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Battle Over Control of GOP's Future Plays out in Primaries; GOP's Brooks Aims for Primary Win after Trump Rescinds Backing; Biden Suggests No Regrets on Vow to Defend Taiwan Against China; Russian Diplomat Resigns in Protest Over Putin's War. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 24, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Brianna Keilar with John Berman. And on this NEW DAY, primary voters head to the polls in five states this morning as a proxy war plays out for the future of the Republican Party.

[05:59:20]

And a Russian diplomat resigns, saying that he has never been so ashamed of his country. Could the tide be turning against Vladimir Putin?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A love triangle turns deadly. An elite cyclist is murdered, the suspect now on the run.

And need to get from New York to Sydney before lunch? It could happen. The world's fastest passenger jet just went supersonic.

KEILAR: Good morning to viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. It is Tuesday, May 24. And we begin with a proxy war playing out on primary day, and the fate of the Republican Party at stake.

Voters will head to the polls in five states today. But the spotlight is really on Georgia, where former President Trump's 2020 election grievances loom large.

but the spotlight is really on Georgia, where former President Trump's 2020 election grievances loom large. Last night former vice president, Mike Pence, stumping for incumbent Governor Brian Kemp at an election eve rally. And this race is pitting Pence against his former boss, who is supporting Kemp's primary opponent, David Perdue.

Kemp has been a top target of Trump's vengeance campaign against Republicans who have refused to bow to his election lies.

BERMAN Trump issued a statement that may be unprecedented when it comes to former running mates. He said, quote, "Mike Pence was set to lose the governor's race in 2016 before he was plucked up, and his political career was salvaged. Now desperate to chase his lost relevance, Pence is parachuting into races, hoping someone is paying attention."

We're live at polling locations in Georgia and Alabama. First, let's go to CNN's Kristen Holmes in Atlanta. Kristen, what are you seeing? Not much yet, I expect.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not much yet, John. And yet, not mincing words there, Trump's spokesperson, when talking about Pence. This has really become, as you said, a proxy war here in Georgia between two factions of the Republican Party.

On one side, you have the MAGA/Trump part of the party. The the other side, more established Republicans, including Mike Pence, former Governor Chris Christie, governors Ricketts and Ducey, all people who, I might add, have been attacked by former President Trump.

Today is really a day of reckoning for the former president for two reasons. One, he has made it clear how badly he wants to beat Kemp. He has put more than $2.5 million into this race, more than he has into any other race.

And, two, as you said, this is the big lie on trial here. How far will this go? Can it play in November 2023, and potentially for Trump in 2024? Because Perdue has made it a cornerstone of his campaign. And right now, it doesn't look good for Trump or Perdue. He has been badly trailing in the polls.

Now, yesterday, in his final appeal to voters, Perdue went beyond just attacking Kemp, and he targeted Stacey Abrams, who is going to be the Democratic candidate for governor in the fall. He said Abrams, who's a black woman, was, quote, "demeaning her race." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PERDUE (R), GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Hey, she ain't from here. Let her go back where she came from, she doesn't like it here. The only thing she wants is to be president of the United States. She doesn't care about the people of Georgia. That's clear.

When she told black farmers, you don't need to be on the farm, and she told black workers in hospitality and all this, you don't need to be -- she is demeaning her own race when it comes to that. I am really over this. She should never be considered for material for a governor of any state, much less our state, where she hates to live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, two things to note here. Abrams is from Georgia. She's lived here since she was in high school. And two, Perdue seems to be referring to 2018 comments that Abrams made, saying that you shouldn't have to be in hospitality or agriculture to make a living in Georgia. So those were very controversial.

Now, one other thing I want to note here, is that even if Purdue loses handily in this race, it's not going to be a total loss for former President Trump. His candidate, his endorsed candidate, Herschel Walker for Senate, seems likely poised to become the Republican candidate in the fall.

The thing to keep an eye on here is that this, like many of Trump- endorsed candidates, has a lot of Republicans very concerned. They're not sure he can win in a general election, particularly given his controversial past, which he has yet to answer a lot of questions on -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Kristen Holmes watching things closely for us in Atlanta. Thank you, Kristen.

