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Trump Supporter Speaks Out On Matt Damon Shadowing Him; Biden On Verge Of Potentially Historic Infrastructure Deal; Councilwoman Speaks Out On White Colleague's Racial Slur. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 29, 2021 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:33:26]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Matt Damon grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts before he hit it big in Hollywood. He's now starring in a film where he needed to tap into an experience pretty far away from Cambridge, so he enlisted some help into character as an unemployed oil rig roughneck from Oklahoma in the new film "Stillwater."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT DAMON, ACTOR: But we got so much guidance from the actual guys. I mean, these guys who took us out to the oil rigs. You know, being invited into their homes, into a backyard barbecue and the guitar comes out and somebody starts singing church songs. And it's like it's a culturally very specific place and very different from how he and I grew up, so it was really fascinating. And these people were wonderful to us and really helped us.

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BERMAN: And joining us now, one of the guys who Damon consulted, Kenny Baker, drilling superintendent for the Cactus Drilling Company. Kenny, great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us.

What did you do with Matt Damon?

KENNY BAKER, DRILLING SUPERINTENDENT, CACTUS DRILLING COMPANY, CONSULTED WITH MATT DAMON FOR "STILLWATER" CHARACTER: Well, what did I do with Matt Damon?

BERMAN: How'd you show him --

BAKER: Yes.

BERMAN: How'd you show him where you live, how you live, what life is like?

BAKER: Oh, we just kind of -- we went and picked him up from his motel room and we hung out and went to the -- ate breakfast and went to the office and showed them our office where we -- where we work at. Showed them the yards and kind of showed them a bunch of drilling rigs. Showed them a bunch of parts of the -- of the rigs and kind of explained to them what we do.

[07:35:00]

And took off there and went down to southern Oklahoma and had dinner. Went and ate dinner at a barbecue place there and kind of went -- and then after that we went to the rigs and showed them around the rigs and just showed them an active drilling rig.

Left there and went through some towns and showed them some places in Oklahoma. Then took them to the house and we had some steaks cooking on the grill. And did -- I don't know. We ate and had a good time.

And then got my son -- he's a competition shooter, so he wanted to shoot skeet. So we shot some skeet and showed them how to shoot skeet. And the old guitar did come out. My daughter likes to play guitar and my cousin Chris -- he's a pretty good singer, so they put on a little show for them. They just -- they had a really good time.

BERMAN: It sounds like a terrific time.

What do you think it is that Matt Damon wanted to get out of this?

BAKER: You know, like he said, it's a different culture. Matt just wanted to see how we lived and wanted to see how we walk and talk and just do normal day stuff. And we just treated him like he was a regular old -- you know, he is a regular old guy. He's a good guy. We just treated him like he was one of the guys. We hung out and had a good day.

BERMAN: What, if anything, did you want to know about him?

BAKER: What did I want to know about him?

BERMAN: Yes.

BAKER: You know, all we just -- we got to talk to Matt quite a bit. He talked about his family a lot. Talked about his kids and his wife and how he met his wife. And, you know, he's just a -- just a really good guy. He's just a normal guy is what I -- you -- what I can say about him.

BERMAN: Yes, look, I grew up in Massachusetts and I've spent time in Oklahoma as well. You know, they're far apart, right? They're far apart geographically. But more than that, too, it's nice to see that you guys can make connections from places that are so distant in so many ways.

BAKER: Yes, sir. I mean, it is a different culture. We was raised around (INAUDIBLE). We live on the farm and I've got animals and we've got all kinds of stuff there. And we took them around the farm and showed them our cows and just showed them the whole place when we was there. Took them a ride on the Ranger and went through the creek and did a little bit of mudding.

I mean, it was -- it was a good time. They got to see a lot of stuff and see how we live and it was a pretty neat deal. BERMAN: How much did politics play into this? I mean, Damon -- I think is unapologetically a northeastern liberal. He cares deeply about certain political issues -- education or not.

And he has said publicly, although he hasn't talked about it too much in the press briefings -- he said look, I assume all these guys who are working in oil in Oklahoma -- they're Trump guys. So how much did politics play in this?

BAKER: You know, politics didn't play in it at all. I mean, not at all. We didn't really talk about politics.

One thing I do tell you that it played in -- we realized, both sides of us, that we're just good old boys. We're just people. We've got family values is a big deal in both of our lives and our family is what comes first. And that's kind of what we was both doing is -- you know, he had job to do and I was helping him out. And, you know, that's what people do. People help people out.

So, you know, politics didn't play in it at all. It was an eye-opening experience for both of us. We got to meet somebody that we ain't been around and meet Tom McCarthy. He was -- you know, he was one of the first ones I met. And me and Tom's had good conversations about how it's just an eye-opening experience for both of us.

BERMAN: Tom McCarthy, the director of this film, "Stillwater."

Look, helping people out, that's what we all should do, Kenny. I think you're absolutely right.

Thank you for joining us this morning. It sounds like a wonderful experience.

BAKER: Thank you.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Have you ever -- it's awesome. He said they went mudding.

BERMAN: Yes.

