupid.

But look, I think there's a point to what John Boehner saying and I think a lot of us right now feel that the traditional Republican Party -- the values that we grew up with and what we thought the Republican Party embraced in every aspect, from family values to foreign policy to trade policy -- tariffs.

I mean, every type of aspect we have seen a hostile takeover by Trump, who wasn't even a Republican. He was a Democrat, he was an Independent, and now he's pretending to be a Republican.

And, you know, there's also this thing -- this bloodletting that goes on in the Republican Party right now -- or the Trump party or whatever you want to call it -- which is you're either with Trump or you're not deemed to be a Republican. Get out of our party because if you're not with Trump, who wasn't a Republican until yesterday, you're not fit to be a -- call yourself a Republican.

BERMAN: I want to talk about that in just a second.

But, Scott, it's interesting because you say -- you know, Ana's saying that real Republicans are being ostracized. Trump doesn't represent real Republicans.

But you say all the Lincoln dinners you've gone to in the last 15 years, that Trump is actually tapping into something that was very much a part of them.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Oh, no question.

I mean, if you've been to a Republican event over the last two decades you've heard a lot of things. You've heard I want somebody to take down the Clinton machine, I want somebody to take on the media.

You've heard a lot of sentiments on immigration that sound a heck of a lot like Trump's platform and views on that. And you also heard hey, why don't we have the same kind of celebrities that the Democrats do?

Well, add all this up and what does it sound like? It sounds like the Trump candidacy and the Trump presidency. So I don't think he created these conditions. I think he took advantage of them.

And regarding policy agenda -- tax cuts, deregulation, a strong-funded military, judges -- these have been core principles of the Republican Party for a long time.

There has been anti-free trade sentiment in the minority viewpoint of the Republican Party for quite some time. It happens now to be the view of the standard-bearer. That is a departure, but most of the rest of the policy agenda looks like standard Republican stuff to me.

NAVARRO: What about the family values stuff? I mean, how do you feel about --

JENNINGS: I think -- I think he's --

NAVARRO: -- cheating on his wife with a Playboy bunny and cheating on a Playboy bunny with a porn actress and paying them all of with hush money? And the Republican Party, which used to be against adulterer presidents, remaining silent in the midst of it?

JENNINGS: Yes, I don't personally agree with that kind of behavior.

But I would say, as a policy matter, he has been a very pro-life president. And it appears to me that what Republicans are doing are setting aside personal views in favor of policy wins, and you can argue about whether that's good or bad.

BERMAN: But have -- but have they changed? I mean, has the party changed?

What Ana's suggesting is is that the party used to care about this. People in the party used to care about this and now they're willingly turning a blind eye to it.

JENNINGS: You know what I think a lot of people in the party decided was that the standard-bearers of the party weren't fighting hard enough for what we believe in, and you can agree or disagree with that.

But they thought that McCain, they thought that Romney, they thought that a lot of the so-called establishment leaders of the party simply weren't -- they didn't have the fortitude to take it to the people that were keeping down their views. And they're willing to sacrifice on the personal moral front to get the policy wins they want.

NAVARRO: You see -- and the Republican Party I grew up in -- and maybe right, right now, it exists solely in my mind and my photo albums.

BERMAN: But that's the -- go ahead.

NAVARRO: The Republican Party I grew up in, it would be unfathomable to think that somebody who attacked a national hero, who called POWs losers, who talked that way about women and we heard him, could become the nominee, but he did.

So I think what we're going through right now is growing pains. And there's a -- you know, there's a faction of Republicans who say to themselves well, is the party salvageable? Should we -- or should we just take our toys and go home and do something else?

[07:35:11] I think that's a real question. You have seen people like George Will, who have been longtime Republicans, take their toys and go home.

BERMAN: Jeff Flake.

NAVARRO: You have seen people like Jeff Flake. You've seen -- and then you see --

BERMAN: Bob Corker.

NAVARRO: -- you see others who are fighting until their dying breath, like John McCain.

