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Soon: Highly-Anticipated Jobs Report to Show Blockbuster Growth; Summer Travel Boom Coming in U.S.; U.S. Records Lowest Number of New COVID Cases in 7 Months; Trump Loyalist Replacing Cheney Repeats Election Lies. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 07, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman, alongside Brianna Keilar on this NEW DAY. Just a short time from now, one of the most highly- anticipated jobs report over the last year. Why it's expected to be a blockbuster report on proof of America's comeback.

[06:00:01]

A Capitol rioter wants to call his mom while another says he watched too much FOX, leading him to the insurrection.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: The Trump loyalist campaigning to replace Liz Cheney hasn't always been one. We did some digging into Elise Stefanik's background.

And Billy Bob Thornton is fretting, Bruce Willis is sweating, and where is Ben Affleck as space debris gets ready to crash into earth? The question is, where will it go?

Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Friday, May 7. We are standing by this morning for the highly-anticipated April jobs report. It is expected to show a resurgence in the U.S. economy. Analysts predicting one million jobs created in the past month. President Biden will deliver remarks later this morning.

KEILAR: The president is making the case for tax hikes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans to fund infrastructure projects across the country. And he's also hinting that he may settle for a smaller increase.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm willing to hear ideas from both sides. I'm meeting with my Republican friends up in the -- up in the Congress to see, No. 1, how much they're willing to go for, what they think of their priorities, and what compromises mean. I'm ready to compromise.

What I'm not ready to do, I'm not ready to do nothing. I'm not ready to have another period where America has another Infrastructure Month and doesn't change a damn thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: John Harwood is with us now. OK, so Biden is going full steam ahead on the economy, on infrastructure. How's the jobs report going to affect that?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Everything, Brianna, as you know, for a president is easier when he's got the economic wind at his back, when he's got a strong economy.

But Joe Biden right now just passed 100 days into his presidency. He's a popular president with a popular agenda. He is able to say that the first step he took with the rescue plan, that is the $1.9 trillion to try to get past COVID, he can say that that is successful, because we're going to get this jobs report.

We expect something -- where in the neighborhood of a million jobs added. That's very strong. We expect the unemployment rate, perhaps, to dip below 6 percent. It shows that the economic momentum is there.

And he's going to try to convert that into political momentum and make the case that, while things are recovering, while we've got the wind at our back, we need to take steps that will help us grow in the future. And that's the case he's making on these spending proposals, infrastructure, education, helping struggling families, and those tax increases. All of it, if you take a poll, is popular. He's going to try to convert that into votes in the Senate.

KEILAR: What about the possibility of a bipartisan compromise on infrastructure? Do you expect that President Biden is going to just try to incorporate some Republican ideas, or is he actually going to seek the backing of some Republicans?

HARWOOD: He's going to try, and try to make the case that we can do some of this together. Republicans traditionally, of course, have supported infrastructure investments.

What they've put on the table, as with the rescue plan earlier in the year, is much, much smaller than he has supported, that he has put on the table himself. And Republicans say they don't support any of the tax increases.

So, it's going to be difficult to make a deal, but he's going to see congressional leaders next week. He's going to meet with Shelley Moore Capito, Republican from West Virginia, college classmate of mine, who is going to try to make the case that, yes, we can get some Republicans behind this proposal. Whether they can do that or not, we're going to see.

We saw Mitch McConnell put down a stronger marker this week, saying, 100 percent of my focus is on stopping this president, that I've got unity in my caucus against what he's trying to do to the country. So he's saying, taxing, spending, socialism. That's the Republican argument.

Joe Biden is looking into the teeth of that argument, trying to see if he can make something happen. KEILAR: It's going to be tough, that is for sure. John Harwood, great

to see you this morning. Thank you.

BERMAN: John Harwood and Shelley Moore Capito, class of 2004.

So the summer travel season is still weeks away, but a new forecast indicates that, after more than a year at home, Americans are ready to get out and travel in a big way.

CNN's Pete Muntean live on the National Mall in Washington. People just itching, Pete, to go do things.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's so true, John. And D.C. just launched its first tourism campaign since the pandemic hit. It's 50 million people live within four hours' drive here, and what's so interesting is that it's just one of the many places preparing for tourism to come back in a big way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[06:05:04]

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Lee Jeong (ph) says she needed a reset from working from her home in Washington, D.C., for more than a year, so she booked this weekend getaway in rural Virginia, close enough to drive, because she thought flying was too risky.

