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Capitol Police are Angry at Republicans; Joe Walsh is Interviewed about Being Fired from Conservative Radio; Dominique Dawes is Interviewed about the Tokyo Olympics. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 27, 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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[08:33:31]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Capitol Police are demoralized by Republicans' efforts to minimize and move on from January 6th. More than a dozen officers spoke to CNN and they described being treated like political pawns, like servants, like "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" one said.

Joining us now are our CNN political commentators, Ashley Allison, who is former national coalitions director for the Biden/Harris 2020 campaign, and Mary Katharine Ham, who is a conservative blogger.

M.K., let's start with you.

One of the officers who spoke to CNN said, for all the talk of supporting the police, when they, as a force, were battered and bruised, lawmakers aren't really doing anything to investigate this as they see appropriate.

Do you think that lawmakers owe it to them to investigate this with the commission?

MARY KATHARINE HAM, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, like, I support a commission. The idea that this is just something you can move past without looking into it is crazy to me. You can't have actual people like attacking cops on the steps of the Capitol with an American flag and tell me it's NBD. I think the arguments against a commission are weak, even though I'm not super confident that Congress does a great job with it.

That being said, part of the commission's job should be to investigate Capitol Police leadership. And I know we have to walk a very fine line here when we say thank you to everybody for their service, which was heroic and kept anyone's hands off of any Congress people or any elected leaders, which is clearly something they wanted to do, right?

[08:35:03]

So everybody was kept safe bodily.

But there was a posture issue here. The force has 2,300 officers protecting a very small area, and I respect the idea that they want a commission. They also just got $1.9 billion in more funding from Congress. So they're not exactly being left in the dark here.

And another thing about Congress is, it is telling to me and to many people that the first thing they did when they were under attack is fund the police. They didn't defund the police, they gave them $1.9 billion. The force that protects them.

KEILAR: Ashley, what do you think?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's important to know that, you know, we all saw what happened on January 6th. A commission is important because we need to know what happened before, what happened during and what happened after. We need to know what those conversations were between McCarthy and then-President Trump. And so -- I do think it's a betrayal of the officers who every day go to that Capitol, protect those elected officials, protect our democracy and did it during the insurrection and continue to do it after, lost lives, were injured. And to just turn your back on them and dismiss and say I'm not going to do a commission because of politics is really disrespectful, particularly since this is the party that they want to pretend like they're so supportive of law enforcement. This is the time to show it is to actually do a commission and figure out what happened on January 6th.

KEILAR: Look, I think that's the thing about the commission, it's supposed to look more globally at this and look at what the Capitol Police leadership missed, look at what lawmakers were doing at the time, look at the involvement and the factors that pressured all of this into being.

I do want to ask you guys about something that James Carville said. Ashley, he wrote that Democrats should be blaming Trump and should be blaming Republicans for a spike in crime nationwide. He says that this started last year when President Trump was in the White House. He cites Trump's actions. What do you think?

ALLISON: Well, there is definitely a correlation between particularly around the attacks on Asian-Americans and the way he would use disrespectful, racist language to talk about COVID-19. We saw a spike and we continue to see a spike around violence towards Asian- Americans.

We saw what he said on January 6th and the people that he surrounded himself on January 6th and really empowered. And we hear the people that took to the Capitol that day in saying that they were listening to President Trump and they went to, quote/unquote, defend their democracy and stop the election from being stolen, which we know is a complete sham. So I definitely think Trump has something to do with the increase in violence.

But I also think it's those legislators that continue to see -- you just did a segment about gun violence. In my own hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, this past weekend, while I was there, there was a mass shooting. We are suffering from an epidemic in this country of violence. And we know the solutions. And we know that overwhelmingly Americans support comprehensive and reasonable gun reform. And yet, year after year, congressional cycle after congressional cycle, it is Republican leaders who -- or pretend to be leaders who continue to stop the legislation to be passed to try and bring an end to this violence. So I think Trump and Republicans definitely have some responsibility in the violence and the increase in violence that we're seeing.