KEILAR: Now, in Alabama, there are three Republicans vying for the GOP nomination to replace retiring Senator Richard Shelby. Donald Trump had endorsed Congressman Mo Brooks in the primary race, but then he withdrew his support.

Let's bring in CNN's Dianne Gallagher, who is live in Huntsville with more on this race. Dianne, what are you watching?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brianna, everybody's eyes right now are on Congressman Mo Brooks, six-term Congressman here in Alabama; well-known.

But for the rest of the country, probably most well-known for being one of the driving forces behind former President Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Giving a fiery speech, just before the storming of the Capitol at the Stop the Steal rally.

It seems that was enough to get a Trump endorsement. But Trump rescinded that endorsement two months ago, saying that Brooks had gone "woke," because he suggested Republicans should stop looking backwards at 2020 and should start looking forward to future elections.

In reality, it's likely because Brooks' campaign at that time was tanking to former Army pilot Mike Durant and to former Shelby aide Katie Britt.

Now, in that time, basically, we've seen these super PACS, and we've seen lots of ads attacking one another, Britt and Durant. And since then, perhaps, that might have been Mo Brooks' lane. Because in the past two weeks, Brooks' campaign has surged to the point where the Congressman thinks that they may be able to force a runoff.

[06:05:13]

In Alabama, a candidate must get 50 percent of the vote or they have to go to a runoff with the next highest vote-getter.

Senator Ted Cruz was here in Alabama yesterday, campaigning with Mo Brooks. Senator Rand Paul held a telerally with Mo Brooks yesterday. You are seeing momentum for Brooks.

The question, of course, is is it enough? And if he does it without Trump's endorsement, what happens during that runoff, if in fact, one is forced, here, Brianna, here in Alabama.

Of course, it is a conservative state. It is a Trump state. But some of the voters we spoke to said they thought that Trump had misfired that they supported Mo Brooks, and perhaps Trump let his temper get the best of him in this case. Whether or not that's going to impact Mo Brooks' chances, we'll find out today.

KEILAR: Yes, we'll see if Trump regrets rescinding that endorsement. Dianne, thank you so much for that report.

BERMAN: Joining me now, CNN political analyst and senior political correspondent for "The New York Times" Maggie Haberman; and CNN senior political analyst John Avlon.

I want to start with Georgia and the governor's race there. There are two things that are sort of really interesting about this. No. 1, Trump bet big on David Perdue. And when you bet big, you risk losing big, and that may happen here.

The other thing, and this is what I want to start it this very public performance by Mike Pence. This very public split from Donald Trump, where he shows up on the eve of the election and does this rally. Let's talk about Mike Pence first, Maggie. What exactly is he doing?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, he is making clear, as you say, there is separation from Donald Trump. Right? And Mike Pence is trying to position himself, potentially, for 2024, as Donald Trump without the baggage, without the drama. And there's no clear way to do that than in Georgia, where this was a focal point of Donald Trump's in 2020 in his efforts to try to subvert the results of the 2020 election and Joe Biden's victory.

You put up Perdue, Donald Trump, to -- as a torpedo against Kemp, and it has failed pretty badly.

Now, Pence is not coming in early in this race. Pence is coming in at the very end. But it absolutely is -- it is something of a thumb in Trump's eye. I think that Pence's people would deny that that's the case, but that's absolutely the case.

BERMAN: I mean, unsubtle, right?

HABERMAN: Right.

BERMAN: You show up on election eve, and he knows that Trump knows that he knows that everyone is watching this, and it's very, very public.

HABERMAN: Right. Right.

Then there's maybe the subtle side of it, John. Jonathan Martin, Maggie's colleague, has a terrific piece in "The New York Times" about what Pence is doing, and it has this quote: "Pence is talking about how he's being thanked around the country as he travels." He says, "recalling the gratitude he gets from resisting Mr. Trump's demands that he block Congress from affirming President Biden's victory, Pence said, 'I've been very moved traveling around the country how much people have made a point to express appreciation. It has been very humbling to me.'"

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I mean, it's the pat on the back for not overturning an election. Look, this is the core selling point that Pence is offering, right? I

am Trump without the chaos. I am Trump without the sedition.