BERMAN: It's interesting to see John Kasich, another one of these Republicans. He's sort of caught in the middle. He weighed in on this discussion. Let's listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: I think the Republican Party has gone dormant and I don't know where the Democrats are. I can't figure out what they're for.

But what I can say to you is this rise of people who are now disruptors is heartening to me. It gives me hope for the future of the Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I've got say, John Kasich's talking about the rise of disruptors. I'm not so sure that I see the same rise. If Jeff Flake -- if the people speaking out and taking the strongest stand are all the ones leaving that's not much of a rise.

JENNINGS: Yes. I actually was surprised when I saw Flake and Corker and some of the others last year taking stands against Trump. I thought well, they're United States senators. An individual senator really can disrupt the U.S. Senate if they feel like it.

But if you look at those people who are so-called disruptors they have some of the strongest pro-Trump voting records in the Senate. I mean, Flake votes with Trump more than Rand Paul, for instance.

So if they really wanted to do something about it -- if they were really mad they would have disrupted, but they did not.

BERMAN: Even Paul Ryan, who seems to give a pass on a lot of things, is really, really upset about tariffs. He's really, really upset about tariffs.

Well, you know who can do a lot to check the president if you're really upset about tariffs? The Speaker of the House.

NAVARRO: Paul Ryan, yes.

Well look, it's -- to me it's a little frustrating to see that it -- that tariffs is the last straw. That they can remain silent on issues like tearing families apart. That they can remain silent on some of the moral issues, on the divisiveness. That they can remain silent on issues like attacking John McCain from the White House.

And yet, it's tariffs -- the one that they decide to take a high moral ground and standing on. Look, whatever it takes. If it's tariffs, it's tariffs. Find their voice.

I think it's important for Republican leadership -- for Republicans in Congress to realize that the presidency is its own branch. That they're not subservient to the president even if it is a president of their own party.

I remember when George W. Bush was president. I remember John McCain going toe-to-toe with him. There were -- there were some incredibly heated discussions over the war.

And, you know, you've just got to know that you -- what you -- you owe yourself to your convictions, to your principles, to your constituents -- to those interests. Not to the president of a party, even if he is able to do harm to you on a primary. If you are elected, for the love of God, show guts.

BERMAN: Can I just ask, Scott, because I think I know where Ana stands on the current Republican Party and Trump. But is this the party you want? I mean, are you completely comfortable in this party right now? JENNINGS: Well, I'm comfortable with the policy wins they've locked in. Again, a lot of the president's behavior is not behavior that I personally approve of.

I am very comfortable with the direction that the Congress has taken us on policy. I've heard Mitch McConnell, the Senate leader, say this has been the most productive center-right era of governance in his time in Washington. That makes me very happy.

Do I wish the president would take a different route on some personal behavior, some communications issues, and on some issues regarding race, for instance? Absolutely.

NAVARRO: You see, that's the core question though. For some of us, policy takes priority and there's issues that Trump has done, whether it's naming Gorsuch or whatever, that makes people happy. Keeps the base happy.

But for some of us, we can't even get to the policy discussion because we can't get past the fact that we've got a divider in chief, that we've got a pathological liar, and a White House who is cheapening the presidency.

BERMAN: Well, John Boehner has a Bloody Mary.

NAVARRO: It's used to be a Malbec.

JENNINGS: Where are -- where are the NEW DAY Bloody Marys?

BERMAN: At 9:00 -- in two seconds.

Scott, Ana, great to have you here.

NAVARRO: I'd prefer a mojito.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Scott raises a great point about the Bloody Marys.

Thank you, guys.

BERMAN: Only about the Bloody Marys.

CAMEROTA: That's right. I was (INAUDIBLE).

Meanwhile, you have to watch this, guys. Stick around because there's this heart-pounding video.

