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and that's your reality check. >> john avlon.nn, a house republican lawmaker who voted to keep liz cheney in leadership the first time around tells cnn that cheney has his words here less support than she thinks. the latest on the republican feud ahead. some say this is my greatest challenge ever. but i've seen centuries of this. with a companion that powers a digital world, traded with a touch. the gold standard, so to speak ;) biden: when i think about climate change, the word i think of is jobs. vo: and these aren't just the jobs of tomorrow. they're the jobs of right now. good paying jobs to modernize our infrastructure. in manufacturing. construction. engineering. they're in our cities... in our suburbs... and our small towns... we take on climate change... and we build back better with clean energy jobs. biden: so let's waste any more time, let's get to work. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candida

but even as i sat with john avlon this morning, there's more accounts back up there. if you type in vaccines this morning. why does this all matter? should people be getting their vaccine information or misinformation from instagram in the first place? realistically, that's where many people now go to get information and earlier, just a few months ago, we spoke to a mother in texas who got really pulled down the anti-vax rabbit hole on facebook. have a listen. >> the vaccine goes into our child, she'll just die. that's all there is to it. >> you thought if your daughter took the vaccine, she might die. >> that she would. not might, would. i feel like a lot of the anti-vax moms all found each other all at once. i was getting like a friend request per minute. we were all just friending each other. it was weird. >> you said your intent was to inspire some parent to stop their child from getting vaccinated. do you think you did that? >> yeah, i know i did. i've had people tell me that they're not vaccinating because of my post. >> how does that make you feel now? >> reall

let's keep the conversation going with john avlon and former republican congressman denver riggleman.resentative don bacon, republican, one of the 35 who voted for this commission, he said last night, democrats, quote, basically gave us what we wanted, including for instance changing the representation on this commission to an even number of republicans and democrats. so what kept more republicans or 83% of them -- what had them voting against this? is it fear of donald trump who has called this commission a trap? >> yes. it's a political calculation. i'm friends with don. he's a retired air force general. i'm an air force guy. and i know john katko very well. he's a dear friend. i had even talked to john before hand. it seemed like they got what they wanted. so i never like to be cautiously optimistic, but i thought they'd get over 30 votes. they did. i thought it could be as high as 50 but didn't get there. this was a political calculation. i find it interesting. i want to say this very quickly. the further this could be pushed out, it may be more detrimental. the issue is if donald

joining us now, senior political analyst john avlon with where things stand in the senate.tart with the guys we think -- i guess the ones who stated they are definitely no. even though we know it's much more than just these guys. >> yeah, look. the folks who said they are definitely no, mcconnell is the key bellwether, of course. it's still significant to see some folks go against what they have said recently. for example, mike rounds. just the other day mike rounds of south dakota said it's clear there was an insurrection. we're not going to sweep this under the rug. now he's holding up a corner of the rug and has a broom in the other hand. mcconnell is motivated by pure politics. could this impact the 2022 midterms negatively? that's what's driving this. he's going to be using all his power to reinforce mccarthy's message. a lot of folks have been swayed. it's still a jump ball move. >> mcconnell was, yeah, i'm looking at it. rounds was a probably. now they're definite nos. who are the ones likely yeses? >> some of the usual suspects here. a lot of the folks who voted to

john avlon with a "reality check." >> there was once a fear that took over the republican party and the nation. it was spread by a bullying demagogue who accused his apoentss of being communists. he said he represented america with his sleeves up. their intensity, their crushing certainty, intimidated most politicians into silence. then the trouble of being attacked by the party's activist base. they knew it was wrong but worried if they told the truth they can use a primary election. but one woman decided to speak up. her name was margaret che smith, the first woman popularly elected to the senate. the time was 1950 and her target was senator joe mccarthy. she stood alone on the floor of the senate and issued a declaration of conscience. no cameras captured the speech that day, but here's part of what she said. today our country is being psychologically divided by the confusions and the suspicions that spread like cancerous tentacles of know-nothing, suspect everything attitudes. chase wanted the gop to win but she said, i don't want to see the republican party ride to political victor

