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New Day

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) Discusses A Tense Exchange Between D.C. Police Officer and Georgia Congressman; Texas State Reps. Discuss Vice President Harris' Meeting With Democrats Who Blocked Voting Bill; CNN Reality Check: Were Republicans Rooting For Russia At Biden-Putin Summit? Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 17, 2021 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This hasn't happened since, you know, the beginning of last year. It's --

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: But there's an electricity. Let's go with that.

GUPTA: That's right, yes. But it's just -- it's one of those things where you have -- you follow the science. You know -- I feel I'm vaccinated.

And just so you know, like, the way that they handled it for the -- for the show at Stephen Colbert, was everyone in the audience had to show proof of vaccination.

People were tested. I was tested again. People were tested who were on the stage. So they these protocols still in place.

Obviously, we weren't wearing masks. People could wear masks. So it's all this transition sort of period stuff.

But it was also here in New York City -- at one point, the worst sort of outbreak anywhere on the globe. Forty-eight percent positivity rate at one point and now it's .4 percent. You know the case numbers have come down. Obviously, 70 percent, as they talk about, have been vaccinated, so it's a different world. It is a vaccinated world, obviously very different from the unvaccinated.

BERMAN: First of all, that's such an interesting point and it's something I hope we get a chance to focus on before.

For the unvaccinated, the risks are still very much there -- very much there. In fact, let me ask you about that now because Andy Slavitt, who was the COVID-19 adviser inside the White House, has called the Delta variant, first seen in India, COVID on steroids.

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, this is the thing. We talked about the original coronavirus circulating and then we all started talking about the U.K. variant. That was 50 percent more transmissible than the native variant. Now, this Delta variant, which is what we heard about in India, is 60

percent more transmissible than the U.K. variant. So this is way more transmissible.

In the beginning, we used to say look, you need to be around somebody for several minutes -- you know, a certain distance. Those sorts of rules and encounters -- there's no -- there's no guardrails around that now because even brief encounters could potentially lead to a transmission.

This is way more transmissible. It could be sticking more to the receptor. It may be disabling our immune system more. And it seems to be more of a problem even for younger people. So that's another thing is that the demographic is -- of who is being affected by this has changed as well.

BERMAN: This is a risk for the unvaccinated population because who received both doses of the vaccine, enormous protection.

GUPTA: Yes. That's a -- it's a really good point and it's really good news, right? We didn't know how well these vaccines were going to work and we didn't know how broad the coverage was going to be.

If you've been previously infected you have some immunity against that virus that you were infected by. But now that you get the variants, it's another reason -- even if you've been previously infected -- to get vaccinated because the vaccine seems to have broader coverage against all these variants.

It's kind of like I say, you know, Mount Everest was the original variant and the antibodies protect that -- sort of cover that point of Mount Everest really well. But now that all these other mountains are starting to crop up you need a bigger blanket of coverage and that's what the vaccine seems to do, so far. So you don't see reinfections here.

BERMAN: You're talking about the bigger blanket of coverage. You're talking about the Delta variant being a risk to young people, which raises I think questions and concerns about the fact the youngest of our population -- people who are under 12 are not yet vaccinated. And there is the discussion about when they will be vaccinated.

Well, the former president did an interview last night. And the former president who, himself, has been vaccinated --

GUPTA: Yes.

BERMAN: -- who, himself, when pressed, says that everyone should go get vaccinated has, I guess, doubts about young people being vaccinated -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're lucky we have the vaccine but the vaccine on very young people is something that you've got to really stop. And I am a big believer in what we did with the vaccine. It's incredible what we did. You see the results.

But to have every school child -- where it's 99.9 percent, they just don't -- you know, they're just not affected or affected badly -- having to receive a vaccine I think is something that you should start thinking about because I think it's unnecessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Your reaction?

GUPTA: You know, I think if you look back -- and I just say forget about all the news of the past year -- and I said there is something that's circulating that has killed hundreds of kids, that has put tens of thousands in the hospital and could have a lasting impact on their bodies in years to come, you'd say, God, we've got to do something about that. Hundreds of kids have died, tens of thousands have been hospitalized. We've got to do something.

