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Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) is Interviewed about the January 6th Investigation; Queen Elizabeth II Elevates Prince Charles' Wife. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired February 07, 2022 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A partisan scam. What else did he say? He said, you're trying to embarrass and smear and harass as many Republicans as you can get your hands on, on the committee.

What do you say to that?

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): Look, I don't know what's happening with Marco. I mean I -- you know, when he ran in 2016, I was a Jeb supporter and went to Marco after Jeb because I look and I go, Marco's talking about a strong member. He was kind of representing this next generation potentially of Republicans and he's just -- he's gone all- in now on this kind of big lie or sometimes he'll walk the -- walk the line a little bit.

Look, the January 6th committee, let's keep in mind how we got here. Kevin McCarthy asked John Katko to negotiate a non-partisan, fair commission. He did that. And then all of a sudden McCarthy turned against it. It was rejected. It passed the House, rejected in the Senate.

And then he put forward members to sit on this committee, of which some, you know, had deep involvement in January 6th. One or two of those members were rejected and Kevin pulled all his members out instead of naming two others.

And so that's how we got to this position. And in that process, we have Republicans and Democrats now getting to fair answers. We're not out to get anybody. We're not out to embarrass anybody. We're out to get to the truth. If the truth embarrasses somebody, I can't help that. But our job is to give it a full accountability to the American people.

BERMAN: CNN reported on Friday that Congressman Jim Jordan, among the records you now have, are that he had a ten-minute phone conversation with Donald Trump the morning of January 6th.

What does that tell you?

KINZINGER: So I won't comment directly on that. I'll wait for the committee to put out any details that do or don't exist.

But I think what, you know, something like that in theory would show, and particularly what we're interested in is, what was the president doing that day and leading up to that day? What did the president think January 6th was? What was he doing during it? I think the question is, if this was a spontaneous act of violence of people that took the president literally and he was only speaking metaphorically, as I think he recently said "hang Mike Pence" was just metaphoric and not real, you know, that's one thing.

But if, in fact, the president knew that there was a potential for violence, that actually is something the DOJ might be interested in because it would show that he would be -- maybe have some criminal culpability at that moment.

I don't have the answer to that. I'm not sitting here saying we know that. But I think those are some kind of things we're interested in.

The bottom line on this, John, is, you know, I just had a kid three weeks ago. When he's five or 10 and learning about history, I want to make sure that he gets a full accounting of what happened on January 6th. And I want to make sure that every Republican member of Congress, when their kids and grandkids are in school, they're going to look and be like, hey, mom or dad or grandma and grandpa, how did you vote on January 6th? That's going to be something I think in five or ten years is going to be hard to explain if you're not on the side of the truth.

BERMAN: Well, first of all, congratulations.

KINZINGER: Thanks.

BERMAN: Second of all, what will you tell Christian when he's old enough? How will -- what will you tell Christian about Donald Trump?

KINZINGER: I'm going to tell him he was the worst president the United States of America ever had. He was a liar. He was a charlatan. And he was a man with a most fragile ego than anybody I've ever met. Which the irony of it is, he walks around like the tough guy, but he's the one that gets more offended and wounded and sad than anybody I know.

I'm also going to tell him that it was the moment that I hope America hit the bottom of, you know, its slide towards authoritarianism and the moment we woke up. I hope he's proud of what I've done. I'm confident he will be because, you know, short of this thing really going off the rails, this thing being our country and this experiment, I think we're going to look back and say, wow, that was a moment we might have flown too close to the sun and we can never do that again. That's my hope and prayer because, if not, we're in real trouble.

BERMAN: You say you hope we've, those were your words, hit bottom.

The Republicans could gain control of the House of Representatives. Kevin McCarthy could be speaker. What will he be like as speaker?

KINZINGER: Well, he'll be -- well, I'll tell you what he will. He'll have a high cell phone bill because he'll be calling Marjorie Taylor Greene and, you know, people like that to ask them what their opinion is and what he can and can't do. He will have no leadership ability because he is basically begging the people that just two years ago he said was crazy -- were crazy, he's begging them for the ability to lead.

