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New Day
New Poll on the Economy; McConaughey on U.S. Problems; Massie Blasted for Military Comments; Ohio Police Chief Resigning after Race Incident; College Student Predicts NBA Final. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired July 06, 2021 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00]
RYAN LIZZA, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean if the numbers were not going up, it would be a little surprising, right? I mean not that long ago thousands of people were dying a day of a deadly disease. We were all locked at home. And the unemployment rate was at 10 percent. So I'm a little surprised that it's not higher, and the Republican number is kind of amazing. That patroonship --
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: That partisan divide, wow.
LIZZA: Right. The economy's improving. The pandemic is improving. But because of polarization, there's a Democratic president in the White House, you know, the party's flip and people say the country's going in the wrong direction just because of the party that controls the White House despite the obvious evidence that, like, the pandemic and the economy are clearly improved from where they were before Biden was president.
KRISTEN POWERS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: But I -- don't you think, though -- I mean can you get higher in this climate? That's the problem with polarization. I don't know that you can get higher than that. It's --
KEILAR: Well, so, to that point --
POWERS: Yes.
KEILAR: Because, even if you are -- even if objectively you look at someone circumstances and they've gotten better, but they are believing that things are going in the wrong direction. You know, let's listen to what the Republican governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, says, because he's essentially addressing this when, you know, he talks about this has become a -- sort of a religion or a sport. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SPENCER COX (R-UT): Politics is becoming religion in our country. That politics is becoming sport and entertainment in our country. That politics -- everything is political. It's a huge mistake and it's caused us to make bad decisions during this pandemic and in other phases of our life as well. So it's deeply troubling. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: It is deeply troubling.
POWERS: Yes, it is. And I think that it's one thing when you treat politics that way when it doesn't involve life and death. It's another thing when it does. And I think that that's what we've seen. We've seen this trend go -- moving, obviously, in this direction of polarization for quite some time. But what happened with COVID, as we saw, that people are actually willing to put other people in danger and put themselves in danger to actually die in furtherance of their political beliefs, that they're just willing to put their heads in the say and say, well, the people I align with say that I shouldn't take this, so I won't take it and I'm just going to ignore all the people that I would have in the past listened to, right? So I think that that -- that is the measure of how out of control things have gotten.
LIZZA: Yes. I mean once something -- once something like masks becomes a political issue where that's a -- if you're a Republican, you're less likely to believe in wearing masks. If you're a Democrat, you're more likely.
When something -- when the science became politicized during the pandemic, that's a moment we're you're like, wow, everything is now political warfare and cultural.
And he's not the first person to point this out. I think, you know, others have pointed out that as the country's -- as Americans have become less religious, that there have been other parts of our lives that fill that vacuum and politics for a lot of people is surely one. If you spend a lot of time online, you realize every part of the culture now is politicized in some way.
POWERS: Yes. But I would also say, even for people who identify as religious -- to -- when evangelicals, for example, have seemed to have transposed religion and politics. So there's very little connected to if you were to look at what their stated beliefs are in terms of faith in the way that they behave. And, instead, they're behaving more like what Tucker Carlson says is what they should follow versus what Jesus says.
KEILAR: And religious leaders have facilitated some of that.
POWERS: Absolutely.
KEILAR: We've certainly seen that.
LIZZA: Yes.
KEILAR: All right, all right, all right, friends, I will say, I've been waiting to say that. We're talking about, you know what I -- we're talking about. We're talking about Matthew McConaughey because he actually posted a message on Twitter. He was wishing the U.S. a happy birthday, but he also included a bit of analysis on where the country is when it comes to its problems. It's getting a lot of attention. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR: Happy birthday, America. Yes, indeed, as we celebrate our independence today, as we celebrate our birth as a nation, the day that kick started a revolution to gain our sovereignty. Let's admit that this last year's trip around the sun was also another head scratcher. But let's also remember that we are babies, you know, as a country. We are basically going through puberty in comparison to other countries' timeline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Puberty, also flag behind him. Interesting. Interesting optics here.
But, OK, let's deal with the comments.
LIZZA: I can't believe we went with this rather than the Zuckerberg on a surfboard with the American flag in the air.
KEILAR: We did that yesterday.
LIZZA: Oh, right.
KEILAR: We did that yesterday.
LIZZA: And so what was the governor of Utah saying about politics and entertainment?
KEILAR: Yes.
LIZZA: I don't know what he's talking about and I've had like hours to think about this.