Because we've sort of always contextualized this with adults we don't take this as seriously. It's a big problem.

H1N1 affected children more than adults. This still affects children more than H1N1 did --

BERMAN: Oh, wow.

GUPTA: -- just to give you an idea -- give you some context here.

Also, it is true that the risk benefits are what you always have to consider when it comes to a vaccine. Do the benefits outweigh the risks? And also, how much of the reservoir of this disease now affects children. We know that 19 to 20 percent of this disease occurs in children.

So we'll see if we have vaccines for people under the age of 12. We don't have them yet but it will have to meet all those guidelines. If I had a child that age I would get them vaccinated for all those reasons. You do not want to get infected with this virus.

BERMAN: If the data comes back from these studies and it comes back and it shows that there aren't the high risks, you would do it for your kids at that age (ph).

[07:35:02]

GUPTA: Yes, and you would, too.

BERMAN: Absolutely, in a heartbeat, Sanjay.

Thank you very much.

GUPTA: Yes.

BERMAN: Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: The love doctor. I love it. D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was brutally assaulted as he defended the Capitol on January sixth, says Republican Congressman Andrew Clyde of Georgia refused to shake his hand yesterday on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFFICER MICHAEL FANONE, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE WHO DEFENDED CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6: I greeted Congressman Clyde. I was very cordial. I extended my hand to shake his hand. He just stared at me. I asked him if he was going to shake my hand and he told me that he didn't know who I was.

So I introduced myself. I said that I was Officer Michael Fanone and that I was a D.C. Metropolitan police officer who fought on January sixth to defend the Capitol and as a result, I suffered a traumatic brain injury as well as a heart attack after having been tased numerous times at the base of my skull, as well as being severely beaten.

At that point, the congressman turned away from me and pulled out his cellphone. It looked like he was attempting to pull up like an audio recording app on his phone. And again, like never acknowledged me at any point. As soon as the elevator doors opened, he ran as quickly as he could, like a coward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining me now to discuss this is Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.

I just wonder as you're listening to his description there, what is your reaction to that? And do you know anything else about what happened here in this interaction between Officer Fanone and Congressman Clyde?

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): No. I mean, what Officer Fanone said there is what he told me.

What's going through my mind is that's what happens when you put somebody that has lied to his constituents, that's frankly afraid of telling his constituents the truth, in front of a hero -- in front of a hero that fought to defend him.

A lot of the times, you'll shut down. You won't know how to react. You just want out of that uncomfortable situation. Because when you stand in front of people and tell them that this was nothing but a tour group and yet, there's pictures of you basically cowering behind police officers, and one of those police officers comes forward and you know his story, that's a tough interaction.

And frankly -- man, I give Michael Fanone -- he's become a good friend of mine -- a lot of credit for just telling the truth.

He wasn't rude, by the way, to Rep. Clyde at all. He just said hey, here's who I am. And man, when you're scared in front of your constituents, that's what's going to happen.

KEILAR: And, of course, he was up on the Hill to talk with -- or really, as he put it, to try to educate some of the 21 Republicans who voted no on awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the D.C. Metropolitan Police, of which Officer Fanone is a part, and the Capitol Police, which seems like a no-brainer. I mean, that just seems like a perfunctory thing that you would do, of course, and 21 Republicans said no.

What's your reaction to that?

KINZINGER: Yes. So to me, it's like OK, so let's take all these conspiracy theories that have come up. I mean, the latest is it's the FBI that did this. Then it's been Antifa and BLM and many things, and Trump supporters.

Well then, maybe you give -- you shake Fanone's hand and give him the Congressional Gold Medal for defending against Antifa. Of course, that's outrageous. We know what it was.

And I think all it shows to me is that there are some people -- and I think most of my colleagues, in this case, did the right thing voting for the gold medal and appreciate the work of the officers -- but there are some colleagues who you thought had red lines to say I will never cross this that will do anything to defend the lie -- the big lie. And they'll defend the big liar in Donald Trump.

And by the way, calling it an insurrection and admitting it was Trump supporters that were misled by him and them is a very uncomfortable place to be.