And he's getting in late. But you got to see, there are cracks in MAGA-land, and in some cases, there are chasms. It's not just Mike Pence, although this race is a key test, given that Donald Trump put in $2.6 million of his PAC money in this race.

Put Perdue up to this. And it appears from early polling that, you know, this is -- this is coming up against serious headwinds. Mike Pence trying to surf back to claim his own victory.

In Pennsylvania, Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state, backing McCormick. Chris Christie, Trump's good, former close friend, campaigning early and aggressively for Kemp as a former head of the RGA.

So they're -- this is all happening under Trump's nose. His grip on the party is not over by any means, but it is slipping a bit.

BERMAN: What about that? What about the larger significance of this, Maggie?

HABERMAN: There's no question that it is slipping a bit. We're going to find out how much its slipping, at least honestly, on does anyone run against him? I think that is the big open question. And what -- this is why.

What Mike Pence is doing, Mike Pence spent four years being so careful not to get ahead of Donald Trump, ever, ever, ever. And it literally took, you know, people roaming the Capitol on January 6, 2021, some of them chanting "Hang Mike Pence" for this split to happen.

You have seen Chris Christie, as John notes, out actually pretty early. He was among the first Republicans you started seeing last year really trying to lead an effort to say, Let's move away from this. This is not winning. We have lost a bunch of House seats. We have lost the Senate. We've now lost the presidency, Let's move on.

However, what you see in all of these primaries -- and this is the, you know, "but on the other hand" part of this -- is these primaries are all candidates who are various shades of Donald Trump.

Now, Brian Kemp, I would say, is really the exception in a lot of levels, except he has not broken with Trump on policy. The area where he has broken with Donald Trump is on the 2020 election.

And so if you are looking for the purest distillation of where voters are in 2020 this is a pretty good place to look. Because they're not voting on that. They're voting on issues that matter for their own lives. But it is impossible to say that Kemp is a repudiation of Donald Trump. He's a repudiation of Trump on that issue.

[06:10:00]

BERMAN: Trumpism wins without Trump? Is that the possibility? AVLON: I think that's the message that most candidates are getting on,

because that seems to be the safest place to be. That's where the sentiment of the base is.

I would just say that someone like Perdue, who knows in his heart that Donald Trump's antics around -- antics is far too soft a term. His meddling, his resistance around January 6, his denial of the election, cost him his Senate seat, probably. And got sucked into this race at Trump's encouragement, regardless. And parroted the big lie loudly.

If he gets the Heisman on that, that's doubly humiliating.

HABERMAN: Yes.

AVLON: And that's the cost of hugging Donald Trump too tight.

BERMAN: I want to play -- changing -- changing the subject here. Jake, our friend Jake Tapper, as you know, did an incredible interview with Trevor Reed, released from prison in Russia after being held captive, in prison and then in the hospital and everywhere else.

Trevor Reed is talking about the U.S. Congress in this bite you're going to hear and how some members of Congress, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, voted to block a resolution, basically, calling for his release, while he was in prison. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREVOR REED, RELEASED FROM RUSSIAN PRISON: Every single one of their campaigns and thank them personally about that. So --

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank them for hurting your ability to get out of prison?

REED: Yes, thank them for voting against a Bill that was only about getting American political prisoners out of Russia. How do you -- how do you justify that? That's embarrassing to me. That anyone who represents the United States would -- would vote against something, you know, like that. I'm sure that the Russians loved that. I'm sure that --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: You brought this out, John. This is something you talk a lot about here. What you're seeing now is the lack of bipartisanship in areas where there used to just be complete agreement. I mean, you know, one would think that everyone would agree that they want U.S. prisoners out of Russian jails.

AVLON: Yes, and the fact we don't shows how through the funhouse mirror we are. The sort of Putin apologist wing of the party, which may be only a handful of folks, but in many cases, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, they line up to be the most pro-Trump.

The fact that Trevor Reed is coming out of Russian prison saying, you know, I'm going to pay you a knock on the door. Because how can you justify that? Where's the public upside?

Marjorie Taylor Greene has got a primary today, and you know, we'll see what happens in that. But when you have former Marines who have been held prisoner in Russia saying, you know what, delays, refusal to rally around prisoners who are being held in hostile foreign countries, how's that a good idea? Who you are appealing to? Yes, that's going to cause some daylight.

