Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Rick Bright is Interviewed about Settling his Employment Complaint; New Inflation Report; GOP Focuses on Bashing CDC; Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) Not Seeking Re-election; Sebastian Bach is Interviewed about Battling COVID. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 11, 2021 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:33:04]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A top government scientist demoted by the Trump administration has now settled his whistleblower complaint with the federal government. Rick Bright was ousted as the director of the office that was involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine at the height of the pandemic last year. He claims it was because he refused to push hydroxychloroquine as a COVID treatment, a drug touted by then President Trump.

Joining us now is Rick Bright, a virologist, immunologist. He was also a member of the Biden/Harris transition COVID-19 advisory board and he's now a senior vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation.

Rick, so great to see you.

Listen, what's the lesson here from this episode that you went through for the last, you know, 16 months of your life?

RICK BRIGHT, WHISTLEBLOWER WHO WAS DEMOTED AFTER COMPLAINT AGAINST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Well, John, thanks for having me on this morning.

I have to say that I'm quite relieved. My lawyers, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, working close with the Office of Special Counsel to reach this resolution and move forward.

You know, no one anywhere in the world, John, should have to endure and experience what my family and I had to experience just for telling Americans the truth, just for trying to save lives.

The lesson that we learned in this experience is, truth matters and science matters. And it's really important that people are able to speak up and speak truth to power. And if truth is on your side, the science is on your side, that is how we're going to win this outbreak, get it behind us, and save lives for future pandemics as well.

BERMAN: I mean you ended up not getting your old job back. Do you have a level of vindication now?

BRIGHT: Well, certainly we are appreciative of the resolution with the Office of Special Counsel, as I said. And I've been able to move forward because of this. I have a wonderful opportunity now and with the Rockefeller Foundation.

We're building a pandemic prevention institute that's focusing not only on ending this pandemic quickly, but also putting measures in place that will enlist and network scientists and people around the world so we can have a smarter opportunity to see these signals faster, respond to these outbreaks and stop them before they become a pandemic and save many lives.

[08:35:14]

BERMAN: You talk about the need to speak truth to power here. So what's the truth right now about where we are in the pandemic? What do we need to do better?

BRIGHT: John, I'm just going to put it out there. The truth is the COVID-19 virus, this delta variant, is horrific. And if you're unvaccinated today, you are extremely vulnerable to this virus and it can kill you. Your children are also very vulnerable. And the truth really is that as individual citizens, we have tremendous power in our hands, not just in the hands of the government, but in our hands to change the course of this pandemic.

We need to get vaccinated as quickly as possible. We need to continue wearing our face masks and high-quality face masks, N-95 respirators, keeping our distance and doing everything that we can to layer protections to stop the spread of this virus. We can do it as individuals working with the government who's provided those tools. We need to continue listening to the science, putting aside politics, and focusing on saving lives.

BERMAN: You were there at the beginning of the U.S. response to the pandemic. Six hundred thousand lives lost at this point. How many of those people do you think would still be alive today had different decisions been made at the beginning?

BRIGHT: Hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States and around the world would be saved. Would -- people would still be alive today if our government had listened to the science, had been honest and truthful with Americans from the beginning, had told Americans the real risk of this virus and put tools and information and clear messaging out to help people save their lives and protect themselves from getting this virus.

If we had initiated testing, a really robust nationwide testing strategy to tell people where the virus was and tell people who were infected -- if we had done more to prepare for the vaccine administration rollout when the vaccine became available, we could have saved hundreds and thousands of lives of our loved ones and relatives and others in our community that we lost needlessly from this lack of action, lack of truth from our government at the outset of this pandemic. I'm so relieved, John, that the Biden administration is in office

today, that they have put science first. Science is back. We need to listen to the science and follow that guidance.

I also want to say how important it is to listen to other whistleblowers who are coming forward. We need to strengthen them, listen to them. They are speaking truth to power regardless of who's in office. They know the truth. They are our eyes and our ears. And they can help us be better and respond more effectively and end this pandemic sooner.

BERMAN: Rick Bright, appreciate you being with us this morning.

