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Flight Attendant and Air Marshal Reportedly Attacked by Unruly Passenger During Flight; New Reporting Indicates Former President Trump No Longer on Speaking Terms with Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Actor Jussie Smollett Found Guilty of Lying to Police in Hate Crime Hoax; Does Political "Carpetbagging" Still Matter? 2020 Will Determine; Ukraine's Zelensky to Biden: Sanctions Won't Deter Putin. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired December 10, 2021 - 08:00   ET

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

MANUEL OLIVER, FOUNDER, CHANGETHEREF.ORG: He is that person that made those promises and he will accomplish all of those.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Manuel, you are clearly tireless. We have seen how creative you are. You actually, in June, you duped an ex-NRA chief into giving a fake graduation speech before thousands of empty chairs, students who would have graduated, but who were not going to graduate from college because they are dead. And now you're on this, almost 10 days in, outside the White House. Do you ever think, like, all of this that I'm doing, and it is not making a difference. Do you ever feel that way?

OLIVER: I do. And that's why I need to do new things. Frustration is not an option here. Empowering is the option. Like, I always said that. Like, if I'm trying to do something, and you're right, we have not stopped since February 14th, four years ago, and that is not bringing the results that we want, then we need to do something else and something else and something else. So it's not that I'm staying there, waiting for these to happen. I am also planning, meanwhile, and doing other things, because I am, again, I'm Joaquin's dad, and I have to be a responsible father and I have to protect my son.

KEILAR: You will be there, we expect, outside the White House on your birthday, another birthday that your son should be with you, and you should have been able to celebrate his 21st this past summer. And, of course, Manuel, we're always thinking of you, thinking of your family and your son. Thank you.

OLIVER: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: NEW DAY continues right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm John Berman with Brianna Keilar. It is Friday, December 10th. And we have breaking news. A Delta airlines flight forced to make an emergency landing overnight after a violent incident in midair.

KEILAR: And police tell CNN that a passenger had to be restrained after allegedly assaulting a flight attendant, and then an air marshal stepped in to help. We have Pete Muntean tracking the latest developments here. Do we know what started all this, Pete?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, what is so interesting in all of this is that we don't know what precipitated this. But we have heard about flight attendants being attacked, and that's terribly sad. But this is the first time in me covering this for months that we have heard of a federal air marshal being attacked. And the TSA tells me they're researching this. These are the plains clothes officers, about 3,000 of them in the TSA who are on board planes. They are specially trained to deescalate situations like this. We know that this federal air marshal tried to intercede and restrain this passenger, and that's when the attack happened, according to police.

Police in Oklahoma City where this flight ultimately diverted to, it's Delta flight 342, it was going from D.C. to L.A., tell us that this passenger, this suspect is a man in his mid-30s. He has not been charged yet. We do not know his name just yet, although we do know that the FBI is involved, and that is a good thing here because the Department of Justice has been directed to intercede in cases like this. Of these cases, about 5,500 of them reported by flight crews of unruly passengers to the FAA just this year alone. About 70 percent have been over masks, and about 37 of those most extreme cases have been referred to the Department of Justice.

So we have to wait to see exactly how this plays out on the federal government's front, because the FAA can only impose civil fines. It is the Department of Justice typically that can bring these most severe federal cases. We do not know exactly how this federal air marshal was injured, if at all, or if this flight attendant was injured. We have seen those cases over and over again, and those flight attendants have been on the front line. But this is the first time we heard of a federal air marshal getting attacked in one of these --

BERMAN: This is what really is interesting here, Pete. It looks like it went to the second level. It was -- if it was, first, with the flight attendant, but then the air marshal, and then whatever happened there was such a problem, you had to land the plane.

MUNTEAN: Yes, that's right. And we have seen federal air marshals, people asked me over and over again, where are the air marshals in all this? They're on many flights, not every flight, but they're on many flights. And they also have been involved in heavily training these flight attendants to deescalate these situations. In fact, I have been through the training where federal air marshals will teach flight attendants in self-defense. It has come to that. It has gotten so extreme, these problems. So 5,500 cases this year and about 70 percent of them over masks, and these flight attendants in these special training from these air marshals when they're not there to essentially do their job. It is really a sad case.

KEILAR: Pete, thank you so much. This is incredibly alarming. We're going to see how this continues to develop.

BERMAN: We have new reporting this morning that reveals Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu no longer allies, at least not now. The former president confirming he doesn't even speak to the former Israeli prime minister, adding "f-him." Trump goes on to say "The first person that congratulated Biden was bibby Bibi Netanyahu, the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt with. He has made a terrible mistake."

I want to bring in Barak Ravid, Middle East correspondent for "Axios." He joins live from Tel Aviv.

