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New Day
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is Interviewed about the Capitol Insurrection; Weekly Jobless Claims Hit New Low; Gov. Mike DeWine (R- OH) is Interviewed about Vaccine Lottery. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired May 13, 2021 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[08:31:14]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: If you listen to some House Republicans, the insurrection on January 6th didn't happen. Listen to what they're saying and compare it to the truth which is playing out on the right side of your screen.
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REP. ANDREW CLYDE (R-GA): There was no insurrection. And to call it an insurrection, in my opinion, is a bold-faced lie. Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol and walked through Statuary Hall showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes taking video and pictures. You know, if you didn't know the TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.
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KEILAR: A tourist visit to hell, maybe. Does that look like a, quote, normal tourist visit? No, it does not.
Joining me now is New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, who is the chair of the Democratic caucus.
Sir, thanks for being with us this morning.
This is incredibly egregious what we're seeing from some of these Republicans. They are straight-up lying. We have eyes. We see what happened. They're also going very much against the police here, the D.C. Police, the Capitol Police.
Why do you think they're doing this?
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Well, good morning, Brianna.
This is shocking behavior, even for House Republicans. They, of course, are totally out of control. Facts don't matter and hypocrisy is not a constraint to behavior. They claim all the time on the floor to support law enforcement and they are doing exactly the opposite. More than 150 Capitol Police officers were seriously injured, brutalized, attacked and assaulted defending our democracy, yet they continue to perpetrate the big lie around the election, which we know was not stolen. Joe Biden is the legitimate president of the United States of America and he's doing a tremendous job. And now they are lying about the events that the American people have seen and that you have laid out in a compelling fashion.
KEILAR: You called it a full-blown cult talking about Republicans right now.
JEFFRIES: House Republicans have definitively become a full-blown cult. They have chosen to place party over patriotism. They have chosen the big lie over the rule of law. They've chosen autocracy over democracy.
And the contrast between House Republicans and House Democrats right now couldn't be any clearer. We continue to work to get things done for the American people, to crush the virus, to provide direct assistance to everyday Americans, many of whom are now going to receive an enhanced child tax credit that will lift millions of children across the country out of poverty and help those children who are part of the middle class. And we're laying the foundation to try to revive and supercharge our economy to create prosperity in every single zip code.
And House Republicans are perpetrating the big lie. They're assaulting verbally our members. And they refuse to try to work collaboratively to get things done on behalf of the American people in the midst of a global pandemic, which is both a public health crisis and an economic crisis.
KEILAR: You mentioned a verbal assault. I'm assuming you're talking about Marjorie Taylor Greene, who -- and this is "Washington Post" reporters, plural, who saw this go down -- ran after Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez yesterday and accused her of supporting terrorists, which, of course, she does not.
Is Marjorie Taylor Greene a threat to her congressional colleagues?
JEFFRIES: Well, she has certainly engaged in threatening behavior, and I think, ultimately, this is something that may have to be evaluated by the ethics committee. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has shown tremendous restraint and should be commended in that regard because it appears that the so-called congresswoman from Georgia is stalking her.
[08:35:12]
This is not the first incident. And she is clearly intentionally trying to lure Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez into some kind of conflict in order to promote Marjorie Taylor Greene's own, you know, online celebrity, if you will, and her appeal to the far right reaches of the Internet.
But again, this shows how far the House Republican conference has fallen in terms of race to the bottom because, on the one hand, they oust Liz Cheney, who chose patriotism and apparently that disqualifies her from being in leadership in the House Republican conference, while at the same time continue to play footsy and coddle the extremists in their party, like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz. It's just shameful.
And the American people see it and I believe they will not reward this kind of behavior in 2022. They will continue to reward the party that is working on the American Jobs Plan, the American Families Plan and has gotten done already, through great leadership from President Biden and Speaker Pelosi, the American Rescue Plan.
KEILAR: Just very quickly, before I let you go, so you think this will be taken up by ethics?
JEFFRIES: Well, I don't know that. A complaint would need to be filed initially. But, again, this is -- this is stalking, it appears to me. And at some point there's got to be some consequences and accountability. And I think it's one of the things that we'll eventually have to look at.
KEILAR: Congressman Jeffries, thank you so much for being with us this morning.
JEFFRIES: Thank you so much.
KEILAR: Just in to CNN, the latest on America's recovery from the pandemic. New numbers on job losses, next.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And Ohio's governor wants to make five people millionaires just for getting a COVID shot. He joins us next.
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[08:41:14]
BERMAN: Just in to CNN, new jobs numbers released moments ago.
Let's get right to CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The economy is growing and layoffs are slowing. That's what we take away from this. You have layoffs in the most recent week, the fewest that we've seen of the pandemic. So a new pandemic era low. Want to mark that to you.
