Return to Transcripts main page
New Day
For Biden, White House Is A Monday Through Friday Kind of Place; Survivors Brace For Another Eruption In Apocalyptic Scenes; Defense Chief Lloyd Austin Overseeing End Of War He Fought. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired May 31, 2021 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:31:32]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Weekends away -- that is how President Biden prefers to spend his time in Washington -- or out of Washington, we should say.
CNN has new details about how the president is splitting his time among the White House, his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and also Camp David. So far, Biden's weekend retreats from the White House far exceed any other modern president at this point in their term.
We have CNN White House correspondent Kate Bennett joining us now with this. This is really interesting to sort of see how Joe Biden and his family are living life here in Washington and outside compared to others. What did you find?
KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So it is interesting. Of the 19 weekends, including this one of the presidency, Biden has been gone for 14 of them. That's nine weekends in Wilmington, Delaware and that's five weekends in Camp David. It's -- it is more than any modern president and I think it says something.
We know this narrative of Amtrak Joe when he was a senator and hopped the train every night to go back to Wilmington -- and, sort of, we know that. But it's a bigger footprint this time and it really is a complex maneuver to get a president from point A to point B, even if that point B is only 100 miles away.
Certainly, though, the White House is a -- no one is saying he's not working on these weekends or not taking the job seriously -- it's a 24/7 job -- but I think it speaks to what the White House is and what kind of place it is -- the pressure. The need for escapism.
Many presidents have gone away before -- you know, LBJ to his ranch, Reagan to his California ranch. Eisenhower spent so much time at his Gettysburg, Pennsylvania home -- 365 days out of his presidency --
KEILAR: Wow.
BENNETT: -- but his political opponents used to try to use it against him.
So certainly, it's not unusual but I think it's understanding that Joe Biden isn't the kind of guy that wants to stay for a weekend where he works.
KEILAR: Yes, that's kind of the office, right --
BENNETT: Yes.
KEILAR: -- so he's getting away. He's getting out of Dodge.
And then, you know, what does this mean for White House resident staff?
BENNETT: So this is interesting, too. The people I spoke to in doing this reporting say that it is kind of lonely for the staff on the weekends.
KEILAR: Really, lonely?
BENNETT: That's when you get to know your principals, your president, your first lady, the family, their peccadillos, the things they like. And no one is there for many of these weekends and it's been a little bit challenging.
Someone I spoke to said it might be because he feels like he's moved into his ex's apartment. You know, it's sort of funny.
KEILAR: But they're on good terms. They're on good terms, though, but still.
BENNETT: Eight years visiting the Obama White House, whether it was the West Wing or the residence, must sort of get in your head a little bit. And, Joe Biden did say in February during a CNN town hall that he was uncomfortable with people waiting on him.
But certainly, I think it's their choice and many presidents make that choice. But for the resident staff who for decades work in this beautiful home it is -- it has been a bit challenging to have the president and first lady not be around for 14 -- I did the math. I was told there would be no math but I did it for this job.
KEILAR: I didn't make you do it, for the record. And that just means basically that -- I mean, if they're not there on the weekends, does the staff -- do they not come in? How does it work?
BENNETT: So they dwindle down to just sort of an essential crew and some things really get done on the weekends when the president and first lady aren't there. You know, painting, maintenance -- sort of upkeep and such.
And one more thing I want to add about this is a lot of people said well, President Trump went to play golf all the time. I did the math there, too. At this stage of President Trump's presidency, he had been gone for leisure weekends about eight of those -- eight weekends.
[07:35:02]
Barack Obama loved Camp David in the beginning when his girls were little. I don't know if you remember.
KEILAR: Yes.
BENNETT: I certainly do. He had been gone about five times to Camp David during this four-month mark.
So, again, it's what each president chooses. But I think it's interesting as we get to know Joe Biden more as president that Washington isn't a place, still, that he wants to be on the weekends.
KEILAR: Yes, a lot of people feel that way.
