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New Day

Avenatti Likely to Cross-Examine Stormy Daniels Himself; Democrats Face Enthusiasm Issues; Controversy over Baseball Hall of Fame Selections; Dinklage Comments on Disney's "Snow White". Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired January 26, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: But they noted that this could be a strategy at play. The judge said, yes, that one could argue this is some kind of gamesmanship, but he warned Avenatti, you need to abide by the decorum of the courtroom. And when Avenatti began the cross- examination, he was very professional, he was very poised.

But this does create a very interesting situation. Before the trial, Avenatti's lawyers said there was a strong likelihood that he would testify in his own defense. That raises a lot of questions of how procedurally that will go down.

And then, of course, with Stormy Daniels, she's the government's star witness. Prosecutors say that it's not likely she'll be on the stand today, but it's possible. They will have their direct examination of him -- of her first. And then Avenatti will have his chance to cross- examine her. I mean these two were joined at the hip and now they will be squaring off in court

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, that could be explosive.

Kara Scannell, thank you so much for that reporting. Please keep us posted.

This morning, new signs that Democrats have a huge enthusiasm problem ahead of the midterms. We'll tell you what the new numbers are.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Will you trust the next election? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably not.

O'SULLIVAN: But that's a terrible thing, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Trump supporters say they're losing faith in American democracy. What else they say.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And Peter Dinklage to Disney, the "Snow White" remake is f-ing backward. What set him off and how Disney is responding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:46]

BERMAN: This morning, new polling with big, blinking signs about where things might be headed in the midterms.

Joining me now, CNN's is senior data reporter Harry Enten.

Harry, thank you for being with us this morning. It is lovely to see your face.

There are new numbers which show a big shift -- I mean big -- in who was excited to vote.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes, that's exactly right. Look, midterms are about two things. They're about voter preference, but they're also about turnout. Turnout, turnout, turnout.

Take a look here from the recent -- most recent NBC News poll. High interest in voting in the upcoming midterms. Look at this, in January of 2022, Republicans, 61 percent of them report high interest. First just 47 percent of Democrats. Compare that to where we were about four years ago at this point, in December of 2017. It was flipped where Democrats, 59 percent of them, had high interest versus Republicans at 49 percent had high interest.

So, you saw that Democrat enthusiasm ahead of 2018. Now we have the exact opposite, high Republican enthusiasm ahead of 2022.

BERMAN: Almost the exact opposite. Now it makes some sense historically, right?

ENTEN: It makes a lot of sense. So this is some old research that I did which essentially looked at the party ID among actual people who turned out to vote in midterms versus all registered voters since 1978, Republicans relative to Democrats. Under a Republican president, like we had in 2018, there's basically no difference, right, where the Republicans were only about one more point likely to turn out than Democrats. But look under a Democratic president, like we have now. Republicans, historically, have been six points more likely to turn out than Democrats. And that meshes very nicely with what we saw in the prior slide with Republicans being far more enthusiastic to vote in the upcoming midterms.

BERMAN: So, put this into your Harry Enten math machine and tell us what this might mean for 2022.

ENTEN: Yes, you know, look, these are all theoretical numbers, but let's see what it actually looks like in terms of the generic ballot, right? That's the National House Generic Ballot, which essentially asking you to vote for the Democrat in your district or the Republican. Generic doesn't mention specific names. Right now Republicans hold about a two-point advantage on the National Generic Ballot. But let's assume those historic turnout differences with Republicans more likely to turn out than Democrats because there's a Democratic president. That two-point advantage that Republicans have, that could jump to Republicans being up by as much as seven percentage points.

So that's one of the key things that I think people need to keep in mind at looking at the polls right now, is right now we're really mostly just looking at registered voters. Once we flip over and we take into account that enthusiasm that Republicans seem to have, I think Republicans could be up significantly more in the National House Ballot. Right now, that two-point lead would shift into about a seven- point Republican advantage if those historic trends hold.

