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Trump Suffers Policy Failures; Alex Trebek Battling Pancreatic Cancer; Trump's False or Misleading Claims; Zuckerberg's New Vision for FaceBook. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired March 07, 2019 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00] JOE LOCKHART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And they're argue strenuously that, boy, if we could just get the Democrats to come with us, we would solve these problems. But that's very hard. I mean he did say they'd get -- he'd get rid of the deficit within a couple years. He'd get rid of the trade deficit. Illegal immigration would be solved. All of these things.
But at some point he's got to figure, you know, as they go into 2020, he's got to have some level of talking about his accomplishments. And the ironic thing is, you know, the trade deficit often is a reflection of our own economy.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's macroeconomics. It's not Trump.
LOCKHART: It's -- it's people here are making more money so they're buying more products and the single best thing he could run on, he rarely mentions. He quickly gets to things like illegal -- these wedge cultural issues when economic issues, bread and butter issues, are much better for him.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I mean, speaking of the wedge cultural issues, I don't even know if this is a wedge issue but it's certainly one that's gripping the country. Rachael, and that's the opioid crisis. He also said he was going to solve that. We had people on -- a voter panel -- that believed him and voted for him on that single issue. Opioid overdoses are up. They have been up since the president took office.
But back to the border apprehensions and those stunning numbers from CBP, I guess that abject poverty in Honduras and Central America doesn't respond to rhetoric. And so all the stuff that the president has done and said over the past two years doesn't seem to be making a dent in families coming here seeking asylum.
And, by the way, if he says that it's Democrats that are the impediment, you know, obviously Congress was Republican for the past two years.
RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. And Democrats with their takeover of the House, you know, the frustration that he has seen on this issue and, you know, trade and also North Korea as well, that's only just going to continue because Democrats now control the House and they're not going to be cooperating or, you know, putting a rubber stamp on any of these policies that he's going for.
On immigration in particular, there's a sense at the White House that even if he can't say, look, these immigration numbers have decreased, that he can potentially hold up the emergency declaration and say, look, I had to do this, I'm showing that I'm fighting, I'm go -- I -- if I have to go around Congress I'm going to do it. They think that that will play to his base.
But, again, the numbers don't lie and he needs independents to win re- election in 2020 and there's the rub. That's the problem.
BERMAN: Yes. And, Kirsten, on the trade deficit here, and it may be the driest of the issues here, but it's also the one that may have been most important to some of these Midwest states, the rust belt where he did well, he said we were getting ripped off by China and he said, I'm the one who can fix it. Well, we're getting ripped off by China, in his definition, worse now than when he came in. The trade deficit is even greater.
Now, economists will tell you it's not the president's fault, macroeconomics always wins out, but it's not what he promised.
KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. Look, I wish that voters voted on these issues, but I don't -- I don't think that they do. And I don't think there are many voters, many voters, if any voters, who vote on the trade deficit. This is something that Donald Trump obviously likes to talk about, but I just don't think that it's a factor in how people vote. And I think it's going to come down to, first of all, who the Democrats choose to run against him. So once we have that, then it becomes, you know, a zero-sum game between, do you want this person or do you want that person? And so, once that happens, I think that then there's going to be more clarity around how Donald Trump is going to run.
He's not going to lose any of his base. He has an 88 percent approval rating among Republicans. So they are obviously aware of what's happening in the country and they're still rallying around him. And so I think that I couldn't agree more that he hasn't delivered on a lot of his promises. I think on immigration he is going to just point to the Democrats. He's going to say, I did everything I could. The Democrats don't care about keeping the border safe and I'm doing everything I can but they're stopping me. So for people who care about that issue as a top issue, I think that they're going to be inclined to believe that.
CAMEROTA: But the problem is, is that his solution and his answer is fixing the wrong problem, Joe. I mean -- so there's going to be this -- there's a national emergency declaration and he's going to veto the attempts to block it and so it's probably going to happen. But the 41,000 family apprehensions that have just happened in the past month, this spike at the border, they weren't coming across the Rio Grande Valley. They were presenting at legal points of entry.