LEE JEONG (PH), TRAVELED TO RURAL VIRGINIA: I just need to pause a bit, a little bit. I just want to refresh my mind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pretty much booming. It stays booked just about every night.

MUNTEAN: Joan Hulvey runs this centuries-old cabin, now rented out for 16 weeks straight on AirBNB, just the latest example of a summer travel season that could feel more like before the pandemic.

The U.S. Travel Association says 72 percent of Americans will make at least one trip this summer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very close to what we normally find. We find during the summer 75 to 80 percent of Americans say they're planning on taking a trip away from home. This summer is going to be really a comeback for travel.

MUNTEAN: While the CDC relaxed its travel guidelines for those who are fully vaccinated, overseas flights and Caribbean cruises are still bogged down in pandemic restrictions. That's why experts say prepare for the summer of the road trip.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've had people call me and said, I've just got to get out of the house. You know, I've got to get Tim out, and he's driving me crazy.

MUNTEAN: Gas prices are already going up, in part because demand for driving is coming back. The average price for a gallon of gas has increased 60 percent in the last year, in some places as high as $4 per gallon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While summer travel's not going to be what it was in 2019, it's not go exceed pre-pandemic levels, it's going to be close.

MUNTEAN: KOA Campgrounds says this year's bookings are 20 higher than 2019. Yosemite National Park is so popular that it's now requiring reservations.

And in Hawaii, rental cars are in such short supply that some have taken to renting U-hauls instead.

One study says the top destinations include beaches and cabins like this one for a summer travel season that's about to look like no other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't get a rental car. You can't get an RV these days. And people are taking to the roads on the good old American road trip.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MUNTEAN: Now, domestic air travel is still down about 40 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, but the places that are seeing growth are those outdoor hot spots like Montana and Utah -- John.

BERMAN: Look, if you were going to book something, you know that's the safest. You know, it's a smart move. And you could -- everyone you talk to, Pete, everyone you talk to trying to figure out something to do, putting something on the books. They want to get something on the books now, because they know it's filling up fast. Thanks so much for that report.

The economic recovery and the surge in travel comes as coronavirus cases hit a seven-month low. Across the country, cases are climbing and holding steady in 47 of the 50 states. Hospitalizations also on the decline. Look at that.

Joining me now is Dr. Chris Pernell. She is a public health physician and a fellow at the American College of Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Pernell, always great to see you.

Seven-month low in new case, which is terrific news. What do we have to do to keep that number going down?

DR. CHRIS T. PERNELL, FELLOW, AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE: We have to encourage vaccinations. We have to continue to follow the data and make decisions that make sense. The CDC has relaxed guidelines around mask wearing. Just the other day I was at an event outdoors. I took off my mask. That's the first time I've done that in quite some time.

So we need to give people a sense of hope and encouragement that things are going to get better, because they are getting better. BERMAN: Now, we're waiting on Pfizer to tell us -- actually, I guess

we're waiting on the government, too, to tell us when there is this emergency use authorization for 12- to 15-year-olds to get the vaccine.

What do you think -- How do you think parents and families will approach getting their teenagers vaccinated? Will it be different than maybe themselves?

PERNELL: We have some preliminary evidence. The Kaiser Foundation did a recent poll of about 2,000 American adults, and it showed that three in 10 said that they were willing to get their 12- to 15-year-olds vaccinated. About a quarter want to wait, and about a quarter aren't sure. And about less than 20 percent says, I want to see early results after people start getting vaccinated.

So we've got to continue to educate, just like we've done with the rest of the American population. I think families are eager to get outdoors. I think kids are eager to get back in school, actually physically, for those who maybe still be virtual or those who may be in a hybrid scenario. And this is what reclaiming our lives looks like.

BERMAN: The people are maybe a little more hesitant with their kids than they would be with themselves, to wait and see things. So we've to get the information, the good information out there. In terms of who is still getting sick, what are you seeing there?

PERNELL: Actually, we're seeing a rise in cases among children. The American Academy of Pediatrics put out that children are approximately responsible for about 22.4 percent of cases, because that's who's not vaccinated.

Also, who's still having a burden of positive infections are those who maybe are taking high-risk chances, those who are not masked, those who are working, either in jobs where they're front line and still may have some type of direct exposure to others who aren't masked.

That's why, following those guidelines, when indoors, especially when around crowded or cramped environments, and getting vaccinated are very, very important, John.