KEILAR: Have you ever been mudding?

BERMAN: I'm not quite sure -- I'm not quite sure I know what mudding is.

KEILAR: It's where you drive like a -- normally, a truck through like a giant wet pit of mud.

BERMAN: That sounds like fun.

KEILAR: It's really fun.

BERMAN: I mean, who wouldn't like mudding?

KEILAR: It's really good. It's a good time, yes. It sounds like they had an awesome day. BERMAN: Ahead, Officer Harry Dunn joins CNN on his emotional testimony and his response to right-wing critics of his words.

KEILAR: Plus, the Alabama City Councilwoman targeted by a colleague's racial slur during a public meeting, she's going to join us live, next.

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[07:43:58]

KEILAR: Could it be that infrastructure week has finally arrived? The Senate voting last night to begin debate on a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill after weeks of negotiating. And this is a major advance but some members of President Biden's own party have some pretty big concerns.

Joining me now is senior adviser to the president, Cedric Richmond. Cedric, thank you so much for talking with us this morning.

Look, there's a lot of hurdles to clear and I want to talk to you about that. But we also can't lose sight of just how big of a deal this vote was last night with 17 Republicans joining Democrats to pass what is really a huge investment in public transit -- you can see there on our screen -- rail, and in the highway system.

How are you feeling about where things are and about pushing this to the finish line?

CEDRIC RICHMOND, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: We are really excited. We know that we still have a lot of work to do but we cleared the first hurdle.

And this bill is historic in a number of ways. We talk about the historic investment in rail, public transit. But you also have to keep in mind that we're going to provide clean drinking water for 10 million households, for 400,000 schools. That we're going to make it easier for people to get to work. We're going to make our roads safer. And then we're going to go and clean up brownfields and other environmental issues in communities.

[07:45:13]

So this is a humongous step towards investing in not only a safe country and a country with up-to-date infrastructure, but also investing in communities that need that investment.

KEILAR: So how do you pay for it, right? These are -- these are some of the sticking points that we're going to see.

RICHMOND: Well, you pay for it in a number of ways.

First, we're going to redirect some emergency relief funds that were not used and cannot be used. We're going to do it with some targeted user fees. And then you'll see us bump up tax enforcement on cryptocurrency and others to make sure that the federal government is receiving their fair share of taxes that are due without raising taxes -- just enforcing the laws that we have.

And then there is an actual benefit to investing in our infrastructure in the one billion -- $1 trillion investment will create some economic growth that we will be able to recapture and help pay for it.

So it's bipartisan, overwhelmingly, and we're excited about what we're doing.

KEILAR: You have some bridges to gap here besides the actual ones, and they are certainly in your own party. I'm sure you saw that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the liberal wing of your party, just tore into Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona senator who has said that she is not on board with the other bill, which is a $3 trillion- plus bill that Democrats want to push forward using the budget process.

How are you going to navigate this chasm in your party?

RICHMOND: Well, we're going to keep working and we're going to keep talking to members. And what we're going to do with the infrastructure bill is remind people that historic investment -- remind people of the racial equity that's embedded throughout this bill. And then we will make the case very hard.

And then members -- and I used to be one -- will have to make a hard decision whether you want to leave 10 million people with lead service lines going to their homes. Do you want to leave 400,000 schools with lead service lines going to children?

And we have to make sure that we are focused on the issue and delivering results. And I think that when we do that we will navigate this.

Look, legislating is a messy, ugly process. It is the sausage-making process. Most of it's not done out in the public to the extent it is. We know that that's the process and we're going to keep working through it.

And at the end of the day, we expect and we want every Democrat to vote for it -- not because we're asking but because the public is demanding, one. And two, because this is historic investment not only in infrastructure but more importantly, families across this country when we start talking about four years of free public education so that we can out-compete other countries in the future.

This is a very progressive bill that will allow us to win the future and we're ready to make the case to Democrats and Republicans, and Independents at the appropriate time.

KEILAR: Former President Trump tried to sabotage this. He threatened primary Republicans who supported it. You still got 17 who voted for cloture -- the key test vote.

You also saw that his pick in the Texas special election recently did not succeed. Another test case in Ohio coming up here next week.

Do you think that the former president's influence is waning when it comes to the Republican Party?

RICHMOND: As much as I would love to answer that, the president wants us to just keep our head down and keep working on getting vaccinations out, getting people safe, investing in our roads and bridges, and then investing in our families.

We really don't have time to look in the mirror or look at Monday morning quarterbacks -- all the haters out there in the world.

What the president has directed this administration to do, and I'm so proud to be a part of it, is to keep working on behalf of people. We cannot let the noise get in our way. We just have to stay focused because it's too important.

Too many families out there just busting their tails to keep a roof over their head and clothes on their back and food on the table, and we have to help those families. And we have to make sure that people get vaccinated and that we contain the virus. So we just don't have time to focus on noise.

KEILAR: Cedric, I want to talk to you about the assault on voting that we're seeing in this country -- obviously, a lot of laws. Many, many laws that are based on the big lie that Trump won the election. They're not based in fact, obviously.

