Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Pamela Brown 20210125

Incident obviously on the capitol, his name is preston fairland. He once actually led Michelle Obamas security detail. A secret Service Agent as you said once led Michelle Obamas security detail. She even mentions him in her memoir becoming. She talks hubt him briefly in the book. She also attended a Memorial Service for their father who was a Police Officer and died in a motorcycle accident. Now as for Scott Fairland whos charged with his participation in the capitol insurrection, whats really interesting, pam, one of the charges hes facing is an assault on an Police Officer. Hes captured on video that the fbi now has and they say on that video you see him pushing and shoving and hitting a Police Officer. He is the brother of this secret Service Agent, preston fairland iii. A lawyer who represents Scott Fairland says that the brother knew nothing about this, didnt even know that he was coming here. So theyre saying that the brother had nothing to do with this obviously. But certainly disturbing details here when you learn of this mans connections to Law Enforcement and what hes charged with here now. Yeah, what hes charged with against a Police Officer. Very disturbing. Shimon shimon prokupecz, thanks for bringing us this breaking news. And cnn has learned Trumps White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced she will run for governor of arkansas. Im joined now by cnn political analyst josh dossy. Tell us more about this news that you broke. Reporter hi, pamela. Yes, sarah, has been back in arkansas for some time plotting her run for governor. And weve learned this weekend that she will announce tomorrow that shes running for governor of arkansas. She was the president s press secretary, former governor Mike Huckabees daughter, a long time political operative. And she announced on video shes planning to post in the morning that she will be a candidate for governor of arkansas. I remember we were both covering the white house at the time when she left the speculation was she would take this move, she would run for governor of arkansas. As you pointed out her father was the governor between 1996 and 2000. As president trumps former press secretary, how much do you think that helps her in the state . How popular is she there . Sarah sanders remains popular in arkansas, and the president s numbers still remain good and fair in the state as well. One of the upsides she has there is that shes so closely linked to the president. And a republican primary against others there, see thinks shell do quite well. Sarah has been plotting for some time to run for governor. She lost back in 2018 as you know as press secretary of the white house and has not been one of those folks i guess in 19 to distance herself from the president. Shes been in the orbit and shes planning to run. You would imagine you have to wonder if we would get a tweet from the president if he still had access to his twitter right now. But what do you think . You think somehow well hear from him, hell weigh in . I dont know. But i know pamela she still remains close to him. She speaks to him fairly regularly, and she was the press secretary that folks in his orbit thought did a good job as press secretary. She obviously was very famous from her role there. And shes wellknown back in arkansas from her time as being, you know, the daughter of a governor there, mike huckabee. Sarah is someone who people see in arkansas as quite a formidable candidate. You know, shell obviously have to answer for many of the things she said and did in her role as press secretary there. But shes putting out a video in the morning, and shes ready to go. All right, thank you very much for bringing us the latest on that front. Thank you very much. Well, as america surpasses an appalling new bench mark, more than 25 Million People infected with coronavirus, you have to wonder where we might be right now if the Trump Administration had taken the science more seriously. Instead former White House Coronavirus response coordinator dr. Debra birx says there were deliberate attempts to placate the former president. I saw the president presenting graphs that i never made, so i know that someone or someone out there or someone inside was creating a parallel set of data and graphics that were shown to the president. I know what i sent up, and i know that what was in his hands was different from that. You cant do that. You have to use the entire database. Who was doing that . To this day i dont know. And joining me now with more is cnn medical analyst dr. Jonathan rhiner, professor of medicine at George Washington university. Dr. Rhiner, good to see you. Earlier you were on with our cnns ana cabrera and had some very harsh words for dr. Birx. You called her complicit in the coronavirus pandemic here in the u. S. Its been said the First Casualty of war is the truth, and whats clear now is the First Casualty in this horrible pandemic in the United States was the truth. The American Public was purposefully and repeatedly lied to. The president admitted this to bob woodward. We heard this today from deborah birx. But when i hear dr. Birx who i have tried to give the benefit of the doubt to for a long time because of her many years of distinguished service particularly in her work with the global aids crisis over many years. But when i hear her talk about parallel data streams, that has a horrible resonance to alternative facts. And the public was told this was a hoax, the pandemic which was blow away would go away when it got warmer. You can wear a mask, not wear a mask, the president s not going to wear a mask, states should open quickly. Then they brought in a radiologist who pushed this herd immunity nonsense. And all along we knew that dr. Birx knew what the public was being told was garbage, and she stayed silent. That makes her complicit. If the public knew in march when she was sort of boasting about the president s prowess to synthesize data because hes a businessman, if the public knew how serious this was, perhaps the public would have taken this more seriously and masked up and perhaps, you know, a quarter of a Million People in this country who are dead now might still be alive. So silence equals complicity. She doesnt get off. When you compare how