BERMAN: And that could mean not just a wave but kind of an historic, big aware.

ENTEN: Yes, that's exactly right. Look a lot like 1994 or 2010, big Republican years where they flipped the House, and in 2000 -- and in 1994, flipped the Senate as well.

BERMAN: So, we talk a lot about the divisions in this country, but one thing that people seem to agree on is football and the notion that fans would flee over the controversies that were taking place that last few years, that Donald Trump would -- would help drive fans away. It hasn't happened.

ENTEN: No, it hasn't happened. You know, I love football. You know that. Consider yourself a fan of professional football. In 2021, IPSOS asked this question, 51 percent of Americans, adults nationwide, said, yes, they would consider themselves a fan of professional football. That's the same percentage that said in an IPSOS poll in 2007 that they were fans of professional football. And you can see that baseball bans, they were only 38 percent. That was the next highest fan, 38 percent of Americans consider themselves fans. So, a lot of professional football fans out there, at least among adults.

BERMAN: Yes, basically zero change since 2007. Is there any kind of party split, Harry?

ENTEN: No, that's the beautiful thing about all of this, right? Fifty percent of Republicans 51 percent of Democrats, 55 percent of independents consider themselves NFL fans. It's one of the few things in this country that is -- in a country in which things are so partisanly divided, that brings Democrats, Republicans, and independents together. I love it, John. BERMAN: So, Harry, I -- just so you know, I mean you know I was

sending my deepest sympathies for what happened to the Bills this week. And seriously, genuinely, I felt for you.

[06:40:01]

I know what it's like to have your heart ripped up and jumped all over like that.

That said, a lot of people watched the game.

ENTEN: Yes, a lot of people watched the game. My mother was not one of them because she told me last night that she thought the Bills had one and she genuinely meant that. And I had to explain to her that, in fact, they had lost in heartbreaking fashion. She was not among one of the 43 million people who watched that football game. So many.

Compare that to the top 2021 non-NFL broadcast, which was the Biden- Harris inauguration. That was only about 34 million. That was shown across, like, 13 networks or something like that. The NFL is king in this country. It brings Americans together. It doesn't bring my mother and I together, though. Love brings us together, as my uncle once said.

BERMAN: Love will bring you together. Exactly.

Harry, thank you. Nice to see you out and about again.

ENTEN: Nice -- it was nice. You know, I was basically in a blanket on Monday. That was the most depressed I've ever been. But, you know what, there's a lot of romance in losing, and we'll get to talk about that one for a long time to come.

BERMAN: You're back. You're back, baby.

ENTEN: I'm back, baby.

BERMAN: All right.

Only one player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the important one, whose picture we're not showing here, David Ortiz, a legend, an important historical figure. Some other guys were not elected and it's creating some controversy. We'll talk about that.

KEILAR: Other guys.

And Aaron Rodgers said that fans tuned in to Sunday's game to root against him and not because of his performance on the field. Here's the reason why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:46]

BERMAN: This morning, glory. Glory for the greatest clutch hitter of all time for a literal giant in sport. I have his action figure right here, which I haven't opened because I care about it just that much. I have his t-shirt right here, which I slept in last night. Unfortunately, it smells like me, not like Big Papi. I'm talking about Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was his first year on the ballot. Ortiz led the Red Sox to three World Series titles. He regularly manhandled the New York Yankees in what I think is his finest moment. He lifted the spirits of Boston and the country after the marathon bombing in 2013.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ORTIZ, FORMER RED SOX PLAYER: This jersey that we wear today, it doesn't say Red Sox. It says Boston.

This is our (EXPLETIVE DELETED) city. And nobody going to dictate our freedom.

Stay strong.

Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It was the most uplifting f-bomb of all time.

So, Big Papi is in the Hall of Fame. Not in, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, whose stats and careers put them among the greatest players of all time. Arguably like the top five or 10 players of all time. This was their final year of eligibility, and they once again came up short of the required 75 percent of ballots. Both players had been linked to steroid use.