KEILAR: You mentioned these conspiracy theories and the latest one having to do with the FBI. This is a right-wing conspiracy theory that is getting an assist from the likes of Fox. And the whole crux of it is that this was an FBI insider operation. Clearly, untrue -- clearly, untrue, totally baseless.

But wouldn't that also make the case for a lot of folks who are arguing there should not be a commission -- an independent commission -- that actually there should be an independent commission? How do they argue that this was an FBI insider attack and then in the next breath it's yes, let's not look into it?

KINZINGER: One hundred percent, this is the compelling evidence for those that voted against a commission. If you think it's the FBI, let's do a commission. We can get to the bottom of this. We'll be able to find out if it's the FBI.

Let me say again, it's insane to think that the FBI did this. But this is the moment where all these different conspiracy theories keep coming out, coming forward, and this is what a January sixth commission can do. It can shut that down. And to be afraid of doing that because of a) the political implications, or because b) you're afraid of what's going to come back on you -- that is a cowardice move to do.

[07:40:03]

Tell your constituents the truth. Tell the American people the truth. Let's get to the bottom of the truth and then we can move on. Until then -- man, if you think history is going to cover up your lies, you're wrong.

KEILAR: Yes. I think no matter how reasonable or insane the hypothesis is, there's clearly this section of Republicans that don't want to test that hypothesis.

Congressman, I thank you so much for coming on. Congressman Adam Kinzinger, thanks.

BERMAN: Vice President Harris meeting with Democrats in Texas on the front lines in the war on voting. One of those lawmakers joins us next.

KEILAR: Plus, the former ambassador who testified in Donald Trump's impeachment trial will join me to react to the Putin summit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All citizens have the right to vote, constitutionally. What we are seeing are examples of an attempt to interfere with that right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Vice President Kamala Harris meeting with Texas Democrats who, in late May, blocked legislation that would have made it significantly harder for people to vote, especially people of color in Texas.

This is happening on the same day that Sen. Joe Manchin signaled a willingness to compromise on the sweeping elections overhaul bill, and he proposed several changes to it.

[07:45:07]

I want to talk now with Texas State Reps. Trey Martinez Fischer and Jasmine Crockett. Thank you so much for being with us -- both of you -- making the time to come in to discuss this.

I'm curious because I know you did meet with some top Manchin staffers, but what about his proposal. If we take a look at it, you're looking at change that would include declaring Election Day a public holiday, expanding early voting to at least 15 consecutive days, but it would require voter I.D. to vote.

Is this something that you think is a good idea?

JASMINE CROCKETT (D), TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Oh, I think it's an amazing idea. If you know anything about the state of Texas, we kind of lead in voter suppression. Texas is the hardest state to vote. And so these provisions would actually be a lot more liberal, as crazy as that may sound, than what we have right now and they would offer some sort of protection.

The provisions in SB7 were awful, from wanting someone to, I think --

KEILAR: That's the Texas bill that probably will -- that will live to see another day. But for now, you have stalled.

CROCKETT: Absolutely. And in that bill, they created approximately somewhere between 17 and 19 new felonies for mistakes. They wanted to limit access when it came to vote-by-mail. Part of the provisions that he actually outlined would expand vote-by-mail.

So there's a lot of things this, as a baseline, would be more expansive than what we currently have in Texas, and I think that would be a great thing.

KEILAR: What do you think?

TREY MARTINEZ FISCHER (D), TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Listen, it's a -- it's a great start. I mean, we're talking about expanding vote-by-mail. We're talking about 15 days of early voting. And we're talking about making the Election Day a national holiday. That's in Sen. Manchin's proposal.

We're also talking about shining the light on dark money. So this not only deals with voter access, it also cleans up the corrupt side of politics and deals with all the dirty campaigning.

And when we visited with Sen. Manchin's staff -- I mean, it was very, very clear the election laws in the state of West Virginia is much better and much different than the laws in the state of Texas. And so, I think that it was that conversation, I think, that elevates the discussion to understand in some states the discrimination is not accidental; it's intentional -- and we do need a national standard.

