Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Jenner Talks about California Election and Trump; Violence Escalates in Israel. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 11, 2021 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:31]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A surprising revelation this morning from a new CNN interview with Caitlyn Jenner. She is running for governor of California in the all but certain recall election of Gavin Newsom.

Joining us now, Dana Bash, CNN chief political correspondent, who sat down with her.

Dana, you're holding back on me. I talked to you last night. We ran the giant, you know, Caitlyn Jenner interview, but you were holding back on this really interesting newsy nugget this morning.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: We just got so much news that, you know, we had to space it out. And here is the news this morning.

You know, Donald Trump is very unpopular in California. So the fact that Caitlyn Jenner is getting some help from the former president's aides, including his old campaign manager, Brad Parscale, it made its way into Governor Gavin Newsom's fundraising appeal.

Well, we talked about that and about voting in 2020.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: There's criticism of you because you have --

CAITLYN JENNER (R), CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: No! Little old me?

BASH: You have hired some Trump campaign officials, like his campaign manager --

JENNER: Wow.

BASH: Saying, you know, that's just proof that you are Trumpy and it doesn't belong in California.

What's your response?

JENNER: No, I have -- I've never even talked to Trump about any of this stuff. We're in that post-Trump era. I am very fortunate. I know people in the Republican Party. And I have

been very fortunate when I said, OK, OK, I'm looking into this. Honestly, some of the best people in the Republican Party have jumped on board to help me with this program. They're all my friends. I've known them -- a lot of them for years. Some are new. And I have a very good group of people that are really looking out for me.

BASH: And the fact that they worked for the Trump campaign?

JENNER: It makes no difference. They're just -- you know, they work politics, you know, and that's what they do. If Ted Cruz had gotten elected and Trump hadn't, they would probably have worked for Ted Cruz.

So, honestly, yes, I mean, to me, that has no factor. I mean they are very knowledgeable, very good. I need to surround myself with good people, and I am very fortunate that the Republican Party has supported me in a way that they've surrounded me with really good people.

BASH: You said you haven't talked to Trump at all about any of this?

JENNER: No.

BASH: Did you vote for him in 2020?

JENNER: No.

BASH: Who'd you vote for?

JENNER: I didn't even vote.

BASH: Why?

JENNER: Out here in California, it's like, why vote for a Republican president? It's just not going to work. I mean, it's overwhelming. And at the time --

BASH: Did you vote down ticket?

JENNER: No. It was -- no. I -- it was voting day, and I thought, the only thing out here in California that I worry about, which affects people, is the propositions that were out there. And I didn't see any propositions that I really had one side or the other. And so it was Election Day and I just couldn't get excited about it. And I just wound up going to play golf and I said, ah, I'm not doing that.

BASH: So how do you get people excited to vote for you now that you want to be on the ballot?

JENNER: Because I'm cute and adorable.

BASH (voice over): Well known as an Olympic gold medalist, a celebrity --

JENNER: Ate a lot of Wheaties. BASH: A reality TV star and now a transgender woman, but unknown in terms of readiness to lead the most populous state in America.

BASH (on camera): What specific experience, for example, as an entrepreneur, do you think prepares you to be governor of such a huge state?

JENNER: There's a lot of things, I think, that prepare me for this. I've always had the -- a great ability to listen. I've always loved people. I love ideas. I don't care if -- and, you know, I've been on the Republican side just because of conservative economic principles. You know, lower taxes, less regulations, and the list goes on. You know what those are.

And -- but also on the other side, I've much been more like the Democrats. I realize that there are social issues that are out there that people need help and government can play a role in that. But you can't have one without the other. You can't have social programs and funding social programs if you don't have an economy. So I feel like the first thing you've got to do is we've got to stop the exit of California. People are leaving it in droves.

BASH: How? So how do you do that?

JENNER: We've lost 18,000 jobs. We lost a congressional seat because we have less people in California now. And they're not leaving for any other reason than -- they're not leaving because of the beaches or Yosemite or the beautiful weather. They're leaving for one reason, and that's overbearing, overregulated, overtaxed system that we have in this state.