[08:05:00]

Barak, thank you for being with us. I'm not sure I explained this as clearly as I could here. You have broken reporting as part of a new book coming out, and it was out in "Axios" overnight, that, to me, is really interesting, which is that former president Trump is livid at Benjamin Netanyahu. He isn't talking to him. He's pissed. He said "f- him." Why? All because Netanyahu dared to congratulate Joe Biden on his election victory. Why don't you explain to us what you learned?

BARAK RAVID, MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT, "AXIOS": Yes. Hi, good morning. So as you said, I interviewed Trump twice, once in April and the second time in July as part of my work on my book that just came out here in Israel, "Trump's Peace, the Abraham Accords and Reshaping of the Middle East."

And what was interesting in this interview is that it broke the myth that there was this bromance between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. And this was a myth that both politicians cultivated for their own domestic politics. Netanyahu, I don't know if you remember, even during the election campaigns, put up those huge billboards with him and Trump standing next to each other with the headline from a different league. This was his calling card as a politician, his relationship with Trump. And as you were surprised in the west, just imagine what people here in Israel thought, because until today, everybody thought they were best friends, no daylight between them. And from now on, it's clear that this was bullshit.

KEILAR: A technical term there, I think you could say, Barak. But look, it's not like clinical. Yes, it's not like Netanyahu congratulated him right away. He waited a little while. And I also wonder what you think about the fact that this sort of shows what Donald Trump how much personalities obviously he valued here, but also his view of whether Netanyahu has to acknowledge America is a nation, not just acknowledge America if Donald Trump is in charge.

RAVID: Yes, I think this was one of Netanyahu's biggest mistakes because Bibi put all of his chips on Donald Trump, and basically took Israel from the position that it was a bipartisan issue that both Republicans and Democrats supported, and during those four years of Trump, Israel became a partisan issue. And I think that what we see today with those quotes coming out, it is clear how big of a mistake Netanyahu has made.

But I want to tell you another thing. What Trump says about Netanyahu and the fact that he congratulated Biden and it is obvious that he -- Bibi didn't have any other choice. It is not done that you don't congratulate the new elected president to the United States. But I think that the fallout between them, and this, my book reveals this quite extensively was wider, because this was just what broke the camel's back.

Trump felt that Netanyahu over his last year of his presidency, he felt Netanyahu was ungrateful, disloyal, that he didn't really want peace with the Palestinians, and that he used him on Iran. And all of those things are going to be revealed in the coming days with more excerpts from my book published on "Axios."

And, by the way, this upcoming Monday we will release a two-part podcast on "Axios," "How It Happened, Trump's Big Deal," with many, many, many more details of the fallout between Netanyahu and Trump over the Abraham Accords, Iran, and many other issues. So it's not just Bibi congratulating Biden. This was the end. During the last year of Trump and even before there were many, many things that were hidden under the table because it was important for both Trump and Netanyahu to show that there is no daylight, and now we see that there was quite a lot of daylight.

BERMAN: And now they're not even talking, or at least they weren't the last time you spoke to him. And I have to say, this is all news to us. All of it is something that I was certainly not aware of before this came out overnight.

I was struck, though, and I say you -- I know you say it is only a part of this story, the end of the story, but Trump went so far as to tell you Putin waited, Bolsonaro waited to congratulate Biden or acknowledge the victory. Why couldn't Netanyahu? It's really interesting who Trump is referring to there and the company he's trying to put Netanyahu with.

RAVID: Exactly, because it shows where he puts Netanyahu, which category of leaders around the world. But Trump said something even more interesting. He basically admitted that during his presidency, he took decisions that helped Netanyahu in his elections.

[08:10:03]

When Netanyahu was trailing in the polls, before the April, 2019 elections, Trump took a decision to recognize the Golan Heights, the controversial area in northern Israel that was occupied from Syria in 1967, to recognize it as part of Israel. Trump told me that after doing this, Netanyahu went up in the polls. And he said if I hadn't done that, he would lose the election. So in Trump's mind, when he took this decision, it was also -- there were other reasons, but one of the reasons was to help Netanyahu in the elections. And I think this is why Trump felt so betrayed when Netanyahu didn't do the same for him.

BERMAN: Again, but it is a personal level, not a global level. Doesn't matter getting piece here, piece there, doing the right thing doesn't appear to be what Trump cared about most. It's doing what benefits him personally that seemed to be driving all this and driving his rage, at least in the end. Barak Ravid, I look forward to reading this, or read the parts that

end up in English quickly. I understand it's in Hebrew right now, and I'm not sure I can make it through the whole thing.

RAVID: Tune into "Axios" on Monday morning. The podcast will be online. And there will be many, many more scoops. And you should stay tuned.

