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Chen Breaks Figure Skating Record; GOP Livid over Censuring of Republicans; Christo Tofalli is Interviewed about Closing a 1,000 Year Old Pub. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired February 08, 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]
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: If or when federal officials might release updated guidance, or at least some clarity on when to lift measures.
Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: All right Jacqueline, thank you so much.
That was a fantastic interview with Leana Wen.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: To get that kind of information from Dr. Leana Wen.
KEILAR: With Berman last night.
BERMAN: No, I was doing the interview with Dr. Wen on "AC 360." She had some really interesting points, though. And I think if you take a step back, the bigger issue here isn't, oh, are they going to lift the restrictions next week, six weeks, whatever. It's that basically the country now -- and we're talking the whole country, red states, blue states -- wants to find a way to move on, wants to get past this and is willing to take risks they weren't willing to take before because there are vaccines, because there are better masks, because there's a natural immunity with omicron, which doesn't appear perhaps as dangerous. And it's going to happen. It's just got to happen. And what Dr. Wen is saying is that the White House might want to be part of the reality that is going to present itself in the next month or two.
KEILAR: But then there's this -- also this other side that when they interject themselves into it they become a lightning rod, right?
BERMAN: Yes. Yes.
KEILAR: A feeling of, you can't win you -- you know, either way, which I think is something that we've been seeing.
BERMAN: But I just, you know, again, with the economy -- the economic numbers we had Friday and with these states making these decisions, I just think you are seeing the systems in this country saying, we're moving on or we're moving forward to something new here and that's just the reality. It's just the way it's going to be. And I'm curious to see the impact of it all. In some ways I welcome many of the changes that will be made as we continue.
KEILAR: I know. As the numbers get lower, we change our behavior.
BERMAN: Yes.
KEILAR: I think that's part of the reality of it, too.
So, up next, born and raised in the U.S., teenage Olympic skier Eileen Gu wins the gold for China.
And with love from Kim Jong-un. When former President Trump left Washington for Mar-A-Lago, he took a lot of documents with him, Fifteen boxes. Including those so-called love letters from North Korea's leader that the National Archives took back.
BERMAN: Who doesn't save their own love letters?
Plus, Nikki Haley says she's not big on Republican infighting despite working for Donald Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:37:05]
BERMAN: American figure skater Nathan Chen overnight made history at the winter Olympics in Beijing.
Coy Wire in China with this morning's "Bleacher Report."
Hey, Coy.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John.
Nathan Chen, majoring in statistics and data science at Yale, plays several different instruments. He does it all. And now he's seeking to win his first individual Olympic medal.
Men's short program figure skating. Team USA's three-time defending world champ sets a new world record, reminding everyone why he's nicknamed quad king, landing two quadruple jumps for a score of 113.97. Nathan Chen, the team Olympic medals -- two team Olympic medals to his name, including a silver at these Beijing games. And now he's taking a commanding lead ahead of the long program as he seeks that coveted individual Olympic gold.
And 18-year-old American-born star Eileen Gu choosing to compete for her mother's home land China instead of team USA, making her highly anticipated Olympics debut in the freestyle skiing. Big air and she lands a 1620 on her final jump for gold. That's 4.5 full rotations. She's just the second woman to ever pull it off in competition. And she said afterwards that even if she didn't land that trick, which she had never done before, she hoped that she was just going to send a message and encourage more girls out there to break their own boundaries.
NFL now. The Houston Texans didn't have to look too far for their next head coach, announcing yesterday that they've hired their defensive coordinator, Lovie Smith. He's been a head coach twice before. The 63- year-old led the Bears to a Super Bowl appearance in his nine years in Chicago. He was also the head coach of the Bucs for two seasons. Just now the second minority to be named head coach in the NFL this cycle.
Former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, who is suing the league and three teams for racial discrimination, was one of the reported finalists for the Texans job. In a statement Flores' lawyers said Flores was happy to see Smith hired. but added, quote, it is obvious that the only reason Mr. Flores was not selected was his decision to stand up against racial inequality across the NFL.
And Super Bowl week officially under way. The Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams meeting the media on Zoom calls for opening night. Then, later in the day, they held prep rallies with their fans. The Rams did it at a local high school outside L.A. The Bengals hosting around 30,000 fans at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. Their quarterback, Joe Burrow, has a lot of nicknames in this Super Bowl, but Joe Bur, Joe Cool, Joey Franchise. And he was asked, which one of them he prefers.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BURROW, CINCINNATI BENGALS QUARTERBACK: Oh, man. I don't know. I don't know. I have a lot of them. Just call me Joe. That's whatever -- whatever anybody wants to call me is OK with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: He's Joe Amazing. He's -- to think that they were a four-win team last season, he tore his ACL, and now they're going to the Super Bowl, Brianna and John, it is incredible to see.
[06:40:02]
BERMAN: I just loved his smile. He really does look like he's enjoying this. He doesn't take anything for granted.
KEILAR: I call him Joe Turtleneck.
BERMAN: Yes.
KEILAR: I love it.
WIRE: Joe -- Joey Big Chain. I like it, Brianna.
KEILAR: Yes, Joey Big Chain.