Rescue crews catch a man falling from the fourth floor of the building and wait until you see how they caught him, OK? We have the story behind this incredible rescue. We'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:43:33] CAMEROTA: Strong storms are expected for already- waterlogged parts of the mid-Atlantic and the southeast, meaning that flooding could get worse. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has our weekend forecast. Uh-oh, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I mean, three to four inches of rain in places that don't need any, like right around D.C. and Baltimore.

We do have some weather today still, though, around Charlotte and Atlanta -- a thunderstorm or two -- but that's not what we're really worried about.

This weather is brought to you by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters -- packed with goodness.

Here is the rainfall event for today across the southeast. But later on this afternoon, the weather begins to shift toward D.C. and Baltimore and that's the weather that's going to be with you tomorrow and even into Sunday. And some of these places will pick up -- in the red zone here, that's three to four inches of rain and that's too close to the places that have already flooded.

Certainly, a cooldown happens with the rain, too, Alisyn. Your high in New York will only be in the 60s by Sunday compared to where you are right now. So --

CAMEROTA: I don't like that, Chad. I don't like that, but thank you.

MYERS: Well, summer's over for a day.

CAMEROTA: OK. Thanks for breaking the news -- OK.

Meanwhile, we have this incredible rescue video that is going viral to show you. This is a fire rescue crew in Latvia. Wait until you see what happens. They catch a man as he falls down the side of an apartment building, OK?

Latvian media reports that the man was hanging from a fourth-floor window. That's when rescuers were trying to set up a more conventional rescue, but that's when the man's grip slipped and the video captures a firefighter catching the man as he falls by him -- catching him by the legs through a window and pulling him inside.

[07:45:13] I don't even under the physics of this, John Berman.

BERMAN: It's Latvian. I think --

CAMEROTA: Is that what explains it?

BERMAN: It's a Latvian method of rescuing right there. That's bonkers.

CAMEROTA: But how can you be hanging out a window and catch a falling, however many pound man, with that kind of centrifugal force? I don't even -- I don't know what's happening.

BERMAN: I'm impressed.

CAMEROTA: Color us impressed. Color us impressed.

BERMAN: I'm impressed. It's unbelievable. All right.

A costly last-second error will haunt the Cavaliers for a long, long time. Lindsay Czarniak has more in the "Bleacher Report" -- boy.

LINDSAY CZARNIAK, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: This is a tough one, right?

BERMAN: They needed a Latvian firefighter.

CZARNIAK: That would have helped them.

BERMAN: They had J.R. Smith instead.

CZARNIAK: That's true. It's going to be so tough for J.R. Smith to go outside without hearing about or seeing something about his blunder that cost the Cavaliers the game.

LeBron James had an epic performance and the Cavaliers were in great shape to win game one in Oakland. That's why this stung so much more.

This was the shocking play of the night -- a major lapse in judgment. The game tied there.

Smith grabbed the rebound there. All he had to do was shoot it but he dribbled it towards half-court. Time expires.

Look at LeBron's reaction. What are you doing, man? He can't believe it.

So he didn't shoot it.

In overtime, the Warriors take advantage of J.R. Smith's blunder. They score the first nine points. They never looked back. Draymond Green knocking down the 3-pointer.

But as the game is winding down you see here more chaos ensues. Tristan Thompson shoving Draymond who's green in the face. Thompson would be ejected.

The Warriors win a wild game one 124-114 in overtime.

LeBron James not thrilled with questions about his teammate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he think that you guys had it won or did he think he was trying to make a play?

LEBRON JAMES, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: I'm not sure. Really, I'm not sure. I don't know his state of mind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know if he knew the score?

JAMES: (Leaves press conference). (END VIDEO CLIP)

CZARNIAK: And that was that. Emotions so raw after the game. LeBron James very angry.

Meanwhile, J.R. Smith maintaining he did not -- he did know the game was tied but he was trying to give himself room to take a shot. He also said he thought they were going to call a time-out -- so, wow.

BERMAN: LeBron James.

CZARNIAK: Right, Alisyn -- right?

CAMEROTA: I mean -- I mean, I was just saying to John that's like something I would do except I'd shoot it in the wrong basket -- like the other team's basket.