You can see the trend, John. It's incredibly important that that trend continue in this manner. And it's -- these are weekly numbers we get. So it's telling us that that period of the crisis where there were these massive layoffs every week are slowing. Still, that's double what it was on a normal week before the pandemic, for some perspective, but that's the trend here.
There are still 16.8 million people receive some sort of a jobless benefit. Those will begin to expire, of course, as these programs roll out. They're meant to expire by the beginning of September when kids are hopefully going to be back in school and parents can go back to work, physical workplace, because their kids will be in school.
Sticker shock also in another set of numbers to tell you about. Producer Price Index. These are the prices producers pay and then they make stuff and then you're the consumer, you pay the next round of prices after that. Up 0.6 percent month over month in April. That's a big number. And here, year over year, 6.2 percent, that's the biggest since they were keeping these records in 2010. And so those are big numbers.
I look at the numbers. Steel mill products up 18.4 percent. You can see that the raw material costs for so many businesses have been up. It's because of the supply shock of the pandemic.
Also these numbers compare to a time when the economy crashed. Now we're reflating. So you're seeing things like car prices trying to catch up to where they would have been otherwise.
BERMAN: I've got to say, the next few months will be fascinating to watch.
ROMANS: There's no blueprint for this, so it really will be.
BERMAN: All right, Christine Romans, thank you very much.
So there is incentive to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and then there is a million bucks worth of incentive. That's how much the state of Ohio is giving to five separate people just for getting vaccinated as part of a weekly lottery program.
Joining us now to discuss is Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
Governor DeWine, thanks so much for joining us.
I have to say, when I heard this yesterday, I went, wow! New Jersey is giving you a beer. You get a free beer in New Jersey if you get vaccinated. You skipped over like a case of beer and went right to a million bucks. Why?
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): You know, there's nothing more important to Ohio's recovery, and nothing more important to saving lives than more Ohioans getting the vaccine. You know, we've got 42 percent of our total population that's vaccinated, which means they -- they're not going to get the virus. They can't pass it on. We've got some people who, obviously, you know, are not going to get it. That's fine. They have every right not to get it. But we have, in the middle, the persuadables. And, you know, I've learned a lot. My wife, Fran, and I have been traveling around the state going to vaccination sites. I think we've been to over 40. And talking to people who are getting vaccinated, what you find is that there's some people who -- something pushed them over. You know, their son brought them in and said, hey, dad, it's time to go. Somebody else in the family may have done that. Or they woke up one morning and, you know, they no longer now in Ohio have to make reservations to go in and schedule it, so people can just walk in.
So there's people who are ready to do it or almost ready to do it and if this incentive of being able to possibly win a million dollars -- and we're doing those, you know, as you said, five weeks in a row, so it's going to continue that every week for five -- for five weeks starting 13 days from now. We're also doing something for young people.
BERMAN: Yes.
DEWINE: And what we're saying to them is, 12 and over, if your -- if you get vaccinated, you know, your name can go in.
[08:45:01]
And if your name is pulled out, we're going to do that five weeks in a row as well, then you get a total scholarship which includes room, board, books, everything to any of Ohio's great state universities.
BERMAN: Look, you know, go big or go home is what I think you're doing here.
When I heard this, I was curious who would be against it. And I asked Andy Slavitt, who is running the vaccine distribution from the White House moments ago what he thought, and he said he, you know, he's for incentives. He wasn't sure whether or not it was a legal use of the COVID relief money. He said he imagines that will be looked into. But he seems supportive.
But some of the pushback is actually coming from Republicans in your own state. Jim Jordan said, quote, we've gone from 15 days to slow the spread to a million dollars if you get the vaccine. Give me a break.
So what do you say to the congressman?
DEWINE: Well, I understand, you know, criticism. And I explained this to the people of the state of Ohio last night when I announced it. And one thing I said is, look, I know people are going to say, hey, DeWine's lost his mind. You know, this is a waste. But what I think is a waste is now to have the vaccine that can save people's lives and to have someone die of the COVID because they did not get vaccinated.
BERMAN: I've got two --
DEWINE: That is a horrible, horrible waste. That is what a waste is.
BERMAN: I understand.
Two quick questions for you.
You also say on June 2nd, I believe, you are going to lift all coronavirus restrictions in your state except for nursing homes and other specific locations. You had said before that you would do that when you got to fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 over a two-week span.
How close are you to that and do you know you're going to get there by June 2nd?
DEWINE: Yes, we're getting there. We're dropping two to three points a day. We're at 123 as of yesterday. We had been, at one point, as high as 800, you know, in the worst of this. So we're moving in the right direction and we very well may be there by the first part of June. But I thought that people needed a date certain, frankly. This has been well over a year and at some point, the responsibility has to go to the individual.