KEILAR: And we've been through -- and we've all been through puberty, so -- so we --
LIZZA: So I'm going to let Kristen have something wise to say about this.
KEILAR: You literally don't even know -- you're like, I got nothing.
POWERS: Oh, thank you.
KEILAR: That's it, I got nothing. Come on.
POWERS: Thank you. I appreciate that.
LIZZA: I'm going to defer to Kristen because I know she's really thought about this.
POWERS: Yes.
KEILAR: Kristen. POWERS: Well, I think that is -- to me, puberty -- puberty doesn't seem right to me.
[08:35:02]
It feels -- it is -- somebody said mid-life crisis maybe earlier. It -- I -- it could also just be the last gasp. It feels much more like the end to me than it -- than the very like beginning. And so it's -- I don't necessarily agree with that. I feel like we are in what we are seeing happening in this country is very highly problematic and it's not sustainable, frankly.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It was --
POWERS: Like, this is not sustainable. The way that things are going right now and are -- I'm sorry I think John wants to say something.
KEILAR: No, Berman has -- we, he has thoughts?
LIZZA: I want to -- I want to give (ph) Berman has to say about this?
BERMAN: Well, not, I just -- it was -- it was Peter Brady who said, when it's time to change, you've got to rearrange.
LIZZA: When his voice was cracking, you mean?
BERMAN: Right. And I think -- I think that might have been where Matthew McConaughey was going, not that I want to, you know, suggest there's an analogy between Peter Brady and Matthew McConaughey.
Does that help you out, Ryan, in understanding where we are (ph)?
LIZZA: You -- now -- now I get it. Now I get it.
KEILAR: Right. I can't believe Ryan has noting on this. I just -- this is like Matthew McConaughey being Matthew McConaughey, right/
POWERS: Yes.
KEILAR: And, look, he's getting a lot of attention.
POWERS: But it's also -- I guess what I feel like it is, it's letting people off the hook a little bit.
LIZZA: Yes.
POWERS: Like to sort of say it's puberty makes it sound of sound like, oops, sorry, we're just, you know, we -- you know, have masses of people who believe in QAnon. We have people who are claiming that the election was stolen when it wasn't. We had people storm the Capitol. We had -- I mean these are not just like of little like teenage, pre- teen behaviors, right? I mean these are highly, highly problematic behaviors.
LIZZA: I had a 12-year-old and 14-year-old boys at home. So when I think about this subject, what McConaughey is saying here just doesn't like, you know, ring -- that's not where my head is on this.
KEILAR: Why?
LIZZA: If he actually had -- if he actually had some teenage boys at home --
KEILAR: Explain that.
LIZZA: I think he would -- no, it --
KEILAR: He has kids. Why -- why doesn't it ring true to you?
LIZZA: No, I don't. Why is it - what is he talking about? What does he mean?
BERMAN: Yes.
LIZZA: What does the -- what does the -- what does the change that the country's going through that he's identifying here? Like is --
POWERS: I think what he's -- I think he's trying to suggest that we're having growing pains, and so all this craziness is just our growing pains. And I'm saying like, I think that that minimizes what's happening. I don't think that -- I don't think working through police brutality, I don't think Black Lives Matter, I don't think Me Too, I don't see those as just like little growing pains. I see those as like really important things that should have happened a long time ago. And then add in the other stuff we were talking about with COVID and the COVID denial and all this kind of stuff. It's -- it is kind of unsustainable behavior. And so, to me, somebody, if they're going to speak to the American people, it needs to be more like, come on, we've got to do better than this. This isn't just -- this isn't just puberty and it's not that big of a deal.
LIZZA: Yes, the country's pretty old. We've gone through lots of change, many cycles. And so everyone can (INAUDIBLE). the comparison doesn't ring true to me.
KEILAR: Love the discussion.
LIZZA: But I like Berman's --
KEILAR: I'm not sure that we landed Berman on any place on this per say, but I think it was a great --
BERMAN: I actually think Kristen had a really serious, important answer --
KEILAR: Totally. Yes.
BERMAN: To something that Matthew McConaughey probably didn't put any thought into.
KEILAR: Yes.
BERMAN: You know, he doesn't deserve Kristen Powers basically is what I'm saying.
No, that --
POWERS: Awe.
KEILAR: He said it was a head-scratcher. So I think Kristen can agree with him on that, head -- but maybe he --
BERMAN: Yes.
POWERS: I can agree on that.
KEILAR: About on something else here, his comments.