LOCKHART: Sure.
CAMEROTA: So he's solving the wrong crisis. Yes, I mean, I think -- and pick up on what Kirsten just said. He's
not campaigning on the real issues on any of these things. He didn't campaign on the trade deficit. He campaigned on China screwing us and, you know, they're taking your jobs, China, because they're bad people. He's -- the people coming across the border, most of them were families fleeing violence. These are gang members and rapists. And it's all about creating this emotion, driving a wedge between the public and keeping enthusiasm up among his base.
[06:35:07] So I have no doubt that whatever the numbers are, he'll continue to pursue the same political strategy. And where the numbers don't work for him, he'll just lie about them because he's done it, what, 10,000 times already.
BERMAN: So Kirsten brought up the idea of what will matter is who the Democrats nominate. Well, there's this brand-new article in "The New York Times" out about 20 minutes ago from Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin, who will both be on the show in a little bit, that says that Joe Biden is very, very close. Very close.
CAMEROTA: How close?
BERMAN: Very close.
CAMEROTA: Extremely close.
BERMAN: To getting in the race.
Steve Rocchetti, who is Biden's main political guy at this point, is calling people and saying that Biden is 95 percent committed to running. Now, 95 percent is a lot. It's also not 100, Rachael. And the article goes into the details of sort of the groundwork being laid here. And that announcement could come at the beginning of April. This would be huge if Biden gets in.
BADE: Oh, yes, it would totally shake up 2020 and the Democratic primary so far, of course, because right now we're seeing a lot of progressive candidates jump in. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders. People are really competing on the far left. But we don't have someone who has the name recognition that's in this sort of center or moderate Democratic lane. And that's exactly where Biden would be. And he would very quickly, a lot of people think, become the frontrunner.
But I think you nailed it on the head right there. I mean like 95 percent is not 100 percent. And there's a great quote in this article by Cedric Richmond (ph), who was an ally of Joe Biden's on The Hill, where he says, I'm sure he's going to run, but I'm not sure Joe Biden is sure he's going to run. And a lot of people are supporting him. They want him to run. They're talking to people about working for a potential Biden campaign. But he's got to make that decision. And right now his heart's not there yet.
CAMEROTA: Well, we only have a few seconds left, Kirsten. That would be a massive head fake if next week he announces he does not run.
POWERS: Yes. Yes. I mean, it could happen. But I think, you know, I think that it's going to be interesting to see what happens if he runs just because of the way the Democratic Party has shifted. And one of the big issues among progressives, of course, is the 1994 crime bill, which he was a major player in. And he has made some apologies, but I'm not sure he's quite ready for how many apologies he's going to have to make.
And this is somebody who's been around a long time. He obviously was a vice president. And, you know, we've seen in the past where some of these more, you know, older Democrats who have been around for a long time get sort of annoyed when they are asked to, you know, repeatedly account for their past decisions. And that's something he'll have to tread very carefully on.
CAMEROTA: Kirsten, Rachael, Joe, thank you all very much.
Now, this upsetting news. Legendary "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek revealing that he is battling stage four pancreatic cancer. The message he shared with his fans, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:41:57] BERMAN: All right, "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek has revealed he is battling stage four pancreatic cancer. He vowed that he will fight this.
CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with much more.
Pancreatic cancer, we know, Elizabeth, is very serious. Stage four, far along.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's very serious. Right, exactly, John, stage four means that the cancer has spread, it's metastasized, to distant parts of the body. And according to the American Cancer Society, people at this stage, only 3 percent of them are still alive five years after their diagnosis. So while that is a very sobering statistic, the American Cancer Society also makes a point of saying, look, we can't predict what's going to happen in any particular person's situation. And so Alex Trebek says he is staying optimistic. He posted this message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY": I'm going to fight this and I'm going to keep working. And with the love and support of my family and friends, and with the help of you prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease. Truth told, I have to because under the terms of my contract, I have to host "Jeopardy" for three more years. So, help me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: So as we can see he's staying very optimistic. And, you know, like many people, you look at Mr. Trebek and he looks terrific. And the problem is, and I've spoken to pancreatic cancer patients, but when they're diagnosed, they often feel just fine, and that actually is the problem. That's one of the reasons why this cancer is so deadly. By the time people feel symptoms, whether it's abdominal pain or itching or a bit of jaundice, it -- the cancer has often spread quite far. And that's one of the reasons why pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. It is treated with chemotherapy, typically, and other procedures, not so much to cure it, but to slow the spread and to make the person feel more comfortable.
