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Is Biden doing Enough in the Nationwide Assault on Voting?; Netanyahu Meets with GOP Senators; U.S. Allies Demand Answers on U.S. Spying; Actor Steven Seagal Joins Pro-Kremlin Party in Russia; Flynn Appears to Suggest a Military Coup in U.S. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired June 01, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Brianna Keilar, alongside john Berman on this NEW DAY.

[05:59:23]

America's democracy is in peril. That is the warning from the American president as Republicans intensify their war on voting.

Plus, he may be on the ropes, but Benjamin Netanyahu is getting some last-minute support from American senators as the Israeli prime minister tries clinging to power.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: He was once in charge of the nation's military intelligence, but now Michael Flynn is denying that he supports a military coup in the U.S.

And new reaction overnight as one of the world's top tennis players abruptly quits the French Open after being threatened with expulsion for refusing to talk to the media, citing depression and anxiety.

KEILAR: A very good morning to your viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It's Tuesday, June 1. And this morning, quote, "democracy itself is in peril." Those are stark words from the commander in chief, marking a Memorial Day weekend that, for most people, was spent finally side by side with friends and family.

For Texas Republicans, they spent the weekend trying to pass one of the most restrictive voting laws in the country. Texas Democrats derailed that effort, for now. But it's telling that hours later, President Biden delivered this message to Americans to honor the fallen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Democracy itself is in peril, Here at home and around the world. What we do now, what we do now, how we honor the memory of the fallen, will determine whether or not democracy will long endure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Texas just the latest frontier in the voting rights fight that has been going on since the 2020 election. Driven by Republicans, 14 states have enacted 22 new laws making it harder to vote, according to the Brennan Center.

In addition to those new laws, an additional 61 bills are advancing through 18 state legislatures around the country. So what are these laws? What do these new measures do? Most of them make it harder to vote absentee and by mail after a record number of Americans voted by mail in November. Some grant partisan poll watchers greater power. Some limit access to drop boxes, and the list goes on.

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has promised to bring back the voting legislation during a special session. Texas Democrats are now asking President Biden for backup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREY MARTINEZ FISCHER (D), TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: We knew today with the eyes of the nation watching actions in Austin, that we needed to send a message. That message is very, very clear. Mr. President, we need a national response for federal voting rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So that plea to the White House comes as many civil rights and voting rights groups are wondering what the Biden administration will do to fight back against this wave of voting restrictions. Here's what they're telling "The Atlantic's" Ron Brownstein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: What we are experiencing since the election is the most serious threat to the core, underlying principles of American democracy since at least the Civil War. And, you know, amid all of this, you've heard very, very little from Biden presenting this as a threat to democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right. Let's talk about this now with Hilary Rosen, a Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator; and Chuck Rocha, a former senior adviser to the Bernie Sanders campaign.

I mean, I wonder what you guys think about what Ron is hearing there. Hilary, to you first. Is Biden doing enough to combat the assault on voting rights? Because clearly, some folks do not think so.

HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think the confluence of issues over the last couple of weeks have made this urgent inside the White House. I think they recognize that President Biden could end up being a one-term president, that he could lose at the midterms, not because people don't like his policies, but because of process issues around the -- around the country where these states are restricting voting.

And I think you will see them, that is why they are thinking about compromising on the infrastructure bill so they can get through the Senate, get something done, and then move on to playing a little more hardball.

I think it's critical for them to do that. I think that, you know, Joe Biden, as you know, does not historically like to jam his colleagues. But he has just got to jam Joe Manchin and Senator Sinema on this, because there really is no other alternative here around the country for Democrats.

KEILAR: Certainly, we're going to talk about that in just a moment. I wonder, Chuck, you know, what you think, though, here in the near term. If Biden waits too long to combat this assault on voting rights, because he's looking at his legislative priorities, the ship may have sailed on a lot of these. Is he doing enough?

CHUCK ROCHA, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR, BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN: Yes, he's taking the bully pulpit, and he's doing exactly what we want him to do, which is leaning into that. You just played the clip of what he was saying Sunday at that memorial service, of talking about this being a real problem.