BERMAN: I do think her specific vote may have been a protest against Biden's COVID policies. But she's had other votes where she's been squishy on Russia, too. It will be interesting to see when, in fact, Trevor Reed is clearly well-spoken, clearly a dynamic individual, if he does get out there.

Maggie, John, thank you very much.

And be sure to watch CNN's election night special. It is "ELECTION NIGHT IN AMERICA." Our coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.

Moments ago, President Biden wrapped up his trip to Asia after sending out some international shock waves. We'll go live to Tokyo next.

A Russian diplomat resigns in protest. He says he's ashamed of Putin's war on Ukraine.

And a manhunt underway for a woman accused of murdering an elite female cyclist who dated her boyfriend. The latest on the search ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:17:31]

BERMAN: President Biden is wheels up from Tokyo on his way back to Washington this hour but not before using Russia's invasion of Ukraine to send a message to China that a similar attack on Taiwan will be met with a fierce U.S. response.

The president wrapped up his Asia trip meeting with leaders from Japan, Australia and India, also known as the Quad.

While India has been reluctant to condemn Russia's war on Ukraine, President Biden says he and his Indian counterpart agreed to continue to discuss the brutal and unprovoked conflict.

CNN's chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, traveling with the president, joins us live from Tokyo.

Kaitlan, the major news on this trip is when the president said, yes, the U.S. would get involved militarily, if China were to invade Taiwan. What new did he say on that subject this morning?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, when he was later asked by my colleague Jeremy Diamond this idea of strategic ambiguity that we've talked so much about, is now over, the president said no. And he said his policy hasn't changed. But of course, strategic ambiguity has been this long-standing practice by American presidents, where they have warned China not to assert itself forcefully in Taiwan, not to use force against Taiwan. But they haven't exactly laid out what they would do if China did that.

And of course, President Biden pretty clearly did that during that press conference, saying that, yes, the United States would get involved militarily, if that were ever to happen, though Biden said he doesn't think that that invasion in actually likely, given what's been happening with Russia and Ukraine and the global response there.

But clearly, some agreement there over whether or not there's been a policy change inside the White House. Though the president has been pretty clear publicly where he stands on this, given this is the third time now, John, that he's made this comment.

And Russia and this invasion has really loomed over the president's entire visit here to Asia, his first trip to Asia since taking office. And on his final day here in Tokyo, before he boarded Air Force One just a few moments ago, he had these meetings with the Quad leaders, which is the leaders of, of course, the United States, India, Australia and Japan.

And it was very noticeable during these remarks, where you heard President Biden talking about how he and these other world leaders are confronting this very dark hour when it comes to a global basis, dealing with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. And talking about how the president said this is not just a Europe problem. This is a world, global issue that we all have to deal with.

And those appeared to be very pointed remarks directed at Indian Prime Minister Modi, who was sitting right there with the president, who he also met with one-on-one, given of course, Modi has been very reluctant to criticize Putin's invasion of Ukraine. He's been hesitant to even call it an invasion. Notice, he did not bring it up publicly today. And he's also accelerated oil imports from Russia at times, something that has earned him some criticism.

[06:20:15]

But it's been this situation that the White House is trying to navigate delicately, because they believe, behind the scenes, they may be more effective at nudging India toward criticizing Putin, toward isolating him as they are working to have this harsh global response to his invasion. As the president was saying, Putin needs to pay a price here.

But that has not been something that the prime minister of India has been willing to do publicly. Because look at the two different readouts of their meeting, where the White House readout of President Biden's meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi says that President Biden condemned Russia's invasion.

You look at the Indian readout, it doesn't even mention the Russian invasion. And so you can see the stark differences here in how these two major world leaders are dealing with this. And that has been a challenge for President Biden, and it's obviously one he's going to continue to deal with even as he makes his way back to Washington -- John.

BERMAN: Yes. It's interesting to see how Ukraine is reshaping U.S. relationships with countries all over the world. Our Kaitlan Collins, chief White House correspondent, in Tokyo for us.

COLLINS: Absolutely.

BERMAN: Kaitlan, thank you very much.

KEILAR: After a 20-year career, a Russian diplomat has resigned in protest of the Kremlin's war on Ukraine.