Alisyn. John.
BERMAN: All right, Elizabeth, thank you so much.
You've got to love his humor. You have to love his resolve facing this. And, also, he has to be bolstered by the support that has just poured in from around the world.
CAMEROTA: Because he has a massive fan base. He's been on that show for so long.
And you were on "Jeopardy." Did you meet Alex Trebek?
BERMAN: Yes. He ask -- he's the guy who was asking the questions.
CAMEROTA: I know. I just didn't know if like somehow there was a guest host that day?
BERMAN: No.
CAMEROTA: So you have dealt with him?
BERMAN: I have. You know, and he talks to you between the breaks. And I think he liked the other contestants more than he liked me.
CAMEROTA: Impossible.
BERMAN: They were more likeable. To be fair, you know, that, you know, was his good judgement.
CAMEROTA: Impossible.
Well, look, if anybody can beat it, it's him, because he obviously has access to the best doctors where he is.
BERMAN: Yes.
CAMEROTA: He, obviously, has money. He seems to be very committed to it. I have a friend who beat pancreatic cancer. I know how rare that is. She's, I think, 15 years now, but I don't know what original stage she got.
BERMAN: Good.
CAMEROTA: But let's hope that there have been the few advances in pancreatic cancer and that he will be the shining star of this.
BERMAN: Excellent. CAMEROTA: President Trump misleading -- his misleading statements are getting even more frequent. Fact checkers are working overtime. Up next, the man who has to keep count of all of the fishy claims.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:48:56] CAMEROTA: President Trump's problem with the truth is getting worse. "The Washington Post" fact checker has now counted more than 9,000 false or misleading claims by the president since he took office. And the rate is increasing.
Joining us now is Glenn Kessler. He's the editor and chief writer for "The Washington Post's" Fact Checker.
Glenn, great to have you.
What is the exact number? I mean you crunch the numbers all the time. What are we up to this morning?
GLENN KESSLER, THE FACT CHECKER COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, we update it every couple weeks. So as of March 3rd, was 9,014.
CAMEROTA: OK, 9,014. And one of the things that you have uncovered is that the rate of misleading and false statements is increasing. So when the president first took office, he was making about 5.9 false or misleading claims a day. In 2018, 16.5 false or misleading claims a day. Now it's at -- in 2019, you're counting 22 false or misleading claims a day?
KESSLER: Yes.
CAMEROTA: How do you keep up with this?
KESSLER: It's difficult. We have -- you know, we have a staff of three and we just have to monitor everything the president says or tweets and really keep pace with it.
[06:50:10] We thought we were going to have an easy weekend before we did the last update and then he gave the speech at CPAC where we counted more than 100 false or misleading claims. So had to scramble this weekend.
CAMEROTA: That was a tour de force of falsehoods. I mean --
KESSLER: Yes.
CAMEROTA: And so do you -- I know you're a fact checker, not a psychoanalyst, but do you have any sense, since you study this so closely, why the number is and frequency is increasing?
KESSLER: Well, the president talks an awful lot. It's unusual if you compare him to Barack Obama or George W. Bush. If White Houses essentially ended the White House press briefing, the president essentially act as his own spokesman. So he'll do all sorts of gaggles or news briefings or things like that, constant interviews on Fox News and lots and lots of rallies where there are -- tend to be quite a few claims. So it's the -- it's the fact that he spews out a lot of words and a fair number of them happen to be false or misleading.
CAMEROTA: You've also broken down the false claims by subject. So let me put this up. Immigration gets a lot of falsehoods, 1,688. Foreign policy, 1,015. Trade, 939. The economy, 840. Jobs, 815.