But when you look at this in this totality, Joe Biden can't pass legislation. He can just use the bully pulpit to push legislators. And he can do that. And he comes from this body, and he understands that. And he can go and talk directly in my home state of Texas about what's going on there and how the governor would call back in special session to limit people from voting, but would not call a special session because he can't keep the lights on in an ice storm. That's ludicrous.

And as we talk to voters around the country in elections I'm working on right now in Virginia, in cities in Texas, and places around the country, people are talking to me about bread prices and gasoline prices, not about how it's wrong for people to be able to vote early. And I think they have to capitalize on that.

KEILAR: You mentioned Joe Manchin, Hilary. He spoke with "The Daily Beast," and he seemed genuinely surprised that not enough Republicans voted for a January 6 commission. And I wonder, you know, do you think -- how is it possible that he was surprised here? I think everyone saw that coming, that this wasn't going to pass.

ROSEN: I think everybody sees, you know, what Mitch McConnell is other than Joe Manchin.

And look, the good news is, is that while Joe Biden can't pass legislation, he does have some significant influence, first because he's popular across the country, but also because he actually has a very good relationship with Joe Manchin. And I think that that relationship has to pay off.

Look, Joe Manchin and -- and Senator Sinema, both of them, they have a choice here. If they want to try and move legislation through regular order, which is what they say, which means subject legislation to the filibuster, where it needs 60 votes, then it -- they've got to take responsibility to go get those damn other nine votes in the -- in the Senate.

But if they can't, they've got to let Democrats end the filibuster and pass the voting rights reform bill, because literally, Democrats across the country are going to suffer from their stubbornness.

KEILAR: Do you think, Chuck, the Democrats should get rid of the filibuster?

ROCHA: I do. And I do because of a couple of things. As we worked on races around the country, you saw this surge of folks participating. They're younger. They're multicultural. Their ethnic backgrounds are so diverse. Well, a lot of these people fall into categories of needing to vote early.

If you have a lot of money and you have a nanny or you have a lawyer, you're going to be able to go vote. But if you ride the bus to work and you have a couple jobs, it's harder for you to vote. That's the coalition that elected Joe Biden.

That's why it's imperative to political operatives like me, who try to elect working-class Democrats around the country, to have more access to the ballot, because they just need more time to vote because they're doing so many things.

KEILAR: On the flip side here, I'm sure it would be lovely in the near-term for Democrats to not have to deal with the filibuster. Think about the legislation when they're in the minority and they are on the flip side of that, the legislation that they would watch sail through the Senate. What do you say to that?

ROSEN: It's scary.

ROCHA: Well, I would say that --

ROSEN: There's a lot at risk in -- in taking this step. But I think that what we've seen is that unless we do take this step -- you know, this has been a sort of a -- we are bouncing back and forth year to year from high-stakes issues in this country. And we've seen a lack of engagement in the Republicans to compromise at all.

So I think we have to say, look, take this risk, move forward, try and bring the country along with you. And if there's one person I think who can do that, Joe Biden has that bully pulpit to do that. And I think that the stakes are just too high not to take the risk.

KEILAR: But Chuck, it will hurt. I mean, if we -- let's say that the Senate is controlled by Republicans in four years. Let's say just hypothetically -- or four years, eight years, whatever, a Republican is in the White House, we will be talking. And if there is no filibuster, you and your party will be in extreme pain for the legislation that is getting through Congress.

ROCHA: I wouldn't say extreme pain, but I would say it would be hard for us. But if they were to win this majority, let's think about this, Brianna, they'd have to win states in Ohio, Pennsylvania, in Florida, in places where there's lots of working-class voters. And I think that they will have the same problem that we're having right now, which is some of these more moderate Republicans who wouldn't want to go way to the far right because that's just not who elected them. And that's why I think that we could have some compromise. KEILAR: So even in the minority, you think Democrats would be OK with

there being no filibuster?

ROCHA: Yes, I do. I think it's time for bold action. The American people are just sick and tired of being sick and tired.

KEILAR: Is that -- You agree with that, Hilary?

