Lawmakers frustrated by lack of answers from top officials responsible for protecting Capitol; Trump planning political comeback, mulling presidential run; Biden marks 50M vaccines administered since he took office; New highly-contagious variants found in New York and California; New push to unseat CA Gov. Gavin Newsom;
The Lead with Jake Tapper
CNN
3.5 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 25 February 2021
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
One year ago, Trump team said Covid & terrorism wouldn’t hit U.S.; Capitol Police Chief says emergency protocols weren’t followed, officers overwhelmed; Law enforcement officials continue to blame lack of intelligence for failing to prepare; New fractures emerge in GOP over Trump’s political future; Source: Trump’s CPAC speech will be his resurgence into politics; GOP Rep Greene attacks Dem colleague’s transgender child; Researchers: New variant in New York City & Northeast carries mutations that could evade immune response; 6.6% of U.S. population now fully vaccinated; Covid cases, hospitalizations & deaths all trending down; Does one small town have the recipe for returning to class?; Ohio school safely reopens with mask wearing, teacher vaccinations and just 3-foot social distancing; Superintendent to schools reluctant to reopen: Call me; NYC kids back in person today, OH starts Monday, CA still has no timeline; Tomorrow: House to vote on Biden’s $1.9T stimulus plan; Unclear if Covid bill will include $15 minimum wage; WH fighting for budget nominee Tanden but confirmation hangs by a thread; Trump’s tax returns turned over by NY District Attorney; Cuomo’s Fmr Secretary denies cover-up in nursing home deaths despite top Cuomo aide admitting data delay; NY Governor Cuomo denies sexual harassment allegations made by former aide; Recall effort: 1.8M unverified signatures collected to unseat Gov. after year of shutdowns, schools not open; Remembering 70-year-old Bertha Pretlow Brown;
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the lead on Jake Tapper and we begin today with the politics lead two major |
| 0:06.4 | stories are grabbing the attention of lawmakers today and both represent continued fallout |
| 0:12.1 | from the Donald Trump presidency, the coronavirus pandemic and the January 6th insurrection at |
| 0:16.9 | the U.S. Capitol. Today, Trump's leadership failures and the lasting damage they have |
| 0:21.6 | wrought upon the nation were on full display. The very same Trump team that one year ago today |
| 0:28.0 | made this ill-fated claim. This president will always put America first. He will always protect |
| 0:33.7 | American citizens. We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here. We will not see |
| 0:37.8 | terrorism come here and isn't that refreshing. Isn't that refreshing yet here we are today with |
| 0:43.1 | more than 500 7,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus. Five others killed during a domestic |
| 0:50.0 | terror attack on the U.S. Capitol, incited by then President Trump himself. It is |
| 0:56.1 | sad to think what might have been. What could have been for instance also one year ago today |
| 1:02.2 | on the same day Kayleigh McEnany was asserting that the U.S. need not worry about the coronavirus |
| 1:06.8 | coming here. An actual expert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Nancy |
| 1:12.7 | Messonnier gave this warning to the American people. Ultimately we expect we will see |
| 1:20.6 | community spread in this country. It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, |
| 1:26.1 | but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country |
| 1:32.3 | will have to bear illness. Messonnier was soon essentially silenced because of those remarks though |
| 1:38.4 | she was of course correct in her prediction just as the violence at the Capitol was predictable |
| 1:44.4 | and predict head. For months we heard President Trump and his enablers spread the big lie that |
| 1:48.5 | this election had been stolen today. Two top law enforcement officials faced some tough questions |
| 1:53.0 | from members of Congress about how they could possibly have been caught off guard on January 6 as |
| 1:57.8 | CNN's Ryan Noble reports lawmakers were frustrated by the lack of clear answers. |
... |
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