ahead this hour, is it time for a second act? why it might be too early to count president biden out, that as a crack may be forming in trump's grip on the gop. and whoopi goldberg sparking a whole enough conversation in this country, what does race mean in america in 2022? and why a leading fighter in the battle against covid is receiving death threats. a nominee for a nobel prize.

he speaks out right here. and president biden ordering a military strike that kills the leader of isis. >> thanks to the bravery of our troops, this horrible terrorist leader is no more. this operation is testament to america's reach and capability to take out terrorist threats no matter where they try to hide, anywhere in the world. i'm determined to protect the american people from terrorist threats and i'll take decisive action to protect this country. last night's operation took a major terrorist leader off the battlefield and it sent a strong message to terrorists around the world, we will come after you and find you. >> let's discuss all of this. i want to bring in cnn's senior political analyst john avlon and charlie dent, from pennsylvania. liz cheney responding to the rnc formally moving to censure her and others. if you care about the constitution and democracy, you

get condemned by your own party, the republican party? >> yes, that's what happens. >> okay. >> if you look at the censure resolution that got passed, the first line is the primary purpose is to uphold the constitution. they just officially censured the two members of their party who were doing more than any other to uphold the constitution. because the rest of it turned into a cult of trump, despite growing evidence that he tried to overturn an election. he is the greatest threat to the constitution of any president we've ever had and they are all in for him and they are hunting for heretics and the others will be forgotten. it will be a badge of honor over time for these two. >> you often say how history is going to look, how the history will look on these things and i think you're always right. >> oh, man. >> i think you're always right about who will be on the right side of history.

the original plan was to king cheney and kinzinger out. is this a sign the party is backing down a bit? we saw how trying to distance him from trump's crazy worked on governor youngkin in virginia. he actually won because he kind of gave him the stiff arm. >> first, the republican national convention does not have the ability to throw anyone out of the house republican conference. only the members of the house republican conference can do that. what's so sad about the episode, if the rnc really feels like they have to censure someone, which i don't think they should be in the business of, maybe they should have gone after marjory taylor greene or paul gosar, instead of going after two people who have behaved honorably and upheld their oaths of office. that's what's to sad. what's worse is by becoming willing hostages, the rnc, they have turned the party over to donald trump. he's raised twice as much money

he's hurting the party. he's diverting money from them. they seem to be good with it. as they have and it's stunning to me the party would surrender so easily to donald trump. they're hurting themselves. i am astounded they think this is a good idea going after cheney and kinzinger while letting the problem members off the hook. >> are they not smart enough to know they're taking money from them? >> they're diverting money from the party. and he's freezing the field with the presidency. the other candidates can't jump in until they feel he makes a decision. >> how cowardly. you would think ambition would cause some to stiffen their spine a little bit. but charlie is exactly right. here is a guy raking in all this cash. the rnc is paying his legal fees. he is siphoning off money from the rnc. the supposed billionaire who has

a boatoad of crash he's raised policing folks, he's still taking money from the rnc that could be going to support candidates. he's causing chaos and the whole party suffered from stockholm syndrome. that's the truth. >> maybe they're not so bright. >> doesn't make sense to me. new reporting about the candidates that trump are endorsing are struggling with primaries, fund-raising and in the polls. does it show his influence is waning and apparently when he's on tv the ratings aren't as high? i say that because he cares about that so much. he uses that as a barometer of how much people love him. >> it shows he's a force, he's a chaos agent. he does not have anything resembling the midas touch, in fact, probably the opposite, and he's causing confusion. the fact that the folks he's endorsing are not raking in the cash, when some wonder why, consultants will say they're not acting crazy enough. that's become the barometer of

success for raising money inside trump's gop. it shows the party is fractured. his grip is waning a bit. it's not so much that people have the courage to stand up and call him out and defend the constitution but it does show there are real fault lines and fractures inside the gop. donald trump is not strong. he is weak. >> so what you have to do then, you got to say critical race theory or you have to say ban this book or don't make people feel uncomfortable or the election is stolen. he'll encourse me now. >> the big lie aside, it's what you just described as deflect. it is deflect and distract and try to demonize with what aboutism. that's the complain play. campaign play. that's what they're doing. they learned it from trump. >> this is probably a one-word answer.