BERMAN: All right, well, you're certainly good at the tease, in addition to your reporting. Barak Ravid, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

RAVID: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: The parents of two Oxford High students are now suing the school for not preventing last week's deadly shooting. Their lawyer joins us live.

KEILAR: Could 2022 be the year of the carpetbaggers? A look at the out of towners running for office next year.

And a reality check on the Jussie Smollett verdict, American politics, and the punishment for lying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15:31]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Actor Jussie Smollett found guilty for trying to scam the police. The jury decided he was lying, a notable example of consequence for such a thing in our society.

John Avlon with a "Reality Check".

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: A hate crime hoax is a loathsome thing. And that's what TV actor Jussie Smollett did. He lied about being beaten on the street, doused with bleach, a noose put around his neck.

He said masked attackers who he assumed were white yelled racist and homophobic slurs and, quote, this is MAGA country. It was all a lie. An exhaustive jury found five of the six charges on him.

Smollett seemed to believe being a victim would elevate his stature, which says a lot about what we honor in society today. Almost as sick is that throughout his trial, Smollett continued to insist that he was telling the truth, as if repetition of the lie would somehow erase the overwhelming evidence and even the confessions of his accomplices.

Of course, hate crime hoaxes do real harm. They're used to discredit actual incidents that often get less attention than this celebrity scam. After all, the FBI reports that hate crimes have been on the rise, 12-year high in 2020.

So, it's no surprise that many people took Smollett at his word, attempting a hate crime hoax, this brazen seemed unthinkable. To friends and fellow celebrities, many Democratic politicians put out statements of support, including Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and AOC, who absent any evidence seemed to immediately assume Smollett was telling the truth.

Right wing talk TV made much of this, ignoring the fact that even then-President Donald Trump offered sympathetic words in the wake of the alleged attack.

But as the days went by, there was increased skepticism as well. "Chicago Sun-Times" columnist Mary Mitchell wrote: The incident sounds so bizarre, it's easy to doubt that it happened.

When the Cook County prosecutor's office tried to make it all go away, Chicago's Democratic mayor at the time, Rahm Emanuel, called it a whitewash of justice, while the police chief released more and more information.

Ultimately, the trial went forward, the truth came out, but as CNN's Oliver Darcy points out: Right wing talking heads are still trying to use the verdict to put the media on trial, saying it was complicit in amplifying the hoax. That's a self-serving charge.

But let's try to cut through all the situational ethics and apply the same standard across the partisan divide. Jussie Smollett's repetition a lie did not make it true. He apparently thought that by playing the victim, regardless of evidence, he could benefit from the attention.

It's a strategy he might as well have learned from Donald Trump. When caught in a lie, double down, lie more, play the victim, ignore the facts, make excuses, demonize the other side, and hope the confusion muddies the waters enough to fool your supporters and avoid accountability.

Didn't work in Jussie Smollett's case, the trial about the truth to a lie (ph). But he's an actor. Donald Trump was president of the United States. He should not be held to a lower standard. And yet he's so far totally avoided legal accountability for his hoax.

Defrauding the American people by continuing to lie about a free and fair election he lost, trying to intimidate election officials and interfere in election results, both crimes, by the way. Inciting insurrection and sewing distrust in our democracy in the process.

And, of course, despite all the evidence, Donald Trump's big lie continues to be amplified by right wing media. And in that sense, Donald Trump is the Jussie Smollett of American politics.

We break this fever when we follow the facts without fear of favor, remembering that all lies stop where accountability starts. And that's your "Reality Check".

BERMAN: Then there is accountability, it can make a difference. John Avlon, thank you.

New details about President Biden's private conversation with the president of Ukraine who told Biden that U.S. threats against Russia are not enough to prevent an invasion.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And new questions this morning about security at the U.S. Capitol after a staff member managed to enter the complex with a gun.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:23:28]

BERMAN: So one of the charges that gets levied at political candidates is you're a carpetbagger, you're not from around here. Political candidates running for office in states or districts where they have no roots.

But, if that's been the case historically, does it still matter now?

CNN's Dan Merica joins us.

Dan, you've been looking into this. What have you found?

DAN MERICA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER; Yeah, it's been hard to overcome that attack in the past and actually what we found is that it has been easier over the last few years.

This is 2022 election is ripe with people having to defend their local ties to the state or the area they want to represent. You have in Georgia, Herschel Walker who was a famous running back for the University of Georgia, having to defend the fact that he until recently lived in Texas. In the Pennsylvania Senate race alone, in the Republican primary, you have three candidates having to defend their ties including Dr. Oz and defending the fact he until recently lived in New Jersey.

And then you have in Oregon, where Nick Kristof, a former "New York Times" columnist filed to run for governor there, he was born and raised in the state, but he's having to defend the fact he has enough close ties to Oregon to run for governor.

