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Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Is Interviewed About Chauvin Verdict; Soon: Biden To Speak On State Of Vaccinations; Monitors: 200 Plus People Detained In Russia Amid Pro-Navalny Demonstrations. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired April 21, 2021 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:30:00]
REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): . So, I'm glad that people are optimistic.
Yesterday was about accountability, not about justice. Justice would be George Floyd still being with us today. Justice is Tamir Rice still being alive -- it's so many others who have been killed by police.
So, there's a lot more work to do, and we're going to push the Department of Justice and the White House to do the work.
KING: I'm going to walk through some of the key components of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. I just want to walk through them and then ask you a question on the other side.
It would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants on a federal level, create a national registry for police misconduct, mandate the use of deadly force as last resort, ban racial and religious profiling, and it would have an overhaul of qualified immunity, which has been the biggest hang up.
But are there other issues on there that you believe could be hang ups - some -- you know, often there are disagreements about language, or sometimes conservatives have philosophical views about, this should not be a federal power.
Do you believe this can all be worked out in a way that is acceptable to a progressive like you and to get a conservative Republican like Tim Scott on board?
BOWMAN: I think it can all be worked out. I think it all has to be worked out.
And this is not just about me. This is what the American people are calling for. This is what we organized on. This is what we marched on. This is what we've pushed the White House and members of Congress on.
We've pushed in work to get this done. It all has to be worked out. America is ready to move forward. We are tired of being killed by the police. The police need to stop killing us unjustly. It's unacceptable. It's inhumane. And it's happening far too often. I mean, when we introduce the Congressional Oversight of Unjust
Policing Act, after the January 6th interaction, it forces us to form a commission to take a deep dive look at police departments, how they share intelligence, how they do their business, and if there is any tangible influence of white nationalism and police departments.
That's happening not just here on the capital, but it's happening across the country. So it's a system that needs to be reimagined, reoriented, and revamped. And we need to look at public safety differently overall. And this bill begins the process of doing that.
KING: We have some video, and I want to show it to our viewers, of members of the Congressional Black Caucus watching the verdict come in yesterday in the Chauvin trial.
Help me with your reaction. You have a pin on that tells me you're a member of Congress. You also have a life experience that's very different than mine. And you mentioned some of the past cases where there has not been accountability for police behavior.
As a black man, not as Congressman Jamaal Bowman, but as Jamaal Bowman, what does yesterday's verdict mean to you?
BOWMAN: It's a step in the right direction. You know, I was happy with the verdict, obviously. But it was tempered, you know, it was not celebratory, because this is just one case and one police department.
And as I've mentioned before, there have been so many cases where we haven't had accountability. You know, I go back as far as 1992 with the Rodney King incident that was caught on camera, four police beating the crap out of Rodney King, and they all was acquitted. We see acquittals or accountability in less than 1 percent of police involved, misconduct at this level.
So, we have a lot more work to do to really get to a system of justice. Right now we currently don't have that.
But for me, yesterday, it was tempered. It was - it was - obviously, I was happy with the outcome, but it was just -- it was a powerful moment to be there with my colleagues so we could hug each other, we can cry, we can pray, and we can share the moment together. But it's about getting right back to work today to do the work of justice for everyone in this country.
KING: Congressman Bowman, thank you for your time, and we'll keep in touch as that work continues in the next couple of weeks and more. Thank you very much.
BOWMAN: Thank you so much for having me.
KING: Thank you, sir.
[12:33:54]
Coming up for us, President Biden set to announce a big vaccine milestone today, 200 million shots but it does come with worries that supply may soon outpace demand.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're going to hear from the President of the United States in less than an hour, a new announcement in the COVID fight. He wants to focus on vaccines. Let's walk through the numbers to get the state of play as we await the President.
This is the state by state trend map. If you watch this hour, you're familiar with it over the past year. Six states in red and orange, just all orange on this map. That means heading up. Six states for reporting more COVID infections now compared to a week ago. You see the bulk of the country half, 25 of the states holding steady essentially in a status quo, trending of water when it comes to the count of new infections.
Nineteen states are trending down, fewer new COVID infections now compared to one week ago. You look at the case timeline from this perspective, there is some better news. There's no good news on this chart. But there's some better news. You see yesterday, 54,672 new infections, the seven day average, 63,807 that was above 70,000 not all that long ago.
And of course way up way up if you go back to the horrific winter peak. So things are down but still, you need to go down more. This is still an unhealthy number but it is progress from where we have been even in recent weeks. As more adults get vaccinated this is a concern of public health professionals and of parents, more children, more cases among children are being reported.
The total cases among children 3.6 million, but you see it week to week here, 64,000, 63,000, in the last couple of weeks 73,000, 88,000. So something experts keep an eye on as adults get vaccinated. We are seeing more cases among children.
Let's take a look at where we are in the vaccine race, 26 percent of the American population is vaccinated, 40 percent of the population has at least one dose. It's 86 million people fully vaccinated, 133 million with at least one dose.