BERMAN: Which of you -- I think this discussion's been flipped on its head to a certain extent, where we're not letting unvaccinated people do enough things.

What about those people who are unvaccinated at this point, unwilling to get vaccinated? At what point do you think that there should be entities that tell them, Look, you just can't do all the things that vaccinated people can do?

PERNELL: That's already happening. You see sport stadiums using the carrot of come watch a baseball game if you get vaccinated. You see other venues, even across in Europe. They're trying social experiments with many concerts and bars, only allowing people in who are vaccinated. I think certain amounts of folks are going to be those who are

reluctant and stay reluctant. But you still have those who are in that gray area who are saying, I don't think I'll do it.

But if you require vaccination for something that they really want to do, then that might push them over the line. My only concern, because you always say lead with equity, is that we don't require vaccination for things that are associated with public goods, like going to a hospital to visit a loved one.

BERMAN: Sure. All right. Dr. Pernell, thank you very much. Always a pleasure to see you.

So she is the Trump loyalist who is on the verge of taking Liz Cheney's leadership post. We're going to speak with a reporter who's been covering Elise Stefanik for years. He says she has changed dramatically.

KEILAR: Plus, her is a new one. A lawyer for a Capitol suspect says his client watched too much FOX. And another suspect is asking a judge to call his mom, who's also a co-defendant.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:12]

KEILAR: Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, the woman who appears on track to replace Liz Cheney as House conference GOP chair is embracing the big lie and throwing her support behind Arizona Republicans' controversial audit of 2020 election ballots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): I fully support the audit in Arizona. We want transparency and answers for the American people. What are the Democrats so afraid of? The voters in Arizona and the state senate in Arizona pursued this audit. I fully support it. Transparency is a good thing. We need to fix these election security issues going into the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining me now is Brian Mann. He covers addiction and the opioid epidemic for NPR. He also lives in Elise Stefanik's upstate New York district, and because of that, has reported on her political career, on her assent since she first ran for Congress in 2014.

Brian, thank you so much. As someone who's followed her for so long, for joining us to talk about this. She first ran for Congress in 2014, as I just said. She's now poised to take on a House GOP leadership role. You see her making this very conscious choice to be on Steve Bannon's show there. And you make the point that it wasn't all that long ago that she was billing herself as a moderate.

BRIAN MANN, CORRESPONDENT, NPR: Yes, that's exactly right. I mean, this is a congresswoman. She was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she first won that office and at that time, she was a pretty classic East Coast moderate conservative, a Harvard graduate.

You know, and closely allied with a lot of the very moderate Republicans who are now never Trumpers, people who are really on the outs with Donald Trump.

But she has pivoted. She's thrown in completely with the former president. And she signaled that again, you know, last night, embracing this idea that there are still big questions about the election of 2020. Really signaling to Republicans across the country here that she's completely on board, all in.

KEILAR: She actually criticized Trump during the early years. This is something that you pointed out. But you say she did so carefully. How so?

MANN: Well, you know, it was interesting. On all of his biggest ideas, she was not on board. You know, the border wall, his criticism of NATO, his treatment of Russia and Vladimir Putin. She was fiercely critical of all of those.

But at the same time, she always left herself some wiggle room and said, Look, I disagree with policy after policy from this president and from this candidate before he was elected. But I'm still cautiously on board.

And that caution remained in place, really, through 2018, when she began this hard pivot and really increasingly kind of set those questions aside, set those gray zones aside, and started signaling more and more, you know, that I'm one of those Republicans who is -- who is in with this president, with this brand of politics.

Even her style and tone began to change. Her own political narrative became fiercer, more kind of smashmouth politics than we'd ever seen from her before. So she didn't just embrace Trump as a political leader. More and more what we saw was Elise Stefanik embracing his -- his type of politics.

KEILAR: So that is the inflection point, as you point to 2018. She comes from wary observer to sort of all in on Trump during his first impeachment. She serves as a defense manager. What do you attribute that huge shift to? What is the motivation?

MANN: So, Elise Stefanik is one of the smartest, most strategic and disciplined politicians I've ever covered. She was in the Bush/Cheney White House. She worked with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan early on. She worked with Bill Kristol.

[06:20:07]

And then, I think it's clear she saw that the future of this party was not with those politicians, not with that brand of Republicanism. It was with Donald Trump. And -- and from the beginning, one of the things we saw with Elise Stefanik was a willingness to change her own identity, her own political brand, to let go of old loyalties and allies if it would mean moving up the ladder. And this is another moment where, by helping with this effort to

dethrone Liz Cheney, she sees an opening for herself. And -- and I've not yet seen this politician miss an opportunity like this. She's steady and deliberate and -- and hugely ambitious.

