Anderson Cooper 360

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McCarthy punts on punishing QAnon-aligned Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Feb 04, 2021

Show notes

House Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy says Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s past statements “do not represent the values or beliefs of the House Republican Conference,” suggesting she won’t be stripped of her committee assignments. A growing number of the GOP, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, are speaking out about wanting their party to expunge voices promoting wild conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, Greene says “I don’t think I have anything to apologize for” and that her social media posts do not reflect who she is as a person. Democratic Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon tells Anderson Cooper she doesn’t think Greene is interested in serving in Congress and instead is interested in being on Twitter and spouting whatever pops into her head. Plus, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney defended her decision to vote to impeach former Pres. Trump saying “I won’t apologize for the vote.” Cheney was among 10 House Republicans who sided with the Democrats to impeach Trump for inciting the insurrection at the Capitol that left five people dead. The House GOP Conference voted to keep Cheney as the third ranking Republican. CNN’s Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash joins AC360 to discuss Cheney’s future and says this is about somebody who voted her conscience because she thought that a President, regardless of party, incited an insurrection on the building where she works.

Airdate: February 3, 2021

Guests:

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon

Dana Bash

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House Dems: Trump is “singularly responsible” for inciting insurrection Feb 03, 2021

Show notes

The House impeachment managers argue that former Pres. Trump is “singularly responsible” for inciting the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as Trump’s legal team claims he’s protected by the First Amendment and a Senate conviction would be unconstitutional. Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries was an impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment trial. He joins AC360 to react to the former President’s defense strategy. Plus, Senate Republicans are distancing themselves from GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene as many are indicating enough is enough. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy met with Greene after several of her debunked theories over the years came to light, ranging from her questioning whether the Parkland school shooting was a “false flag” to whether a plane really hit the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Sen. John Thune, a member of the GOP leadership, said House Republicans have to decide if they want to focus on “limited government and fiscal responsibility, free markets, peace through strength and pro-life” or if they “want to be the party of conspiracy theories and QAnon.” George Conway is a conservative lawyer and co-founder of the Lincoln Project. He tells Anderson Cooper we’re watching the “moral collapse of the Republican party.”

Airdate: February 2, 2021

Guests:

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries

George Conway

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Adviser: Trump wants world to know “election was stolen from him” Feb 02, 2021

Show notes

An adviser to former Pres. Trump says he may add more attorneys to his legal team before his impeachment trial starts. Trump named two new lawyers for his trial a day after five members of his team left and his team effectively collapsed. A separate adviser said the former President is still obsessed with the false conspiracy theory that he won the election and “he just wants the world to know the election was stolen from him.” Republican Senator John Cornyn who is a member of the GOP leadership, told CNN it would be a “disservice for Trump’s legal team to focus on his baseless claims.” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal is a juror in the upcoming trial and tells Anderson Cooper the argument that impeaching a former president is unconstitutional is flat wrong. He thinks it’d be wiser to rely on that defense instead of arguing the election was stolen, which has already been rejected by the courts. Plus, new Covid-19 hospitalizations and cases are down dramatically even as January became the deadliest month of the pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci is warning that even if you’ve had the virus, there’s a “very high rate” of being reinfected with the new variants if they become dominant. CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins AC360 to discuss Dr. Fauci’s warning about the new variants and how crucial it is to get vaccinated.

Airdate: February 1, 2021

Guests:

Sen. Richard Blumenthal

Dr. Sanjay Gupta

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U.S. weighs results of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine trials Jan 30, 2021

Show notes

Johnson & Johnson released the efficacy results of their one-shot Covid-19 vaccine candidate as coronavirus variants are increasingly being found in the U.S. The company announced their vaccine was shown to be 66% effective in preventing moderate and severe disease in a global Phase 3 trial and 85% effective against severe disease. It also was shown to be 72% effective against moderate and severe diseases in the U.S. While the trial apparently shows a lower efficacy rate than the other two vaccines on the market from Pfizer and Moderna, experts say the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would help fight the pandemic. Dr. Leana Wen is the former Baltimore Health Commissioner, an emergency room physician and a CNN Medical Analyst. She tells Anderson Cooper these results are promising. Plus, Pres. Joe Biden plans to intensify public lobbying for his Covid-19 relief bill and says it “has to pass.” Independent Senator Bernie Sanders has said the timeline for this bill to pass is “as soon as we possibly can.” He joins AC360 to give an update on where the $1.9 trillion bill stands on Capitol Hill and whether or not the Democrats have the votes to pass without any Republican support.

Airdate: January 29, 2021

Guests:

Dr. Leana Wen

Sen. Bernie Sanders

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Pelosi to GOP leadership on response to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: “What could they be thinking?” Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed Republican leadership on their failure to rebuke Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene over her past comments. Greene repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians, including Pelosi, in 2018 and 2019 before being elected to Congress. The House Speaker is also criticizing Greene’s placement on the House Education and Labor Committee after comments surfaced that showed her agreeing with people who said the 2018 Parkland school shooting was a “false flag” operation. Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens is a member of that committee and has called for Greene’s removal. She tells Anderson Cooper these types of antics have no place in their committee. Plus, South Carolina has detected the first U.S. cases of the Covid-19 strain first seen in South Africa. Scientists are concerned about this strain because it seems to be more transmissible. Dr. Leana Wen is the former Baltimore Health Commissioner, an emergency room physician and is a CNN Medical Analyst. She joins AC360 to discuss her concerns about the new variant.