Joining us now, Bill Carter, CNN media analyst and executive producer of "The Story of Late Night," and Mara Schiavocampo, journalist and host of "The Run, Tell This" podcast.

Now, I'm going to recuse myself because of my clear lack of objectivity over all of this, Bill, but there are people screaming, how could you do this to Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

What's the controversy?

BILL CARTER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Well, the controversy is that the Hall of Fame has become sort of this, I don't know, they've turned into like a (INAUDIBLE) these voters. They -- you have to get in not just because of your abilities, but because of your purity as a player. I mean, you know, I mean anybody who watched David Ortiz knew he was a Hall of Famer. He didn't -- he was a terrible fielder, for example, but that -- they didn't hold that against him. He was a tremendous hitter, as you pointed out. And it just feels like they've decided, it's almost like Augusta National in the old days where you can't just be in because you're great, you have to be the right kind of person. And so players like not just Bonds and Clemens, who have the steroids thing, but a guy like Scott Roland or Andrew Jones, guys who you would think would be in because they were just good players and their stats were great, they're kept out. This is a museum. It's not a shine. You don't say, oh, let's not put,

you know, Van Gogh in your museum because he was a little kooky. I mean it's a museum. I don't see why they're keeping these guys out.

KEILAR: Yes, it's quite the selection process. It's not, you know, it's not always the same for every player. But I wonder what you think, Mara. I'm -- I'm, honestly, having a hard time figuring out where I am on this about who should be in, and who shouldn't be in, and who the rules play to, and what kind of -- what kind of players are being held up as examples.

MARA SCHIAVOCAMPO, JOURNALIST: Yes, well, you know, it raises some really interesting discrepancies because Bonds, Clemens and Ortiz all faced accusations of doping. They all denied it. There was varying degrees of evidence that applied to each of them, yet we see in this case that Ortiz was inducted into the Hall of Fame and now Bonds and Clemens, it appears, will not be because now they're no longer eligible.

And so the question is why. What's the differentiating factor? And one of the big differentiators is that Ortiz was great with the sports media. I mean everybody loved him. John, you don't have to recuse yourself for loving Big Papi. I mean everybody loved Big Papi. He had such a great relationship with the sports writers. And these are the people who are voting on the Hall of Fame inductees. And so a lot of people are asking the question this morning is, if say Barry Bonds were a nicer guy, would he have been inducted into the Hall of Fame by now and should that be a criteria for induction? Is this about acknowledging and honoring the best players of a specific era? And if it is, they really missed the mark with these two because, I mean, Barry Bonds is the Michael Jordan of baseball. How can he not be in the Hall of Fame? It's hard to fathom.

BERMAN: Just two quick points.

[06:50:01]

And we don't have to stay on this. It's apples and oranges what David Ortiz was accused of, and Bonds and Clemens accused of. David Ortiz had this mass (ph) test that was part of a leaked release. It was before the rules were in place. Bonds and Clemens are accused of being near steroid factories. I mean Barry Bonds in "Game of Shadows" with his connection to Balco, the amount that he took, is just a different thing. And Clemens, of course, listed in the Mitchell Report page after page after page as part of this congressional investigation. They both denied it. A wee bit different.

The only other thing I want people to know is in the 2000s, there were kids taking their lives who were using steroids. Kids were watching baseball, pumping themselves full of performance-enhancing drugs and then taking drugs. So, it did have an impact there.

But let's talk about Aaron Rodgers. Let's talk about happy sports subjects, right?

CARTER: Yes. BERMAN: Aaron Rodgers -- Aaron Rodgers says that his vaccine status is

why people watch football.

Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON RODGERS, QUARTERBACK, GREEN BAY PACKERS: So there were a ton of people tuning in, rooting against us for one reason and one reason only. It's because of, you know, my vaccination status and them wanting to see us lose so they could pile on and enjoy and revel in the fact that, you know, my vaccination status was, you know, some sort of reason why we haven't had success in the playoffs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Vaccine shot (INAUDIBLE), Bill?