his political organization is $122 million. i got two questions for you. any chance he using his fund-raising to help candidates? >> doubtful. he's going to be using it for himself and whatever his causes are. >> in just the past few days, trump said that pence could have overturned the election, he floated pardons for the rioters who assaulted officers and who stormed our capitol and may have been involved in seizing voting machines. the select committee will be holding public hearings this spring. who knows what else will come from this. is trump a ticking time bomb for the gop? >> yes, he's diminishing -- i think he's a diminishing figure, suggesting to pardon those rioter or insurrectionists. this is hurting him. more republicans are saying they're more loyal to the party than to trump. this kind of crazy stuff that he's just floated in recent days

i think really harms him. i don't think he'll ever be president again. he may run again, he may get a nomination again but i don't think he'll ever be president again because of this erratic behavior. it's out of bounds and i think he's doing great damage to himself. >> i think the note to some of the folks on my team today was a diminishing asset. i truly -- i think, john -- charlie, i think you're right. john, i have to get your take on what president biden said about mitch mcconnell today at the national prayer breakfast. >> mitch, i don't want to hurt your reputation, but we really are friends. and that is not an epiphany we're having here at the moment. you've always done exactly what you've said, you're a man of your word and you're a man of honor. >> so that is the most biden thing that -- you should stand by your friends but is he a little out of touch about -- >> look, these are folks who have known each other for 30 years.

>> and? >> there's a different code among senators, among honest disagreements. he acknowledged that some of the hyper partisanship is theater, kabuki. mcconnell did work with biden on infrastructure. that's a big deal bill. has he tried to block everything else? you're right. that's normal in washington. what's not normal is the quiet part he said out loud. >> he said he's a man of honor. >> he's saying he thinks mitch mcconnell is a man of honor. >> i'm asking you, is he a man of honor? >> honor -- a man of honor is someone like john mccain. but, you know, i take biden at his word, as he would say. he's known him for 30 years. >> i get what you're saying. in this day and time when our democracy is in peril, in order to really own that term or -- go on. >> you know what abraham lincoln used to say? catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

>> i don't know about that these days. >> you got to try to reach out. president in particular. >> up to a point. >> up to a point. they're going to fight. but the president in particular has got to reach out. >> my point is to earn the term an honorable person in this environment, really you got to be a standup person. they are few and far between. >> they are few and far between and one measure of that is whether you're willing to condemn donald trump out loud. >> thank you i appreciate it. >> i want to turn to senior analyst reporter enten. good evening to you gentlemen. >> ron, biden came to new york city taking on a tough crime approach with the mayor of new york city. are these kinds of things -- are these the kinds of things that can change a president's momentum?

>> i think the key for him changing momentum without question is changing conditions in the country itself. i mean, that is the principal reason i believe why his approval rating has fallen to where it is is that people are much more dissatisfied about underlying conditions in the country, particularly covid and inflation than in the spring. hydraulic function. i think an ancillary problem for biden, when you talk to people who conduct focus groups for both parties really is that the public really doesn't see him enough being engaged on the issues they care about. the white house has had a strategy generally speaking of after the omni presence of trump, of making him less visible, he's less in your face. i think people like aspects of that that he's not on twitter and throwing molotov cocktails every day, but they also want to

see the president and they want to know that he is working on the things they care about. so to that extent being in new york city today and talking about crime, which is an issue for voters is important for him and probably a model for what he needs to be doing more of between now and november. >> data. no one looks at polls more than you. where do things stand with president biden's approval ratings right now? >> it's no bueno, 41%, 52% disapprove. it's true on the two biggest issues of the day. look at covid. the trend line going in the completely wrong direction, where right now what you essentially see on covid is his approval rating was north of 50%. it has dropped now the south of 50% with his disapproval rating being higher. if you look on the economy, you see it is very much doing the exact same thing, whereby on covid you see that negative