[08:35:03]

People don't want to leave. Honestly, that's why I'm doing this. I don't want to leave California, but if I have to, I will. It just makes financial sense.

BASH: But what -- what would Governor Jenner do specifically to stop the exodus that you're talking about?

JENNER: First of all, I've had a lot of engagements with policy people, with budget people. There's only certain things you can do as governor. There's not like you can just go in and say, oh, we're going to lower taxes. You just can't do that.

What you can do as governor is, you can put a freeze on things. And immediately I would freeze taxes. I would freeze regulations. No more regulations, no more taxes. Everybody take a big, deep breath and let's see what we can do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Dana Bash, so much to talk about. She didn't vote. She didn't vote in the last election, which to me is indicative of, I thin, the larger thing that is a takeaway from this, which is that, as you said to me last night, this candidacy is a work in progress, and that's putting it charitably.

BASH: It is. And, you know, she obviously has come to -- she's been following politics, she said, for a long time but came to political activism or even, you know, wanting to run for elected office very late in life and she said, you know, at one point in the interview that this pretty much came to pass because she was sitting in her house for about, you know, a year, many, many months during COVID, getting more and more frustrated, not being able to go anywhere. She was, frankly, a bit board and she said this is something that I want to do in the last chapter of my life.

We know that she is fiscally conservative. But to lead, as I said to her, the fifth largest economy in the world, you need to have a lot more information about how to do that. And, you know, she admits she's not there yet. And what we don't know is whether or not she's going to get people around her who can brief her up as, let's say, Arnold Schwarzenegger did in 2003. He made a big show of the fact that he went to Schwarzenegger school with briefing books and really learned the things that he didn't know. And he had been involved in politics for a lot longer.

KEILAR: You said she was bored. I mean, when I'm bored, I watch a movie. But I guess, I mean, look, she's -- she's -- that's what she's doing, she's running for governor. But I just have to say, listening to your interview, Dana, she seems so far out of her depth here.

BASH: Well, you know, everybody is going to take away from this what they will. I mean my goal was to ask about the issues that matter nationally, like the Republican Party, that matter to California, because California is -- I mean the -- one of the reasons that Gavin Newsom is likely to have a recall vote is, let's be honest, politics, but also because there are a lot of people really hurting in California. Homelessness is a huge, huge crisis. One in four Americans who are homeless are in -- or is in California. The tax issue is a big burden. They lost a congressional seat because people are leaving California. So there are a lot of issues to contend with.

The question is whether or not Gavin Newsom is going to be the person to continue to tackle that or somebody new is. And, you know, there are other Republicans who are elected officials and the question is whether or not Caitlyn Jenner is going to get a chance.

I will tell you one other thing, that if Gavin Newsom is not recalled in what we expect to be a fall election to do that, my understanding is that she does plan to run in the real election in 2022.

BERMAN: Consultants chomping at the bit.

Dana Bash, really interesting interview. Great discussion.

BASH: Thanks, guys.

BERMAN: Nice to see you.

BASH: You, too. BERMAN: New rocket fire just a short time ago in Israel sending people running for shelter. We have established our line with Hadas Gold, our reporter, you're seeing right there. A live report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:42:30]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Guys, we have sirens. Let's go, let's go, let's go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, that was just a short time ago. Our CNN crew forced to run for cover as air strike sirens went off in Ashkelon. That's near the Gaza border. Israeli and Gaza militants have been trading air strikes and rocket fire. Palestinian health officials say at least 20 people have been killed, including nine children in Israeli air strikes.

We have re-established a connection with CNN's Hadas Gold, who joins us live.

It's great to see you safe, Hadas. I understand you are still hearing explosions.

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, just in the last few minutes we've actually heard a few explosions. We're not sure if those are from Israeli air strikes or rockets. But I am standing outside of a building that was directly hit by a rocket earlier this morning. Our cameraman will pan up to show you that impact. And you can see the damage to the building here.