BERMAN: All right, Coy, thank you very much.
WIRE: Thank you.
BERMAN: So, this morning, new information that Republicans are frustrated with the RNC for stewing the party's pot in regards to January 6th, just before the midterm elections.
KEILAR: And, ahead, some south Florida seniors have found that their party affiliation was switched from Democratic to Republican without their knowledge. How did that happen?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Hot off the presses, new reporting that a growing number of Republican lawmakers are ticked off at the Republican National Committee for the censure resolution against Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney and Congressman Adam Kinzinger that called the insurrection legitimate political discourse.
CNN's Melanie Zanona live on Capitol Hill with this new reporting.
Melanie, what are you hearing?
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, Republicans are super frustrated that the RNC pursued this censure resolution because they feel like they have the political winds at their backs but this resolution has really opened up old wounds surrounding January 6th in the party. So, Republicans said, this is unhelpful. This is an unforced error.
[06:45:00]
And they're also directing some of their anger at the head of the RNC, Ronna McDaniel. Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican and former member of GOP leadership, told our Manu Raju yesterday, I think Republicans ought to stop shooting at Republicans, including the chairman, a reference there to Ronna McDaniel.
Then there's Senator Mitt Romney. He's actually Ronna McDaniel's uncle. He said he texted her to express his disappointment with the censure resolution.
And even normal allies like Kevin Cramer said that he thought the RNC was, quote, out of their league for doing this censure resolution, even though he said he agreed on substance.
We should also point out, we have not heard from Mitch McConnell but we do expect him to weigh in on all of this later today at his press conference.
Now, the RNC has defended their effort to censure Kinzinger and Cheney. They said they've condemned the violence from January 6th but that the select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol has gone outside of its scope in investigating some of Trump allies and that's why they felt like it was necessary to take action against these two Republican lawmakers.
But, look, the bottom line here is, Republicans want to make the upcoming midterms a referendum on Joe Biden and the economy, not a re- litigation of January 6th. But that is nearly impossible to do when you have President Trump and his allies at the RNC obsessing over his 2020 election loss and continuing to try to punish his enemies in the party.
John. Brianna.
BERMAN: Yes, this is not moving on. I mean not at all. Not even close.
Melanie Zanona, thanks so much for being with us.
KEILAR: Rising Republican star Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is not getting in between former President Trump and former Vice President Pence. When asked directly if he acknowledges the truth of Pence's position of his ceremonial role in the electoral vote count, DeSantis took the opportunity to change the subject.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Where do you fall on that, on the divide between Pence and Trump? Who was right over the vice presidential role on January 6th?
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): I'm not --
QUESTION: I'm sorry, what did you say?
DESANTIS: I'm not (INAUDIBLE). I've -- I've, you know, had a great relationship working before (ph). I actually was governor for two years with the Trump administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: I've, a -- I've a -- I've a -- I'm joined now by CNN politics reporter Chris Cillizza.
He did not want to touch that one at all, Chris.
CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Not with a ten-foot pole, Brianna. And the reason is because he knows that Mike Pence is right, that there's no rule in the Constitution that suggests the vice president of the United States can somehow overturn the election. But Ron DeSantis is very aggressively and actively looking at running for president if and when he wins re-election this November. And he knows that bothering, pissing off candidly, the Trump base is not a way to get there. So, he's not going to say or do anything to get crosswise with the base of the party. That said, that's not leadership.
BERMAN: I mean, this isn't going to be the last time he gets that question, Chris.
CILLIZZA: Nope.
BERMAN: And it seems to me, can you tell me exactly how he answered again? Can you --
KEILAR: It was -- I thought it was, I've a -- I've -- well, wait, the hand wave. Hand wave, smile and then the I've a, I've a, I've a.
BERMAN: That isn't going to fly for the next two and a half years, is it? CILLIZZA: Well, it shouldn't, John, because, look, we're not talking
about like, hey, you just do you take Mike Pence's position on trade or do you take Donald Trump's position on trade, right? We're talking about the attempt to overthrow the fair and free election of a president of the United States, right? It's not an insignificant issue. This isn't a minor policy difference. This is a big constitutional issue.
I think DeSantis can have it both ways right now because he can do the I've a, I've a, you guys in the media. He can do that right now. But he's going to keep getting the question. And at some point you have to say, are you for the guy who said there's no constitutional role for me here, or are you for the guy who said the vice president should overturn a free and fair election?
Unfortunately, the base of the Republican Party favors the guy who said you should overturn a free and fair election. And that's worrisome. But that's -- DeSantis is going to have to get -- get off of that middle ground. He's going to have to answer a question like that at some point down the line.
KEILAR: The dynamics don't really allow leadership if you're looking at someone, a Republican who wants to bring together Donald Trump voters and then people who think that, yes, Biden won the election even if they didn't want him to, right?
CILLIZZA: That's right.
KEILAR: So this is just the tough question that Republicans are getting. And this is how Nikki Haley, Trump's former U.N. ambassador, addressed it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: I will always say, I just -- I'm not a fan of Republicans going against Republicans because the only ones that win when that happens are the Democrats and the media. And we have to keep our eyes on 2022. We've got to get the majority back in the House. We've got to get it in the Senate. And we've got a lot of governor's races to win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Thoughts on that, Chris?