rating and on the economy, 39% approve, 56% disapprove. if you follow the trend line on biden's handling on the economy, it tracks perfectly with his overall approval rating, both around 40%. >> ron, let's talk about your new piece in "the atlantic." it's asking does biden have a second act? you're looking into his predecessors. you say it's too early to count him out. why is that? >> the core question, all of numbers that harry just noted about his approval rating i would argue about what you would expect for a president at a moment when three quarters or more of the country is unhappy with the direction of the country or in the parlance of pollsters, they say we are on the wrong track. we have seen this movie before, don. ronald reagan, bill clinton, barack obama, all entered office at a moment of enormous dissatisfaction with the direction of the country. when they came in, there was a brief rallying of optimism but after a few months when

conditions, particularly in the economy, did not improve as fast as voters expected or at least hoped, the wrong track number shot up again and hydraulic fashion their approval rating sank to somewhere around biden is today and that ultimate live produced a very bad mid term in '82 for reagan, '92 for clinton. 2010 for obama. people were counting them out saying they're doomed. one term presidents. in the second half of their first term as people became more optimistic about the direction of the economy and the country, that growing right track number pulled their approval rating up with it and all of them won a second term. so we're watching biden emulate the downward part of the slope. the key question is whether anything that has happened in the past year would inflict a permanent damage on him which would prevent him are from from doing what his predecessors did. recovering if and when people become more optimistic about the

underlying problems of the country. most people are dubious that biden has suffered permanent damage. he's not reagan, not clinton, not obama as a communicator a charismatic presence. people think there is an opportunity to recover if people become optimistic about the way things are going. >> you look at reagan, right, used to be the gold standard for republican presidents, clinton the great orator, so charismatic, obama -- first black president of the united states. >> despite that. they all went down when people were unhappy with the country. >> i'm talking about the recovery, though. let me finish because they also did not have a once in a lifetime pandemic that they had to recover from, which is going to be tough. so, harry, he mentioned those numbers. ron mentioned those numbers. how does president biden's poll numbers compare to reagan,

clinton and obama? >> they're worse at this point. you see them right here on the screen right now. the only president in recent history who is in worse shape than joe biden was donald trump in 2018. he was at 39%. at least at this point biden's numbers are worse than reagan as and worse than obama's. both hovering around 50%. clinton was actually in the high 50s at this point. of course, we're still very early on. but one year in, biden is in a worse position that be those guys. >> did you see bush? 81%. >> that was after 9/11. >> h.w. bush in 1990, 78% was pretty high. >> those were very high. h.w. bush had a very high approval rating for a long time. people forget that. >> all of them ultimately got down to the 40% range when dissatisfaction with the country's direction peaked. i think that -- the real

question is whether biden has been damaged in a way that would prevent him from recovering if and when people become more optimistic. if he doesn't get optimistic, people will get pessimistic. i think the more kind of relevant question is if inflation recedes and if the pandemic recedes, has anything happened to prevent biden from emulating clinton and obama and rising again at that point? >> i'll hit that point. >> go ahead. >> thank you very, very much. that is true. you can look at four presidents at this particular point or actually later on in their presidency, go one week after their first mid term, right? look at harry truman. look at bill clinton. look at barack obama. look at ronald reagan. where were their approval ratings at this point? they were all under 50% one week

after their first mid term and they were all re-elected. their disapproval ratings were higher than their approval ratings. and on the other end, we were talking about george h.w. bush >> one termer. and jimmy carter's approval ratings were above their disapproval ratings, one week after the first mid term. look, approval ratings are interesting. they tell us about the here and now. we know that joe biden is in a weak position but that doesn't mean it can't turn around. it probably won't turn around by the mid terms but at least they'll have nearly three years to go until the next presidential election. what will determine it is where are we and what's the state of the economy? >> you have to earn your new title, data. it's not about your opinion, it's about you going back there and crunching the numbers and coming out with something solid, okay? >> i might have missed it but i think i might have just done that.

i will note i sent you a text message this weekend about dog photos and you did not send me a single one. you are lucky i'm on your program right now. >> i would just say for a response to that, see anderson cooper. thank you gentlemen. up next, inside a raid that killed the leader of isis. the message the president says it sends to terrorists. >> they are trying to get stronger and metastasize outside the region and certainly they have designs on attacking the west and even our homeland. do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? try nervivenerve relief from the world's #1 selling nerve care company. nervive contains alpha lipoic acid to relieve occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort. try nervivenerve relief. some home fragrances can be... overwhelming.

