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New Day

Israel Launches Fresh Attacks on Gaza; CDC Struggles to with Vaccine Hesitancy; Talladega Offers Free Laps with Vaccine; Francis Rooney is Interviewed about the Republican Party. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 14, 2021 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: And in East Jerusalem, every square inch is contested.

And it's not just the Israeli government. The world forgot in a sense that there was this Palestinian problem of, you know, 4 million or 5 million people who do not have political rights.

The Trump administration essentially gave a green light to Bibi Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, to do whatever he wanted to not -- you know, never pressuring him to try to work out some deal with the Palestinians. Instead, Netanyahu reached out to the Arabs and tried to make separate peaces over the, you know -- again, ignoring the Palestinian problem.

And this is a kind of sad, bloody, tragic reminder that you still have this enormous festering problem in Israel and in the middle east more generally because you're now seeing protests in Jordan, which could destabilize that country. And at some point, somebody has to deal with this -- with the Palestinian problem.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and the U.N. warning this could go to full-scale war.

I do want to ask you about this great special you have. You know, I think so many people, including people who consider themselves still Republicans but might be sort of on the outs, or considered extremely moderate, are trying to understand the Republican Party as it exists today. How it has become so radicalized with extremism.

And as you point out, to do that, you really need to understand one man in particular, Barry Goldwater, who was the Republican nominee for president in 1964, who would go on to lose, but his radical, new approach to politics really won big in the party of Lincoln and helped shape what it is today.

This is some of what we're going to hear about in your latest documentary this Sunday.

Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARRY GOLDWATER: I will remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON, AUTHOR, "TO MAKE MEN FREE": He called his supporters to be extremists, to be radicals. Was it a watershed moment in America? Yes, it was.

ZAKARIA (voice over): Goldwater's defense of extremism would lose him the election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Lyndon B. Johnson landslide of November 3, 1964.

ZAKARIA: He received just 5 percent of the black vote, down from 32 percent for Richard Nixon just four years earlier. But Goldwater had changed history for the Republicans. He created what we now know as the right wing base.

RICHARDSON: What Goldwater does in '64 is, he brings together the post-World War II, the Cold War Republicans who are fervently opposed to business regulation and he brings those together with the southern Democrats, the southern white supremacists who are against the idea of desegregation, and he marries them in a new coalition that is going to take over the party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The bread crumbs, as you point out, really go back decades here.

ZAKARIA: Yes, it's extraordinary. Goldwater lost, but he's probably the most influential figure in the history of the Republican Party in the last 70 years. And he created a kind of -- there were two things. One, he created this ideology of, you know, free market ideology, so extreme that no Republican president has ever been able to implement it. It was essentially a call to roll back the new deal, roll back the great society.

But also a fight club mentality. You know, extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And that fight club mentality is really seized upon by Newt Gingrich in the 1990s, who, you know, takes down George H.W. Bush. And then Donald Trump. And that attitude, if you will, has survived almost everything. It's been seven decades, and you still have this idea that it's important to be extreme. It's important to fight the Republican moderates who are the real enemy in your midst.

And we see that in the fight between Liz Cheney and the Republicans, except this time they don't even care what your ideology is. It's become more a kind of sense of tribal loyalty to -- it's become a Klan because Liz Cheney is, of course, much more conservative than Elise Stefanik. But the issue is not ideology anymore, it's loyalty. And once a party starts prizing loyalty over ideology, then it's more a tribe than a party.

KEILAR: Yes, that's a very good point. I am really looking forward to seeing this, Fareed. Your special is called, "A Radical Rebellion: The Transformation of the GOP." That will air Sunday at 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

Fareed, it is always great to get your insights. They always make us so much smarter. We appreciate you being on.

ZAKARIA: Thank you so much.

KEILAR: House Republicans meeting right this moment.

[08:35:00]

That's what we have been watching there in those live pictures on the right side of your screen. And what they are going to do, likely, is move Elise Stefanik into this position that Liz Cheney has just been ousted from. Does she have enough to win on this secret ballot vote?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And why fans with the need for speed might now feel the need to get a COVID shot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: There is hope that the CDC's new guidance, letting vaccinated Americans go maskless indoors, will incentivize more people to go get vaccinated. Many Republicans have dug in, though, against getting the shot.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has been talking to officials about the push to get conservatives to roll up their sleeves.

Elizabeth, great to see you.

What do you hear?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Great to see you.

What I'm hearing is that this is really tough. That there are sort of plans and there's PSAs and there's all sorts of things for getting other communities to get the shot. And we've seen really great strides made, for example, with the black community or the Latino community. But the concerns is that Republicans are budging but not really by as much as anyone would like.

[08:40:02]

Let's take a look at the latest findings from a Kaiser Family Foundation survey that was done in April. What they found is that among the definitely not, like, no way am I getting this shot, it was 4 percent for Democrats but 20 percent for Republicans. That is a huge difference. And that's recently. That was about a month ago. And maybe it's -- hopefully it's changed a bit since then.