CILLIZZA: So that's a better answer politically speaking. But again, she's not saying, Donald Trump is wrong, Mike Pence or any vice president does not have a role in overturning the presidential election, right?
[06:50:09]
It's important, I think, at some level that we have two nominees in 2024, '28, and 2032 who acknowledge the fact that whoever wins the vote is the president of the United States. That there isn't an end run around, get a different slate of electors. That's a core fundamental principle.
But to your point, Brianna, there's absolutely no political traction there. Look, we -- Mike Pence, late last week, says, you know, Donald Trump is wrong. I didn't have a role. And the only analysis that really can be done on that is, Pence hurt his chances of being the Republican presidential nominee at some point in the future. Those two things shouldn't be mutually exclusive. You should be able to tell the truth about the Constitution and the election and have a chance of being a Republican nominee for president. Right now they are mutually exclusive. And that speaks to where the Republican Party is.
BERMAN: I do want to note that Harry Enten's got some numbers which may surprise you -- I'm just going to tease them -- may surprise you on how Republican voters feel about the position that Mike Pence took there. So, stay tuned for that deep tease.
Chris Cillizza, thank you very much.
CILLIZZA: That's a great TV tease.
BERMAN: So, what's great TV is a pub that claims to be the oldest in England. This is sad. It's closing its doors after more than 1,000 years, 1,000 years. That's a lot of beer.
KEILAR: A lot.
BERMAN: Why now? We're going to speak with the owner.
KEILAR: And, breaking news from the business world, why Peloton is reportedly letting its CEO go and cutting more than 2,800 jobs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:55:53]
BERMAN: Wars, famines, even the bubonic plague. The Ye Olde Fighting Cocks Pub, and it's in Albans, England, which claims to be the oldest pub in Britain, has lived through it all. According to its website, the pub has been in business since 793 A.D., which makes it pretty old. But the effects of Covid have proven too much for the watering hole. After more than 1,200 years, it's closing its doors.
Joining us now, Christo Tofalli. He's the owner and operator of the Ye Olde Fighting Cocks Pub.
Is there really no other way? Isn't there anything you can do to keep it open?
CHRISTO TOFALLI, OWNER/OPERATOR, YE OLDE FIGHTING COCKS PUB: Oh, that's the question of the -- of the minute. Good morning. It's an honor and a pleasure to be with you. Thank you so much for contacting us.
It's the question of the minute, what's going to happen. Currently I can say I've been on the phone all morning with various many different parties, including mainly administrators (INAUDIBLE) and it's an extremely, extremely fluid situation. You can see the worldwide heartfelt feelings for us and many of you that are commenting from around the world have actually visited. So, it's been a humbling experience, but it's -- it's such a fluid situation. I'd love to talk all about it. But it's just so much going on.
KEILAR: Has anyone reached out and said, you know, what can we do? Can we crowd fund this?
TOFALLI: Yes.
KEILAR: Is there something under way, you think? What have you -- what have you -- what's the response been?
TOFALLI: Yes, well there has been people on -- that have set up a crowd funding site with local people. I've already told them I can't take the money because it -- for them, to do what I would like to do with the pub and what I was going to plan on doing over the next -- over the 25 years -- I bought it when I was about 40. I had another 25 years to go. To me it was work acting like a philanthropist and spending the next 25 years creating this pub so it can remain for the next 1,000 years.
But it's not in the right shape. It's a very old building. We don't have disabled access. We don't have a disabled facility with bench and hoist. It needs to -- and a bigger kitchen (ph), we need more numbers in there, to make it financially viable and secure for the next 1,000 years.
But, I was happy to spend 25 years doing that. Sadly, and that would have probably --
BERMAN: But you have beer. But you have beer, right? I mean you have beer, which is -- which is -- right, which is got to be all you need.
TOFALLI: Oh, well, there are bonuses. There are bonuses.
BERMAN: I mean the pandemic, like, fingers crossed, maybe it's coming to an end or we're figuring out ways to live with it.
TOFALLI: Yes.
BERMAN: People are just about to go out and start drinking a lot of beer. Can't you wait?
TOFALLI: Yes. And that's exactly what's going to happen. We've got summer coming. And the pub -- you know, and the pub will always survive, but it may not have my name on the door and that's sad for me.
But there's a bigger job at stake. And, you know, in dream time, if we found one philanthropist that just thinks it's worth, right, 2 to 3 million quid (ph), just to save the pub and put it in the right shape for the next 1,000 years for everybody to enjoy, I like then wouldn't get a return on it. I was happy to spend 25 years on it.
But the fact is, this is worldwide news. It's such an institution. We've created that. It's an award-winning pub. That was always my dream. So, it's really hard to let go of that. But, as I say, I'm working really hard to do the best things possible. The phone is ringing and we're all -- we're all working very, very hard.
And, you know, I am concentrating to get the pub reopened with at least, you know, problems and to the staff and to the customers and obviously the brewery have always been good to me.
[07:00:08]