BENNETT: Yes.
KEILAR: Or during the week.
Kate Bennett, great to see you. Thank you.
Hundreds of thousands of people are facing the dual threat of a volcano and earthquakes right now. CNN is live on the scene, next.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And, CNN's exclusive interview with Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin on this Memorial Day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD AUSTIN, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: You can't adequately describe the things that I've seen over this 20-year period of what these young people will do for each other and what they'll do for their country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:40:09]
BERMAN: Nearly 100 earthquakes and tremors in 24 hours rocking the area near the Congo volcano that just erupted. More than 400,000 people have been forced to flee their homes as experts say they can't rule out the possibility of another eruption.
CNN's Larry Madowo live in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo with much more -- Larry.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, experts from the Goma Volcanic Observatory are saying that there's still a possibility of a ground eruption or a water eruption. And they're still registering increased volcanic activity because their seismic data indicates the continued presence of magma under the urban area of Goma and under Lake Kivu nearby.
CNN flew over Mount Nyiragongo for the first time Sunday and we saw gray plumes coming out of the volcano. Where the red hot lava came out, this time it's gray plumes. This matches a flyover by the Goma Volcanic Observatory this morning -- in the second flyover where they registered the same thing that you're seeing.
This, experts tell us, means that the crater is collapsing and there's nothing underneath there. So there's no imminent danger, however, they're not ruling out the possibility that there still might be an eruption from the mountain itself because the last time it erupted there was no warning. It happened completely without warning and that's why it caught so many unaware.
There have been 92 earthquakes in a 24-hour period leading to Sunday. And it now seems that peak is off but there's still a lot to be concerned about.
This is Dario Tedesco who has been studying this mountain since 1995.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARIO TEDESCO, VOLCANOLOGIST: The peak has been reached and now we are going down, and we are going even very quickly down. But sometimes there is another peak again.
So let's wait. Let's be patient. This is the most important thing. We don't need to rush.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: Patience is running thin because people who are displaced have been staying in places where they are on top of each other -- in churches, and most in stranger's houses -- and they just want to come back home. For those people who have homes, there are many more who do not have homes, who are relying on aid agencies for food, for shelter, for medicines.
And yet, there's also we're in the middle of a pandemic, so they might be exposed to COVID or even worse, this area has had outbreaks of cholera and that might be a problem.
So the big picture here is the ground might explode or the water might explode.
BERMAN: I've got to say the pictures are stunning, Larry, but I know these times are nerve-racking there for hundreds of thousands of people.
Larry Madowo, thanks so much for your reporting -- appreciate it.
KEILAR: Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin set to speak today during a Memorial Day remembrance ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
And in an exclusive interview, Austin sat down with our Barbara Starr to discuss the end of the decade's long war in Afghanistan and the heroes that he sees in our servicemen and women. And, Barbara Starr is with us now.
Barbara, such an important time to be speaking to the Defense secretary between Memorial Day and this very quick drawdown that is going on in Afghanistan. What did he tell you?
BARBARA STAFF, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Lloyd Austin does not do a lot of interviews but when we spoke to him he was very adamant that he is focused now with this drawdown on defending the nation, not worried about the critics that are -- he sees on the conservative side of the agenda. People who say the military may be getting soft.
He talked to us about what he knows about America's troops from his own four combat tours as Gen. Austin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): This Memorial Day the nation ending its longest war -- 20 years in Afghanistan. A war that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, as Gen. Austin, fought in, just as he did in Iraq.
AUSTIN: I've had a front-row seat on probably at the greatest stage in our history in terms of being able to watch our troops in action and watch the things that they will do for each other and the sacrifices they make for this country and for each other.
STARR (voice-over): Twenty years of memories about America's troops from his own tours as a frontline commander.
AUSTIN: I will tell you despite the fact that we can -- we can make great movies and write a lot of books, you can't adequately describe the things that I've seen over this 20-year period. And what these young people will do for each other or what they'll do for their country is absolutely amazing.