air wick fresh new day fills your space with fragrance that's always fresh, never overpowering. air wick. connect to nature. johnson & johnson is building a future where cancers can be cured. strokes can be reversed. and there isn't one definition of what well feels like. there are millions. johnson & johnson is building your world of well. you don't know how much pressure you put on your septic system. but rid-x does. in a 21 month study, scientists proved that rid- x reduces up to 20% of waste build up every month. take the pressure off with rid-x. ♪ pepto bismol coats and soothes your stomach for fast relief

and get the same fast relief in a delightful chew with pepto bismol chews.

do you struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep? qunol sleep formula combines 5 key nutrients that can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up refreshed. the brand i trust is qunol.

today the united states delivering what the white house calls a catastrophic blow to isis. president biden saying u.s. special forces killed an isis leader during an overnight raid at his compound in syria saying a deadly strike sends a message that the u.s. will hunt down terrorists wherever they try to hide. more on how the deadly strike unfolded for cnn's oren lieberman from the pentagon. a raid shattering the quiet of the evening. special forces going after the leader of isis. abu bakr al-baghdadi. >> last night we sent a strong message to terrorists around the world, we will come after you and find you. >> reporter: president biden watched from the white house as special forces closed in on their target. the helicopters approached the

three-story compound in the middle of night. once on the ground, special forces warned civilians to clear out, evacuating ten civilians, including eight children. they say that the isis leader blew himself up, tearing the top of the building apart. killing his wife and children. his lieutenant was killed in an exchange of fire with u.s. forces. the administration said a child was also killed on this floor but wouldn't a how or whom. towards the end of the two hour operation, two al qaeda affiliates were killed. u.s. forces also having to destroy one of the helicopters on the ground after mechanical failures. four civilians were killed in all according to the pentagon and five combatants. that wasn't the plan. >> capture the head of isis, that was the mission. >> the biggest u.s. operation in syria since the operation to kill abu bakr al-baghdadi in 2019. the original leader of isis. >> his background is a bit of a mystery, his exact background and birthday unclear. he was in u.s. detention in 2008 until he was returned to the iraqis and at some point released.

march 2020 the state department labeled him he was designated a global terrorist with a $10 million award. >> he was responsible for a recent brutal attack on a prison in northeast syria. holding isis fighters. the driving force behind the genocide of the people. in north western iraq. in 2014. >> he never left the floor except to bathe on the roof. early december, intelligence officials believe they had pinpointed his location and biden authorized the operation. the white house called his death a blow to isis but the terror organization, still suffering from the defeat of its self-declared caliphate in 2019 has plans to rebuild. the commander says even if he wasn't as famous as the original leader, he was just as dangerous and just as involved in planning isis terror attacks. meanwhile u.s. officials say the

next leader of isis will suffer the same fate. >> thank you very much. a risky pre-dawn raid, bomb explosion and a fire killed. but my next guest says the terror group isn't dead yet. to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's disease... means you might be dealing with a lot of symptoms... which can change your plans at any time gut-focused entyvio is made for you. entyvio is the only medicine just for uc and cd that is gut-focused. entyvio has helped many patients achieve long-term relief and remission. it may help you, too. infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen... during or after treatment. entyvio may increase risk of infection which can be serious. although unlikely, a risk of pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal brain infection cannot be ruled out. tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. liver problems can occur with entyvio.

if other treatments haven't worked well enough, ask your doctor about entyvio. find out if entyvioconnect can help... with the cost of treatment, whether you are insured or not. entyvio, made for the gut, made for remission, made for you.