ROSEN: Well, I think it's actually more fundamental. I think without ending the filibuster or, more importantly, without getting a voting rights federal bill that stops these Republicans in these state legislatures from stopping access to voting, we're going to guarantee a Republican majority. Literally, the only way to stop it is to have a federal voting rights bill.

KEILAR: All right. Hilary Rosen, Chuck Rocha, thank you so much to both of you this morning.

BERMAN: All right. This morning, Senator Lindsey Graham is in Jerusalem after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the violence between Israel and Hamas.

The interesting thing there, though, is the picture. A U.S. senator, side by side with the Israeli prime minister at the very moment where Netanyahu is fighting to hang onto power. He could be a former prime minister within days.

[06:10:11]

Joining us now, CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson. And look, Nic, Netanyahu is fighting for his life. We know that U.S. partisan politics and Israeli politics have become inextricably bound over the last few years. Still, it's pretty striking to see a very prominent U.S. senator side by side with Netanyahu as he fights to hang onto power.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And he is fighting. And it's something that will be useful to him. He will really try to find a way to break the coalition that's forming against him, sort of an unlikely coalition in any other circumstance, but it's the anything but Bibi Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu grouping, if you will. The Yair Lapid, centrist; Naftali Bennett on the right; and an Islamist party that may manage to come together.

So any support that -- that Netanyahu can get, any bounce that he can get from Lindsey Graham's visit, will undoubtedly be to his benefit. It's not clear that he will. Lindsey Graham expected to meet with other people, other politicians during his visit. It would seem likely that would include Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett. But at the moment, it's unclear if he'll make it as public as he has done with the current prime minister.

BERMAN: You know, Netanyahu can say, Look, I have Trump's guy sitting here by my side. And that might sell to certain parts of the Israeli electorate. Other issues here, there's a Danish broadcaster that published a story

that said that Danish intelligence helped the United States when the U.S. was engaged in -- in phone tapping, listening to the phone calls of European leaders like Angela Merkel and others, which caused such an issue at the end of the Obama administration.

And now European leaders are saying, hey, what went on here then? What has the reaction been?

ROBERTSON: Yes. I think you've got to look at it in this context, as well, that what was OK under Obama, post-Trump, that many European leaders have a different view of the United States, or one that's changed, been modified.

So what you're hearing now from those leaders -- Emmanuel Macron of France; the German chancellor, Angela Merkel; and also from Danish politicians; is this is unacceptable. And allies should not spy on other allies.

You know, I think they're all ready to move beyond, at least Angela Merkel is and the Danes are ready to kind of move beyond what happened in 2013 with -- with this wiretapping.

But you know, the message is clear. We are allies. Therefore, we don't spy on each other.

You know, President Biden will be here meeting with some of those leaders in Europe in the next couple of weeks. So what will he hear on the sidelines and margins from them? We don't know.

But undoubtedly, this is something they'll want to communicate to the White House. If we are allies, if this relationship is going to be as strong as it has been going forward, we need to have trust. And that was a message coming from the French president, the German chancellor and the Danes just yesterday.

BERMAN: So I want to talk about Steven Seagal, as I know everyone wants to talk about Steven Seagal, particularly Steven Seagal. Look, he's been in Russia for some time and involved in politics there. And now he's explicitly supporting this pro-Putin party. What's his deal, Nic?

ROBERTSON: Yes. It's difficult to say, for sure. I mean, I think it might be easier to analyze this from Putin's perspective. What does Putin get here, because the party that Steven Seagal is part of is sort of a proto-opposition party that is not really opposition. They have 23 seats -- in the Duma, about 250 seats. So it's a -- it's a minority grouping. It's patriots. It's pro-Kremlin -- pro-Kremlin supporters.

The position that Steven Seagal has taken in the past few days is one that says, let's have control on the environment, and we should do that by criminalizing people who stand against it.

He was made -- the foreign ministry have made him a sort of Russia/China -- Russia/U.S. representative on -- on the environment, on environmental issues and on humanitarian issues.