So I think it's going to be a miserable experience for him if he actually wins. I'm not convinced he will be speaker. But if he is speaker, I think it will end up being one of the most miserable things he's ever been through. So, yes, he'll have the title. But if he thinks there's a point at which he can kind of stand up and take back power from folks like Marjorie Taylor Greene and the crazy, I just don't see it going to -- see it's going to happen. I think the American people will react by throwing them out of power.

BERMAN: So, you issued a tweet about Josh Hawley, a senator from Missouri, and I want to ask you a couple things about it.

[08:35:03]

I think you were responding to Hawley talking about Ukraine and the fact that the United States should withdrawal any guarantees about Ukraine being able to join NATO long term. And you wrote, I hate to be so personal, but Hawley is one of the worst human beings and a self- aggrandizing con artist. When Trump goes down, I certainly hope this evil will be laid in the open for all of us to see and be ashamed of.

I actually want to like break this into parts if I can and take the second part first.

KINZINGER: Sure.

BERMAN: When you say when Trump goes down, what do you mean by that?

KINZINGER: Well, that's not based on anything on the committee. Although, I'm convinced that when the full story is out and history kind of moves on, Donald Trump is going to be just seen as a really -- a sad character in history. And I'm still confident that all this information is going to be out there for the American people. So, I have a strong sense of confidence that all the lies, all the conspiracies and all that garbage will be fully exposed for the American people to detest.

And so I think Trump is going down. I don't know what form that's going to take, but I certainly don't think he's going to be the king of much more than Mar-a-Lago.

BERMAN: And you say -- and you that now, just to be clear, this is a somewhat informed statement. You've seen things that we haven't seen, right?

KINZINGER: Right. Yes. Yes. Absolutely.

And, I mean, look, what we know even anecdotally, the guy is gleefully watching television while the -- you know, the Capitol is being ransacked. At least that's

kind of what we've heard second and third hand. I mean that's no good president of the United States. And that's a man that, you know, really doesn't have the best interest of the U.S. at heart.

And I'll say too, with Josh Hawley, let's keep in mind, and I try not to get so personal, but that was a moment in which he was parodying Tucker Carlson's talking points on Ukraine because he wants to get in the good graces of Tucker Carlson, Josh Hawley. And keep in mind, the whole reason January 6th went down, there was no senator that was going to -- even Ted Cruz, for goodness sakes, no senator was going to object to these states on January 6th until Josh Hawley said something. And the second he did, then all these other senators jumped on board. But he was the very first.

So, if we pinpoint January 6th, if we pinpoint, you know, all of these lies, he is at the helm of it. And I don't mean to overplay his importance because I don't think he's important, but I also look at that and go, that is -- he is endemic of what is wrong with this party.

BERMAN: I just want to ask you very quickly because I want you to leave with a smile on your face, how do you like being a dad?

KINZINGER: It's great. I don't get as much sleep, but it's awesome. I always thought, you know, the baby stage would be tough, and I love the baby stage. So, it's great.

BERMAN: Well, don't expect any sleep for another two or three years, but good luck.

KINZINGER: Thanks.

BERMAN: Congressman Adam Kinzinger, thank you for being with us this morning.

KINZINGER: You bet. Take care.

BERMAN: New overnight, Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai speaking to reporters about her initial claim of sexual assault against a government official. Why this rare interview is raising even more suspicions?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And it's being called a nationwide insurrection driven by madness. The wild protests sparked by anti- vaccine truck drivers now catching fire across several Canadian cities.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:42:13]

KEILAR: Time now for "5 Things to Know for Your New Day."

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who vanished after accusing a retired Communist Party official of sexual assault, now says the allegation was a huge misunderstanding. In a very controlled, chaperoned exchange with a French sports newspaper, Peng said that she deleted a social media post in which she claimed to have been coerced into sex because she wanted to.

BERMAN: Two high-stake meetings today signaling the global effort to avert a war between Russian and Ukraine, to spot a Russian invasion of Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron is in Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin a short time from now. And then later today, President Biden will host German's new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, at the White House.