STARR (voice-over): Make no mistake, Lloyd Austin does not want to talk about himself. On this Memorial Day, he wants America to know what he knows.
[07:45:00]
AUSTIN: You know, these troops deploy because -- you know, in support of their country. But when a fight starts they fight for each other and they'll do anything for each other.
And some of the things I've seen in terms of young people putting themselves in harm's way to protect their squad or protect their buddy, or to go back into danger to retrieve their buddy willingly without even thinking about it, it's just amazing. Just amazing to watch what they'll do for each other.
STARR (voice-over): Austin has put tremendous emphasis on diversity and inclusion in today's ranks. And to political critics and adversaries who think it's all making the military look soft --
AUSTIN: It is not too soft. It will never be too soft. I think our adversaries would like to capitalize on talking points like that or the Chinese, the Russians, and I welcome them to do that because what this department -- what Lloyd Austin is focused on is the defense of our nation. STARR (on camera): So you're not too perturbed about Vladimir Putin or the Chinese leadership? Let them say what they want? It doesn't sound like it worries you what they say.
AUSTIN: I will not lose one minute of sleep about what the Chinese leadership is saying or what Vladimir Putin is saying. What I -- what I will focus on and what I am focused on is the defense of this nation.
STARR (voice-over): For Austin, Memorial Day is about his duty to make troops ready to defend the nation and to remember those he has met along the way.
AUSTIN: You know, sometimes I would -- I would -- I would think to myself OK, what do I got -- what do I need to say to this young man who just lost his legs to encourage him that we can -- he can -- he can be successful in life and that sort of stuff? And without fail, every time I walk into a room of wounded warriors someone in that room cheers me up more than I cheer them up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: Austin is well aware of the critics who are out there, but on this Memorial Day he is totally focused on the enduring strength of America's armed forces -- Brianna.
KEILAR: All right, Barbara Starr. Thank you so much, live for us from the Pentagon.
Up next, America's return to the movies. The first post-pandemic blockbusters hit theaters.
BERMAN: And a culinary delicacy 17 years in the making. Cicadas on the menu, but just for Brianna Keilar. Stay with us. It's true.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:51:20]
KEILAR: Across the country, billions -- trillions of cicadas are making their appearance after spending the last 17 years underground. And no one is more excited to see these winged insects make their debut than my next guest who cannot wait to put them on his menu. That is right.
Joining me now is Bun Lai. He is a recipient of the White House Champion of Change Award. He is also the chef of Miya's, which is the first sustainable sushi restaurant in the world. Bun, thank you for being with us.
BUN LAI, CHIEF, MIYA'S SUSHI: Well, thank you for skipping breakfast and getting ready for this experience.
KEILAR: I am ready. Well, no, I'm not really ready, I have to be honest. OK, this is sort of -- I haven't actually eaten a bug since I was three when I had a spider. LAI: OK. Well, first of all, I'm really psyched about the whole trillions of cicadas coming out for Brood X because it's getting so much press and nature is getting press. So there's all sorts of important issues that this becomes a platform for. So, eating insects is really the future and it's been the past of humanity as well.
KEILAR: All right, so let's talk about what we're going to do here today. You walk me through this, Bun.
LAI: Sure. So we've got some insects right here -- some cicadas.
KEILAR: OK, got it.
LAI: So you basically pick whichever one you want to eat.
KEILAR: Should I name them first?
LAI: No, you don't want to --
BERMAN: It makes it harder --
LAI: You don't want to --
BERMAN: It makes it harder --
(Crosstalk)
LAI: You don't -- you don't want to name anything that you're going to be eating.
KEILAR: Come on, Fred. I'll name one Berman.
OK, so this is what? This is my seaweed. Set them down --
LAI: Yes. So we're going to -- we're going roll it just this way --
KEILAR: OK.
LAI: -- all right? So we're going to put on some --
KEILAR: All right, roll it that way.
LAI: -- gloves over here.
