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New Day
Republicans Ignore McCarthy's Demand; Holocaust Survivor on Nazi Comments; Florida Begins Testing of Variant. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired December 01, 2021 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[08:30:37]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Congress devolves into kindergarten, although perhaps we're being too unkind to five-year-olds with this description, as the House Republican conference fractures in real time. At the center of the current exchange, you have Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who slammed fellow Republican Lauren Boebert for making anti-Muslim comments about Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and others. And in response to Mace's comments, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted in part, Nancy Mace is the trash in the GOP conference. Mace, you can back up off of Lauren Boebert or just go hang with your real gal pals, the jihad squad. Mace slammed Greene on Twitter and said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): Make no mistake, Marjorie Taylor Greene is a liar.
She's crazy. She's insane. She's bad for the party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So after that, Congresswoman Greene tweeted that she had spoken with Trump about Mace, to which Mace responded, bless her f'ing heart, and she did not abbreviate. In comments later saying this about Greene's anti-Muslim rhetoric.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): What it says to me is that if you say something that's batshit crazy, you say something extreme, you're going to raise money. And that is the only reason that she does that. I mean she's a grifter of the first order. And she does it to raise money.
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KEILAR: Joining us now, Jackie Alemany of "The Washington Post." She writes "The Early 202," and CNN political analyst Jonathan Martin. He is a national political correspondent at "The New York Times."
You know, I do think of this in terms of small children, but I actually think that small children behave better than say a Marjorie Taylor Greene or a Lauren Boebert in this case. And I just wonder, though, what you think, Jackie, about Kevin McCarthy pulling both of these members of Congress into his office, telling them to knock it off, like there's some sort of equivalence here.
JACKIE ALEMANY, AUTHOR, "WASHINGTON POST," "THE EARLY 202": Yes, Brianna, this clearly points to Kevin McCarthy's 218 problem. He is looking ahead to next year and his potential speakership if the House GOP takes back the majority in the 2022 midterms. And he knows just how important Marjorie Taylor Greene is to being able to maintain his power over his conference. Marjorie Taylor Greene has the ear of President Trump and it says everything that instead of condemning Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert for their Islamophobic remarks, that he calls Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene into his office and just tells them both to be quiet and doesn't reprimand any of them and the far right flank that is being increasing influence in the conference for their, quite frankly, dangerous remarks and continued rhetoric.
JONATHAN MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, it's a reoccurring theme for McCarthy this year. At every turn he sought to keep the peace in his conference, to preserve his own viability for the future to be speaker, if they get back to the majority. That's been the impulse from really the aftermath of the election onward, not to take difficult stands or make choices between factions, but to try and keep everybody happy. That's not easy to do because there's somebody else at the table whose presence is clearly there, even though he's not part of the House conference, and that's Donald Trump.
There is a reason why Greene immediately called Trump and then put that out there, that she had called him. She is sending a message to not just Mace, but also McCarthy, don't forget who's on my side here.
KEILAR: He's weak, though, right, Jonathan? I mean it just comes down to, he's walking this line, it's like a very -- it's a tough line to walk. He can't really take a stand.
MARTIN: Yes. What he would say is that, look, I've got no choice here. This is the mathematical reality of what I face. I've got a conference that is full of sort of Trump folks. If I don't keep them happy, I'm not going to be speaker.
He is overriding impulses. He wants to be speaker of the House. And he's going to do what it takes to ensure that.
But to your point, though, do you get that job and then make it a job that's not worth having because you're not willing to make tough choices?
KEILAR: Yes, exactly.
OK, let's talk about politically what this means for both of these figures here, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Nancy Mace. They have different constituencies. I wonder if politically this works for both of them. ALEMANY: Yes, Nancy Mace is a really interesting case study. She is
someone who we've watched closely since the January 6th insurrection and she came out as a freshman swinging at her own party and quickly received some backlash for it. She ended up ultimately not voting in favor of impeaching the president, but did take this anti-Trump stance.
[08:35:02]
She then quickly quieted down.