So, you know, you could look at it, and he won't, of course, that he is being used in the party, this opposition party that he's part of, is being used by the Kremlin.

What does he get out of it? That's not clear. Certainly, stature in Russia in the Kremlin's eyes and an open door, you know, to meetings with other pro-Kremlin parties. How does that advance him and his acting career? You'd have to say that's unclear.

But it is certainly something that Putin, President Putin would want to milk, that he's got a top-notch Hollywood actor on his side, being pro-Russian. That is something that Vladimir Putin definitely wants to tout the at home.

BERMAN: Topnotch might be the biggest news in everything you just said there. Nic Robertson.

Just if you're wondering, for our audience, that was Steven Seagal in that video, if you haven't seen him for a while.

[06:15:05]

Nic Robertson, I really appreciate you being with us this morning.

New this morning, Michael Flynn denying that he's calling for a military coup in the United States. And we're going to talk about what the biggest conspiracy threat might be in the U.S. right now.

BERMAN: Plus, new CNN reporting of a growing frustration among Democrats toward the Biden administration when it comes to the quest for Donald Trump's tax returns.

And a Florida concert promoter is facing heat for charging 1,000 bucks for unvaccinated attendees and only 18 for those who are.

This is NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning Michael Flynn facing overwhelming condemnation yet again after answering this question at an event in Texas this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know why what happened in Minimar [SIC] can't happen here here.

[06:20:17]

MICHAEL FLYNN, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: No reason. I mean, it should happen here. No reason. That's right.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Again, there was a military coup in Myanmar, and the answer from Michael Flynn appears to endorse a military coup in the United States.

Now, Flynn's attorney, Sidney Powell, issued a statement today denying Flynn was calling for that. And Flynn posted a statement on his Parler account, saying he meant in his answer that he thought there is, quote, "no reason whatsoever for any coup."

You heard it for yourself.

For months, QAnon and other Trump-supporting online forums praised the military coup in Myanmar that killed hundreds. They've hoped a similar coup would happen in the U.S. and that Donald Trump would be named president afterward.

Flynn, who was pardoned by Trump after initially pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts, he's seen as a hero in the QAnon movement. And CNN's Donie O'Sullivan reports that many of the movement's followers think his weekend comments do support a coup.

As a note, Flynn said this in 2020 amid Trump's legal battles to overturn President Joe Biden's election victory. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLYNN: He could order the -- within the swing states, if he wanted to, he could take military capabilities; and he could place them in those states and basically re-run an election in each of those states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He said that's what Trump could do.

Flynn also tweeted a press release from a right-wing group that urged Trump to, quote, "suspend the Constitution and declare martial law" so the military could hold a, quote, "national revote."

And CNN reported, at an Oval Office meeting in the same month, Flynn supported that Trump could invoke martial law as part of his efforts to overturn the election.

Now, it wasn't clear whether Trump endorsed the idea, but others in the room, we are told, shot it down.

KEILAR: Now Flynn said at the time that there were constitutional ways to do this, though experts said he was incorrect. Flynn has been a strong supporter of the Trump-perpetuated lie that widespread election fraud altered the outcome of the 2020 election. In fact, here he is at that same event on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLYNN: Trump won. He won. He won the popular vote. He won the popular vote, and he won the Electoral College vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: No, he didn't. Neither of those claims is remotely true. Joe Biden won by more than 7 million votes. And he won the Electoral College vote.

A little under two weeks ago, Flynn was inexplicably linking the coronavirus pandemic, which HAS killed millions worldwide, to the U.S. Election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLYNN: Why are all these other places having these kinds of problems that we keep getting beat over the head and shoulders on in this country about when it comes to COVID? Why? Because everything, everything -- and this is -- this is my truth or what I believe -- everything is a distraction to what happened on the 3rd of November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now again, there is zero proof for this.

And as for Flynn's hero status in the QAnon community, Flynn has said of critics dismissing the movement, "What I tell people to do is look at the people that are involved. Look at the values that they espouse, and let's move along."

BERMAN: All right. Let's talk about some of the numbers behind all of this. Joining me now is CNN senior political writer and analyst Harry Enten.