KEILAR: M.K.?

HAM: This is Carville sounding an alarm as a Democratic strategist to Democrats saying, hey, the crime spikes really, really matter to people. They matter to people in their personal lives. This is a kitchen table issue. And here's how you can come at it in a way that you'll really enjoy, which is going after Trump, because it's hard for Democrats to talk about crime except under the rubric of gun control. It's the only way they know how to do it. And, frankly, when you look at polls, defund the police ain't it, right? I am somebody who's very open to police reforms, and I think they should happen within Capitol Police and with other police. But as I said, it's very telling that the first thing Congress does is arm up their police force while many of them in Congress, and I will say with the exception of several Democrats who stayed true to their defund the police message, it's not a popular message but they stuck to it even in the funding of the Capitol Police bill.

There are ways to reform without cutting police forces down and without sending the message that you're not going to back them up. In many urban areas in the past year the message was, we will not back you up as leadership if something goes wrong. And police officers heard that. And many of those forces are being decreased. They're losing funding. And a lot of regular folks are not buying the idea that the way to fix that is to take more from them.

[08:40:02]

So I think there needs to be a more compelling message for Democrats. They can't ignore it. I mean you've got -- in D.C. it's a 143 percent increase in carjackings, in Minneapolis, 300 percent increase in carjackings. This is a real personal safety issue that both parties have to address in a real way. And I would add that in the most recent mass shootings we've seen, they've taken place in states that have all of the gun control measures that Democrats continue to push. It's unclear to me that that is the solution.

KEILAR: I feel like we could talk about this for many more minutes. We're going to have to leave it there.

I will just put a button on it and say this, police reform, it appears, may actually get out of this Congress, which is amazing when you consider how divided it is. We're going to see Senator Tim Scott said, you know, June is the deadline. So we'll see what goes in, what happens here in the next few weeks.

Both of you, Ashley and Mary Katharine --

HAM: It will be nice to see it not filibustered this time. KEILAR: Sorry?

HAM: It will be nice to see it not filibustered this time, Scott's bill.

KEILAR: Yes. We will see. Well, we'll get one today, I think, though, on something else.

ALLISON: Yes. Definitely.

KEILAR: All right, you guys, thanks so much for being with us.

Up next, the longtime Republican, a former congressman, who claims his anti-Trump talk just got him booted from conservative radio.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And will COVID dash the Olympic dreams of so many dedicated athletes this summer? Gold Medal Gymnast Dominique Dawes joins us live.

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[08:45:26]

BERMAN: Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh just lost his national talk radio show again, saying that the GAB Radio Network wanted to oust him for some time because of his anti-Trump views. This is what Joe wrote, some bad news, looks like I've lost my radio show. The network is run by a big Trumper and he's wanted to boot me for a while. Looks like it finally happened. Not surprised, but I am bummed. I thought it was so important to have one anti-Trump conservative on the radio.

Joining us now is former radio host of "The Joe Walsh Show" on GAB Radio, Joe Walsh.

I want to note that we did reach out to the network but have not heard back.

So, Joe, walk us through what happened. How you found out. What's going on here?

JOE WALSH, FORMER RADIO HOST ON GAB RADIO NETWORK: John, good to be with you.

I went into the studio about a week, a week and a half ago, and the show had been pulled from the air. So I found out without (ph) any warning.

But, again, John, I don't want to sound like a cry baby. You and I have talked about this before. And this isn't the first time this has happened to me. I'm a conservative. I'm a loud, outspoken, anti-Trump conservative. And that's just not a fit on conservative talk radio.

The group I was with before I primaried Donald Trump, I mean, when I -- when I came out against Donald Trump three to three and a half years ago, I began to lose my radio show. The lesson here is, if you want to be viable in conservative media, you can't be anti-Trump.

KEILAR: Yes, I mean, that is loud and clear because they hired you to be honest and unafraid. That was -- that was the point of why they hired you, right?

