Transcripts For CNNW New Day With Alisyn Camerota And John B

Over the years. Congress still on recess. Theres really been no movement on Gun Legislation following the massacres in california and then el paso and then dayton. But a new National Poll Shows Americans want action. An overwhelming majority want background checks expanded and 52 of voters disapprove of the way the president is handling the response to these Mass Shootings. Its worth noting that four of the deadliest Mass Shootings in modern history have happened during the trump presidency. Joining us to discuss andrew gillum, former mayor of tallahassee and 2018 democratic nominee for governor of florida. Cnn commentator democratic member of the South Carolina house. He supports senator kamala harris, april ryan Senior Analyst and angela rice former executive director of congressional black caucus. Im just an anchor of cnn. I have one simple line there. Those are some lofty titles there. I think the significance here is that any republican you talk to inside the senate says that if theres going to be movement on expanding checks, the president is going to have to lead the way. The president is going to be the one has to be the one to push it along. Mitch mcconnells people said that. That seems to be the notion. So mayor gillam, when you have the president of the United States, just 10 days after calling for meaningful background checks and saying thats something he wanted saying, yeah, we have strong background checks already. It seems to me that whatever steel might have been in his spine before on background checks is now gone again. John, alisyn, the truth is this president s word cannot be trusted. His word is not his bond. Not just this issue. You can scour issues where he began with one day or one tweet or one comment and it ends the day in the opposite direction. Its disappointing, democrats, republicans, independents, bipartisan support all around the country for the congress and president to do something. This is a moment for him to demonstrate leadership. Yet that is a term, that is a characteristic that continues to elude this president. Hes showy. He likes to put stuff in the atmosphere to distract us. But when it comes to actually biting the bullet excuse the pun he backs away. He retracts, he surrenders. What this tells me is certainly on this issue that donald trump is a whollyowned subsidiary of the nra, hes terrified of them. Hes running a base campaign. I think on this issue well continue to shrink from leadership and moral leadership and clarity as people are concerned about schools, churches, synagogues and our president waits. Angela, here are just a few poll numbers to put up so americans can see where they are. 80 of republicans, democrats support expanding background checks, red flag laws to get the hands out of the most dangerous , 76 , voluntary buyback, ban k sell of assault weapons 62 . So will anything change right now as you see it . I think this is really the president. We have a president with zero credibility. He has questioned polls and legitimacy of him and not in his favor. Its on us. What are we going to do to demonstrate leadership. We know hes not able to tem straight leadership. What are we going to do to ensure members of congress who are elected to serve the public, regardless of whether those members in their communities and districts and states voted for them, they have an Ensemble Foundation to serve the public. We know right now is that gun rights are conflicting with human rights, the right to live. For all the people especially on the conservative side of the aisle who says they are prolife, you should be prolife when it comes to gun kills. Where are you . Where are you when the right to live, people being killed, kids andrew just talked about his kids and the kinds of conversations hes going to have with his children as they go to school. Do we want those conversations with kindergartners, preschoolers . Its incumbent to do something about this when the president wont act. Im depressed, exhausted, tired. An age old adage, im sick and tired of being sick and tired. I dont believe anything is going to happen. Im sorry for being so jaded but im jaded by reality. You have people gunned down at a could not certificate, people gunned down at an elementary school, people gunned down at a church. Nothing has changed in this country because people are afraid to go again a lobby. Your question was damning and it didnt do anything for my depression. Now youre asking me to ask the president of the United States to be a leader, something hes incapable of doing his entire life. If thats what i have to depend on my depression exacerbates because i cant have any faith in him. If its incumbent on me to do something weve already had enough blood shed but id like in the camera and ask Lindsey Graham to have the fortitude necessary to implement change as a south carolinian. Parkland, moms in action, all these individuals fighting for what they believe in but it has to change. I dont think it will. Stop messing with my depressing, john. That is doubly depressing. April, you cover the white house in and out. The president who tweets from hess gut, tweets immediately background checks should be expanded, age minimum should be raised, bump stocks band. Right after these. Thats his first instinct that something has to change. Why does he backtrack like this . You know why he back tracks, because the American Public is not pushing hard enough. I hate to do that and say that but its the truth. When you saw what happened in parkland and vegas and the bump stocks. He did the bump stocks. We got a ban on bump stocks. Then when it came to parkland, he held a town hall meeting. These kids forced the nation to look in the mirror. He said he was so taken by the honesty, the sheer pain and the hurt and the tears in that room