BRIGHT: Thank you.

BERMAN: So, just in to CNN, a brand-new read on inflation in the U.S. The latest on rising prices from everything from gas to groceries.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And Republicans seizing on frustration and taking aim at top scientists. We have new CNN reporting just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:42:30]

BERMAN: So, new data out on inflation. How much prices just increased last month.

Chief business correspondent Christine Romans with the latest.

How much, how bad, Romans?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, confirming, John and Brianna, what anybody who has bought anything already knows, prices for just about everything are going up. In the month, up 0.5 percent from June to July. That's a -- that's a steep one-month move. When you strip out the volatile food and energy sectors, an inflation gain of 0.3 percent.

But I like to look at it year over year so you get a sense of just how much more expensive things are today than they were a year ago. And inflation up 5.4 percent. You saw a similar increase last month. So that's two months of really hot inflation numbers.

Going through the categories, just about anything you eat costs more, whether you buy groceries, all kinds of groceries, or you go out to a restaurant. We also saw gas prices rising, housing accommodation, recreation, health care. The only thing that was maybe good in this report is that used car prices only rose 0.2 percent. They rose so much last month we told you about.

So right on down the line prices rising. This is because the economy is hot. The economy is booming. There are supply chain problems. Everybody at the same time is trying to buy the same stuff, and that's driving up these prices. In fact, wage increases, I think it's really important to note, that

has been going up, too, as companies are paying people more to try to get -- attract and retain talent. But these price increases are gobbling up those wage gains. So we'll continue to watch whether this works its way out later into the year, you guys.

KEILAR: Not good news to hear things are getting more expensive, though.

Christine, thank you so much for that.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

KEILAR: And up next, the GOP targeting the CDC. We have new CNN reporting on the party's midterm message.

Plus.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That is rock star Sebastian Bach, not holding back on his personal experience with COVID.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:48:36]

KEILAR: Republican lawmakers head back to their home districts for the August recess with the CDC in their crosshairs. We have new CNN reporting that hammering the agency is part of the GOP's midterm message, seizing on the backlash to new mask and vaccine mandates, casting the CDC as a political arm of the Biden administration.

CNN's Melanie Zanona is joining us now.

This is -- this is dangerous, Melanie. And tell us what they're doing.

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: You're right, but Republicans certainly feel like they have a potent political message and that is turning the CDC and Dr. Anthony Fauci into a punching bag and really railing on these mask and vaccine mandates.

And what the GOP is hoping to do is use some of the fears and frustrations of many Americans as cajoles against their democratic opponents in the battle for the House. And it was really telling that at a House GOP press conference right before the August recess, which the party usually uses to sort of get everyone on the same page and really craft their midterm message, Kevin McCarthy spent almost the entirety of his remarks bashing the CDC and new mask rules.

But regardless of whether or not this is a political -- politically effective message, which I think is debatable, it's certainly an irresponsible and risky strategy given that the delta variant is surging, that pediatric hospitalizations are on the rise, kids are going back to school. And Democrats also point out, look, we're all frustrated and angry that we have to wear masks again but we likely wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for some of the anti- vaccine sentiment that is being spread by many members of the Republican Party.

[08:50:04]

BERMAN: You know, another thing that happens around the August recess, retirements. And Democrats had a doozy announced yesterday. Democratic Congressman Ron Kind is going to retire after this term. And that's a district that Trump won. And this really puts him in a tough spot.

ZANONA: You're right, this is a big blow for House Democrats in their uphill battle to keep the House. This was a seat that Republicans were already making a top target in 2022. They spent big last cycle and Ron Kind narrowly lost. He only just hung on to his Republican opponent who is running again.

And now that this is an open seat, it's going to be even tougher for Democrats to hang on. And the GOP only needs to flip five seats to win back the House. And they could probably do a couple of those seats on just redistricting alone. So every seat is going to count. Every race is going to matter.

BERMAN: Melanie Zanona, great to see you. Thanks so much.

ZANONA: Thank you.