And then, most recently, we've seen her actually pipe up again. She voted in favor of holding Steve Bannon in contempt. And this week she's been outspoken against Marjorie Taylor Greene and thusly outspoken against former President Trump.
She has a few primary challengers that have hopped into her race that -- I think that, you know, as you noted during the break, she's holding her finger up to the wind and seeing what's most politically expeditious for her to -- what kind of Republican she wants to be here as you're seeing many different Republicans sort of figure out whether or not they want to be pro-Trump or they want to take as many in the House geo conference like to refer to it as the rhino position, Republican in name only.
KEILAR: So, some --
MARTIN: And her district is much more politically competitive and mixed than Greene's.
KEILAR: Yes. Of course.
ALEMANY: Right.
MARTIN: I mean Greene's from north Georgia, heavy rural, mountainous district. She's from sort of metro Charleston, a lot more Democratic, more diverse, more urban.
ALEMANY: Yes.
KEILAR: Yes, maybe she can cobble together a coalition in that race. We'll have to see.
So, OK, Senator Oz? You guys, Dr. Oz is running for Senate in Pennsylvania, which is interesting enough on its own, except that it turns out he might not live there. So, let's listen to him addressing this, because his links to Pennsylvania thin. He has lived in New Jersey for years. And he only recently, for the first time, he used his in-law's residence back in December. Here's how he addressed this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MEHMET OZ (R), CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE IN PENNSYLVANIA: I grew up just across the border, south of Philadelphia. I went to medical school at Penn in Philadelphia. I went to business school, Wharton, in Philadelphia. I met and married my wife, which was the best thing I ever did 36 years ago, in Philadelphia and I bore two children or she bore them for me in Philadelphia. It became home a year ago. It feels good to be back. I love this state and I'll represent it honorably.
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KEILAR: J.Mart, what do you think?
MARTIN: I've got to be honest, I think today this issue matters less than it ever has. I just think we're in a sort of nationalized political year, people get their information increasingly through national sources or social media. That kind of regionalism, it's not helpful necessarily and, obviously, it's not the kind of story you want on day two of your campaign. But I'm just not sure that it's going to be the overwhelming challenge for him. I think he'll have other challenges.
ALEMANY: Yes, I called someone who's worked for a string of successful Republican candidates in the past few years right before getting here this morning who said, quite simply, he's a charming, nice guy. Once he gets on the stump and on the campaign trail, let's see how he does. He's someone who, like former President Trump, has a lot of experience doing television, working audiences.
MARTIN: Right.
ALEMANY: Let's see if he knows how to glad-hand, work the campaign trail.
MARTIN: Right.
ALEMANY: And if that ultimately sticks. He also has a medical background, although we should note, known for pedaling conspiracy theories on his show. But that might work to his advantage as Covid is still a major issue in a lot of people's lives.
KEILAR: Yes, we'll see. We will see if celebrity outweighs some of the vulnerabilities of this.
MARTIN: Exactly. Celebrity is the most powerful force in politics today. Yes.
KEILAR: Jonathan, Jackie, thank you guys for coming in this morning.
MARTIN: Thank you.
ALEMANY: Thanks, Brianna.
BERMAN: His problem may be that he said he loved that state, but, of course, Pennsylvania is a commonwealth.
KEILAR: Correct, Berman.
MARTIN: Berman.
KEILAR: Boom.
BERMAN: Thank you. For the win.
MARTIN: (INAUDIBLE) some of the other commonwealth.
BERMAN: Double Jeopardy right there.
MARTIN: Love it.
BERMAN: So a Fox host with a repugnant reference to Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele, so bad the Auschwitz Museum literally spoke out against it. We're going to ask a Holocaust survivor what he thinks about it.
KEILAR: And the world is racing to learn more about the omicron variant. Why doctors in Israel are actually optimistic about how it may stand up to vaccines.
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[08:42:47]
BERMAN: In absolutely appalling remarks, Fox host Laura Logan compared Dr. Anthony Fauci to the Nazi angel of death Josef Mengele.