CZARNIAK: At least you'd shoot it. There we go. At least you'd shoot it.

CAMEROTA: Yes, oh --

BERMAN: LeBron James would be less angry about that than when he --

CZARNIAK: Yes, that would be OK.

BERMAN: Oh, man -- all right.

CZARNIAK: Thank you. It should be exciting.

CAMEROTA: Indeed. Thank you very much, Lindsay.

CZARNIAK: You got it.

CAMEROTA: All right, now to this story that's getting so much attention. Samantha Bee is apologizing for this vulgar comment she made about Ivanka Trump.

What is the line between being provocative and being out of bounds? Where are we today with all of these comedians?

Van Jones has some thoughts. He joins us, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:19] CAMEROTA: All right.

So, comedian Samantha Bee is apologizing to Ivanka Trump for this joke that Bee now says was inappropriate and inexcusable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMANTHA BEE, HOST, TBS "FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE": Let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad's immigration practices, you feckless c***. He listens to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK. The apology apparently not enough for the president who tweeted just moments ago.

"Why aren't they firing no-talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low-rated show? A total double standard but that's OK. We are Winning" -- (with a capital) -- "and will be doing so for a long time to come!"

We should note that Samantha Bee's show, "FULL FRONTAL" airs on TBS. TBS and CNN are both owned by Turner and that's a division of Time Warner.

Joining us now to talk about all of this is CNN political commentator Van Jones.

What did you think of Samantha Bee's joke and her -- well, let me read her apology.

"I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night. It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed the line and I deeply regret it."

VAN JONES, CNN, HOST: Well, I think the apology was appropriate. I know Samantha Bee, I like Samantha Bee.

I think that she hurt her own cause. She was talking about something very important. She was talking about the fact that we are pulling immigrant babies away from their moms and separating --

CAMEROTA: Separating children from parents at the border.

JONES: Yes, and that's -- and we shouldn't be doing that. It, frankly, started before Trump and we should stop it.

She stepped on her own point by going that far. And I think the apology was appropriate and I'm glad that she apologized.

BERMAN: It's interesting because she's saying she stepped on her own message in a way, too, I think.

Last night she was at an awards show and she says, "We spent the day wrestling with the repercussions of one bad word when we all should have spent the day incensed that as a nation we are wrenching children from their parents and treating people legally seeking asylum as criminals. If we are OK with that then really, who are we?"

JONES: Well --

BERMAN: But that's on her, right? I mean, we spent the day talking about that because she said it.

JONES: Yes. Look, I think that it's her fault. I mean, like it's not like somebody else jumped on the stage and said the bad word. She said the bad word. CAMEROTA: But the point is, what are our priorities? Are we more incensed about a bad word or are we more incensed about a bad policy? Which one?

JONES: False choice, and that's the problem. If you're going to take on a tough issue like that and an important issue like that -- sure, you're a comedian and you want to some attention for yourself, but you jumped the -- jumped the shark, you overshot your skis, and you have to take responsibility for that.

There's a danger if she goes out there on a non-apology tour lecturing the country that we're wrong for overreacting to her, then she begins to unwind her own apology and then we're going to be back in the soup with her. That's not smart on her part.

BERMAN: Alisyn read the comments from President Trump this morning saying why hasn't Samantha Bee been fired. He never condemned in any way the comments made by Roseanne Barr.

[07:55:08] JONES: You know, I think at this point the idea that Donald Trump would aggressively step forward and condemn racism against people of color, I think that ship has sailed. He just won't do it and I think it's -- it will be a blemish on him.

BERMAN: Why?

JONES: Because -- look, you can say I don't like media bias and I don't like racial bias. You can -- you don't have to abandon your own base that doesn't like the liberal media.

You can say listen, I don't like the way the liberal media treats us but I don't like the way people of color are sometimes treated and we shouldn't do that. That is the kind of leadership that is recognized and beloved through the ages.