[12:40:09]
The weekly allocations of the vaccines, it's a flat line right now, you had a high of 33 million two weeks, the end of March, the first week of April, 28 million vaccines going out from the federal government now being spread across the country to be administered.
If you look at the pace of the vaccine race, a bit of a plateau, of seven day average is 3 million. I mean, 3 million vaccines a day is the average right now. It was a little bit higher than that a few days ago, and you had more supply in the system. The record 4.6 million vaccines back on April 10th. That was up to about 3.2 million at one point. It's come down a little bit to 3 million there.
Here's a concern raised by many of the experts now. This is from the Kaiser Family Foundation. They warned because a good amount of Americans have been vaccinated, it appears we are quite close to the tipping point where demand for rather than supply of vaccines is our primary challenge, an interesting point. They're making the warning.
There'll be plenty of vaccine out there or at least enough vaccine out there. But because of vaccine hesitancy, maybe issues with vaccine access, not enough Americans raising their hand saying I need my shot in my arm. Let's get to the White House in CNN's senior White House correspondent Phil Mattingly. Phil, we will hear from the President today of the vaccine rollout priority number one when it comes to the COVID fight.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it and when it comes to that rollout, the President going to announce yet another important milestone. By tomorrow, the White House expects 200 million doses will be delivered since President Biden took office that was obviously double what he initially laid out at his goal. He will now meet that before the 100-day mark about a week before the 100-day mark.
But, John, I want to outline the concern you were just raising is going to be a very important component of what you're going to hear from the President when he speaks next hour. And here's why. What the President is going to request, what the President is going to push for next hour is that all businesses provide paid leave for employees not just to get vaccines, but also to be able to recover from those vaccines, if they have some of the side effects that can often be associated with them, if you're lethargic, you feel sick, you don't feel great, and he wants to ensure that employers make it easy for their employees to actually go get that.
The reason why is exactly what you were just talking about. The White House has forever since President Biden has been in office have been solely focused on supply, making sure that they had enough supply for as many Americans who wanted a vaccine to be able to get that vaccine. They're pretty much there at this point in time. We're averaging right now 28 million doses going out a week on the federal supply side of things.
Their concern now is finding enough people to take those vaccines and that's why you see the administration on several different fronts trying to push to ensure people have the opportunity to get it. You talked about -- there's been so much discussion about hesitancy. And, yes, that is a very real issue that the White House has tried to combat on several fronts over the course of the last several months. But something senior administration officials have been talking about is the ability to make it urgent.
They're talking particularly about the younger population, maybe the risk factors don't force them to go get vaccines as soon as they possibly can. They're now all eligible. What will help them decide that they need to go get the vaccine? Well, a day off from work, when you're paid, that may be one of those key elements. You're going to see a lot of these types of things roll out over the course of the next several weeks. The goal, again, the vaccines there, now it's time to get people to go get them. One key component today as the President calls for all businesses to provide paid leave for companies with fewer than 500 employees. There is actually a tax credit that is available to pay for the -- to fully refund the paid leave that they give to any of their employees for vaccinations or for recovering from the vaccinations. The President will certainly highlight that as well today, John.
KING: Phil Mattingly for us live outside the White House. Phil, appreciate it very much.
[12:43:33]
When we come back, another challenge facing the President, he said last night this is a significant moment he hopes with the Chauvin verdict. Police reform can be pushed to the Congress. The White House Press Secretary just asked, how does the President plan to make that so?
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KING: The White House is pushing for action in Congress on police reform, arguing it would be an appropriate legacy for George Floyd after the guilty verdict now in, in the Chauvin trial. Just moments ago, the White House press secretary Jen Psaki said senior administration officials are working closely with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to try to get that legislation passed and onto the President's desk.
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JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The President doesn't believe that he alone can pull the George Floyd Act, Policing Act across the finish line. That is going to be up to Congress. And right now there are negotiations that are happening. There are leaders in both sides that are having those discussions. Our senior leadership has been advocating for this on the Hill, including in direct conversations with members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: With us to share her reporting and her insights on this important issue, Francesca Chambers, White House correspondent from McClatchy. Francesca, great to see you. It's an interesting test for a still young administration on an issue in which Joe Biden, the former senator, has plenty of history. Senator Tim Scott, a key Republican on this said earlier today, he believes he can work this out with the Democrats within a couple of weeks.
The question is, should the President step back and leave that alone? Or should he maybe call them down in the White House and try to nudge them to the finish line?
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, MCCLATCHY: Well, that seems to be his approach so far, John. We know that he's talked to the Congressional Black Caucus as Jen iterated during the briefing today. But whether or not he's called up some Republicans or we know for a fact that he hasn't had them for any sort of a meeting at the White House, as you just indicated in whether or not that's something the White House plans to do.
They suggested that it's not something that they plan to do that they've had senior staff, the meeting on Capitol Hill with civil rights leaders as well with members of Congress, and that they believe that this is a process that should play out in Congress.