as a business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving by switching to the mobile service designed for small business: comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable nationwide network. with no line activation fees or term contracts... saving you up to $500 a year. and it's only available to comcast business internet customers. so boost your bottom line by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities.™ the leader of isis killed

wednesday, the largest raid in syria since the 2019 operation that took out baghdadi. abu bakr al-baghdadi. intel gathering on the raid ramped up last fall. biden being briefed and detailed five days before christmas. in the wake of the raid, pentagon spokesperson john kirby warning isis still has the ability to attack the u.s. mainland. joining me now. cnn counter terrorism analyst. good to see you. this would have been the biggest news, right, that we have been covering at one point but we have all this craziness going around. it's still a big deal, so let's talk about it. we were getting some new details on the raid, a source telling cnn that president biden was briefed on an operation in late december. the objective was to capture him alive. biden himself asked about what could happen if there was someone with a suicide vest. what goes into deciding how to carry out this kind of very risky raid, phil?

>> there's a couple of characteristics you have to look at. you mentioned one. the intelligence value is very high. if you get him, regardless of whether he's a hardened terrorist there's a prospect he's going to speak. getting inside someone's head to understand things like courier networks, who's next in line in leadership. that's incredibly value for an organization that doesn't like to put stuff down on paper and doesn't communicate by e-mail or text, human being detainees are very important. that's the intel piece. the second piece is the safety piece for the women and children in the compound. when you have surveillance, and i've seen this live, when you have surveillance over that compound over the course of weeks or longer, you get what we used to call pattern of life, who is coming and going, how many are men, women and children, how many are under the age of 18, you can determine that from videos. you look at that and say if we go in with something like a drone strike, the risk that women and children will die is extremely high.

this minimized risk but you saw what happened, you can't eliminate risk, don. >> interesting. i want to talk to you about the crisis in ukraine, going on on ukraine's border, u.s. officials saying russia is preparing to create a propaganda video. to show a fake attack. to create false pretense for invasion. russia denies that but what does that tell you about putin's aim and is it feasible? could he do something like that? might he do something and could it be effective? >> you mean to tell me a politician is going to try to use a big lie and we would say that won't work? >> where has that happened before, right? >> let me give officer couple perspectives. first, my job as an intelligence analyst was to understand the world the way other people looked at it, not the way we look at it. we in america might say who would believe this?

there's a domestic agenda. remember, putin's popularity ratings are routinely high but they were even higher after the invasion of crimea. people in every country like to see their leader look tough. what happens if the russians moves into ukraine and that video pops up? we may not be persuaded but somebody in moscow who says i like tough putin looks at that video and says we have to move in. look what they did to us. i think the propaganda value for putin is strong inside russia. i'm not sure anybody inside the united states or europe would believe that stuff. >> a quick one before we go there. the beijing olympics starting tomorrow, is putin just waiting for the games to finish before moving forward with an invasion? >> i've seen that argument and i don't buy it. any president that thinks about expanding the american security perimeter east towards russia has to think twice and he's done that without an invasion. >> phil mudd, i love you but i'm mad at you because i just noticed you're in miami. >> it's my hometown. >> it's warm. >> i know.

whoopi goldberg's comments about the holocaust is sparking a conversation about whether to cancel or counsel. which one should you do or should we do? john mcwhorter has a lot to say about that. he joins me next. i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase,

and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information.

age before beauty? why not both? visibly diminish wrinkled skin in... crepe corrector lotion... only from gold bond.

"the view" host whoopi goldberg suspended for saying the holocaust was not about race. her suspension came after an on-air apology. that was accepted by the ceo for the antidefamation league. joining me, linguist john mcwhorter. the author of woke racism. john, let's get into this. it's day two of this whoopie suspension and you say you're nostalgic for times before cancel culture. i need to say she's not been cancelled but she's been suspended. what would be a better way to handle this, you think? >> well, of course she hasn't been cancelled. it's very hard to cancel anybody and whoopi is not going to be cancelled. a better way to handle this would have been to inform her that maybe she is missing or forgetting something. in this case you get the feeling she's not fully aware or wasn't