KEILAR: All right, perfect.
LAI: Cool.
KEILAR: Got it. Berman, what do you think about this?
BERMAN: I think my favorite Whitney Houston lyric is I believe the insects are the future. I love that song.
No, look, I have intellectual and culinary curiosity about this but I'm really just here to watch you eat bugs.
LAI: Spread it right out.
KEILAR: Bun, my husband is like not going to kiss me for a week.
LAI: I got no problem with kissing your husband, so don't you worry.
KEILAR: Great. I'll let him know.
LAI: If he doesn't mind cicada breath.
KEILAR: They're alive.
LAI: Yes. So there you go.
KEILAR: But I don't understand.
LAI: So the way you'll be doing it is just kind of put it --
KEILAR: Do I grab this?
LAI: Oh, no, no. I was going to have you just use those.
KEILAR: No.
LAI: The really fresh ones.
KEILAR: Are you serious?
LAI: Yes, yes. So there you go. I'm totally joking. Wait, I want to put this --
KEILAR: Wait, no -- really --
LAI: Yes, yes.
KEILAR: -- or do I really have to eat a live one?
LAI: No, no.
KEILAR: OK.
LAI: I was kidding.
KEILAR: I actually thought --
BERMAN: Fred is scared. Fred survives another day.
KEILAR: Whoo, Berman -- Berman, the cicada is alive.
LAI: Yes, so --
KEILAR: Oh, good.
LAI: Yes, so here are boiled cicadas.
KEILAR: He had me going, Berman. He had me going ahead of the segment and I was like OK, well I didn't know that was part of the assignment. BERMAN: Can I just tell you one thing?
KEILAR: I mean, I'm here to do my work. What?
BERMAN: You're about to eat dead cicadas, so don't get too excited just yet.
KEILAR: I've got to be honest, I think this was really good for him to tell me I was eating live ones because this is seeming like an upgrade.
LAI: And if you look at the top, this is what a cicada looks like when it's coming out of the ground.
KEILAR: Yes, that's pretty.
LAI: You got -- you got artwork over here as well.
KEILAR: Are we ready?
LAI: Cheers.
KEILAR: Actually, I'm not scared of this. OK.
(Eating cicadas)
BERMAN: Oh, the crunch.
LAI: Yum.
KEILAR: Do I have a wing hanging out of my mouth?
LAI: Yum.
KEILAR: It's literally in there.
LAI: It's not a wing, it's a leg.
KEILAR: Bun, that's actually quite delicious.
LAI: What does it remind you of?
KEILAR: I kind of was expecting a potato chip but that's not what it is.
LAI: No, way, man. It's got a lot of body, like a soft-shelled crab.
KEILAR: Yes, that's what it's like. It's like soft-shelled crab. It's basically a spider roll but it's a cicada roll.
LAI: Well, think about it. They're both arthropods. Insects, and crabs, and lobsters are all arthropods.
[07:55:01]
BERMAN: Of course, they are. LAI: Not only do cicadas taste good and insects taste good, the idea
of eating insects is based on sustainability. We're going to have to shift the way we eat insects -- eat --
KEILAR: You're fine.
LAI: -- animals.
KEILAR: There's no leg hanging out.
LAI: And not only that, these are -- their nervous system is really, really different. It's much more rudimentary so they don't feel pain in the way that mammals and other vertebrates do. So ethically, it makes sense.
KEILAR: Bun, this was wonderful. Thank you so much for being with us and sharing. I know, I know -- I have it in my tooth. It's really bad. I'm just going to eat more so the people --
LAI: Thank you.
KEILAR: -- can't see it. All right, Berman.
BERMAN: Bon appetit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLIP FROM PARAMOUNT PICTURES, "A QUIET PLACE PART II."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So, from the horror of Brianna Keilar eating bugs on T.V. to "A Quiet Place Part II," which is a film running away with the box office this weekend as theaters are reopening and people are going back to the movies after a brutal year for the entertainment industry.