and the white house that he said, you know, im going to look into this. But what was it, the first obstacle, the nra. The nra said, hold your horses. He had to at that moment. But there is more of an outcry now. So it depends, and ive heard from my sources, you know, who are in the inner circle who said, look, the president told nra we may not be able to hold off much longer. Here is another reason why if it does not move, its because this is an election year. You have Mitch Mcconnell who is not willing to move on this, who is in a battle to save his seat, his political career. So this is about politics, its about winning an election in certain states that believe in the second amendment, and also the nra. The will of the people, the moral clarity from the American Public, if they push hard enough, if they push long nu enough, hard enough, consistently and persistently, things could change. I dont think any of us disagree with the second amendment. None of us are trying to change the language of the constitution, were simply saying in ohio in a matter of 30 seconds, you had a weapon that could basically level quite frankly hundreds of people. In this case werme fortunate in some instances there werent more bodies laying in the street here, but you have individuals who have weapons of war, weapons that quite frankly have artillery that outflanks that of Law Enforcement agencies charged with protecting us. Listen, folks, we do have to do something. Im extremely proud of moms demand action, extremely proud of the young people from parkland. I will tell you one distinct difference in florida following what happened at sandy hook that didnt happen here in the nation is that the legislative session happened to be in when that very tragic event took place. So our representatives werent able to escape the reality that they were in position right there, right in that moment to take a vote and change some things. We didnt get as much as we wanted but we do have red flag laws now, right . We did address the age limit to be table to access high capacity weapons, but weve got to do more. The worse thing we could have done is let Mitch Mcconnell get away with not calling United States and congress to deal with issues immediately. Im going to shift gears. Andrew, really quick. Andrew, has to be super quick because i want to get to the next subject, go ahead. I want to say this, as black folks sitting on the air we dont want to ignore the people in our communities, black lives matter, too. I want to commend those folks for not giving up. They can aid bakari with that depression. I want to talk about sports. Jay z has struck a deal with nfl, an entertainment deal. In the process of doing this has sort of talked about where he sees the movement for social justice right now and where its going. He also spoke about Colin Kaepernick. Lets listen what jay z said. Protest and the company or individual say, i hear you. What do we do next . I think weve passed kneeling. I think its time to go into actionable items. Were passed kneeling, he says. Colin kaepernick has something to say about that. On instagram, my brothers who are all athletes, who are continuing to protest along with Colin Kaepernick continue to fight for the people even in the face of death threats. They have never moved past the people and continue to put their beliefs into action. Stay strong, brothers. Are there two sides to this . Is there a team jay z and a team Colin Kaepernick on this issue . Angela . Well, let me first just say this, this is a really tricky, sore subject. He sure did and im ready. Im ready. The issue is plain and simple. The issue is that jay z talked about kneeling but there was also some additional context in that press conference they called. People should continue to kneel. People should continue to protest. Why . Because the issue was Police Brutality and black folks and brown folks and other folks are continuing to be gunned down and beat down by Law Enforcement all over this country. So no, the protest does not end. Additionally, i would say to colin, colin, i hope that you will figure out a way to work with jay z on this. Im not talking about strikeing a deal with the nfl. But if now the second part of the protest is that you still dont have a job, lets figure out how you get that job, right . I dont think its eitheror. I would love to see jay z say, yo, i want to work with the nfl but this deal is coming to a screeching halt if colin cant get signed. I think thats reasonable. Thats a win for the culture. I have a lot more to say about this but its probably a book. Ill defer to the squad. Thats a good tease. Bakari, which side are you on, jay z or kaepernick if it breaks that way. I dont think its a side issue. With all due respect to shawn carter, jay z, i think he was wrong in his comment. Kneel is an action item. Protesting, sitting, marching, sometimes those things we do in silence, civil disor obedience, those are action items. I dont think this is one side or the other. I think were on the same side of the coin. Were protesting in our own ways. They evolve. He says im not a businessman, im a business man. Come on with the lyrics. Diamonds are forever, by the way, is a great song. I hope alsip and john bump it as we leave the segment. Hes taking what he knows as a businessman and moving forward. Im going to be patient with jay. Hes bailed out protesters, sent kids to college. He deserves our patience and respect as we see how this evolves. I will say Colin Kaepernick gave up everything he had for something he believed in. He will always be a hero in the same vein we talk about muhammad ali. Mayor . Ill tell you, i agree with both my colleagues here. Andrew was trying to hide. Dont call on me, dont call on me. No. The truth is, i was disappointed when i heard were past kneeling. We should all reject that. Were not past