Listen.
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LAURA LOGAN, HOST, "LARA LOGAN HAS NO AGENDA": What you see on Dr. Fauci, this is what people say to me, that he doesn't represent science to them, he represents Josef Mengele, Dr. Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor who did experiments on Jews during the Second World War and in the concentration camps. And I am talking about people all across the world are saying this.
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BERMAN: So joining me now is a man who was actually there, in Auschwitz, Holocaust survivor Michael Bornstein and his daughter Debbie Bornstein Holinstat. They've co-written a memoir called "Survivor's Club: The True Story of a Very Young Prisoner of Auschwitz," about Michael's experiences in the Nazi death camp.
Thank you both for being with us. I'm sorry you have to hear that. I'm genuinely sorry that any of us have to hear that. But why don't you tell me about your feelings when you hear something like that?
MICHAEL BORNSTEIN, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: Well, it's disgusting to hear someone comparing Dr. Mengele, who was, again, a, you know, a doctor of death, who killed children, he experimented on twins, my father was killed in Auschwitz, my older brother, to Dr. Fauci, who wants to save lives. And there is absolutely zero comparison.
BERMAN: What do you think it is? Why do you think it is that people make these comparisons?
BORNSTEIN: I think people want notoriety. I think it's very wrong for another TV station to air that without comments that it's wrong. And it really hurts the Holocaust to compare that and it hurts people because they don't want to get vaccinated. And it's terrible.
BERMAN: I mean, when I hear it, you know, Debbie, I just think, has Laura Logan ever read a book? Does she have any idea?
DEBBIE BORNSTEIN HOLINSTAT, MICHAEL'S DAUGHTER: You know what I think. I think who were these people all over the world who are telling you that Josef Mengele is -- you know, and Fauci, that there's some parallel?
[08:45:05]
Who are these people? Because I have to -- I'd be willing to bet that those are the same people who believe that Jews are shooting space lasers and starting wildfires in California.
There is no respected journalistic source who would sit there and tell you that there is some parallel. At heart -- at the very heart of genocide and Holocaust, of course, is a singling out of people. Who is being singled out here? Anthony Fauci sat there and took the vaccine. My dad sat there and happily took the vaccine. We were grateful to science. And so, to me, to draw that parallel is sickening. And for, you know, a network to not stand up and say, hang on, or the anchor to stand up and say, hang on, is equally disturbing.
BERMAN: And it's not the only time we've seen these references to the Holocaust in comparison to vaccinations.
Michael, do you think people just don't understand what you went through? Do you think people don't understand what the Holocaust is?
BORNSTEIN: I think people understand, but the problem is they listen to whatever TV stations or others tell them. And they want to listen. Some people just don't want to get vaccinated. And, you know, Dr. Walensky, Dr. Fauci, are there to save lives. You know, Mengele wanted to kill people.
HOLINSTAT: We spoke -- we've met -- and I've spent the better part of a decade talking to survivors, listening to testimony, helping my father write his memoir, and we have come in contact with so many survivors of Mengele. You know, one -- really a lovely woman, Jeannette (ph), was telling us that she was whipped and beaten at 14 years old by Mengele. She still has the scars today in her 90s from Josef Mengele. To draw that comparison to any scientist who is trying to, you know, help save lives, Josef Mengele was trying to advance a disgusting race theory and he was experimenting brutally, taking body parts from children, injecting -- drawing blood from their necks. There is no parallel.
BERMAN: I just want to put up a picture which I hadn't seen before. You're in this picture. This is of the liberation. I believe we have it here so people can see. And if, you know, circled right there, that's you.
BORNSTEIN: That's me. My grandmother was carrying me out. And by some miracle, I survived.
HOLINSTAT: A lot of miracles.
BORNSTEIN: A lot of miracles. My mother was beaten over the head to share some of her bread with me. My grandmother carried me out to quote/unquote infirmary while there was a death march by the Nazis. So, many, many miracles managed to save me.