What he's doing is playing to the cheap seats. He's afraid to just call it like it is.

He says he's against political correctness. No, he's trapped by the political correctness of his own side and won't tell the truth and over time, that kind of leadership is not respected.

CAMEROTA: And just in terms of where we are culturally with comedy -- after what happened at the White House Correspondents'' Dinner with Michelle Wolf, after what's happened with Roseanne -- but that is a little different. I put that in a different category because she wasn't doing a comedy act.

JONES: Yes.

CAMEROTA: She was just tweeting repugnant things, so I put it in a different category. But she did lose her job, which is a comedy show -- and, Samantha Bee.

What is the line where we are between provocative and losing your career? JONES: Well look, I mean, first of all, you have people like Colin Kaepernick who've expressed themselves in a non-comedic way and in a respectful way and he lost his job.

So there's some civil war going on right now about what's in and what's out and comedy is about testing the line.

I'm glad that Samantha Bee did not lose her job because with Roseanne Barr it was a pattern. This wasn't -- if this was the first time Roseanne Barr had done something like that maybe you blame the Ambien or whatever you do.

But with Samantha Bee, she did this, she apologized. I think if it becomes a pattern with her like it became a pattern with Roseanne Barr, her career should be in jeopardy. But I'd like to see fewer people losing their jobs and positions.

But, Roseanne Barr, even herself, could not defend what she said under any circumstances and it was part of a pattern. I think she did have to go.

BERMAN: Interesting. I was talking Laurence Tribe, a professor at Harvard Law School a little while ago and he drew a line between the pardon of Dinesh D'Souza and the president's statements about Charlottesville. And I think also maybe intentionally, at least in his mind, what he has not said about Roseanne Barr there.

Do you see a consistent connection there?

JONES: Listen, trying to find a consistent connection with Donald Trump is very, very difficult.

Look, I am glad that the president realizes he has a pardon power. I'm glad that Kim Kardashian wants him to use that pardon power for Miss Alice and other people who have -- who will never get out of prison for non-violent drug offensives. I don't think anybody in America thinks that makes any sense.

I am baffled by some of his choices so far but I hold out hope that the president might use that pardon power well.

What I will say, though, is that listen, we are in a situation now in the country where Samantha Bee shouldn't say this but others can -- we do get worked up about the words and the symbols and sometimes forget the substance.

And there are some substantive things happening in this country, including 5,000 people dying in Puerto Rico and more people than apparently than 9/11 and Katrina combined.

CAMEROTA: A little less. They're equivalent -- almost equivalent by about 200 people.

JONES: Almost equivalent. I mean, that is a huge issue and those deaths are ongoing.

I think it's important for us to police the discourse but we also need to be dealing with real human lives.

CAMEROTA: Van, great to talk to you.

JONES: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you very much and --

BERMAN: Tune in tomorrow night. Van's guests are Jim Parsons and Candace Owens. That is "THE VAN JONES SHOW" at 7:00 eastern.

CAMEROTA: All right. We're following a lot of news so let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like the president is abusing his pardon power to send a message to people under investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is clearly within the president's constitutional power.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the president is saying is I treat my friends a lot better than I treat my enemies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wants Sessions to help him limit the Russia investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president doesn't understand that he can't just exert his will on law enforcement officials.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This step to interview Comey does mean that they are taking it seriously.

BEE: Ivanka Trump, put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to f***ing stop it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are applauding Roseanne being fired and you are excusing Samantha Bee. I think that's hypocritical.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The problem isn't Roseanne Barr. The problem is Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

BERMAN: Good morning, once again. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Friday. It is June first, 8:00 in the east.

President Trump sparking controversy with using the pardon power that he has as President of the United States. He has pardoned conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza. And brand new this morning, D'Souza talking about his conversation with the president where the president really shed new light into what motivated him to grant this pardon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DINESH D'SOUZA, CONSERVATIVE FILMMAKER AND AUTHOR, PARDONED BY PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The president said Dinesh, you've been the great voice for freedom.