And I think as we're seeing more and more people who are vaccinated in Ohio, they're saying, look, I've been vaccinated. I've done what you asked me to do. Why can't I do this? Why can't I do that? And it was just time.
BERMAN: All right, last question, very quickly. Some Republican governors are halting the $300 enhanced unemployment benefit provided by the federal government. You said you were still assessing. Have you fully assessed? What are you plans with that?
DEWINE: We're still looking at that. No announcement yet today. So, no announcement now.
BERMAN: No announcement today. All right, let us know.
DEWINE: No announcement now. We're looking at it.
BERMAN: Let us know, though, Governor DeWine.
DEWINE: Looking at it.
BERMAN: I appreciate it.
DEWINE: Thanks.
BERMAN: In the meantime, you know, I never thought it was going to be Governor DeWine who was throwing around a million bucks here and there for people who are vaccinated. I don't think that would necessarily be your reputation.
Thank you for joining us, sir.
DEWINE: Thank you.
BERMAN: All right, some long, overdue recognition this morning for a true rock 'n' roll legend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TINA TURNER, MUSICIAN (singing): Oh, what's love got to do, got to do with it.
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BERMAN: Why Tina Turner finally stands alone this morning, next.
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[08:52:48]
KEILAR: Time for "The Good Stuff."
This morning we are honoring the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame class of 2021.
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TINA TURNER, MUSICIAN (singing): Oh, what's love got to do, got to do with it
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KEILAR: Tina Turner. I mean, isn't it about time, Berman? Here she is finally getting her due as a solo performer.
BERMAN: It's so past time. You're just saying that because you know it pisses me off. She deserved this years ago.
KEILAR: I know. I know. Well, she's joined by another iconic female artist.
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CAROLE KING, MUSICIAN (singing): I feel the earth move under my feet. I feel the sky tumbling down.
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KEILAR: Carole King, of course. She and Turner becoming just the second and third women to enter the hall twice, which they completely deserve. Both were previously inducted in partnership with their ex- husbands.
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GO-GO'S, MUSICIANS (singing): They got the beat, they got the beat. Yeah, they got the beat.
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KEILAR: And also inducted on their first try no less, the Go-Go's, which is the first time that three female artists have been inducted in a single rock 'n' roll class, John Berman. Pretty cool. It's also the most diverse list of inductees ever.
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JAY-Z, MUSICIAN (singing): Yes, my (INAUDIBLE) Brooklyn, now down in Tribeca, right next to the (INAUDIBLE).
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BERMAN: Jay-z, another first ballot Hall of Famer.
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FOO FIGHTERS, MUSICIANS (singing): (INAUDIBLE) getting the best, the best, the best of you
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BERMAN: Another first-time nominee, Foo Fighters, or, as Christian Walkin (ph) says, Foo Fighters, making it in. It's the second induction for front man Dave Grohl, who made it in with his previous band Nirvana.
KEILAR: I want to do this segment every day. It's so fun. We've been having fun listening to these clips through the hour. So it's been great.
BERMAN: Look, the Go-Go's takes me back to, you know, to my childhood. Tina Turner, though, again, how -- it's supposed to be 25 years from when you were first, you know, an artist. How she was not inducted already, it's a crime.
KEILAR: A crime.
Well, would Liz Cheney run for president? Her answer in her own words just ahead.
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[08:58:57]
BERMAN: A closing designer in Little Rock, Arkansas, inspiring others to fashion the life they want one sketch at a time in this week's "The Human Factor."
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LINDA ROWE THOMAS, FOUNDER AND CEO, ROMAS BY LINDA : Once I select that fabric, I sketch it out. I make a pattern. I make the muslin for it. Put it on the dress forms and bring it to life. From there fit models and then there's the runway.
When I was two years old, I was standing next to a heater with my six- year-old sister when it exploded. She didn't survive it. I had dressed myself that morning in a little fur coat. That is the reason that I was only burned on my face and hands. On the left hand, my fingers were amputated and I lost partial digits on the right hand. The doctors told my mother that I would probably not have a good quality of life.
Their prognosis was definitely wrong. I would take the scraps from my mom's sewing projects to make doll clothes. And so she started to teach me to sew when I was five years old.
I opened my showroom and production house here in Arkansas in 2015.
[09:00:00]
The Romas by Linda Rowe Thomas Collection specializes in custom couture. My designs have been featured on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, New York Fashion Week and so many more. The name of my nonprofit is Designing Hope. It started out with me wanting to help burn survivors.
In the process, I realized not everyone's scars are visible. I'm hoping that my light that my mother gave me gives someone else the encouragement to step out on their dreams.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Beautiful, right? What a story. Beautiful.
CNN's coverage continues right now.