BERMAN: It is a miracle. And that was a picture of you at liberation. And the bravery you showed, the perseverance your grandmother showed in saving you, doesn't deserve to be dishonored or besmirched by the likes of Laura Logan who has no idea what she's talking about here.
Michael, Debbie, thank you so much for being with us this morning. I'm honored to have you here.
BORNSTEIN: Thank you.
HOLINSTAT: Thank you.
BERMAN: Stricter coronavirus testing may be on the way for everyone traveling to the United States. What the Biden administration is considering.
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[08:51:16]
BERMAN: Time now for "5 Things to Know for Your New Day."
A 15-year-old sophomore is in custody after killing three students and wounding eight others in a shooting at a high school in Oxford, Michigan. Three of those wounded students are in critical condition. The suspect is on suicide watch at a juvenile detention facility.
KEILAR: And all travelers to the United Sates may soon have to be tested for Covid one day before their flight. The Biden administration is also considering testing all travelers, including American citizens, after they arrive in the U.S. Right now the CDC is expanding surveillance at four major U.S. airports to check for omicron.
BERMAN: The U.S. Supreme Court expected to hear oral arguments today in the most important abortion rights case in 30 years. The justices will consider Mississippi's request to overturn Roe v. Wade and uphold a state law that bans abortion 15 weeks after conception.
KEILAR: Graphic testimony from an accuser in Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial. The woman identified only as Jane described how Jeffrey Epstein, with Maxwell's help, sexually abused her beginning when she was just 14 and continued for several years.
BERMAN: And Adele heading to Vegas. The superstar singer announcing her Vegas residency, "Weekends with Adele." She will do two shows each weekend from January 21st to April 16th at Caesar's Palace. That will be something.
KEILAR: I have an excuse now to go to Vegas. Got to check that out. And that is "5 Things to Know for Your New Day." You can have more on
all these stories at CNN and cnn.com. And don't forget to download the "5 Things" podcast every morning. Just go to cnn.com/5things and you can find it wherever you get your podcasts.
BERMAN: Scientists racing to learn more about the new omicron variant and the effectiveness of vaccines. Israel's health minister says there are positive signs.
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NITZAN HOROWITZ, ISRAELI HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): In the coming days we will have more accurate information about the efficacy of the vaccine against omicron. But there is already room for optimism. And there are initial indications those who are vaccinated with the vaccine still valid or with a booster will also be protected from the variant.
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BERMAN: So far no cases have been reported in the United States. In Florida, testing sites in one county are working to identify variants.
CNN's Leyla Santiago live at this testing site in Miami.
Leyla, what are you seeing?
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we are now at one of 33 testing sites run by Miami-Dade, the most populous county here in Florida, where the mayor's office now confirms to CNN that they will start -- they plan to start taking random samples of the tests here to now identify variants with those tests.
So let's talk about exactly how this will work. They will take weekly random samples, on average 300 to 500 of tests where Covid-19 is detected and that will go to a lab where they will do sequencing to identify those variants. They started this random sampling last week. They're still awaiting the first set of test results.
But let's be clear on what the difference is here. Until now, the tests have only been for diagnosis of Covid-19. Not taking that additional step to actually identify variants like delta and now omicron.
Now, they want to make clear that this is, again, random sampling, so you can't just come here and ask to identify that variant. They said that this was fortunate coincidence. They actually started looking into this during delta. And now it's a fortunate coincidence given omicron's discovery.
In a statement to CNN, the mayor says, our proactive, random sampling for variants will help us to better monitor the progress of omicron and other variants in our community as we continue to closely track the latest data in order to make informed decisions to protect lives and livelihoods.
[08:55:18]
Now, we checked in with several health systems, also here in south Florida. They, too, continued to monitor and remain vigilant, having plans in place for what could be to come. But that is what they're dealing with here. The local governments and hospitals planning for the unknown.
BERMAN: Leyla Santiago, thank you very much.
So the breaking news this morning, this bombshell report that claims Donald Trump tested positive for Covid before we knew, before the first presidential debate.
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