KEILAR: Yes, and she could be -- or we expect she very well may be the No. 3 House Republican and the highest-ranking female Republican in the House of Representatives. It's fascinating to talk with you, Brian, about her evolution.

Brian Mann, thank you so much.

MANN: Thanks for having me on.

BERMAN: So Donald Trump and other top Republicans are backing Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, but some conservative groups are not on board.

The Club for Growth tweeted, "Elise Stefanik is not a good spokesperson for the House Republican conference. She's a liberal with a 35 percent Club for Growth lifetime rating, fourth worst in the House GOP."

Joining me now is David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth and a former Republican congressman from India.

Congressman, great to see you. What's wrong with Elise Stefanik?

DAVID MCINTOSH, PRESIDENT, CLUB FOR GROWTH: Just what was described. She's very much a liberal. She voted against the Trump tax cuts. She voted against the bill that would keep us out of the climate change accord.

She has, throughout her career, been pretty far-left Republican. And I think the analysis we just heard, her ambition told her, Well, I better get on board with President Trump, but our worry is when she gets into leadership, she has no principles at that point.

And that's the biggest problem the Republican Party has right now. They don't -- the voters don't think they stand for principles. They're not sure they're -- whether they're loyal to President Trump or not. And she'll be a terrible leader.

BERMAN: Well, look, and I know you talk to Donald Trump, I think, pretty frequently. He loves her, right? So, why does he love her so much?

MCINTOSH: He loves the fact -- I think, because she was part of that defense team on the impeachment. And we agreed that he shouldn't be impeached.

But the problem Club for Growth has, is we look deeper than that. What -- what will she do on the things, the common sense agenda? Will she build more welfare or will she cut taxes? Will she increase government spending like the Democrats do? She appears to vote with the Democrats on a lot of those issues. And for her to be leading the Republicans, it will be tough. People

won't believe it's genuine when she takes on the Biden initiative and says, we should be opposing all of his big spending bills when she's a big spender.

BERMAN: Let me ask you this, then. To what extent are you concerned that the things you care about as a conservative are being clouded in the Republican Party now by these other issues? Because it is her commitment to Donald Trump, the person here, which is getting her this job, and I think in your mind, it's her commitment to, you know, to the big lie, to the notion that the election was somehow deeply fraudulent that is helping her get this position. So how is that, in your mind, clouding these things you're most worried about?

MCINTOSH: You know, John, and I've thought about this a lot and talked about it. And we look for candidates who fit this. I think the ideal path forward for the Republicans is to combine those true principles, conservative, limited government, really common-sense principles about how to keep the economy strong and create jobs.

With an appeal to the Trump voters. And you -- some people like Liz Cheney made the mistake of saying, there's no room for Trump or his part of the party.

Other people like Elise Stefanik say, We don't really believe the principles.

What you need is somebody that combines the right answers on that, and we look for candidates like that to support. And I think that's the way the Republican Party can get back into the majority. Keep its real principles but make sure you appeal to the average American who voted for Donald Trump and wants to see somebody stand up for America, not just a personality.

BERMAN: Would you like to see less big lie, more economic principles?

MCINTOSH: No. What they want to do is see that the government's working for them that they will be -- it will create jobs, create an economy that works for them and benefits everybody. That -- that's the key to success for the future in our country.

BERMAN: David McIntosh, appreciate you coming on. Thank you so much for the discussion.

MCINTOSH: Great to be with you.

BERMAN: All right. FOX made me do it. One suspect's surprise defense for his role in the Capitol insurrection.

[06:25:05]

Plus, why another riot defendant is asking the court for permission to call his mom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BERMAN: Developing overnight, the Texas House of Representatives just advanced an election overhaul bill that adds new voting restrictions and penalties. Eighteen amendments were adopted in the after-midnight session. The bill still requires another vote before it can pass the House.

It comes after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a controversial voting bill aimed at curbing access to mail-in voting in the state. The new law already faces several legal challenges. You can see him signing it there in an exclusive FOX event. This is a law for the state, which he signed only for FOX.

KEILAR: Well, we have heard some creative legal defenses, and now this. An attorney for one of the Capitol riot defendant says his client became hooked on FOX News and developed, quote, "FOX-itis," FOX.