. >> john avlon and bill crystal, the editor at large. if that's where i am starting to get tongue tied then i am in trouble tonight. >> you did here lisa murkowski about this short term political gain. do you think this is what it is all about? >> no, i think they were scared of the commission and high profile hearing and just more specific of what they were kpesk of what they are ai scared about. we'll have a bunch of trials on that too. that'll come out any way. here is a place we'll learn about from the commission is a subpoena power. what happened in the white house when trump got the phone call by others. did he just watch tv and relish this situation for two or three hours. did he talk to dhs? >> people testifying under oath of what trump knew. that's what they are scared to come out and detailed. the staff, they could not be so close to sef. rp that wold maybe damaging trump who's campaigning and right now the heeding presidential to be the presidential nominee 2024. that i are scared of what we would learn about what trump did th

. >> joining us is john avlon, cnn political analyst.t's your take on this, connecting the power of big tech to the state of play in politics. >> first of all, just step back. i don't think you can deal with the state of politics without understanding the state of algorithms and technology. the duality that it's free speech and big tech doesn't actually work. there are important details in the report that i want to highlight. while they're kicking it back to facebook and saying it shouldn't be indefinite, they say certain standards should be met, that facebook should be satisfied that mr. trump has ceased making unfounded flamesclaims. he's doubled and trickled down on the big lie. while they're right saying there needs to be more transparency and clarity, there are similar standards for similar people. that line alone provides a big reality check in effect for any folks who thinks he's going to be brought back to the platform in six months. >> john, let me ask you this. it's been four months, banned from twitter, can't reach followers o

as john avlon tells us in our "reality check," republicans blocking this commission is nothing short e terrorists win. john? >> after the attacks of 9/11, you often heard republicans say that if we let fear change the way we live, then the terrorists will win. almost 20 years later, an attack on our capitol has flipped the script. the forces of fear that rnd lie the big lie have derailed a bipartisan investigation that would normally follow national cataclysms like 9/11. the 9/11 commission is explicitly the model for the january 6th commission legislation. the bills use similar structure and language. a bipartisan group of civic leaders are supposed to study the causes and make recommendations to prevent future acts of terrorism. yes, the legislation refers to the storming of the capitol as a domestic terrorist attack following the lead of fbi director chris wray who also called it domestic terrorism. by trying to kill the bipartisan commission via filibuster, republicans are letting the terrorists win. and the half-ass rationalizations they are using to justify it show how quickly t

john avlon with a "reality check." >> we know that disinformation is dangerous.iticized public health during a pandemic and inspired a lie about the election that led to an attack on our capitol. there's a new study out analyzing the roots and impact of this disinformation. and one of the biggest culprits is right wing media. that's right. a new study by researchers kathleen hall jameson and romer looked at the conspiracies between march and july last year and found that, quote, conservative media use predicted an increase in conspiracy beliefs. and that, in turn, leads to resistance to protective measures like mask wearing and vaccinations. now it's almost exactly one year ago that a covid experience film snaked its way through. it was viewed millions of times before being taken off youtube. the drum beat was on even before the truth had a chance to get its boots on. >> scaring the living hell out of people, and i see it again as like, oh, let's bludgeon trump with this new hoax. >> all the talk about coronavirus being so much more deadly doesn't reflect reality

john avlon joins us with our "reality check." >> it's official. republicans have become the know-nothing party. i'm not just comparing the immigrant party of the 1850s with the trimpts of today. i'm saying that republicans have embraced an official policy of knowing nothing. in the sense of sergeant schultz in hogan's heroes. >> i see nothing. i know nothing. >> think back to all the times republicans pled ignorance to some trump tweet or when kelly loeffler said this about trump's "access hollywood" tape. >> you're still not disagreeing with president trump's statements about personally sexually assaulting women. >> i'm not familiar with that. >> i know nothing. but often the arena is more serious like trump's first impeachment trial when republicans refused to hear witnesses. because they didn't want to have to confront more evidence. of course, climate change denial is now a core tenet. when the five-volume senate intel committee report was released detailing copious russian connections to the trump campaign, republicans just decided to continu