CARTER: Yes, exactly. I mean they -- Rodgers, who is a fantastic player, obviously, you know, he has some -- first he has an ego complex, we're only watching the game because of his vaccination status? We watch games because -- you just pointed out how popular football is. That's what why we're watching. We'd watched the game if it was Joe Smith playing quarterback.

But the other thing is, he has a persecution complex, you know? Oh, people are out to get me because I didn't get vaccinated. They're also -- well, maybe -- maybe we should point out that he lied about his vaccination status too. That's another factor. But I -- I -- I think it's extraordinary to think that's the reason that people decided to watch this game.

I think there are people, by the way, John, who maybe at the end of the game thought, well, good for the 49ers because they beat the guy that lied about his vaccination status. But that is not the reason people watched the game. And I think it's a pretty extraordinary exhibition of ego to say, oh, I -- people watch it because of my vaccination status.

KEILAR: All right, we have a whole lot more to discuss.

Mara, you are going to tee us off here in our next segment. We'll be talking about a number of very fascinating topics, including actor Peter Dinklage, who's criticizing Disney for making what he calls an f-ing backward remake of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Why he's accusing the company of harmful stereotypes.

BERMAN: And RFK Junior apologizing for his Anne Frank comment. His wife now breaking her silence on his vaccine remarks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:04]

KEILAR: "Game of Thrones" actor Peter Dinklage sis slamming Disney's new live actin remake of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," saying that despite the film's progressive casing, the film's use of dwarfs still tells us, he puts it, an f-ing backward story.

Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER DINKLAGE, ACTOR: They're very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

DINKLAGE: But you're still telling the story of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still "Snow White," yes. Sure.

DINKLAGE: Take a step back and look at what you're doing there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

DINKLAGE: You know, that -- it makes no sense to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But -- oh, so what -- what --

DINKLAGE: Because you could be -- you're progressive in one way and then -- but you're still making that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together. What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) are you doing, man. We -- you know. Have I -- have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I'm not loud enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Maybe he is, though.

Let's bring back Mara Schiavocampo and Bill Carter to talk about this.

Mara, what is your take on this and also it's gotten a ton of attention.

SCHIAVOCAMPO: Yes, you know, a lot of people say, oh, come on, what's the big deal, these are children's movies. But he has a very valid point. A lot of these stories just don't age well. Let's look at a few examples.

"Sleeping Beauty," who was rescued by a kiss that she could not consent to because she was unconscious. "Snow White," who was poisoned by an older woman who was jealous of her because she was simply younger and more beautiful. And my favorite, "The Little Mermaid," who gave up her entire, fabulous life under the sea to marry a man who had never even heard her speak. So, some of these stories don't hold up really well over time. Maybe they need to stay in the past. They don't necessarily need to be remade into a live action version.

But I do think the good news here for Disney is that Dinklage raising these concerns gives them an opportunity to address it and to try to find a way to update these stories in a way that preserves dignity, doesn't reinforce stereotypes, because anybody who has kids knows they watch these movies multiple times a day. They are very formative.

BERMAN: Bill.

CARTER: Well, I think it's a very interesting point he made. They have the Latina actress as "Snow White," which means it's not snow white anymore. So they're showing some progressive ideals there. And then they have -- I guess they're going to have, you know, a dwarf and call him Dopey. I mean that's -- that's pretty awful. So, I hope they will listen to him.

And, in fact, they have now responded and they are going to take this -- they're going to look at some people's commentary who are little people and have some feelings about this.

KEILAR: So, Disney responded here in a statement to "The Wrap," saying that the dwarfs will be called magical creatures instead of dwarfs, and they also said to avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.

[07:00:00]

You know, I must wonder, though, Mara, like, to his point about they're trumpeting -- they're touting that they have a Latina actress playing Snow White. It seems like the more minority