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Biden to Raise Minimum Wage; Nina Turner is Interviewed about Minimum Wage; City Council in North Carolina Fires Man over White Privilege; Myanmar's Brutal Tactics Against Citizens. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 27, 2021 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Minimum wage, which is lower for certain federal contractors who also receive tips.

Now, the White House is saying that this is not going to increase any cost for taxpayers. A senior administration official telling us the work done on behalf of the federal taxpayer will be done better and faster, but there would be no increased costs conveyed to the taxpayer.

Now, we know President Biden had been pushing to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour for all working Americans. That did not go through in the coronavirus relief bill. In fact, it was ruled out by the Senate parliamentarian in terms of moving it forward under those budget reconciliation rules. There has been some movement in Congress to try and get that done, but, again, staunch opposition, mostly from Republicans and a handful of Democrats.

The White House did say, though, they believe that ultimately this will help drive up wages all together because of the competitive nature of these wages, other employers may be, you know, incentivized to also raise their wages as well.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Jeremy Diamond at the White House. An interesting development.

We want to bring in Nina Turner. She is a Democrat running in a special congressional election in Ohio's 11th District. She's also the former co-chair of Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign.

So nice to see you.

Look, they try -- President Biden tried for a legislative fix to the minimum wage, raising it to $15. A Senate parliamentarian wouldn't let it happen. This is what he can do by executive order right now.

Is it enough?

NINA TURNER (D), OHIO HOUSE CANDIDATE, FORMER OHIO STATE SENATOR AND FORMER CO-CHAIR FOR SANDERS 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: John, I'm glad -- well, good morning. And I'm certainly glad to see the president using the power of executive order. It's good. And it's a great start.

We've got to continue to push. We've got to make sure that it is done legislatively. As we know, that $15 an hour is the floor. It is certainly not the ceiling. And so many people are suffering.

And as we've seen with the pandemic, the essential workers and what they have done to steady this -- this community, steady this nation, has been nothing short of a miracle. And so we've got to make sure that people are not living in poverty.

And we know that economists are saying that if the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation or productivity, it would be closer to $25 than it is to $15 an hour. But I am glad to see President Biden using the power of executive order.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Nina, I want to listen to something that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said about Biden at a virtual town hall on Friday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): One thing that I will say is that I do think that the Biden administration, and President Biden, has definitely exceeded expectations that progressives had. You know, I'll be frank, I think a lot of us expected a much more conservative administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: You have championed progressive causes, like Medicare for all, the green new deal. Given that President Biden does not support these policy goals. When you hear AOC say that, is she speaking for you when she says that Biden's exceeded expectations with progressives?

TURNER: The administration is moving in the right direction and that is important to recognize. And what the beautiful thing is about this, is that the progressive movement is -- has created very fertile soil and the administration is coming to understand that progressive policies are not only popular, they are absolutely necessary.

And so when you're moving in the right direction, we got to keep going. And that's why we have to have the courage to ask for more. I have the courage to ask for more. The progressive movement has the courage to ask for more. So we can both recognize that one is moving in the right direction and also continue to push.

We absolutely have to have Medicare for all. There are more people in this country right now who are uninsured and underinsured than ever before because of the pandemic. People were suffering as we know. There are a million people, for example, in the state of Ohio, who lost their employer-sponsored healthcare.

So, yes, we've got to have Medicare for all. I think we're at about 100 million people right now. The green new deal is so important. My district has some of the most

-- some of the poorest communities in it. Having a green new deal and putting people back to work and helping mother earth is a beautiful thing to do. And so this is really good. The progressive movement has got to continue to shake things up and keep pushing. And I want to be there to keep the movement going in that Congress.

KEILAR: All right, we'll be watching you.

Senator, it is a great to see you this morning. Thanks for being on.

TURNER: You as well. Thank you.

KEILAR: The city council of Greensboro, North Carolina, unanimously removing a white male zoning official who refused to use the title "doctor" for a black professor, despite her repeated requests. One council member calling the official's tone disrespectful and the product of white privilege. "EARLY START" anchor Laura Jarrett is here with us.

This is a very interesting case. You know, just something -- it's one local case, but it speaks volumes.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR, "EARLY START": It speaks to a larger issue about respect.

So, it's near the end of a four-hour zoning commission meeting when Dr. Carrie Rosario wanted to raise some concerns about a development plan close to her home.

[06:35:09]

But instead of a discussion about the substance of that, a debate over Dr. Rosario's title took center stage as zoning commissioner Tony Collins refused to call her "doctor."

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY COLLINS: I think that we kind of lost our way on what we're talking about here. We're here to approve the standards that have been presented. And if Mrs. Rosario has something about one of those (INAUDIBLE) --

CARRIE ROSARIO: It's Dr. Rosario, thank you, (INAUDIBLE).

COLLINS: If Mrs. Rosario has something (INAUDIBLE) --

ROSARIO: Dr. -- Dr. Rosario.

COLLINS: Well, you know, I'm sorry, your name says on here Carrie Rosario.. Hi, Carrie.