And I think we're very inspired to see Sen. Manchin coming around on this issue. America needs a better democracy and the only way we can lead is through the United States Congress and S1 (ph).

KEILAR: You met with the vice president, but Manchin -- you didn't meet with Manchin. I know you're incredibly grateful that you were able to meet with his staff, but you didn't get to meet with him. And I wonder if you would have had better luck.

Like, what do you think that indicates? Because when I see that I wonder how seriously is he taking this if he's not going to sit down for a meeting with you?

FISCHER: Well, listen, I understand the legislative process. And when I'm told Sen. Manchin is actually huddling with four moderate Democrats working on voting rights, and that is echoed by leader Schumer, I accept that. I honor that.

I have a tremendous staff, too, and I hire them to make sure that they can handle the tough jobs. And listen, we spent 45 minutes in the office of Sen. Manchin -- and

by Washington standards, that's a lifetime. And they didn't -- they would not let us leave until we were satisfied. And everything that was released yesterday -- Sen. Manchin's deal points -- we talked about all of them. And so it seems to me like they've been working with a sense of urgency.

And I think as leader Schumer has indicated, he wants to bring this to a vote next week, and let's pray that we get there.

KEILAR: He still, Sen. Manchin, believes that changes of a large magnitude require support from Republicans. What do you think about that?

CROCKETT: You know, when we're looking at these voter suppression bills as they are coming through all of these State Houses, guess what? They're not coming through in a bipartisan fashion.

So at the end of the day, this is about democracy. And I truly believe that he will be moved, at least now, because he sees how serious it is. We didn't just walk out. We decided to then spend our own money and come to D.C. and make a plea. This has to happen now because nothing is going on in a bipartisan fashion anymore in this country and it's really sad.

KEILAR: Rep. Crockett, Rep. Martinez Fisher, I want to thank both of you so much for being with us this morning.

CROCKETT: Thank you.

FISCHER: Thank you.

KEILAR: Were some Republicans rooting for Russia during the Biden- Putin summit? We'll have a CNN reality check, next.

BERMAN: And the Republican congressman accusing Capitol Police of executing a rioter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:44]

KEILAR: Now here are five things to know to start your new day.

Several major airlines, including Southwest, United, and Virgin Australia, suffered brief website outages overnight as a key piece of internet infrastructure failed, sparking the second major interruption in the last 10 days.

BERMAN: Congress passing a bill to make Juneteenth, marking the end of slavery in the U.S., a new federal holiday. It passed overwhelmingly in the House. Fourteen Republican members, though, did vote against it. The bill now goes to President Biden's desk. He is expected to sign it this afternoon.

KEILAR: And Texans will soon be able to carry handguns in public without a license and without training. The state's Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signing a controversial permitless carry gun bill into law. This measures applies to anyone 21 or older who can legally possess firearms and it takes effect in September.

BERMAN: Scientists have found the first so-called murder hornet, discovered in the U.S. this year north of Seattle. It was found dead in someone's yard. No word on how that happened. Asian giant hornets are not particularly aggressive toward humans but their sting is extremely painful and repeated stings can kill.

KEILAR: And the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers now on the brink of playoff elimination after blowing a 26-point lead at home and losing game five of the series against the Atlanta Hawks. This, after the Sixers coughed up an 18-point lead in their game four loss. Ouch, John Berman.

BERMAN: It was almost mathematically impossible for the Sixers to lose. They had a 99.7 win probability, I'm told, so not only did Atlanta beat the Sixers, but Atlanta beat math.

KEILAR: Yes. Someone has to be in the 99th percentile. It doesn't happen often but yikes.

BERMAN: Well, you've lived there your whole life.

KEILAR: (Laughing). Thanks.

BERMAN: So, after four years of obsequies deference to Vladimir Putin from Donald Trump, Republicans now say it is Joe Biden who was soft on Russia.

John Avlon with a reality check.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The big lie is now the operating assumption of most Republicans. Lie big, lie loud, and assume the base won't know or care as long as they get their quick fix of confirmation bias.

[07:55:00]

But you almost have to laugh when you saw them practically rooting for Russia, trying to frame the Biden-Putin summit by saying -- wait for it -- that Joe Biden would be too soft on Vladimir Putin.