[12:50:10]
KING: You learn a lot in the early days of the administration, especially when you have someone who's been around a long time like Joe Biden. You know, many progressives, you note the Senate piece you wrote today back in the campaign were very skeptical of his record, especially in the 1990s in the Senate on criminal justice reform.
I want to read a little bit from your piece, Floyd's death and the racial justice protest that subsequently swept the nation were a major issue in the 2020 presidential election, with Biden promising changes to law enforcement but rebutting calls from liberal activists to defund their departments. Biden, as a candidate, sought to strike a balance between the competing demands of a liberal base that wanted far-reaching changes to police oversight and more moderate voters who generally support the police. He has shifted some to the left, the question is how far.
CHAMBERS: Well, and the White House hasn't said yet what his position is on some of these things like qualified immunity, which is emerged as a sticking point, it was last year, it's reemerged as a sticking point in the debate now. He said as a candidate, John, that he wanted to see a ban on chokeholds. But again, the White House has said that his position has not changed since he was a candidate. But we haven't heard from the President himself on some of those issues, although we did hear from him last night on the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.
KING: And yet, as we watch how hardly push the Democrats to compromise, how hard will he try to pull the Republicans in. It is without day -- without question, a night and day approach from the Trump administration to the Biden administration. Not only is the President demanding this bill be passed his attorney general today starting a federal patent and practices investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department. So we are seeing on this important issue that, yes, elections have very big consequences.
CHAMBERS: And we did see the Congressional Black Caucus, again, come to the White House. He did speak with members of that caucus about policing and other issues like infrastructure. But they made the point of saying that it's been a long time since they've been at the White House, given the Trump presidency. They certainly weren't there at that time.
And so what I've been hearing from civil rights leaders, John, is that they feel confident that something can get done, given the President and his commitment to this. And we also heard from the White House today that the President plans to raise this issue during his speech to a joint session of Congress next week, which we all know the bully pulpit is one of the best tools, if not the best tool that a President has. And we'll see what happens after he addresses this before Congress next week.
KING: Very important point, that important speech in the President of the United States to the joint session next week. Francesca Chambers, grateful for the reporting and insights. It's great to see you. Appreciate your time today.
Up next for us, the international perspective, protests on the streets of Russia, hundreds of supporters of the Kremlin critic, Alexey Navalny are now detained. And as we go to break, Russia's President today, offering this message for the world in his State of the Nation Address.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia is a welcoming country, open for real friendship. Russia has its interests that it protects within international law. And if someone refuses to understand this obvious thing, and doesn't want to engage in dialogue, chooses an egotistical and arrogant tone, Russia will always find a way to stand its ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:57:53]
KING: Important global news today. We are monitoring demonstrations across Russia as protesters demand the release of the Russian opposition leader and fierce Putin critic, Alexey Navalny. So far monitors tell us more than 200 people are being detained inside Russia today. Our senior international correspondent, Frederik Pleitgen is right there in the middle of it in Moscow. Fred, tell us what you're seeing.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All right, John, well, a lot of the protests are taking place right here right very close to the Kremlin. You can hear some of the crowd noise behind me. That's quite a lot of protesters that have showed up here now. And the number of detain people has already risen to well over 300.
And just to give you an idea of what's going on here is you have the protesters who most of them are behind me. But you also have a giant security force. We turn around the camera, you can see that you have this massive amount of riot cops who are right here, they put up these barriers. We're actually right by the Kremlin. If we pan over there, you can see there are the walls of the Kremlin. If we pan a little further, you can see that's all red square over there. And really a gigantic force of riot cops that's out here, as the government, as Vladimir Putin is trying to stop these protests.
Of course, the protesters are out here in support of Alexey Navalny, who remains in detention. They say that they're very concerned about his health. His organization says they're very concerned about his health. And that's why you have these protests that are going on across Russia, across various cities, across the 11 time zones of this country. We have heard that this protests in many, many Russian cities, certainly here as well.
And really what they're trying to do is they're trying to put pressure on Vladimir Putin to give Alexey Navalny obviously the care that he needs. But a lot of people that we've been speaking to, John, quite frankly say they are generally not satisfied with the situation in this country. They feel that the freedoms are being curtailed more and more by Vladimir Putin and his government.
So you can really feel that there is a lot of discontent here on the streets of Moscow, but also a gigantic security presence on the streets here as well, John.
KING: Fred Pleitgen, grateful you're there live to keep an eye on all that. That seemed quite a contrast what we heard from President Putin earlier. He says, well, Russia is a welcoming place. I think those people on the street would disagree with that assessment from their President. Fred Pleitgen, grateful for the live reporting.
[12:59:56]
And thank you, grateful for your time today in Inside Politics. Hope to see you back here this time tomorrow. It's a busy news week. Come back and see us. Don't go anywhere busy News Day as well, Ana Cabrera picking up our coverage right now. Have a good day.