WALSH: Yes, Brianna, it sure was. Look, it's -- this is so analogous to the Republican Party. I'm a longtime Republican. I left the party a year ago. Why did I leave? Because if you want to get elected as a Republican, you have to make love to Donald Trump every day. If you want to succeed in conservative media, Brianna, they don't want you to be honest. Again, you have to get down and bow down and praise Donald Trump every day.

Look, you can be like Sean Hannity and kiss Trump's feet every day and make a lot of money. Most Republicans, though, and most people in conservative media, they do their best not to have to talk about Trump because they don't like him, and they know he's bad for the party and the country so they do what people like Tucker Carlson do and just generally try to ignore Trump. I couldn't do that. So if you're outspoken like me against Trump, you have no place.

BERMAN: Bigger picture, and you talk about this a lot because there are people -- and we cover it all the time -- about people who want to reform the Republican Party or pull the Republican Party back to its so-called roots. You -- look at what happened to you. I mean this is the market responding to that idea, isn't it? I mean what does that tell you about the possibility?

WALSH: John, you're right, it is the market. Again, they've got a right to pull a voice like me off the radio, again. But this is what makes me so profoundly sad. We've got 40 to 50, 60 million Americans living in an alternate sea of reality. They're living in a sea of conspiracies and lies.

John, these are folks who don't watch you all, they don't watch CNN. Trump supporters, they watch Fox News or they listen to talk radio. It makes me so sad because I was trying to reach these people with simple facts and truths every day because they're bombarded with lies and they're manipulated. But there's no place for that. That's what makes me so sad. I was the only conservative on conservative talk radio trying to put truth in front of Republican voters every day.

KEILAR: Well, I think it is a shame that they aren't going to have your alternate point of view. What are you going to do next, Joe?

WALSH: Brianna, I don't know. I may tend bar somewhere. I may become a barista somewhere. I don't know. I laugh about it but, again, when you step back, in this age of Trump, if you are a conservative, the worst possible thing you can do as a career move is publicly speak out against Trump. I did that three and a half years ago. I've lost everything since. And it's been a struggle, Brianna, to find -- try to find a place. And maybe I can't, but no regrets. Country first, you two.

[08:50:02]

KEILAR: All right, Joe Walsh, always great to have you on.

WALSH: Thanks, Brianna. Thanks, John.

KEILAR: We will keep your voice loud and clear here. We appreciate it.

Weeks of uncertainty for the athletes who spent years training for Olympic glory in Tokyo. Gold Medalist Dominique Dawes gives us her take on the games now threatened by COVID, next.

BERMAN: And new comments from sheriff in San Jose, California, on the mass shooting there that now has nine families grieving.

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KEILAR: The Tokyo Olympics are eight weeks away, and organizers are insisting that the games are still happening. But calls for the Tokyo Olympics to be canceled over COVID are growing louder. And the latest is coming from a major newspaper in Japan.

So what do the weeks of uncertainty mean for these athletes who have spent years training for this moment?

Joining me now, Olympic gold medalist, and owner and founder of the Dominique Dawes Gymnastics Academy, the magnificent Dominique Dawes.

[08:55:07]

It's great to see you this morning. Thanks for being with us.

DOMINIQUE DAWES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL GYMNAST, THREE-TIME OLYMPIAN: Thanks for having me on.

KEILAR: OK, so just -- can you put this into perspective for us? You competed in three Olympic games. So, at this point, this far out from the games, what would you, what would other athletes be doing to prepare right now?

DAWES: Well, they're going to be in the zone. They're two months away the Olympic games. They're preparing for championships. They're preparing for Olympic trials and they are definitely not trying to pay attention to everything that's going on, on the sidelines with regards to the Olympics possibly being canceled. I would -- I couldn't imagine being in the shoes of these athletes preparing for Tokyo.

KEILAR: Do you think that's hard? I mean I know they're trying to ignore this possibility that the games aren't going to happen, but how do you -- how would you keep that out of your mind? Do you think they're able to entirely push that out of their heads?