And I was speaking with federal officials about the challenges here. I want to show you what one of them said, one of these federal officials said. It's kind of a mess to figure out with this particular audience what resonates with them because they see vaccines as taking away their freedom. It's moving a rock up a mountain. Moving a rock up a mountain.

And, John, this whole change that happened yesterday, I asked, do you think that will help? Will that incentivize Republicans? They know they can take off their masks. And the answer I got was, not really, because it's too much of an ideology. It's too much of a -- the Democrats are forcing this upon us. We're not going to do it. The incentives don't seem to really matter. But we'll see.

BERMAN: Your life should be an incentive. One would think your life would be an incentive.

COHEN: Yes, one would think. One would think.

BERMAN: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much for being with us.

COHEN: Thanks.

BERMAN: Brianna.

KEILAR: Well, John, how is this for an incentive to get your COVID vaccine. Free laps at Talladega. Tomorrow racing fans who get a shot or a test also get to drive their own car around the biggest track in Nascar.

And joining me now to talk about this is Brian Crichton, he is the president of Talladega Superspeedway, along with Mark Johnson, who is with the Alabama Department of Public Health.

OK, Brian, to you first. This is a dream come true for Nascar fans. I am sort of -- I am a bit of a Nascar fan myself. I've been to Talladega. And for folks who are not Nascar fans, you should want to do this, too, is what I will say. This is amazing. Tell us what people get to do in order -- if they're going to get their shot.

BRIAN CRICHTON, PRESIDENT, TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY: Yes, absolutely. Good morning from beautiful Talladega, Alabama, and the Talladega Superspeedway. It's a beautiful day today and it's going to be a beautiful day tomorrow for our laps around the track event for vaccines and the drive to cure COVID.

So fans that come out tomorrow and if they're either tested or get the vaccination, they'll be able to take two laps around the Talladega Superspeedway, the world's biggest, baddest and fastest track. Now, we are keeping everybody at pace speeds, behind pace cars and pace trucks, but to experience the 33 degrees of banking and Talladega Superspeedway is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

KEILAR: Yes, it is very cool is what I will say.

Mark, I'm sure that you are very excited as a public health official to have this incentive. Tell us about the vaccine hesitancy that you're seeing in Alabama.

MARK JOHNSON, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR, ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Well, right now we're at about 30 percent statewide in our vaccine rate, at least one dose or more. And we want to see that number go up. So we're very excited that Talladega was our gracious host here. The superspeedway is incredible. And we want to see those numbers increase tomorrow.

KEILAR: Are you thinking, Mark, are you hearing people who said, you know, I was kind of on the fence about getting vaccinated but this is going to get me to do this or at least to get a test?

JOHNSON: We are hearing that, yes, especially excitement in the younger population and male population, which is who we were hopefully targeting. So, yes, we are hearing that there's going to be a good showing tomorrow. We're excited

KEILAR: OK. It is very exciting.

And, Brian, here's my question. And it makes sense. The vaccine, or the test, comes after the laps. How do you make sure that people don't just take their minivan, do their awesome laps, have their fun time and then say, actually, never mind, I'm out of here.

CRICHTON: Well, we think that, obviously, that, you know, the incentive for the lap is going to drive the people here that want that vaccine and that want to -- or to get tested. So we have a flow where we're going to bring them off of track and then we're going to bring them right into our Nascar garage area where we'll actually, the Alabama Department of Public Health, as well as the Alabama National Guard and the CDC, will perform either the vaccines and/or the testing. So we're going to funnel everybody through there. So we feel the people that are coming out, it's because they want their vaccine and they want to experience this racetrack.

KEILAR: All right, you guys, thank you so much. Brian Crichton, Mark Johnson, sign me up. Too bad I'm already vaccinated, but I appreciate you both coming on. Thank you.

JOHNSON: Come out.

CRICHTON: Absolutely. Come on out here some time, we'll give you (INAUDIBLE) laps in the pace car.

JOHNSON: Come out.

KEILAR: Oh, I would love it. I would love it.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

KEILAR: Oh, John Berman, that would be amazing. You know, you take out like your normal family car on a superspeedway.

BERMAN: The minivan at Talladega. There -- you know, just --

KEILAR: There's going to be some.

BERMAN: It's everyone's dream. It's everyone's dream to take the minivan out for a spin there. KEILAR: And that -- and that thing tilts. I mean I can't just tell you

how much it tilts.

BERMAN: Yes.

KEILAR: So it's like, the minivan, right?

BERMAN: You know, it does make you wonder, if you can get a million bucks in Ohio, free beer in New Jersey and a spin around the track in Alabama, you know, at Talladega, you know, can I get vaccinated again?

[08:45:00]

KEILAR: I know. Well, what if we need a booster, can we go? And, look, you did the story where -- I mean one beer and they were seeing a spike in vaccinations.

BERMAN: Yes.

KEILAR: I'm really curious to see the spike they get from offering people what's really -- I mean this is really a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's so cool.

BERMAN: Yes, to be sure.

All right, what else are we watching this morning?

What's that -- what that's right next to you on the screen there?