Let's bring in Nischelle Turner, host of "ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT." Our friend Nischelle is --
NISCHELLE TURNER, HOST, "ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT (via Cisco Webex): Hey.
BERMAN: -- with us, which always makes it a great day.
It was like a big box office weekend, which are words we haven't said in God know how long.
TURNER: That sounds good to my ears, John Berman -- it really does.
By the way, if Emily Blunt was eating that cicada roll in the movie, the monster would be all over the place because that crunch --
KEILAR: They're crunchy.
TURNER: Wow, wow, wow. But yes, the box office for "A Quiet Place II" -- listen to this. Over the four-day weekend, it is estimated to make $57 million. We have not seen numbers like that in some time.
You know, the studio -- first they thought it might be a little bit higher, then a little bit lower. They settled on $57 million. Right now, they're about $50-plus million going into today. It's really been a big movie for them.
And by the way, it's not far off the numbers they would have predicted pre-pandemic, so it really has people optimistic right now about what the future is for the box office. People are going back to the movies.
Also, the second-place movie this weekend, "Cruella," did about $30 million and it's also streaming. So those are really, really good numbers.
You know, there's a couple of movies (audio gap) and the theaters are really -- excuse me, the studios are really, really excited about what's to come.
F9 opens in a couple of weeks and I know that is a movie that the studio said they would not sell to streaming because they were going to hold onto it. They really thought that this would make an impact at the box office and really get people back to the movies. Globally, F9 has made over $160 million already and we haven't even seen it here in the United States, so just imagine what's going to happen at the end of June with that.
Also coming back to the theaters this summer, "Black Widow," which is a Marvel movie. And you know when the Avengers come back people go to the theater, so they're really banking on that. And, "Suicide Squad" from DC Comics is coming back as well.
So look forward to people really coming back and flocking back to the theaters this summer because the tent poles are back, which is so good to hear.
KEILAR: OK, but in the meantime, did you see "Cruella" because John Berman saw "Cruella?" Did you see it, Nischelle?
TURNER: I loved it.
KEILAR: I guess I'm the odd man out.
TURNER: I loved it.
KEILAR: I feel like Jim Sciutto with "Fast & Furious" movies right now, which he doesn't watch, by the way. It's like a whole thing here.
TURNER: I can't take that. I can't take it.
KEILAR: How was "Cruella?" How was it?
BERMAN: Awesome. TURNER: I really, really liked it. I mean, we all know the animated version and then we all know Glenn Close played Cruella Deville. And this is Emma Stone kind of in its origin story. I tell you what, as cute as she was and as good as she was in this movie, Emma Thompson knocked my socks off as the Baroness. She was so good -- so, so good. It's worth the price of admission just to go to see her and her fashion.
BERMAN: She's always good. And visually, it was also just astounding. We streamed it. We were part of the team that paid the extra to watch it at home and not go to the theaters.
Brianna brought up Jim Sciutto never have seen a "Fast & Furious."
KEILAR: There's nine.
BERMAN: There are nine.
KEILAR: He hasn't seen a single one.
BERMAN: He's had nine chances and that's not even including "Hobbs & Shaw," right? So technically, I guess there are 10 and he hasn't seen any of them?
TURNER: Yes.
BERMAN: Nischelle, is that OK?
TURNER: No, it's not. Is he human? I don't know what's happening here.
He's had 16 months. We've been locked in the house for 16 months and he couldn't have sat down and watched one of them? Right now, I think he's just doubling down on I'm not going to do it because he's had every chance in the world.
And it's really -- you know, I'm not the big muscle car girl or whatever, but it's one of my favorite franchises out there. It's so good. They weave a great story.
"F9" is also going to continue that legacy. They're going to continue to talk about Paul Walker in this series, so we're getting everything. We're getting John Cena as Ben -- as Dom Toretto's brother -- as Vin Diesel's brother in this series. So it's going to be really, really good.
KEILAR: Yes.