KEILAR: In Canada, a state of emergency is in effect in Ottawa as hundreds of protesters join the noisy and chaotic trucker demonstrations for the second week in several cities across the county. The protests are over Covid health restrictions. Police have arrested several people and they've issued 100 tickets.

BERMAN: Joe Rogan under fire for the second time in two weeks. This time for his use of the "n" word as pressure to boycott Spotify intensifies. Over the weekend, Rogan apologized again for using the racial slur more than 20 times in past episodes of his podcast.

KEILAR: The Miami Dolphins announcing that Mike McDaniel is the team's new head coach. McDaniel, who identifies himself as multiracial, will replace Brian Flores, who was fired after a winning season and filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL last week.

BERMAN: Those are the "5 Things to Know for Your New Day." More on these stories all day on CNN and cnn.com. And don't forget to download the "5 Things" podcast every morning. Go to cnn.com/5things. You can also find it wherever you get your podcasts.

So, Queen Camilla. The surprising statement overnight from Queen Elizabeth about what happens when she vacates the throne. And also, what does consort actually mean?

KEILAR: What does it mean? We're going to explore that.

Plus, a Tennessee pastor burns "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" books. We're going to tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:48:41]

KEILAR: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II just celebrated an historic milestone. It's the platinum jubilee. And in her message on Sunday marking the 70th anniversary of her reign, the queen said that it was her sincere wish that Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall, be known as queen consort when Prince Charles becomes king.

Joining us now is Emily Nash, royal correspondent at "Hello! Magazine," and Trisha Goddard, journalist and former British talk show host.

OK, Tricia, to you first. How big of a deal is this? TRISHA GODDARD, JOURNALIST AND FORMER BRITISH TALK SHOW HOST: It's a

pretty big deal. But it's not unexpected. It's something that Prince Charles has been working on for quite some time. And there have been signs along the way that the queen has been more and more welcoming. And I also think since losing Prince Philip, she's really had time to reflect on how important it is for a monarch to have someone be there constant, be -- always be there, be supporting them.

So, it's not really a shock, it's more of a pleasant surprise, shall we say?

KEILAR: What do you think, Emily? And how do you think this is being received by Camilla?

EMILY NASH, ROYAL CORRESPONDENT, "HELLO! MAGAZINE": I think Trisha's absolutely right. I think everyone was expecting it to come at some point before the transition occurred. And this is a really elegant way of doing it. For those people who still have doubts about a Queen Camilla, having the queen give her royal seal of approval to it seals the deal.

[08:50:06]

KEILAR: OK, so, Emily, if we were to refer to her, you know, when she does become queen or queen consort, do you just refer to her then as Queen Camilla?

NASH: I think she will be known as Queen Camilla. If you look back to the current queen's mother, she was known as Queen Elizabeth when she was queen consort. Of course the difference being that she is the spouse of the person who's inherited the role of monarch. And I think that will become the easy shorthand for it.

KEILAR: OK. So, Trisha, explain to us, because, you know, to our American ears, you hear queen consort and it sort of feels like queen lesser -- queen not quite, queen lesser than. Why shouldn't we not think of it like that?

GODDARD: Well, we shouldn't think about that. We -- I mean she -- she's not lesser than. She's just not the person who was directly in line to inherit the title, like, for instance, the queen is at the moment. She is the wife of the king.

It's -- I just wanted to bring in -- and I'm sure Emily would agree with me now, is that -- and I'll just build on what Emily said, it's really elegant, it's really lovely that the queen has said that because there still is that old hangover because, remember, it's the 25th year since Princess Diana died. There still is that old hangover as seeing her -- and you say that (INAUDIBLE) as the scarlet woman, you know. And there is, unfortunately, a lot of misogyny alive. I mean we currently have a prime minister in Britain who has seven children to three wives and I can't remember how many mistresses, and he was actually elected to the post. Nobody seems to have a problem with that.