DAWES: I think they are. I mean Olympic athletes that aren't -- they're not only physically tough but they're emotionally strong as well. And so, you know, we have this -- this sense about us that we can really stay focused, get in the zone and really focus on the things that we can control. I was taught that at a very young age to only focus on the things that I could control and these athletes, as well as the coaches, they know that this is out of their hands, that they don't know what's going to happen with regards to the game, so they're just going to stay focused on preparing and trying to qualify. And if it happens, they're excited about that opportunity because America, the world, they need -- we need sports. We need the Olympics. We need to celebrate man's achievements and really not focus on all the pain and hardship that we've all been going through lately.

KEILAR: What does it -- what would it mean for them? You know, I've spoken with some Olympic athletes on this show and it seems like it would be pretty devastating. What would that mean for them to not have this chance to compete?

DAWES: Well, again, these athletes have been disappointed already. The Olympics were supposed to happen in 2020. Many of them were geared up and about to peak during that time. And then it was postponed for a year, and that had to be emotionally, physically draining for all of them.

However, they stuck it out. They've made this commitment. And to then be postponed or actually canceled, that would be pretty devastating. It makes me think of the 1980 Olympics when the Americas boycotted those Olympic games and that was pretty devastating for those Olympians because they did not get an opportunity to officially become an Olympian and compete on that Olympic stage.

And so I am hopeful that the Olympic games will go on. Hopefully all precautions will be put in place. And we'll have something to celebrate this summer.

KEILAR: OK, what's your advice? As one -- as one of the rare few who's been there, what is your advice, what is your message for these Olympians as they are gearing up?

DAWES: Oh, these Olympians don't need my advice. You know, they're -- Olympians are (INAUDIBLE) for a reason --

KEILAR: But they would love to hear from you. This is what I'd say, they would love to hear from you.

DAWES: OK. Well -- well, I want them to know that they have our support no matter what. You know, we're there cheering for them each and every step of the way. We're looking forward to celebrating this. The Olympic games would be an opportunity for the world to heal. We need this as a, you know, as a nation, as a world to celebrate the achievements of these phenomenal athletes that have committed their childhood. And so, you know, stay the course. Stay focused. Stay in the zone. Don't focus on the things that you have absolutely no control over. We are there for you and we're looking forward to celebrating.

KEILAR: I think that's such good advice for the Olympians and also for everybody, to be honest. It's wonderful advice to focus on only what you can control.

When you look back, Dominique, on what the Olympics were like for the three that you competed in, not just the competition, but being in the Olympic village and having kind of social and outreach experiences, how different do you think it's going to be for these Olympians?

DAWES: You know what it's going to be like for these Olympians, it's going to be probably the experience that an Olympic gymnast experiences. We really didn't get an opportunity to partake in the Olympic excitement outside of just competing. It was only in the 1992 Olympics that I actually got to stay in the Olympic village. And for teenagers, it was very much a distraction. So after that, in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, and in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, we were no longer allowed to stay in the Olympic village because it was too much of a distraction.

Gymnasts don't go to opening ceremonies. They don't go to closing ceremonies. And so I will say that these Olympic games will probably feel the same as what us Olympic gymnasts always went through.

[08:55:50]

We weren't able to partake in that because, for us, and I'm not saying it's not a job for the other Olympians that have made that sacrifice, but for young Olympic gymnasts, we tend to be told that there are certain things that we're there for, and it was to get a job done in the athletic arena and not to have fun outside of it.

KEILAR: Well, we will see if other people are sharing in that experience at this Olympics. And I have enjoyed watching you.

DAWES: I hope not, though.

KEILAR: I know. I know, right? I really enjoyed watching you over the years. Thank you so much for joining us today, Dominique Dawes.

DAWES: Thank you for having me on this morning. I appreciate it.

KEILAR: And CNN's coverage will continue right now with Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto.

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