. >>> let's discuss with jackie kucinich, washington bureau chief for the daily beast and john avlon. what's going to happen today is republicans almost certainly are going to filibuster this. we should describe it as it is. they'll filibuster a bipartisan proposal negotiated by a democrat and a republican in the house as commissioned by the house minority leader kevin mccarthy. they'll filibuster it. is this good politics for republicans? mitt romney has said, you know, this is not going to make us look good. do they have the politics right here? >> so short term, probably. because they are making the calculation that they'll not be punished for this by their voters. many of whom don't blame the president for -- and don't see that the insurrection was any more than, you know, either people breaking the law or in some cases people just demonstrating against their government. so -- and they don't want to see this commission, which, if it went forward it would issue a report later in the year. they don't want to see this bleed into the 2022 midterm elections and perhaps keep casting thi

john avlon with a reality check. y's slaughter in san jose was the 232nd mass shooting this year, that's according to the gun violence archive. but this death toll is taking place against a broader backdrop because violent crime increased in the nation's cities last year after decades of decline and it's showing no signs of showing. major american city sites saw a major increase in murder last year. contrast that with the steep and steady murder decline america saw between 2009 and 2014. the spike in homicides and assaults continued into the first quarter of this year. not only that, the number of police officers shot in the line of duty stand at 141 since 2018. the most since 2018. you've be forgiven for asking, what the hell is going on here. experts blame a perfect storm of circumstances including economic anxieties around covid, the prominence of guns, covid concerns with those in jail as well as reallocation of police sources. laura cooper also told me police chiefs are seeing an increase in social media beefs sp

. >>> to go to our john avlon.contagious, you got demands in other states that are under going more audits and rechecks. what do you this ink the damage being done here? >> it undermines our democracy. the big lie to set the pretext to overturn the next election. the extent that some of these folks thinking of themselves as patriots. they are taking direct aim at a democracy and the constitution. what's happening is incredibly dangerous. we need to recognize it for what it is and can treat it as such. >> another trend we are seeing is people who pushed these voter fraud claims and pushing these lies are running for states positions that have power over this. let's play some of what they have said. >> i am not convinced at all, not for one second that joe biden won the state of georgia. >> our election is a fraud. we are going to learn what happened in this past election because it was atrocious and we got to get to the bottom of it. >> these are errors. this is fraud and needs to be investigated. >> what does it me

joining me cnn political analyst john avlon, kirsten powers. you guys should have theme music, by the way. >> we should. >> avlon and powers. let's go with powers and avlon. good evening to beth of you. john, i'm going start with you. put her name ahead of yourself. >> yeah. >> 35 house republicans standing up for the truth today. just 35, but in today's -- by today's standards, that's probably a lot of republicans. >> it is. >> they're doing everything they can to kill this january 6 commission. mcconnell really bowing to trump here. does this bill stand a chance in the senate? >> it stands a chance, but it's totally disgraceful that mitch mcconnell decided to sell out to trump over truth on this one. because he condemned him so clearly after the attack and seems to have amnesia. but the pack that 35 members of the house, republicans backed this bill and bucked their party's leadership is a positive sign. i think the real issue isn't that this is slanted or biased. it's not. the proposal is evenly divided. it was negotiate by john katko with a

senior political analyst john avlon and barry schmidt, facebook's former communications director and also worked at google and pinterest. good evening, gentlemen. thank you so much. mr. avlon, this oversight board basically telling facebook they need to deal with the mess they helped to create and come up with some rules that apply to everyone. look, this issue is bigger than facebook and trump. is social media undermining basic truth in our society? >> yes. among other things, yes. it is a new challenge. it's a new communications form. it's making it more difficult to reason together because people are getting encouraged toward extremism by algorithms. they're being offered different versions of reality. so it's a challenge i think we need the confront together. this oversight board i think took a step in that direction. but the number i can't get away from, after he was deplatformed from the first time, don, after the capitol attack, within one week, one study found a 73% decline in election misinformation. that to me is just clear cause-effect. that's a real problem we've got to d

." >>> joining me now is denver riggleman and john avlon. thanks so much for joining. n, you have been reporting on how the insane lies about election fraud have taken over the gop, especially in arizona. it may seem really fringe, but this is the rule and not the exception in the gop even though a few brave republicans are speaking out. >> that's exactly right. i mean the big lie has become a litmus test, and that cuts to the heart of our democracy. you can't claim to be a patriot and back a lie that undermines confidence in our democracy. that's why it's notable that a few arizona republicans are starting to stand up to the insanity and call it out, call out the president's lies as unhinged and call out this fraudit which has been going on, which is really just a partisan attempt to rerun an election, to give, you know, credibility to conspiracy theories. it's a disgrace to democracy, and it's good to see some republicans calling it out. we need a lot more. >> denver, as you know, if you don't support the lies, you're likely to get canceled. we saw it with liz cheney