BERMAN: Up next, the hard rock singer sounding off on COVID vaccines after his own battle with the virus. Yes, Sebastian Bach, and his hair, join us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(VIDEO TAPE)

BERMAN: We know exactly who that is. That is Sebastian Bach with his old band Skid Row singing about "You've Gone Wild." Recently he tweeted, thank God for vaccines after recovering from COVID. And you can see him right there, Sebastian Bach joins us live.

You look great. Thank you so much for being with us. You say thank God for vaccines. Why?

SEBASTIAN BACH, SINGER-SONGWRITER, ACTOR WHO'S RECOVERING FROM COVID- 19: Oh, well, absolutely thank God for vaccines. I got the J&J shot way back in March.

[08:55:02]

I was one of the first people to run and get it that I knew. You know, I'm a singer and all that I heard about COVID is that it attacks the lungs. And singing is hard enough anyways.

So I did not leave my house for a year and a half. I was very strict in every protocol. I did not even go out to restaurants or anything. I was determined to not get this. And it looked like things were turning in a positive direction. So I ventured out to do two concerts about three weeks ago. One was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the IDL Ballroom. And then the other one was at Beaver Dam, Kentucky, a big huge outdoor venue. That was a big show. And I was fine. Everything was cool. I was wearing my mask, everything.

Then I got home from that weeks' worth of shows. And the next day I had a fever. And I tested positive for COVID. But why I say thank God for the vaccine is because it's been a very mild case. I just had like a temperature for like three days or so and then -- and now I feel like 100 percent better.

So we're all in no man's land right now. I am very confused as to what the fall is going to entail as far as entertainment goes. I don't -- I'm not a doctor. But they tell me now that I've got it that I'll be immune to getting it for 90 days.

So, you know, the biggest concern about us as performers is we don't want our fans to get sick, you know?

KEILAR: Yes.

BACH: So, obviously, we're totally perplexed right now as to whether to -- the show must go on or we got to pack it up again. I don't -- I don't -- I don't know what to say. But we're in definitely a no man's land situation right now.

KEILAR: Can I -- I want to ask you about that because you have a lot of fans. You have a lot of fans for music.

BACH: Yes.

KEILAR: Actually my parents didn't let me watch MTV when your videos were big, but I had a teenage neighbor down the street who let me watch you. You also starred for many seasons on "Gilmore Girls." A lot of people might not know that, but you are wildly popular with lots of different generations.

So, what is your message to fans and even their parents who may be hesitant about getting the vaccine?

BACH: Well, listen to science. Like -- like, I'm so tired of going on Twitter and getting in an argument that two plus two equals four, or like the sky is blue. Like -- like science is real. Don't -- don't -- don't -- don't Fauci -- don't Florida My Fauci.

BERMAN: I see what you did there.

BACH: I'm saying it. It's kind of early. But -- but, you know, Dr. Fauci is only trying to help everybody. That's all he's trying to do. And I don't understand politicizing medicine. It doesn't make sense to me. So I would -- my advice to the fans would be get the vaccine. Like, you don't want polio, right, so you get the vaccine for that. You don't want COVID. If I didn't have the vaccine, I would be terrified that something

would be happening with my voice or my lungs. I mean I spent four months getting my voice ready to hit these crazy notes because, you know, in quarantine you don't walk around a house screaming like that.

BERMAN: Hey, Sebastian, we've got about 20 seconds left.

BACH: Yes.

BERMAN: I just want to ask a question for the historical record. My wife went to a Skid Row concert in 1989 and tells me she was hosed down. The crowd was hosed down because it was so hot.

What was the policy with hosing down the crowd, in ten seconds or less?

BACH: Well, these were -- this was the days before global warming. So it was really, really hot. And we were like wearing leather pants back then. Who knew?

KEILAR: And maybe -- maybe Berman's wife was, too.

BERMAN: As -- as one does.

KEILAR: Sebastian Bach, amazing. Thank you so much. Thank you for the message.

We do want to note that you will be back on the road expected in late September to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Skid Row's second album, "Slave to the Grind."

[09:00:07]

In the meantime, you can catch him on reruns of "The Gilmore Girls." Great to see you sir. CNN's coverage continues right now.