Airdate: January 28, 2021

Guests:

Rep. Haley Stevens

Dr. Leana Wen

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U.S. to buy 200 million additional doses of Covid-19 vaccines Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

Pres. Joe Biden announced several measures to help ramp up Covid-19 vaccinations, including his administration’s plan to purchase 200 million additional doses. With the purchase of the additional doses, Biden says there would be enough to vaccinate 300 million Americans, nearly entire U.S. population by the end of the summer or early fall. Michael Osterholm is the Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. He tells Anderson Cooper he thinks the Biden administration’s timeline is doable but the biggest challenge will be vaccine hesitancy. Plus, CNN has learned the House impeachment managers are planning to show how former Pres. Trump’s words and actions motivated the Capitol Hill rioters even as most Republicans claim impeaching Trump is unconstitutional because he’s no longer in office. Noah Feldman is a constitutional scholar, a professor at Harvard Law School and was a witness for the prosecution during Trump’s first impeachment trial. He joins AC360 to discuss whether or not he thinks impeaching a former President is constitutional.

Airdate: January 26, 2021

Guests:

Michael Osterholm

Noah Feldman

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House delivers Trump impeachment article to the Senate Jan 26, 2021

Show notes

The nine House impeachment managers delivered the article of impeachment against former Pres. Trump to the Senate. The trial isn’t expected to begin until February 9th. Democratic Congressman David Cicilline is one of those nine impeachment mangers who will be arguing the case against Trump. He tells Anderson Cooper they will present “overwhelming evidence” that Trump incited a violent attack on the Capitol. Plus, Pres. Joe Biden raised the bar on his promise to vaccinate 100 million people in his first 100 days in office and suggests the U.S. could reach 1.5 million shots in arms per day. Meanwhile, an influential University of Washington model is projecting 569,000 U.S. Covid-19 deaths by May 1. Dr. Chris Murray is the director of the group at the University of Washington that’s been working on these models throughout the pandemic. He joins AC360 to discuss the latest model and how increasing vaccinations could affect the number of deaths.

Airdate: January 25, 2021

Guests:

Rep. David Cicilline

Dr. Chris Murray

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Trump’s impeachment trial delayed until February Jan 23, 2021

Show notes

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that former President Trump’s impeachment trial won’t begin until February 9, giving time for the Senate to confirm Pres. Joe Biden’s Cabinet. A growing number of Republicans have expressed confidence that the party will acquit the former President. Democratic Congressman. Jim Himes joins AC360 to react to the trial delay and says “it’s the best play against a pretty tough hand here.” Plus, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is privately saying he wants Trump gone as CNN has learned that dozens of influential Republicans—including some top Trump administration officials—have been quietly lobbying GOP members to vote to impeach and convict the former President. Scott Jennings was a Special Assistant to Pres. George W. Bush and is a longtime political adviser to McConnell. He tells AC360 he thinks the GOP influence could have some impact and “any political operative could reasonably conclude it would be insane for the Republican party to continue to follow Donald Trump.”

Airdate: January 22, 2021

Guests:

Rep. Jim Himes

Scott Jennings

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Fauci: Working with Biden is “liberating” compared to working with Trump Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

Pres. Joe Biden rolled out a national strategy to combat Covid-19 in his first full day in office. Biden said his plan is “based on science, not politics” and was developed with input from Dr. Anthony Fauci and other experts. In his return to the White House briefing room, Dr. Fauci told reporters working with Biden is a “liberating feeling.” Dr. Leana Wen is an Emergency Room Physician and is the former Baltimore Health Commissioner. She tells Anderson Cooper the Biden administration’s goal to vaccinate 100 million people in the first 100 days isn’t an aspirational goal because the country is already vaccinating one million people a day right now. Plus, seven Senate Democrats filed an ethics complaint against Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley and are called for an investigation into how their objections to the Electoral College votes may have contributed to inciting the Capitol Hill insurrection. Senator Mazie Hirono is one of those Democrats to call for the probe. She joins AC360 to discuss why she thinks there should be an investigation and says neither Senator has shown any contrition.

Airdate: January 21, 2021

Guests:

Dr. Leana Wen

Sen. Mazie Hirono

Ken Burns

Doris Kearns Goodwin

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Biden as U.S. hits 400,000 deaths: “To heal, we must remember” Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

On the eve of being inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States, and in front of a memorial remembering the more than 400,000 lives lost to Covid-19, President-elect Joe Biden calls on Americans to “shine the lights in the darkness.” Meanwhile, sources tell CNN that Pres. Trump is spending the final hours of his presidency secluded in the White House with a muted demeanor. The President and First Lady are breaking with tradition by leaving the White House without greeting the Bidens. Trump will be the first president in modern history to not attend his successor’s inauguration. Former Vice President Al Gore joins AC360 to discuss Trump’s refusal to graciously accept the election results and predict what the next four years may look like. Plus, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin join Anderson Cooper to reflect on President Trump’s last four years and how the U.S. will respond to the challenges ahead with Biden in the White House.

Airdate: January 19, 2021

Guests:

Al Gore

Ken Burns

Doris Kearns Goodwin

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