but here to discuss all the political headlines cnn's senior political analyst john avlon and cnn politicalfiring line" margaret hoover. republicans claim to be serious about bipartisanship. i guess we'll find out this week whether or not they can work with biden on infrastructure. but this is their idea of bipartisanship. let's listen. >> 100% of our focus is on stopping this new administration. >> the best thing we can do is put this administration into a straight jacket the way we make joe biden into a half-term president is to stop them by taking the house and taking the senate and putting them into lockdown. >> that does not sound very bipartisan. >> no, it doesn't. but it does sound like typical politics at a time when the part each's captured by the base and afraid of donald trump. i will say, though, the question is where the rubber meets the row where can there be actual bipartisanship? you mentioned the infrastructure meeting coming up. here's a reality check. donald trump backed a trillion dollars infrastructure plan less than a year ago. two years ago he wanted to work with demo

john avlon, margaret hoofr, we'll wrap it up. thanks a lot. thanks for talking to us. we appreciate it. >>> former president trump's reported obsession with the 2020 recount in arizona and the controversy over who is conducting the audit, that story is next. you're live in the cnn newsroom. . to awaken your home with an experience you can see, smell, and feel. it's air care, redefined. air wick essential mist. connect to nature. ♪ [sfx: revving trucks] pilot over radio: here we go, let's do this. ♪ pilot over radio: right there, right there. [sfx: revving trucks] pilot over radio: g complete. how do you introduce the larger-than-life gmc yukon? with the world's biggest tweet. the next generation gmc yukon. premium that's made what's the #1 retinol brand the next generation gmc yukon. used most by dermatologists? it's neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® smooths the look of fine lines in 1-week, deep wrinkles in 4. so you can kiss wrinkles goodbye! neutrogena® have you ever seen this before? she's so beautiful. janie, check this out. >come here. >>let me see. (chuckles) sh

john avlon has a reality check. >> if we can't get a bipartisan commission for an attack on our capitol where bipartisanship is not yet dead. police reform. there's good-faith negotiation being led by tim scott and cory booker. while the bill won't be done by president biden's challenge deadline, george floyd's death later this week, yet another reminder why this issue can't wait. after two years, police body camera footage was obtained showing ronald greene did not die in a car crash as his parents say they were told. in fact, he was beaten and tased while he lay on the ground. deadly police power covered up. where things actually stand with police reform. in a senate room named after the late segregationist strom thurmond, tim scott and cory booker and karen bass were able to come to some negotiations on bans on choke holds and cou countering limits on equipment. now, republicans oppose changes to this, arguing with some reason that it would make it harder to recruit and retain police officers. influential south carolina. >> if you don't get qualified immunity now, then we'll come bac

." >> john avlon, thank you so much. >>> president biden speaking soon on the race to vaccinate as weccinating children. a live report from the white house just ahead. ♪ >>> time for a very quick "good stuff." we want to show you this photo from the carter center. this was the visit of president biden and dr. jill biden with jimmy and roselynn carter in georgia last week. the former president is 96. the first lady is 93. and they're going to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary in july. >> that's amazing. 75 years. i live for the "good stuff." cnn's coverage continues right now. >>> good morning. so glad you're with us. i'm poppy harlow. >> i'm jim sciutto. hours from now, president biden set to speak on the covid-19 pandemic. progress of the vaccination program here in the u.s. and crucial next steps. it comes as some states hit

. >>> with me, john avlon and margaret hoover. what we are seeing play out in texas right now is happening a at a national level. republicans lost the senate, white house in 2020 yet they are all in on donald trump and they are following his big lie into all of these state houses and changing all of these voting laws across the country. people don't have to live in texas to care about thissish yew? >> no, you don't have to live in texas to care about the constitution, jim. that's right. look, this is serious stuff. there were a lot of republicans who thought the party would kind of snap back to normal. this is exhibit d, c, f -- i don't know why? >> z? >> z. the party has worsened in donald trump's absence. it is continuing to double down on the thing that didn't work. recall, lost the white house, lost the senate, lost the house. this is not a winning formula. no party in american history has doubled down on the thing that doesn't work over and over again. one wonders how many political cycles are going to have to lose in order t