ROSARIO: Yes. It's Dr. Rosario.

COLLINS: If you've got -- if you've got something specific about one --

ROSARIO: I would (ph) call you Tony. So please, sir, call me as I would like to be called. That's how I'm identified.

COLLINS: It doesn't really matter. We're here to talk about this --

ROSARIO: It matters to me. It matters to me. And out of respect, I would like you to call me by the name that I'm asking you to call me by. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Dr. Rosario, who, by the way, is an associate professor of public health at UNC-Greensboro, had to correct another commissioner before her dust-up with Tony Collins, but that other guy apologized on the spot.

As for Collins, his exchange with Dr. Rosario took off on social media and not in a good way for him. The Greensboro City Council also took note voting unanimously last week to remove him from the commission. After he was ousted, Collins sent a letter to the city council saying in part here, there is no good excuse for my interaction with Dr. Rosario, so I will not try to offer one. Citizens deserve better.

You know, guys, I think this got a lot of attention because so many women can empathize with just having their accomplishments and credentials dismissed so easily. And as she mentioned, you know, one other guy made the same mistake, media organization struggled with what to call people who are not medical doctors, but I think the fact that he just kept dismissing her is just why it made people so angry.

KEILAR: Yes, it felt like he was trying to take her down a notch, right? Make her maybe less of an expert, which she is an expert on public health, and that should be acknowledged.

JARRETT: Look, it's hard to get your Ph.D., right? She talks about she had three -- two kids at home. She was staying up late. She put in all this blood, sweat and tears for this thing. And then just to have it so quickly dismissed.

BERMAN: She also asked really nicely, you know, several times in that exchange first.

JARRETT: Right.

BERMAN: Laura, thanks so much.

JARRETT: Sure.

BERMAN: Up next, inside the violent crackdown by the military junta in Myanmar against those fighting for democracy. Some of the freedom fighters share their story with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:41:30] BERMAN: Former President Barack Obama condemning the military coup in Myanmar. He says in a statement, he is appalled by the violence and supports efforts by the Biden administration and other countries to punish the military for the brutal crackdown on its own citizens. Hundreds have been killed. Others detained and tortured. But the quest for democracy there lives.

CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They gather outside the prison every day, mostly parents, desperately hoping for a glimpse of their children, proof that they are still alive. They know that behind these walls Myanmar's military junta is engaging in unspeakable cruelty against those who dare to defend democracy.

Now in hiding, this 19-year-old is brave enough to share his story with us. He says he was detained after being stopped by soldiers who found photos of him at protests on his phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When we got there, the commander tied my hands behind my back and used small scissors to cut my ears, tip of my nose, my neck and my throat. Then he let his fellow soldiers beat me up that night.

WARD: He shares photos of the abuse, his back lacerated from whippings with a cable wire, his face swollen from endless strikes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I even told them to kill me instead of torturing me. It was that painful.

WARD: Myanmar's junta shows no shame about its cruelty. On state television it proudly displays images of those arrested for so-called terrorist activity. The face of this 31-year-old dance teacher is barely recognizable. Family members say this is what she looked like before the beatings.

From the safety of neighboring India, this 23-year-old army cadet says the soldiers were only allowed to watch state TV. We have agreed not to reveal his identity for his protection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They tried to brainwash us. There are soldiers who only believe what the commanders told them. They don't think.

WARD: Two years into his military career, he decided to defect, haunted by the military's brutality after the coup.

Every night he says they would set out on raids, armed with assault rifles and the names of protest leaders given by their informants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): At one point we went to arrest two leaders. One got arrested and one was trying to escape and we shot him on the spot. We were ordered to shoot when they escaped. WARD: That night he claims he intentionally broke his rifle so it

wouldn't fire, but says it was the cruelty to the families of the protesters that finally broke him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They were crying when we raided their houses and beat them. The neighbors knew, too, but no one dared to come out at night. If someone was looking at us through their windows, we told them to come out and beat them, too. The youngest one I saw was around 10 or 11 years old, a boy.

WARD: Despite the ferocity of the military's crackdown, Myanmar's pro- democracy movement is still very much alive. The young protesters ordeal lasted three long days. During the endless beatings he says he had one focus, staying alive so that he could protest once again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[06:45:08]

WARD: It's unclear how many soldiers have left the military, if this is becoming more common, if more plan to follow suit, but one thing is certain here, despite the international condemnations, the violence is continuing and there is no apparent end in sight.

John. Brianna.

BERMAN: Wow. I mean, thanks to Clarisse and her team for that reporting. That is documented torture, documented torture now that the world can see. And Clarissa says despite international protestations, are protests enough at this point.

KEILAR: Yes, and it's -- I mean it's appalling to see. We're talking about young people. We're even talking about kids. And it's -- it is so important that she's bringing light to it.

BERMAN: Yes, it's difficult to see, but it's important to see for sure.

KEILAR: It is.