Now, all of this raises the question there are so many people with these questionable ties, do these charges really matter? And we sought to answer that question. And what we found is based on operatives and academics is that there are two reasons that these charges may not be as potent as they once were.

The first is polarization. Once you get past the primary, most people are just looking for the D or the R next to your name on the ballot.

[08:25:01]

And that has led people to overlook the fact that they don't really care if you're from around here or have close ties to a certain area.

Second is the nationalization of politics. The more nationalized races get, the more they're tied to the success of the Biden administration or Republicans in Congress or a number of things we talk about all the time, the less people care about, you know, local issues, whether someone is born and raised in a certain area or they just recently moved to a state to run for office.

In the other thing is that candidates take these very seriously. I reached out to a number of candidates and they quickly responded and defended their ties to the area and an example of this is the New York-elect -- New York Mayor-elect Eric Adams who people raise questions about whether he lived in Brooklyn, he took reporters on a tour of his basement apartment including a look inside the fridge.

Now, his campaign argued no one really cares what's inside Eric Adams' fridge and they were right because he was now the mayor-elect of New York City -- John.

BERMAN: It's one of these things, this is clear where the voters get to decide. We find out how much the voters care about this.

Dan Merica, thanks very much. Great reporting. Great to see you.

MERICA: Thanks.

KEILAR: So we're learning more about President Biden's talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to a Ukrainian government official, Zelensky privately told Biden he doesn't believe the U.S. threatening Russia with sanctions will be enough to deter Vladimir Putin from invading. Zelensky argues that it's because the Kremlin would have already considered the risk here. Instead, Zelensky proposed imposing sanctions up front and then delaying implementation of them if necessary.

Joining us now to discuss is CNN anchor and Washington correspondent Pamela Brown.

They seem to be at a difference on what to do here. Why not take this approach that Ukraine wants?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Right. It is interesting because if you look at the formal readout between the call between Zelensky and Biden, it looks as though they're in unison, but our reporting suggests that Zelensky is frustrated that he's not -- that President Biden is not moving forward with sanctions against Russia -- or the reason you laid out. That Russia is already put this into the calculation, and that not acting now is going to be detrimental.

But the U.S. is weighing what will happen if it does impose sanctions and how would it impact global prices at the pump, the energy market. That's something the U.S. is carefully considered as it looks at the menu of options of sanctions against Russia because if it did move forward with more severe sanctions right now, it could really have a big impact at a time when we're already seeing inflation and high prices in the energy market.

KEILAR: Seems like Ukraine and Zelensky is concerned that there is going to be an invasion. He's warning of a bloody massacre. What is the U.S. thinking about the possibility of that? Are they as concerned as Ukraine? BROWN: This is a huge foreign policy test for President Biden. We all

know what happened in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, by Russia. And we know earlier this year there was a time where Russia was at the border and looked to be a threat. They receded.

Now as of October, they're back there and it does seem like a very serious situation, you have the Pentagon, small arms, turning the military there, this is clearly gotten the attention of the U.S. and has become a priority for President Biden because if Russia did invade, that would be -- that would be awful.

I mean, you know, that -- we heard time and time again from the administration that the sovereignty of Ukraine is important. Of course, there is talk about years and years ahead of Ukraine being part of NATO. And so it would be really a catastrophe if that happened.

KEILAR: Yeah, it would be a front of a much greater war and we would have to see what the U.S. would do there.

OK. While you were here, and we're on the eve of this huge day, right, the Army/Navy game tomorrow, where, by the way, we have competing loyalties, which we'll explain in a moment. I want to share with our audience a fun project we have been collaborating on, part of an online video series where we CNN anchors, we share family recipes, we share traditions, and in our case we do a little cooking with an eye to the fact that 'tis the season for football.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: I don't know if I have a potato masher. We have to put those on the list for Christmas.

Go navy!

KEILAR: It really does add something.

Okay. When you're cooking for the holidays, there's a lot of football at the holidays. So the biggest rivalry as far as we're concerned in college football is the Army/Navy game.

I know for me it takes over the House.

Well, Pam, you tell me --

BROWN: My husband was a Navy SEAL

KEILAR: And my husband is a Green Beret.

BROWN: Yeah.

KEILAR: So we're going to kind of do, like, a holiday football situation.

BROWN: All right. Let's get cooking. I do not cook normally. So let me put that out there. I'm normally the

supervisor. I especially don't cook when I'm with my husband because he, like, actually knows how to cook and makes fun of me, especially on how I chop onions. Let's see how I do.

KEILAR: You don't actually have to peel it.

BROWN: Oh, I don't? I always thought you can peel this.

KEILAR: You can -- well, you do after you cut into it. Then you can peel.

BROWN: Okay. That's so much easier than -- all these years. All these years.