john avlon joins us with our "reality check." >> democracy is supposed to be government of the people. especially rule of the majority expressed in free and fair elections. but the right to vote has become the fight to vote. democrats backing bills that can make it easier for all citizens to vote while republicans are pushing bills in at least 45 states that would make it harder to vote. already signed into law in battlegrounds like georgia, florida, arizona and iowa. and all of this is being done to secure partisan power while trying to dignify the big lie. it's called conspiracy boot strapping. to create panic and then pass laws to address the phantom menace. but it just doesn't happen on its own. don't buy the bull that this is all grassroots. and here's proof caught on tape. >> we're working with the state legislatures to make sure they have all of the information they need to draft the bills. in some cases we actually draft them for them or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation so it has that grassroots, you know, from the bottom up type of vibe. >> yes

john avlon. and cnn political commentator, ms. anna navarro. good evening, to both of you.z cheney not afraid to call out trump and his lies. she is taking a huge risk here. how is this going to end, do you think? >> i think, clearly, her leadership position's at risk but she is fighting the good fight. she is fighting the right fight. this should not be a jump ball between truth and lies. and the fact that kevin mccarthy is trying to create some equivalence between truth and lies sp lie speaks to a deeper sickness in our politics and republican party. but make no mistake, this is dangerous for democracy to have one political party decide they are going to back the big lie in the face of all facts because they think it is in their short-term interest. >> anna, mccarthy is said to be furious. he wants her out of gop leadership. he can call for a quick vote to oust her, if he wants. is this what happens if you stand up for truth, in today's gop? they try to get rid of you? >> it really is astounding. it is astounding that he's okay with matt gaetz, who is being federally inve

." >> john avlon, thank you for that. >>> house minority leader kevin mccarthy has notified his memberso expect a vote on the fate of conference chair liz cheney tomorrow. and he writes this. we are a big tent party. all members are elected to represent their constituents as they see fit but our leadership team cannot afford to be distracted from the important work we were elected to do and the shared goals we hope to achieve. let's talk about the state of affairs in the gop right now with tim paulenty, a former republican governor of minnesota. thanks for joining us. we really appreciate it. as we look at what mccarthy said, he also said, unlike the left, we embrace free thought and debate, and i wonder, is that how you see what's happening to liz cheney, an embrace of her free thought and debate? >> well, good morning to you and your listeners. as to liz cheney, she is speaking boldly and courageously. but that comes with a price. the price here is, her current position of being number three in the u.s. house, number three republican, is a function of her colleagues electing her to th

john avlon with a "reality check." >> there are few defining crises in american history known instantlyr date. december 7th, november 22nd, september 11th, and now we can add january 6th to that list. after all those other national tragedies, there were independent bipartisan commissions convened to investigate what happened so it wouldn't happen again. the roberts commission, the warren commission, the 9/11 commission. but this time, patriotism and precedent don't seem to apply because it looks like republicans will kill a bipartisan january 6th commission for cynical, political reasons. they are afraid new information could hurt them in the next election. they're being intimidated by trumpit thugs peddling the big lie. what can democrats do in response? glad you asked. here are three options. first, if republicans really want to filibuster a bipartisan commission to death, make them really filibuster it. out loud. on the senate floor. this idea floated by journalist jonathan alter makes sense. with a majority vote they could force republicans to defend the indefensible. the og talking

john avlon, thanks very much. >>> ahead, the u.s. marks one year since the murder of george floyd. permit, no background check, no problem for gun owners in texas. the new law coming down the pike as america sees 13 mass shootings in just a matter of days. well, well, well. look at you. you mastered the master bath. you created your own style. and you - yes, you! turned a sourdough starter into a sourdough finisher. so when you learn your chronic dry eye is actually caused by reduced tear production due to inflammation you take it on, by talking to your eyecare professional about restasis®... which may help you make more of your own tears with continued use twice a day, every day. restasis® helps increase your eye's natural ability to produce tears, which may be reduced by inflammation due to chronic dry eye. restasis® did not increase tear production in patients using anti-inflammatory eye drops or tear duct plugs. to help avoid eye injury and contamination, do not touch bottle tip to your eye or other surfaces. wait 15 minutes after use before inserting contact lenses. the most c