dr. Fauci responded to the white house attempts to downplay the sul verity of the pandemic, how did he do correctly . We know he managed to disagree with donald trump, and he still kept his job. What do you think about that . I think what dr. Fauci was asked direct questions he gave direct answers. The problem with dr. Fauci is that he was basically muzzled for many months, prohibited from doing media interviews. Dr. Birx had an opportunity to stand up and refute these socalled parallel data streams but decided not to do that. Perhaps she femt she could be more effective from within the administration than if she stood up and left. But if she told the public how serious the pandemic was, now early on in very early on in the pandemic the doctor who was the head of the respiratory and immunization section at the cdc told the public that the virus was going to be bad, it was going to be community spread, and they should get ready for disruptions. She told that to the public when there were only 14 cases of the coronavirus in the United States. And she was never heard from again. So what the public needed to know was the truth. Dr. Birx knew the truth, but she did not stand up and tell everyone in a loud and clear voice. I want to ask you about the vaccine rollout. That is on a lot of peoples minds. As we all try to get back to normal. I had a doctor on earlier, dr. Celine gounder who said she was predicting midsummer to late summer before healthy majors would be able to be vaccinated. Do you agree with that time line . And what would you say is the Biggest Issue with this rollout right now . I think people are just confused as to what the deal is. Well, first of all, the Biden Administration is placing a ton of resources on getting vaccine into arms. It doesnt matter if we have vaccines if they dont become vaccinations. And the Biden Administration i do believe understands this. The problem is the Biden Administrations goal of a million shots a day for 100 days is basically what were doing now. It would be as if the Biden Administration came out and said that the goal for the administration should be to get the employment rate to about 6 Unemployment Rate to about 6. 5 . People would say thats where he is now, what kind of a goal is that . Well, we need to do better than a million shots per day. Most of the shots were giving now are new shots, but as we go forward more and more shots every day will be the second vaccinations. So the number of new vaccinations is going to start to drop until we get to a point in the nottoodistant future where every day the shots that are given are 50 followup and 50 new vaccinations. We need to do better. We need to vaccinate about 2 Million People a day. That should be the goal. We can do that. The manufacturers are delivering every week somewhere between 12 and 18 million doses of the vaccine. But were barely administering, you know, 8 to 9 million doses. We should deliver every dose of vaccine that is given every week that is delivered every week. I think people hear that and its so confusing because theres so much demand, right . Youre like wait a second theres just all of this vaccine, these doses of the vaccine that are just sitting there and theyre not being used . I think it was at last check around 21 million had been administered, and there were 40 million all together that had been administered. So, all right, dr. Jonathan rhiner, thank you for coming on. We appreciate it. My pleasure. Thank you. Well, right now california is the state hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. While the u. S. Surpasses 25 million confirmed cases of the virus. California is now the first state to record 3 million covid19 infections. And new cases, they keep coming. More than 24,000 new cases reported in california just in the past 24 hours. Lets go to cnns Paul Vercammen in los angeles. Paul, get us up ptodate on th situation there and if there are any signs of improvement. Reporter you pointed out the 24,000 new cases so the numbers are awful, but theyve also been worse. Lets also look at the death count. 429 covid deaths at the last report and 17,810 hospitalizations. In that a glimmer of hope that number has been coming down grudgingly. That could be good news. But in all of this, with this mounting death toll, extreme unyielding pressure on funeral directors. Lets go to boyle heights. In this neighborhood the funeral home thats been here for 90 years. In order to make up they have added employees. They have now have a 24hour answering service, unheard of. Theyve also mandated that all viewings be outside. And for these mortuary owners, its just stressful. Its been really hard turning people away, and just, you know, especially when theyre upset and you have to tell them that, you know, i can put you on a wait list and, you know, well get to you when your number comes up, which is thats unheard in our history. Ive been doing it 25 years and ive never had that this happen. Reporter and perhaps some relief. Late this afternoon l. A. County numbers, only 98 deaths. Now to the vaccinations. They say if l. A. County doesnt step it up, it has another week like last week, well see people still receiving coronavirus vaccines into 2022, pam. Paul vercammen, thank you for bringing us the latest there from los angeles. Just tough news to share i know. Well, some more breaking news into cnn this hour. Mexicos president announcing on twitter he has tested positive for the coronavirus. He says he has mild symptoms but is receiving care. Hes consistently shunned wear masks even while Holding Events around the country amid the pandemic. Hes even gone as far as saying hed wear a mask only once there was no more corruption in mexico. His diagnosis comes as mexico is seeing a surge in new cases which is pushing many hospitals to capacity. Well, democrats now lead all branches of the government, but there are divisions within the party how to wield that power. How that could affect president bidens 1. 9 trillion relief plan. 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Well, President Joe Biden is making moves to address the economic toll of this pandemic. Today sending a top economic official to call a group of bipartisan senators who could help support his 1. 