POWERS: Yes.
KEILAR: Kristen, Ryan, thank you so much to both of you.
LIZZA: Thanks, guys.
KEILAR: Ahead, GOP congressman says the troops will quit if COVID vaccines are made mandatory in the military. My next guest (INAUDIBLE) says he's wrong.
BERMAN: And a police chief's racist prank on a black officer captured on video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:42:26]
KEILAR: Swift backlash this morning after Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky tweeted this. He said, I've been contacted by members of our voluntary military who say they will quit if the COVID vaccine is mandated.
Joining us now is retired Air Force Major Steve Woodsmall.
Major Woodsmall ran for the North Carolina congressional seat that is currently held by freshman Republican Madison Cawthorn, by the way. He lost in the Democratic primary.
Sir, thank you for being with us.
Tell us your reaction, which we've seen a little bit of on social media, to Massie's tweet here.
STEVE WOODSMALL, U.S. AIR FORCE VETERAN: It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic. And it's just -- it's just stunning to me that someone in that position has such little knowledge of what the facts really are. You know, first of all, one does not quit the military. That's called desertion. Secondly, vaccines can be made mandatory. There are a lot of mandatory vaccinations now. The only issue with the COVID vaccine is that it's being used under emergency use authorization. However, the president has the power to waive that and make those
vaccines mandatory. And as the -- he said in the past he was going to leave it up to the military. And as much as I respect President Biden, I think he's made a mistake in punting this one. I think he should show the leadership and just go ahead and waive the informed consent requirement and go ahead and make that mandatory just from a system standpoint. And then those who decide that they're not going to take it are literally in violation of a lawful order and then they can face consequence under the uniform code of military justice.
KEILAR: This may, as we see moving into the fall, get its FDA full approval. And then it becomes less of an issue of it being, you know, not fully approved and members of the military perhaps being required to take it. It would be less controversial then if it goes through that procedure.
Do you think, though, in this very divided time that we're in, that there may be members of the military who -- I mean, look, because of the vaccine, ultimately would decide that they are not going to, you know, serve more time than what they're already committed to the military for, or that perhaps they would seek some type of discharge for this?
WOODSMALL: I don't think so. You know, the military has typically historically led the way on a lot of social issues.
[08:45:02]
I'm disappointed they're not leading the way on this one.
My concern is that we have that many people in the military now -- and I -- and that's all the way from junior enlisted to some at the senior officer level who have bought into the big lie on the right that, you know, the vaccine is a hoax and it's -- and they turn it into a political -- somebody talked earlier about having mask on it was a political issue. Getting the vaccine should not be a political issue.
And, if nothing else, it's really disturbing that people don't realize the science on this. As you talked about earlier, of the recent COVID deaths, 99 percent of the deaths are from people who have not been vaccinated. That alone should motivate people to go get the vaccine.
So if they look at the science and get rid of the politics and all the garbage that's being spewed on Fox News and other right wing media sources, it will be a no-brainer.
But it's going to happen. The military's already told people, gear up, this is coming. Maybe around September, once FDA has given final approval, they're going to be mandatory. They need to have that vaccine in the military. If you remember, last year, about a fourth of the Thomas Roosevelt crew of 5,000 contracted COVID. So you got all the military environments --
KEILAR: Yes, no we certainly -- yes, we certainly --
WOODSMALL: Yes, living in close quarters. KEILAR: Yes, we certainly -- we could see the close quarters and how that was certainly something that they would have benefited from having the vaccine.
This is a real issue. We're going to keep cover it. And retired Air Force Major Steve Woodsmall, thanks for joining us this morning.
WOODSMALL: My pleasure.
BERMAN: So developing now, an Ohio police chief is retiring from his department after a racist incident is caught on camera.
Joining me now with the details, CNN anchor and correspondent Laura Jarrett.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: All right, John, so it was all caught on camera and it is not good. After 33 years on the job, Police Chief Anthony Campo is now off the force after surveillance video revealed him playing a racist prank on a fellow officer who happens to be black.
Now, you can see Campo here. He's the one in orange. He's arranging a police raincoat there on the desk with the hood clearly visible. You then see him place a white piece of paper on the jacket. The words printed on the paper? Ku Klux Klan, covering up the police label on the back of the jacket there.
Soon after, a black officer enters the room. He sees the coat and the sign and he appears to try to laugh it off.