But all morning long, all day long, we have been having air raid sirens off and on. We've been forced to run into this building, actually, and into their bomb shelter to take cover along with the residents of this building. It's been a barrage of rockets, over 300 of them, the IDF tells us, have been launched from Gaza into Israel and in just the last few minutes we have confirmed from emergency services that two people have died here in Ashkelon as a result of these rocket fires. And the IDF tells us they have struck more than 150 targets in Gaza, mostly belonging to Hamas.

As of Tuesday morning, the latest numbers we have from the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza is that 24 people have been killed, including nine children. Now, the Israeli military says they are investigating where this happened. The Palestinian ministry of health say they are the result of air strikes. The Israeli military saying that they take any reports of civilian casualties very seriously and they are investigating the incident. They are noting, however, that a third of the rockets that have been fired from Gaza have been landing short. IDF says that they have killed at least 15 militants in Gaza and that in addition to the two casualties that we've had here in Ashkelon recently, there have been at least 16 Israelis have been injured, including from this building behind me.

Now, Gaza militants are saying that these rocket attacks are in direct response to the tensions, to the clashes that we have been seeing in Jerusalem over the past few days at the Al-Aqsa compound where more than 500 Palestinians have been injured in clashes with Israeli police and also in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood where Palestinian families, some of whom have been living there for generations, are facing possible evictions. That has been a big flashpoint here. But without question, a very fluid situation.

[08:45:02]

We are constantly getting reports of air raid sirens across southern Israel, hearing the explosions of rocket -- of the rockets and also of the iron dome intercepting these rockets. We are hearing airplanes flying overhead, as well as possible strikes all not too far from us down south in Gaza.

But this is the most tense that we have seen this region in quite some time, in several years. We have not seen an intensity, this number of rockets in several years here, as well as last night when we had rockets aimed at Jerusalem. That has not happened in a very long time. We have not heard air raid sirens in Jerusalem for a very long time and Israel clearly sees that as a major escalation.

BERMAN: Hadas Gold, nice to see you safe. Please, you and your crew, do what you need to do to secure over the next several days as this seems to be getting much worse.

Appreciate it.

Brianna.

KEILAR: Senator Rand Paul and his staff trolling Dr. Anthony Fauci ahead of a Capitol Hill hearing this morning. No surprise given Paul's past antics. We'll roll the tape, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: And I quote, go f yourself. Such a lovely sentiment that Senator Rand Paul's chief strategist tweeted about Dr. Anthony Fauci in response to Fauci giving his opinion this week on the future of masks, that they might be a, quote, seasonal thing. Classy retort.

Well, think of this as trickle down semantics because Senator Paul is also trolling Fauci ahead of another hearing appearance this morning on the pandemic which has now claimed nearly 600,000 American lives. In response to Fauci saying he's being politicized by extreme people, which is just a fact, Paul replied, looking forward to tomorrow's hearing, Dr. Fauci, passive aggressive exclamation point there at the end.

[08:50:07]

To be clear, Fauci is not immune from questions or scrutiny, but Senator Paul, who's an eye doctor, approaches these hearings as if they're a WWE match. Only instead of titillating a witty crowd, he blows disinformation all over them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): And as much as I disrespect you, Dr. Fauci, I don't think you're the end all (ph). I don't think you're the one person that gets to make a decision.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NIAID: I have never made myself out to be the end all and only voice of this.

PAUL: They've developed enough community immunity that they're no longer having the pandemic because they have enough immunity in New York City to actually stop it.

FAUCI: I challenge that, Senator --

PAUL: I'm afraid --

FAUCI: Because I want to --

PAUL: I'm afraid your --

FAUCI: Please, sir, I would like to be able to do this because this happens with Senator Rand all the time. You are not listening to what the director of the CDC said, that in New York it's about 22 percent. If you believe 22 percent is herd immunity, I believe you're alone in that.

PAUL: If we're not spreading the infection, isn't it just theater?

FAUCI: No, it's not.

PAUL: You've had the vaccine and you're wearing two masks. Isn't that theater?