Charles Blow, in "The New York Times" -- he said that President Biden's efforts to protect voting rights -- he called it a "historic failure" -- that's a quote.

And he said that during Biden's victory speech he told Black supporters you've always had my back and I'll have yours. And Blow wrote, "I'm sorry, Mr. President, but that statement rings hollow because in Black people's greatest time of need you were more concerned about roads than rights."

What do you say to that?

RICHMOND: With respect, I say that Charles Blow doesn't know what he's talking about. That it is important and we can do two things at once.

[07:50:02]

We are focused on voting rights. You heard the president talk about it in Tulsa. You heard him talk about it in Pennsylvania. We're doing a lot of work on it.

I would just ask Charles Blow what else would he like us to be doing.

But more importantly than that, the vice president is leading the effort. I have been in meeting after meeting after meeting that we are crafting a plan and working through trying to get there. HR4 is not written yet. HR -- S1 didn't have the votes to pass the Senate. It didn't have every Democratic vote. The president worked the phones. It got every Democratic vote because of the president's effort.

So we're going to keep this ugly sausage-making process together. We're going to keep working. The public will not know everything. But voting rights is at the top of our list of what's happening.

And so, when you hear the president talk about it, it's because we're trying to raise the awareness of the country in the country of what's going on. And so, we have a three-pronged approach to how we're going to face it.

One, we're going to continue to try to legislate and meet this challenge in the Congress. We're going to -- the attorney general doubled the size of the voting rights division to enforce voting rights laws. So we're going to meet them in the courts and we're going to meet them on the streets. You saw a $25 million investment to already start voter education mobilization organized.

And so, that three-pronged approach starts with meeting that challenge in the Congress, but we also have to meet it in the courts and on the streets. And so, we are very focused on it and a lot of those things are unprecedented that we're doing in terms of doubling the workers in the Justice Department focused on this -- this $25 million investment this early. And we are continuing to work on S1 -- or H1, H4 to make sure that we do voting rights and For the People Act.

So we're not going to leave it behind. For the People Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, they're both important. We're working on both of them and at the end of the day we expect to get a voting rights bill passed -- one or two bills passed. But they're components and both of them are very important to the future of this country.

KEILAR: Cedric Richmond, thank you so much for being with us -- senior adviser to President Biden -- on what is really a big day when it comes to infrastructure.

And just ahead, county leaders in Florida defying Gov. Ron DeSantis on mask mandates.

BERMAN: Plus, her white colleague directed a racist slur at her during a council meeting. Now she's speaking out and joins us live, next.

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[07:56:48]

KEILAR: Alabama's Republican lieutenant governor is joining the growing calls for a city councilman to resign after he used a racist slur at a public meeting.

Here is the moment when Tarrant Councilman -- City Councilman Tommy Bryant stood up and used this derogatory term.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN "TOMMY" BRYANT, CITY COUNCILMAN, TARRANT, ALABAMA: Do we have a house n***er in here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

BRYANT: Do we? Hey, do we? Would she please stand up?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, for context here, if it needs any, in this meeting, Bryant was claiming that he was just repeating the term that the mayor, Wayman Newton, said about a city councilwoman, Veronica Freeman.

Moments after that outburst you see the councilwoman breaking down into tears before walking away. Obviously, it doesn't matter if he was repeating something and the mayor here denying that he ever said that.

Joining me now is Tarrant City Councilwoman Veronica Freeman. She is accompanied here by her attorney, Bryan Winter. Councilwoman, thank you for being with us.

This is a video that we saw days ago and we saw your reaction. And I just wonder if you could share with us how you felt in that moment hearing that.

VERONICA FREEMAN, TARRANT CITY COUNCILWOMAN (via Webex by Cisco): Well, good morning. And I would like to thank CNN for giving me this opportunity to shed a light on the discrimination, the harassment, and the bullying that's taking place in Tarrant, Alabama.

Well, when that -- when I heard that, I was in shock. I was in disbelief. I was hurt, I was ashamed, I was speechless, and I was humiliated.

KEILAR: And you clearly feel -- and I think what you're saying here is that this is about -- this is about something bigger than this moment. Tell us -- tell us what it is.

FREEMAN: Well, what it is is bigger than this because of the fact that the mayor did tell -- call me that in an executive meeting. And present was pro-tem Tracie Threadford, Councilman Bryant, Councilwoman Kathy Anderson, Councilwoman Debbie Matthews, and the attorney for the city, Freddie Rubio.

And it was terrible for him to say that to me. I felt belittled. I felt ashamed that someone would say that to me because I'm old enough to be his mother. I look like his children. I look like him.

So, I just couldn't believe he would say that to me in front of the people that I have to work with. Because my job is being elected is try to make Tarrant a better city. To bring in revenue, to bring in businesses, and try to help our school system.

KEILAR: So, you heard there -- and you're speaking to this a little bit -- that the mayor is denying that he said this. Because councilmember Bryant is saying that he was just repeating something the mayor said.

So what do you -- what do you think about that -- the mayor denies this? What do you think?