at that moment that jews used to be seen as a separate race and that that's how the nazis saw them and tell them that it can be hurtful to jewish people for that to be ignored and neglected and then just move on because i think whoopi goldberg has proven herself to be a thoroughly decent human being over the 35 years that she's been a public presence. and the notion that because she has a fact wrong and nevertheless she actually understands the horror of the holocaust, she's not trying to minimize it, she's not trying to say that anything is lesser than it was, she was just making a kind of a taxanomic point saying all the people involved are what we would call white. that does not an she should not be allowed to work for two weeks. anybody who thinks that's normal is forgetting what normal leitch -- life was like in, say, 2014. just be told she was wrong. you don't push somebody out for

something like this. it's uncivil and unnecessary. >> this is why you're a linguist. used to be, used to think of. you said nazis used to think of jewish people as a race. that was simply put. those aren't big words. right now in 2022 race has a very specific meaning. explain what it is and how it can actually create blind spots in our conversation. >> well, we have to understand that race is the third rail in america's current conversation, and that means that there is a special sensitivity about that issue. however, that doesn't mean that anybody thinks that what happened in the holocaust wasn't a revoltingly horrible thing. now, whoopi goldberg was saying here's an example even when you leave the issue of race that human beings can be nasty to other human beings. many of us are thinking in this

case you didn't step away from race because people thought of jews as a different race of people. a different species. i think whoopi was thinking of all of us in america in 2022. it was kind of a slip. tell her it's a slip. why is it when somebody makes a mistake like that, even not talking about black people this time, she has to be excommunicated in this way. it's reck it's nasty. it's got to stop. i think she should not have been suspended. she should have been told she was wrong, maybe in colorful ways but this isn't necessary. >> especially after an apology and another conversation. and the whole chastising of her in the memo from someone who is an icon. and not that that -- that doesn't inoculate someone from having a point of view that is ignorant, but still, it was -- >> no, but we're in a situation these days where the apology means nothing. that's how you know something's

going out the window and frankly have i to say it that a book like "my woke racism" is insane. is not insane. when someone apologizes it means nothing. what kind of society are we becoming where that's acceptable just to score some points. i don't think that's healthy, not mature. >> always a pleasure having you on. >> thank you, sir, i appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> covid cases are down. experts question whether it's time to ease up on the restrictions. i'll talk about that and the personal threats my next guest is getting the same day he got nominated for a nobel prize. . so you can enjoy it even if you're sensitive to dairy. so anyone who says lactaid isn't real milk is also saying mabel here isn't a real cow. and she really hates that.

it's time for the ultimate sleep number event on the sleep number 360 smart bed. what if i sleep hot? ...or cold? no problem, the sleep number 360 smart bed is temperature balancing so you both sleep just right. and it senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. so, you can really promise better sleep? yes! you'll know exactly how well you slept, night after night. we take care of the science. all you have to do is sleep. and now, during the ultimate sleep number event, save 50% on the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. plus, 0% interest for 24 months on all smart beds. only for a limited time

kim is now demonstrating her congestion. save it slimeball. i've upgraded to mucinex. we still have 12 hours to australia. mucinex lasts 12 hours, so i'm good. now move!

kim, no! mucinex lasts 3x longer for 12 hours. states across the country may be on the other side of the omicron surge. alabama currently the only state where cases are rising. it also happens to be the state with the lowest percentage of fully-vaccinated people. but even with so many states in the green, there are still thousands of americans dying every single day from covid. with the very real possibility of 1 million covid deaths in this country by summer. how far away from normal are we? so, joining me now to discuss, dr. peter hotez. he is co-director of the texas children's hospital center for vaccine development. doctor, thank you. good to see you. uh, the -- the white house this week is beginning to sketch a plan for going back to life without covid causing major disruptions but saying that we are not there, yet. what measure would you be

looking for that we've entered endemic phase, rather than being in a pandemic? >> well, i think the first thing we want to see is this omicron wave, don, go way down to the point where it was before it started. um, as the delta wave had really descended in the south. so, you know, we're -- we're only about halfway down, and it's unclear whether it'll get stuck there for a while just like it did in the uk. so, the first thing that has to happen is the omicron wave has to really descend down to the bottom. the second thing that has to happen is to make certain that this ba 2 variant, which is causing problems in denmark and the uk, doesn't cause it to stall or rise up, again. and that's another possibility. but let's assume now that we're now well into the spring, and omicron is in our rear-view mirror. what does the world look like at that point? and it -- and there is debate among the scientific community. i think we are still very vulnerable to another big summer wave across the south in texas