KEILAR: Those are some American flags. But, more importantly, is where they are. This is on the Capitol because right now the secret ballot vote to replace Liz Cheney is going to be underway here. Who will House Republicans pick?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Happening now, a tense vote on Capitol Hill as House Republicans cast a secret ballot to appoint their next caucus chair replacing Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who they ran out of her job for refusing to lie about the election. Elise Stefanik is considered the front-runner amid some conservatives' doubts about her rise from Trump critic to loyalist.

[08:50:04]

Joining us now, former Republican congressman from Florida, Francis Rooney. He was one of the few Republicans holding elected office to publicly criticize former President Donald Trump.

Congressman, thanks so much for being with us.

I kind of want to move a step beyond Liz Cheney and Elise Stefanik to sort of -- you know, what's next? Generally speaking, I found you to be an optimistic person, but you're also a realist. What are you expecting from House Republicans now? FMR. REP. FRANCIS ROONEY (R-FL): To be honest with you, I'm not

expecting a whole lot. I'm really quite concerned that the -- this cult of Trump, this personality cult, which dominate our party right now, has driven them into an ideological naramous (ph) and kind of intolerance of other views, which is unprecedented in the Republican Party.

I mean we used to have Nelson Rockefeller and Gerald Ford, as well as Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. And now we don't do that, you know. In addition to Nixon getting a third of blacks, as Fareed said just earlier, remember, George Bush got almost half of Hispanics. So we used to be much broader and more focused on solving the problems of the American people.

BERMAN: So what happens then? What does this mean? How does this manifest itself?

ROONEY: Well, historically, personality cults have not worked out very well. They have ended up wreaking great havoc on the people that they govern. So I don't think the prognosis for their success offers us a whole lot, quite frankly.

I think -- I'm in the camp of the Republicans that think that we should stay in our party but seek the air (ph) the kind of views that made our party great and made so many great contributions to our country that -- and maybe, over time, the Trump phenomenon will abate.

You know, if it were me, I would not be kissing his ring, I would be ignoring him so that the abatement process can begin. You know, when you think about our globalism, we used to have a party based on globalism and trade. But now we have TTP, but we're not the TTP. China is.

BERMAN: I want to ask you, we've had -- we had Officer Harry Dunn, a Capitol Police officer, who witnessed what happened that day and feared for his life that day. D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was beaten practically unconscious that day and had to plead for his life. They've been on the show today, yet, in Congress this week, you have Republican members of Congress saying they weren't insurrectionists, they were tourists on Capitol Hill. They weren't Trump supporters. They said that, you know, how do you know without taking a poll?

What's it like to hear that level of revisionism?

ROONEY: To me, as a life-long Republican, that was abhorrent and it reflects an ignorance which is driving a lot of this intolerance. I mean how can you say Trump didn't inspire it when there's a huge banner hanging off the balcony of the Capitol that saying Trump and all these people wearing Trump buttons and flags as they were carrying arms into the Capitol of the United States. That's one of the ramifications of the cult of the personality is the perpetuation of the big lie, which has driven these people to do these outrageous things, like not --

BERMAN: Can I ask you a question -- a societal question that has to do with this, what's the consequence for lying, though, anymore? Shouldn't there be a consequence for lying like this? Where is it?

ROONEY: Well, that's part of this whole problem. You know, in the Judeo Christian ethic (ph), there is a serious consequence for lying. It's called The Ten Commandments in the Old Testament. And that seems to have gone away with the First Amendment, by the way, which also seems to be going away. We need to return to fundamental principles. And that's what our party's been based on, individual rights and liberties, private solutions, not the government, accountability, that gets to your lying issue, personal accountability.

BERMAN: Yes. We're a long way from what George W. Bush called the accountability era at this point in Republican politics.

ROONEY: Oh, yeah.

BERMAN: Francis Rooney, I appreciate you being with us. Congressman, thank you very much.

ROONEY: Thanks for having me on.

BERMAN: Brianna.

KEILAR: Jake Tapper talks to Congresswoman Liz Cheney today about her ouster and the vote underway at this very moment to replace her. Watch "The Lead" at 5:00 p.m. on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:58:35]

BERMAN: This week's CNN Hero became paralyzed from the waist down and struggled for years to get into shape and attain a healthy lifestyle. He created an adaptive physical training and nutrition program to help people with disabilities push beyond their limitations. Meet Wesley Hamilton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WESLEY HAMILTON, CNN HERO: Come on. Easy.

My main goal is to teach people how to take control of their life.

Yes, there you go.

Take full accountability and embrace your reality.

Slowly. All right, you can stop right here.

When we go through our program, it's only the beginning. I want to be there through your whole journey because I want to see you successful.

There we go. One more.

I've gained so much from my injury, and I want other people to have that same mindset.

You're learning that you're about to do more.

I believe that once we help someone, now they have the ability to help someone else. This is something that has to have a ripple effect.

We coming together, empowering each other, be an inspiration for one another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Everyone in that video with Wesley was smiling. That should tell you something about the work he's doing and the difference it's making. Wow!

And to learn more about Wesley's work, go to cnnheroes.com.

KEILAR: Yes, that was beautiful. I really enjoyed that. CNN's coverage continues next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:04]