I mean, it's kind of hard to keep a straight face, especially when someone with the moral compass of a weathervane, like Sen. Lindsey Graham, accused Biden of appeasement ahead of the summit.

Even the RNC comms team must have been a little bit embarrassed when they put out a press release saying that giving Putin a meeting is just the latest win that Joe Biden's handed Russia.

I mean, these are the same folks who willfully ignored and therefore enabled Donald Trump's virtual fealty to Putin for years -- his weak- kneed refusal to ever condemn or confront the Kremlin -- going so far as to take Putin's word over the U.S. Intelligence Community about their clear interference in our elections on Trump's behalf.

Those comments at the Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki were so pathetic that Trump's own Russia adviser, Fiona Hill, told CNN she thought about pulling a fire alarm or faking a medical emergency to stop the humiliating spectacle.

In contrast, Biden has a long record of condemning Russian aggression going back to at least the invasion of Georgia in 2008. And since taking office he's unleashed extensive sanctions on Russia for 2020 election meddling and its role in the SolarWinds cyberattack, which Trump never condemned because, of course, that's beyond the Biden Pentagon giving $150 million in military aid to Ukraine.

But I want to take you back because who could forget this killer question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O'REILLY, THEN-FOX NEWS HOST: Putin's a killer.

TRUMP: There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What, you think our country's so innocent?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: Ooh, got to love the whataboutism.

By contrast, here's Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC ANCHOR, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": So you know Vladimir Putin. You think he's a killer?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Um-hum, I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: Now, that exchange spurred Putin to challenge Biden to a debate, which caused professional Trump apologist Sean Hannity to inevitably take Russia's side, parroting Russia and RNC talking points that get melded together in the run-up to this summit.

But things didn't quite go as the "Slow Joe" slurs would suggest. News flash -- bullies respect strength, not sycophants.

Putin acknowledged the deep disagreements between the two men on human rights, cyberattacks, the Ukraine, but he called Biden constructive, balanced, and even praised his moral values, which is a bit bizarre coming from Vladimir Putin.

Here's how Biden described their meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: So, human rights is going to always be on the table, I told him. It's not about just going after Russia when they violate human rights, it's about who we are. How could I be the President of the United States of America and not speak out against the violation to human rights?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: It seemed to work for the other guy.

But all of that Republican pre-game summit enthusiasm for Putin translated into some postgame symmetry. So when Putin tried the old deflect and project regarding January sixth after being asked about his imprisonment of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, he complained that, quote, "People who come to the U.S. Capitol with political demands are now being called domestic terrorists." That sounded a lot like Rep. Louis Gohmert, who complained that Capitol Hill attackers are not being held as political prisoners.

Or when Putin described rioter Ashli Babbitt as a, quote, "person who was simply shot on the spot by police." He sounded a lot like Congressman Paul Gosar, who said Babbitt was, quote, "executed by Capitol Hill police who were lying in wait."

So spare us all this talk of Joe Biden being weak on Russia when Trump acted like a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Kremlin for years. All it shows is Republicans' contempt for the intelligence of their supporters and their increasingly authoritarian impulses.

And that's your reality check.

BERMAN: John, thank you very much.

NEW DAY continues right now.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman alongside Brianna Keilar.

On this new day, a police officer who was beaten, tased, and nearly killed defending the Capitol comes face-to-face with a congressman who called January sixth a normal tourist visit. That officer is standing by to talk to us right now.

Plus, the congressman who says Capitol Police executed one of the rioters by, quote, "lying in wait before killing her." We'll hear what his own brothers say when they join us live.

KEILAR: And bipartisan deals in the works on infrastructure and police reform. Plus, powerful Sen. Joe Manchin's new proposal on voting rights. Is compromise in the air on this?

And, 14 Republicans just voted against making Juneteenth a federal holiday. Why? Stacey Abrams will join us live with her reaction.

BERMAN: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Thursday, June 17th.

This morning, the new twilight zone -- the upside-down that some Republicans in Congress and some deranged entertainers are trying to create surrounding the Capitol insurrection.