Now, the video was provided to CNN without any sound. So it's unclear what they're saying to each other. But the mayor of Sheffield Lake says he spoke with that black officer who was involved and the officer said that he laughed it off because he was uncomfortable and he didn't know how to react to all this. The former police chief was placed on administrative leave once the incident was reported, and he handed his retirement papers in that same day.
Here's the mayor, Dennis Bring.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR DENNIS BRING, SHEFFIELD LAKE, OHIO: The chief was standing in his office and he made a joke, am I going to get fired over this? And I looked at the law director and I said, hand him his paper. And he said, after 30 years, this is what I get? And I said, you have ten minutes to get out of your office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: CNN isn't naming the black officer that was targeted here. But we reached out to him. He's declined to comment. In a statement to CNN affiliate, WEWS, Campo, that officer, the former police officer, says it was just a joke that, quote, got out of hand. CNN has reached out to him for comment and has not heard back.
The new acting Sheffield Lake police chief declined to comment on all of this. So, incredibly poor judgment to say the least.
BERMAN: Pretty extraordinary.
JARRETT: Yes.
BERMAN: And it put the black officer in a --
JARRETT: In a terrible position.
BERMAN: In a terrible position.
JARRETT: Yes.
BERMAN: All right, the college kid who predicted almost five years ago that two then terrible teams, the Bucks and the Suns, would be in the NBA finals tonight. How did he know? He joins us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:53:01]
BERMAN: So tonight is game one of the NBA finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. Two teams that many people wouldn't have expected to see in a match-up a year ago, much less five years ago. That is, of course, unless you're Jarrett Plahmer, a rising junior then at the University of Wisconsin, who, in 2016, predicted the Milwaukee Bucks would face off with the Phoenix Suns and clinch the title in seven now in 2021. Back then the Bucks had just finished 12th in the East Conference and the Suns were 14th in the West. So basically both teams stunk.
Jared Plahmer joins us now.
Jarrett, great to see you. What magic did you use to make that prediction in 2016?
JARRETT PLAHMER, PREDICTED BUCKS-SUNS 2021 NBA FINALS FIVE YEARS AGO: Good to see you, too, John.
Basically I just -- I've always been big -- a lifelong Bucks fan. And I've also been -- my Western Conference team has always been the Suns. So basically I saw both of them with two young stars each. The Suns had Devin Booker and Erik Bledsoe. And the Bucks had Giannis and Chris Middleton. And I said, you know, what, in five years maybe they'll both be there. And it was also right after I saw a prediction made by another Twitter user in 2016 of the Cubs winning the World Series in game seven against the Indians.
BERMAN: I know I saw that. You saw that someone had predicted the Cubs victory and you're like, why don't I just try. Why don't I just go for it right now?
So, as you were going through the playoffs this season, were you saying, oh, my God, I'm going to be proven right?
PLAHMER: No, basically it took me until the Eastern Conference semi- finals, because this was four years ago, four or five years ago I made this prediction. Until the semi-finals, I just then remembered. I was like, I didn't make a tweet about Bucks and Suns and I didn't even remember what year I made it for. And then I went on my Twitter and looked and, sure enough, it was right there.
BERMAN: That's a long time ago. I mean, seriously, that's like a long- term prediction, a five year prediction.
PLAHMER: Yes.
BERMAN: And both teams were lousy.
[08:55:01]
So, help me out here, do you have any like stock picks or anything for me or can you tell me some teams to bet on five years from now?
PLAHMER: No, not really. I wish I did, honestly. I don't -- it's really crazy that all this has happened because who knew, you know? Like I -- I hadn't even thought about it in like four years.
BERMAN: Apparently you do. I mean there is an answer to that question, you knew.
PLAHMER: Yes.
BERMAN: You know, you got it right. You're a giant Bucks fan. You know, how does it feel? The Bucks haven't been in the finals since, what, since like '72 or something. So, you know, how --
PLAHMER: Yes, 1972.
BERMAN: So how does it feel?
PLAHMER: It feels good. I mean one thing that is tough, though, is now I have this prediction in seven games and I just want the Bucks to win in four because I don't want to be nervous in game seven.
BERMAN: So you're betting against yourself.
PLAHMER: Yes.
BERMAN: All right, listen, well, I wish you the best of luck tonight. Congratulations on the phenomenal prediction. Really fun. Great to see you. Thanks so much for coming on, Jarrett.
PLAHMER: Thank you. Thank you, John.
BERMAN: All right, President Biden speaking just a short time from now at the White House about COVID vaccines. We have live coverage ahead right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