BERMAN: So how far is too far for Fox TV personality Tucker Carlson, encouraging viewers to confront mask-wearing Americans, comparing wearing a mask to child abuse. More on the dangerous rhetoric coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:12]

KEILAR: Today we are expecting the federal government to loosen guidance for mask wearing outdoors, especially for people who are fully vaccinated. Welcome news and science-based since doctors say transmission is significantly lower outdoors.

But Fox's chief public health officer is using the moment to encourage confrontations over masks. This is what he's shoveling to his millions of viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Angry Biden voters will snort at you in judgment. How could you, they're saying from behind the cause. How could you? That's the question we should be asking of them in return. The rest of us should be snorting at them first. They're the aggressors. It's our job to brush them back and restore the society we were born in.

So the next time you see someone in a mask on the sidewalk or on the bike path, do not hesitate, ask politely but firmly, would you please take off your mask. Science shows there is no reason for you to be wearing it. Your mask is making me uncomfortable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: He is telling his viewers to confront people who are wearing masks outdoors, to harass them, and he's doing this as people who have been following and promoting CDC guidance on masks thus far have already been harassed, physically assaulted and killed in at least one case. Mind you, this host purports to be staunchly anti-harassment, at least he did when it came to Trump administration officials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Telling us that people who disagree with him no longer have freedom of movement or association. They can't go to the movies or go to restaurants. If they dare leave their homes, they will be surrounded by mobs and threatened. It's happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: How about if you just ask them politely but firmly. Probably not. And here's why. Because it's rude and, more importantly, it's dangerous, which Carlson has been very clear on when it comes to himself and his family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: I can't really go to a lot of restaurants anymore because I get yelled at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: His employer agreed, quote, the violent threats and intimidation tactics towards him and his family are completely unacceptable, Fox said, saying, the U.S. has, quote, become far too intolerant of different points of view and recent events. Clearly highlight the need for a more civil, respectful and inclusive national conversation. And we should note that Fox issued that statement without irony.

BERMAN: But wait, there's more. He didn't stop at outside last night. He attacked masks anywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Every American who wants the vaccine can get the vaccine. And that means that at this point there is no scientific justification for any mask mandate anywhere. It's that simple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Anywhere. Inside, too. No scientific justification other than the studies that show masks work, other than the fact that half of the population is still not vaccinated, other than the fact that one of the reasons that school openings have been so successful is that all the students are masked. If you don't want to take my word for it --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS FAULKNER, FOX NEWS HOST: Now, with the end in sight, we hope.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS HOST: We have to keep up the fight.

DANA PERINO, FOX NEWS HOST: Wear a mask, distance where possible.

FAULKNER: And if you can, get the vaccine.

STEVE DOOCY, FOX NEWS HOST: America, we're in this together.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: I don't have a problem wearing a mask, especially if it means we can go to a ballgame or to defend grandma and grandpa, mom and dad.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Of course masks work. Everyone knows that. Dozens of research papers have proved it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So as for his crutch that enough of us are vaccinated, it's not clear he actually wants Americans vaccinated. He consistently shades the idea of vaccines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: If the vaccine is effective, there is no reason for people who have received the vaccine to wear masks or avoid physical contact. So maybe it doesn't work and they're simply not telling you that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: They do work and they are telling you. And if you don't want a mask because of vaccines, maybe don't trash vaccines. I've asked this before, does he actually want his viewers to live?

Finally --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MATT WALSH, "THE MATT WALSH SHOW" HOST: I was in Austin a few days ago and I'm walking outside without a mask on and people are staring at me, like I'm the crazy one for not having a mask on.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Yes.

WALSH: Meanwhile, if you're -- if you're walking outside with a mask on, I should be looking at you, and I do look at you, like a -- like I would look at a grown man hugging a teddy bear and having a pacifier in his mouth while he's walking down the street.

CARLSON: I agree with you completely. I would -- I would even actually up the analogy and say, a vaccinated person, somebody with the antibodies wearing a mask outside is -- is like watching a grown man expose himself in public. That's disgusting. Put it away, please. We don't do that here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Is that a projection that he's railing against a grown man exposing himself in public?

The bottom line, this isn't a game. This isn't entertainment. Not to the half a million people dead and their families.

[06:55:01]

When an unhinged person decides to harass someone or some kid for simply wearing a mask, remember Tucker's words, remember the uncovered pouty face. The health of this country, getting through this pandemic has come at such a cost.

As for undermining it, Fox must think the price is right.

KEILAR: He is exposing himself as someone who will just tell viewers, his viewers, what they want to hear and sometimes he misreads them. You can see that when he is promoting masks but now he's very much gone very anti-mask and he's re-enforcing ideas that are dangerous and unhealthy.

BERMAN: Or, if you want to lean on vaccinations, help the American people get vaccinated at this point. There's a lot of work to do.

KEILAR: Yes, just like some of his colleagues are doing, we should mention.

This new guidance on those masks coming from the CDC within hours. What to expect straight ahead.

BERMAN: And new census results shifting more power to red states. The biggest winners and losers, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)