Harry, apart from Michael Flynn for a moment, we talk about QAnon, which we know espouses so many conspiracy theories. When voters are asked specifically about QAnon by name, they say one thing.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER AND ANALYST: They absolutely do say one thing. And that is that very few Americans have a favorable view of QAnon.

Look at this. Just 2 percent of all Americans -- even among Republicans, it's just 4 percent. To put this in a little bit of perspective how low these percentages are, 10 percent of Americans believe the U.S. faked the moon landing back in 1969. So when it comes to QAnon specifically, very few Americans actually believe in it or at least have a favorable view of it.

BERMAN: By name. When you ask about QAnon by name. Which is I think what's important here. Because when you dig deeper about some of the ideas being tossed around or some of the themes being discussed here, what you have found is that one of the big issues here is that voters view of their own B.S. meters are out of whack, right?

ENTEN: Yes, that's exactly right. So there's this new study out. And essentially what it finds is that 90 percent of all respondents, Americans, say that they're above average in determining if a news story is false. There's a lot of confidence out there from Americans to believe that they can actually tell B.S. from the truth. But of course, 90 percent -- 90 percent of Americans can't be above

average, right? At most, you know, 50 percent can really essentially be above average. So, Americans feel awfully, awfully confident in their ability to tell fake news from real news.

[06:25:08]

BERMAN: But?

ENTEN: But -- and this is the key thing: This is what these studies' author found, was they basically ran a bunch of tests. And look at this. Overestimate their ability to spot fake news. Look at this, 73 percent of Americans overestimate their ability to spot fake news. It's slightly more among Republicans, at 81 percent, but even 67 percent of Democrats overestimate their ability to spot fake news. And that is very, very dangerous, because there's a lot of fake news out there.

BERMAN: Basically, people are saying, Oh, I got this. I know what's real or not.

But this poll is saying, No, no, you don't. You're misinterpreting your ability to tell what's real and not.

And we've got -- we've got the receipts, Harry, in terms of how people believe these crazy conspiracy theories.

ENTEN: That's exactly right. We got the receipts.

You know, this is something we've been doing over and over again, you and I together on this program.

Look at this, Trump is the true president of the United States. Twenty-five percent of Americans believe it. But look among Republicans: 53 percent of Republicans believe that Trump is the true president. Again, folks, Joe Biden is the true president. He got a majority of electoral vote. He was sworn in a few months ago. And even among Democrats, look, 3 percent. I don't know who those are.

But it goes beyond just politics, right? The COVID-19 vaccine, it had a little bit of difficulty getting some people -- wanting to get a vaccine. Look at this. Believe a COVID-19 vaccine myth. For example, gives you COVID-19. Fake. That is fake news, folks. Look at this: 54 percent of Americans either believe it or heard of it and are unsure. Among Republicans, it's 58 percent, again, slightly higher, which is what we'd expect from this study.

But look at this, even 44 percent of Democrats have heard of a COVID- 19 myth and either believe it or have heard of it and unsure. Fake news is something that really does penetrate the psyche of Americans, and a lot of Americans really can't tell the difference oftentimes between fake news and real news.

BERMAN: Again, so while people may be encouraged, back to our first slide that not many Americans buy into QAnon by name, maybe not matter, because they're buying a lot of B.S. that's out there.

ENTEN: That's exactly right. They may not -- you know, when it comes to the big flashy name, they may say, No, I know that's garbage. But when it comes to the actual things that they're saying, oftentimes Americans can't tell what's fake from what's actually real.

BERMAN: Fifty-three percent of Republicans say Donald Trump is the real president.

ENTEN: Unbelievable.

BERMAN: Thank you --

ENTEN: Thank you.

BERMAN: -- for being with us this morning.

BERMAN: House Democrats have been pursuing former President Trump's taxes for years. But this morning, we have brand-new reporting that the Biden administration may ultimately stand in their way.

BERMAN: Plus, a man hunt is under way for the suspects who opened fire at a concert venue in Florida. Why Miami's police chief says it could be a long, hot, bloody summer.

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