just like we were in 2020 and 2021. others say, no, this will look more like a regular-seasonal winter virus and there is some models to suggest that might be a possibility. so, the bottom line is no matter what we need to do, we need to still increase the percentage of our u.s. population that is vaccinated and someone's got to figure out how we are going to vaccinate globally because that's where all the new variants of concern are emerging from the world's low and middle-income countries so that is a cliff notes version on where we are headed. >> listen. i need to congratulate you because you and your co-director at texas children's hospital have been nominated this week for the 2022 nobel peace prize for your work to develop and provide access to covid vaccines in countries around the world. it is not the pfizer or moderna vaccine, so can you tell us about your work, please? >> well, we've been -- when i say we, my science partner for the last 20 years, dr. mary, we

have been making vaccines the big pharma companies won't make. they are vaccines for the world's poorest people, vaccines for diseases of africa, such as hookworm or the poor regions of latin america, chavez disease. and what we do is make recombinant proteins. usually using yeast. it's a vegan process. it's been around 30 years. that's been used to make the hepatitis b vaccine. about ten years ago, we started making coronavirus vaccines because they were like the others, nobody cared about coronavirus vaccines ten years ago. and then, when the covid-19 sequence hit, we were able to hit the ground running. we made a really exciting vaccine that now we have licensed with no patent, no strings attached to a vaccine producers in india, indonesia, bangladesh, and southern africa and india is the furthest along. and what we do is transfer the ownership in each case so they own the vaccine. it is called corbi vax made by biological e.

is a great safety profile. really looks exciting in terms of its ability to protect populations and they have now produced 250 million doses with plans for a billion doses and hopefully that will start filling the gap because we need 6 to 9 billion doses before the world's low and middle-income countries are fully vaccinated. >> doctor, that is amazing. i mean, there should be millions and millions and more people like you. congratulations on that and don't stop. continue on, please. it is a huge honor but the same night the fox propaganda network went after you with tucker carlson comparing you to alex jones. that's bad enough. but you shared on twitter how, hours later, you are receiving threats accusing of violating the constitution and treason, and calling for you to be hanged. did you ever think that you would be on the receiving end of messages like that? >> and, don, this is not -- this is not the first time. this is a regular occurrence now. anytime the nighttime fox news anchors go after me or -- or

steve bannon or congresswoman greene goes after me, it's followed by a barrage of really scary e-mails. we have had to bring in, you know, houston police department and -- because i'm -- i'm jewish, there is a lot of anti-semitism linked to it, lot of nazi stuff. and so, i have -- anti-defamation league has helped me. it's -- these are really tough times. i never dreamed when i got my md and ph.d. to make vaccines to help the world's poorest people, that was the reason i did it, that there would be followed by something like this. so we live in very difficult times, indeed. >> i wish i could say that i haven't experienced similar to what you have but i have and so i feel your pain. there's -- i am empathetic to it. i am so sorry this happened to you but on the bright side, you are an amazing human being and you are doing great work for human kind. thank you so much, sir. >> thank you, don. that means a lot. i really appreciate it. >> thank you. and thank you for watching, everyone. our coverage continues. so grab nightshift to fight your symptoms, get your zzz's...

and get back to your rhythm. feel the power. beat the symptoms fast.

this winter, comcast business is helping team usa and businesses across america stay ahead. keep yours ahead too with reliable connectivity and secure solutions on the network that can deliver gig speeds to the most businesses. and get access to over 20 million wifi hotspots from coast to coast. so no matter what big event comes up, your team can be ready for what's next. get started with fast and reliable internet and voice for just $64.99 a month. or, ask how to get a visa prepaid card with a qualifying bundle.

are you a christian author with a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! hello and a very warm welcome to our crews joining us in the united states and around the world. i'm isa soares here on "cnn newsroom." when i stepped off of the airplane here i felt more like i was entering a dystopian movie set rather than entering an olympic host city. >> this is a zero covid policy. it is quite harsh to be blunt with you. >> to be here at an olympics is