Do you call these lies when you hear them?
KESSLER: Well, it -- we tend to avoid the use of the word "lie." You know, we, at "The Washington Post," we have a Pinocchio system. There -- so in many of these claims qualify as four Pinocchio's or three Pinocchio's. But, you know, in some cases it's a matter not quite what I would call a lie, but something where the context is completely missing. And so therefore it leaves a misleading impression in the listeners' ears.
CAMEROTA: That's interesting. But, I mean, it does make your job harder, the fact that you have a continuum. And so how do you figure -- so basically you have the different Pinocchio system and how do you go about categorizing it as a falsehood? I mean what's your process? Where do you start by figuring out if it's false or if he's just using different statistics than, say, the average person?
KESSLER: Well, I mean, we -- it wouldn't be different statistics. It would be -- we would include it if it's statistics that he does in a misleading way. So, for instance, when he talks about the number of jobs created in his administration, he counts from the date of the election, not from the date he took office. So that adds, you know, four months of jobs that took place under Barack Obama. I mean it's a statistic, but it's very misleading because he increases his total significantly.
CAMEROTA: The number that you have said that we're now at is 9,014 and you, correct me if I'm wrong, thought that you weren't going to hit that number until the end of his first term.
KESSLER: Yes. Yes, at the rate he was going, we weren't even sure if we would -- the big number, of course, is 10,000. And we said, well, there's no way we'll necessarily get there by the end of his first term. At the rate we're going, we might get there sometime next month.
CAMEROTA: Glenn Kessler, fact checker from "The Washington Post," thank you very much.
John.
KESSLER: All right, FaceBook's Mark Zuckerberg announcing a new vision for the social network. What it means for you. These could be big changes, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:57:44] CAMEROTA: Mark Zuckerberg has plans to transform FaceBook. He says his number one priority is privacy. The social network's founder and CEO vows to make it more secure somehow.
And CNN's senior media reporter Oliver Darcy joins us now to explain. What's he doing?
OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: It sounds like something out of the onion, right, that Zuckerberg says this privacy -- or this company that's been having so much trouble with privacy in the past couple years is going to focus now solely on privacy and private communications. But that's basically what Zuckerberg said in his blog post yesterday announcing these sweeping changes on FaceBook. He says effectively that he realizes that the old era of social media might be coming to an end, or at least it might be transitioning, in that by -- I mean that people are no longer as likely or wanting to share things with anyone and everyone on FaceBook and they're moving to what he calls the digital living room. Meaning, they want to share things with family and friends and private messages and private group chats.
And so Zuckerberg wants to position FaceBook in a way that they're not left behind with these changes. And so one of the things he quickly off the bat says is they can do is they own all these messaging platforms. They own Instagram. They own WhatsApp. They own Messenger. And so what they can do is make it so if you have Instagram, you can message someone who's on FaceBook. Or if you have FaceBook, you can message someone who's on WhatsApp. Really making a seamless transition, allowing users of all the apps to access the entire database of FaceBook user.
He also talks about disappearing messages and making intent inscription, import it in FaceBook's product. And so users can communicate securely. That's an important thing for FaceBook to do, he says, so that users have trust that FaceBook is going to make sure that they are able to communicate privately on the platform.
This does come with some drawbacks. One is, FaceBook's policy or their business model is that they collect data on users. And so without being able to read the messages because it's encrypted, FaceBook's no longer going to be able to collect as much data. And that's a drawback possibly for FaceBook's investors.
And Zuckerberg acknowledges that people might not trust FaceBook when they say that they want to double down on privacy. He says in a statement or on his blog post, I understand that many people don't think FaceBook can or would even want to build this kind of privacy- focused platform because, frankly, we don't currently have a strong reputation for building privacy-productive services. But we've repeatedly shown that we can evolve.
[07:00:01] And I think that is what we remain to see is whether FaceBook can evolve.
BERMAN: All right, Oliver Darcy, thank you very much. It will be I heavy lift to make FaceBook synonymous with privacy.
END