Camilla and Charles fell in love before Diana was even on the scene, had their children to their respective spouses, and have stayed loyal to each other. And yet Camilla still gets painted as the scarlet woman. So, I hate that term, consort, because it can be construed in all the wrong ways.

KEILAR: Yes, I guess that's what I was getting at. But, look, this has been a very interesting development. Camilla has always sort of shown deference in that regard that you mentioned. So, obviously, this was really up to the queen to do this.

Emily and Trisha, appreciate you both putting it into context for us. Thanks.

NASH: A pleasure.

GODDARD: Thank you.

BERMAN: A pastor in Tennessee hosted a book burning event and told his followers to throw copies of "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" into the fire. Gray Locke is the pastor at Global Vision Bible Church who is familiar with controversy. He previously has been removed from Twitter after calling the coronavirus vaccine "sugar water" and promised to kick out anyone who showed up to his services wearing a mask. He live- streamed his bonfire event on Facebook saying it was held to denounce witchcraft.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG LOCKE, PASTOR, GLOBAL VISION BIBLE CHURCH: I ain't messing with witches no more. I ain't messing with witchcraft. I ain't messing with demons. I'll pull all of them out in the name of Jesus Christ.

You better get rid of that "Harry Potter" mess in your house. That is full-blown witchcraft. It's witchcraft.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: "Harry potter."

This amid the growing nationwide movement to ban certain books from schools. In Texas, many schools are banning books about racism and sexuality. And last month a Tennessee school district unanimously voted to remove "Maus," the Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel about the Holocaust from its curriculum.

I mean, I don't know what to say, because, on the one hand, saying "Harry Potter" is about witchcraft. Yes, you're missing the point, though.

KEILAR: He was a wizard.

BERMAN: I think you're missing the point a little bit.

KEILAR: Yes. I feel like anything I say is going to get me in trouble. But, look, as a reader of both "Harry Potter" and the Bible, I will just say that I have enjoyed some of the parallels between them. You know, some of the pull of good and evil. Making difficult choices under difficult circumstances. I think they're, you know, obviously, one has inspired many other tones than the other, I would say, but I don't get it. I just don't get it. I don't get it.

BERMAN: Look, all I'll say is I think Hermione is awesome. That's all anyone really needs to know.

KEILAR: Yes, this is our discussion, right, why isn't Hermione should be the protagonist, right?

BERMAN: That's right. That could be what the protests is about right now.

KEILAR: Yes. I know. But not burning the book for that reason.

BERMAN: Not that book (ph).

A crossing guard put herself between a student and a speeding car. The incredible video just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:58:56]

BERMAN: It is time now for "The Good Stuff."

Dramatic, new video of a Maryland police officer saving a student in a crosswalk. Corporal Annette Goodyear (ph) is seen here holding up her hand as a student crosses the street, then a car comes speeding through the crosswalk. My goodness. As Officer Goodyear pushes the student to safety and takes a hit herself. Goodyear suffered minor injuries. The driver was charged with four citations, including negligent driving. The city has plans in the works to reward Officer Goodyear for her bravery.

KEILAR: Oh, you know, the only thing I can think as I'm watching that video is that the driver must not have been looking at all at the road, right? I mean there's just no way, until they realized they were hitting somebody.

BERMAN: All I can say is, thank goodness she was there. She should get a title. She should get to be called queen.

KEILAR: Queen consort or queen?

BERMAN: Well, because she earned it. I'm just saying, queen. I mean, you know --

KEILAR: Queen Annette.

BERMAN: Can I just say, you're not -- British prime ministers, after they leave office, you're not supposed to call them prime minister, yet, you know, you're just supposed to refer to them by their names, for a job that they earned, right?

KEILAR: That's right. BERMAN: That they were elected to. Yet, we're supposed to call people princes and princesses, and dukes and earls and marquees and -- I don't get it.

[09:08:00]

I don't get it but it's not for me to get.

KEILAR: I like how you can -- you bring this back to your grudge against the royals.

BERMAN: It's not for me to get. It's not for me to get.

KEILAR: It cracks me up.

BERMAN: CNN's coverage continues right now.