kneeling. Innocent people, particularly black and brown people, continue to die in the streets unwarranted. Were not beyond kneeling. I was disappointed. I was disappointed something didnt take place between mr. Kaepernick and jay z. Im not going to pity Colin Kaepernick about not having a job. This wasnt about that. This is about injustice that continues to be pervasive in our society. That being said, jay z is not new to this. I think about the work that hes done for the Trayvon Martin foundation here, for sybrina fulton, for tracy down here in florida. Hes conscious about these issues. I just im hopeful, and im going to watch it as well, that theres a bigger plan at play here, because were not dealing with a dummy. Autoes a smart man. Hes a business man, but hes someone conscious and aware of the environment and will do something to move forward. Diamonds are forever and, of course, all of you are as well, forever. What about me . Youre first up next time. What about me . April not letting you go, john. Wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait. Im going to say this. Im for the culture 400 years since we afrikaans were brought into this nation. Im for jay z making change on the inside and Colin Kaepernick getting a job back in the nfl and for people to still stand up for whats right. 400 years ago we were afri n africans were dealt with. Its still an issue. Jay z is wrong there but he needs to do the work from the inside out. April, you did it in under 10 seconds. You got your message out. You delivered. Diamonds are forever, like i always say. Thank you so much. Diamonds are forever. Moving on. President trumps interest buying greenland from denmark has been ridiculed. Yesterday he confirmed the idea is no joke. We will talk to the former u. S. Ambassador of denmark to denmark all about this next. Every day, visionaries are creating the future. So, every day, we put our latest technology and unrivaled network to work. The United States Postal Service makes more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. Because the future only happens with people who really know how to deliver it. Boom goes the dynamite, club yoko plays ] feels like im taking flight. [sfx poof] [sfx squeaking eraser sound effect. ] i am who i wanna be who i wanna be who i wanna be. Im a strong individual feeling that power im so original, ya sing it louder. I am, ooo ooo ooo ooo Ehhh Ehhh Ehhh preorder and get more. Get up to 150 samsung credit, plus 6 months of Unlimited Music with spotify premium. Doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacistrecommendeding . Memory support brand. You can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. All right. This morning President Trump has confirmed that his administration has discussed the possibility of buying greenland from denmark, which by the way greenland is not for sale. Well, talk to them a little bit. Its not number one on the burner, ill tell you that. Essentially its a large real estate deal. A lot of things could be done. Its hurting denmark very badly because they are losing almost 700 million a year carrying. They carry it at a great loss. Strategically for the United States it would be nice. Joining us now is the former u. S. Ambassador to denmark Rufus Gifford who happens to be in denmark. Ambassador, thanks so much for being with us. Can i just ask what your first reaction was when you heard that news. I should note youve been to greenland more than anyone else ive talked to in my life, like 12 times. So your first reaction when you heard that. Good morning, john and alisyn. Honestly, i saw the wall street journal headline when i was bound for copenhagen. Like most people i thought it was a joke. Reading more, it became confirmed. I shook my head, as i often say, many times as ive heard about trumps Foreign Policy decisions, i laughed until i cried. It seemed like a bizarre way to talk about a phenomenal alliance, not just u. S. And denmark but u. S. And greenland. Youre there. Youve spoken to a lot of people in denmark. What do they say about this . Well, i think, yeah, its i would say its gone over like a lead balloon as youve seen the former Prime Minister of denmark, current Prime Minister of denmark, greenland government all the say that greenland is not for sale. Many of them thinking hoping it was a joke when they first heard about it. That really speaks to what this is all about. The clip you just played of the president in talking about the purchase of the largest island in the world, more than 50,000 people live on, talking about it like a great real estate transaction, this is simply not how you conduct Foreign Policy. Foreign policy is not strictly about dollars and sense. He speaks about it as if it is just dollars and sense. Greenland has been a critically important part of denmark for search rice, literally centuries. I would imagine, now, of course, as americans we know anything is possible. I cant imagine that would change any time soon. Historical disclaimer, not the first time someone in the United States talked about buying denmark from greenland. Harry truman for 100 million and not the first time United States could be engaged in a real estate transaction with denmark, correct . U. S. Virgin island what are now u. S. Virgin island purchased from denmark. Historically, and im talking about decades and decades and decades ago, stuff like this did happen will whats the difference between then and now . Well, its a really important point, john. Think about where we were geo politically in 1946 versus now. In 1946 harry truman and United States were very, very concerned in the aftermath of world war ii leading into the cold war about adversarial powers, countries gaining a foothold very, very close to the United States. Greenland other than canada, mexico and some of the caribbean islands is really as close to the