Boris Bondarev, a diplomat posted to Russia's mission to the United Nations in Geneva, posted this statement on LinkedIn, saying, quote, "For 20 years of my diplomatic career, I have seen different turns of our foreign policy, but never have I been so ashamed of my country. Those who conceived this war want only one thing: to remain in power forever, live in pompous, tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and cost to the entire Russian Navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity. To achieve that, they are willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes."

Joining us now is the CEO of Hermitage Capital Bill Browder. He is also the author of the new book "Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath."

Bill, I wonder, as you look at this, how significant is this? Is it a one-off or is this something more, in your view?

BILL BROWDER, CEO, HERMITAGE CAPITAL/AUTHOR: Well, I mean, this is the guy who is saying the king's not wearing any clothes. I mean, the words that he -- that you just read out from his post is exactly what's happening.

The reason why this -- why this is happening is because Putin wants to stay in power.

The fact that he's done it, first of all, is very brave. Secondly, it sets a standard for what -- if the oligarchs ever want to come in from the cold, they have to say things like this. And hopefully, this will give other people a nudge, or perhaps even the confidence to say the same thing.

It's -- I think it's very significant that an insider is saying it. Russia is a country all about symbolism. And having somebody inside the machine, inside the beast, coming out and saying this, I think really is quite dramatic.

KEILAR: We should be very clear: you personally know the risks of taking a position against the Kremlin. Your tax adviser, your former tax adviser, Sergei Magnitsky, died in pretrial detention after doing so. The Magnitsky Act, which are sanctions that Putin hates, absolutely hates, named for him. What kind of danger is this diplomat in?

BROWDER: Well, there's nothing that Putin hates more than -- than traitors. This man will be labeled as a traitor. There's no country safe in the world for people that Putin labels as a traitor. And so I would imagine that they will have put him at the top of their hit list.

Because most importantly, they can't afford to have 50 other people inside the diplomatic service, or inside the government, saying the same thing. They've got to punish him to send a message to everybody else: don't say that. Because if he gets away with it, then other people will say, Yes, all that stuff is true. I want to say the same thing.

And so, I would say he's in grave, grave danger right now.

KEILAR: And you've seen this concert out of St. Petersburg, right? There are people who are chanting, "'F' the war." I wonder if you see Vladimir Putin as vulnerable inside of Russia at all?

BROWDER: Well, there's a lot of people that don't like this. They don't like this war. They don't like the sanctions. They don't like Putin.

And it really very much depends on whether Putin can -- you know, I would imagine he was watching that same video. He's instructed his federal security services, the FSB, to try to facially identify some people in that video. And then I would imagine that they'll arrest some people for doing that, so that they can send a message that anyone says anything will get in trouble. That's the way they operate.

Yes, those sentiments exist. Absolutely all over the place. The question is whether people are too scared to -- to say that stuff. And he's going to try to make them scared. That's what a dictator does.

KEILAR: You're joining us, of course, from Davos, where Russians normally play a very large role, including in some of the festivities, right, the pomp and circumstance, of what happens in Davos, the parties.

[06:25:10]

For obvious reasons, you don't feel safe where Russian officials and those closely tied to the Russian government are. I wonder what Davos is like for you now without those folks there.

BROWDER: I feel a lot safer. I mean, I used to walk through the halls of Davos, past Russian government officials that were probably in meeting -- private meetings among themselves, talking about how to kill me.

Two years ago, when I was coming to Davos -- I'm a British citizen -- I was informed by the British security services that they had received a message from their Swiss counterparts that there was a plot being hatched by the Russians to do something to me in Davos. And in fact, they -- the Swiss arrested two individuals. When they asked for their I.D.s, they showed diplomatic passports and left the country.

It's shocking -- they have a shocking long reach. It's really quite pleasant not to be seeing any Russians in Davos this year.

KEILAR: Bill, we appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much, Bill Browder.

BROWDER: Thank you.

KEILAR: A supersonic breakthrough, almost two decades after The Concord was retired. The world's fastest passenger jet is taking flight.

BERMAN: And a Texas woman on the run, accused of killing a star cyclist in what appears to be some kind of tragic love triangle.

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[06:30:00]