FAUCI: No, that's not -- here we go again with the theater.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Nothing brings out Senator Paul's propensity to act like an ass like a congressional appearance by Fauci. And that is really saying something.

And, not surprising, Paul was one of the only lawmakers who refused to wear a mask on the Senate floor at the height of the pandemic in the winter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to ask Senator Paul in front of everybody to start wearing a mask on the Senate floor like the entire staff does all the time.

I wish Senator Paul would show the respect to his colleagues to wear a mask when he's on the Senate floor walking around and speaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, Senator Paul also advised Americans in November to toss the mask, again, at the height of the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): If you've had the disease or you've been vaccinated and you're several weeks out from your second dose, throw your mask away and tell Dr. Fauci to take a leap.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: In Senator Paul's feud with Fauci, he often likes to project.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): You could look at Dr. Fauci and say, well, what if the Spanish flu comes back? Shouldn't we wear a mask every year for the rest of our life because some day the Spanish flu is going to come back? See, that's not science, that's sort of emotionalism and fearmongering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Fearmongering. At least Senator Paul is sticking to his area of expertise here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY) (July 16, 2020): Are they going to hold me down and stick a needle in my arm? They probably will because these people believe in the idea that they are so right and that their cause is so righteous that they can inflict it on others.

PAUL (December 16, 2020): But the fraud happened. The election, in many ways, was stolen.

PAUL (April 25, 2010): I don't like the idea of telling private business owners. I abhor racism. I think it's a bad business decision to ever exclude anybody from your restaurant. But, at the same time, I do believe in private ownership.

PAUL (2008): But I guarantee that's one of their long-term goals to have, you know, one sort of borderless mass continent.

PAUL (April 8, 2015): I think there are things that went on at the Clinton Foundation that are going to shock people.

PAUL: Anybody heard about Ebola? It's all over the place. Is this going to be a terrible thing that runs throughout the United States? I think nobody knows. But is it a very dangerous situation and the president ought to be a little bit more focused on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Just to fact check, the Clinton Foundation was cleared, by the Trump administration no less. And on that last one, he was talking about Ebola. He was really worried about it under a Democratic president. Nine people infected with Ebola returned to the U.S. Two nurses were infected and one of those travelers died. But a pandemic that has claimed more than 500,000 American lives, Paul isn't nearly as concerned. He jettisoned his own beliefs about personal responsibility when he was exposed to the coronavirus early on. Knowing he was exposed to the virus, he still decided to hit up the Senate gym and do laps in the pool while he waited for his test results. That visit to the gym exposed his colleagues, many of whom are in the high-risk category because he ended up testing positive, becoming the first senator that we're aware of to be infected.

And for a guy who's championed herd immunity, he sure has a history of casting doubt on the vaccines that could safely get us there. He says he's a proponent of them, but --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY) (March 5, 2019): Yet it is wrong to say that there are no risks to vaccines. Even the government admits that children are sometimes injured by vaccines.

PAUL (February 2, 2015): I've heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, in December, despite having the privilege and opportunity to be among the first Americans vaccinated, Paul said, quote, I have not chosen to be vaccinated because I got it naturally. The interesting thing is that no more than a handful of reports of people getting it again so there's every indication that having been infected with it provides strong natural immunity.

[08:55:01]

Well, like Elvis' "Kentucky Rain," Rand Paul's COVID BS keeps pouring down, and it's enough to fill the swimming pool in the Senate gym.

BERMAN: Oh, I see what you did there. The swimming pool he's swimming in himself.

KEILAR: It's a lot of crap in a pool.

BERMAN: That's why we have chlorine. That was something. And, again, to troll Dr. Fauci before he's coming in for the hearing today, that really does tell you where the head is of the senator.

KEILAR: Yes.

BERMAN: Excellent.

Next, we have brand-new, breaking news about the sex trafficking investigation into Congressman Matt Gaetz. The person investigators are now pushing to try to get cooperation from. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A very good Tuesday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Poppy Harlow.

This morning, a huge stride in the race toward recovery. Millions of children now eligible to get.