9 trillion covid relief plan. Cnn White House Correspondent Arlette Saenz joins me now. Arlette, did the Biden Administration make progress in swaying reluctant republicans . Reporter well, pamela, biden dispatched his top Economic Advisor to try and make the case to that Bipartisan Group of senators and at least one republican who participated in that meeting said shes not quite convinced yet she will support that 1. 9 trillion covid relief package. Senator susan collins, a republican of maine, says she believes its premature to be talking about a nearly 2 thrill k trillion package. She left the meeting feeling that exact same sentiment. She believes that Bipartisan Group can put together a more targeted approach than what the Biden Administration is currently proposing. One of the issues the republicans have with this bill is they just passed a bill at the end of year so some are hesitant to pass such a large bill going forward. White house officials have made it clear they do want to get bipartisan signon for this package. They want to be able to do it with support from both sides of the aisle. President biden has said that. But theyve also said they will leave all tools available to them as this process unfolds. And some democrats are already urging the administration to use something called the reconciliation process, which would only require a simple majority to pass this measure. So right now that meeting that was held today with brian dees and that group of 16 senators, its just 1 of several meetings that has been unfolding behind the scenes by the Biden Administration. As the president has made clear that getting this covid relief package passed is top ticket item for him in the opening days of his administration. Pamela . All right, Arlette Saenz, thank you for that. And het me bring in democratic congresswoman barbara lee of california. Shes the former chair. Thank you so much for coming on. I first want to get your reaction to something we heard from senator Bernie Sanders this morning. Lets watch. Were going to push joe as the president as far as we can. But given the fact hes been in office for less than a week i think hes off to a good start. So hes only a week in, but what is your take . Has the president s first week been progressive enough in your view . Well, pamela, first of all congratulations on your show. Thank you. Im really honored to be on your show during your first weekend. So thank you for having me. Thank you so much. You know, i think the Biden Administration is off to a good start. First of all, people are dying. The covid pandemic has wreaked havoc on the lives and livelihoods of american families. And so its so important that we unify and pass a bill which really is a rescue bill to make sure that we crush this virus, that we make sure that we help put people back to work, put money in peoples pockets, provide food for people who are hungry, and make sure that our Small Businesses have what they need to survive during this period. And so 1. 9 trillion, thats a good amount. But i believe we have to go as far as we can go. Remember several months ago we put forward the heroes bill, which had about 3. 7, 3. 8 trillion. People need help, and we have to deliver for them. Youve heard the criticism from some that the concern that some of this money from the stimulus would go to people who dont really need it, who arent suffering economically from this pandemic and that it be better just to focus on people, part of the population that does need it. What do you say to those that are skeptical of this bill . The majority of people do need it. When you look at the Unemployment Rate, when you look at whats happening with our state and local governments, come on people who provide these essential services could lose their jobs. When you look at the fact we to target resources, yes, to black and brown communities which are disproportionately impacted by this horrific pandemic, we have to make sure that the vaccine is distributed, and we have to make sure that communities of color are provided the resources to hire trusted messengers to deliver the message for the vaccine. So we have a lot of work to do. And believe you me people in our country need this help. 8 million plus more people have fallen below the poverty line, so you cant tell me that we should not do this. We should do the right thing and help the American People survive during this terrible period. And you support getting rid of the filibuster. Are you concerned at all about the blowback, for instance, like what if republicans take control in four years or are no longer c constrained by the filibuster . What is your view on that . My view is we have to get rid of the filibuster. You see what theyre talking about now, trying to stall and make sure the 1. 9 trillion does not go through. People need help. People need this to take place immediately, and so we have to do what we have to do. I want to see this as a bipartisan effort. It should be. Democrats are dying from this pandemic. Republicans are dying from this pandemic. Democrats are losing their jobs, their businesses are going under, so are republicans. Theyre losing their jobs. Their businesses are going under. So this should not be a partisan issue. We should come together and do something in a bipartisan way. We have to do that. We cant allow people to just live on the edge anymore. All right, so lets talk about that just unity and youre talking about bipartisanship. Lets focus on House Republicans. They were extremely unified under trump according to our analysis by our stat expert the average House Republican voted with trump 92 of the time. Democrats have a slim majority. Will they have a similar level of unity under biden . Im convinced that we will, and let me tell you democrats were democrats, right . Were diverse. We have many diverse ideas. We have people with different points of views, which is good thing. But at the end of it day we come together, we unify and we move forward on behalf of the people. And so im really proud of our Speaker Pelosi and how she continues to unify us because were quite a Diverse Group of people. We come from different places. And as a progressive africanamerican woman ive been working with all of our democrats throughout my time in congress. And with republicans also i think many of us want to see bipartisanship, and we know we can unify our caucus. But we also know we have to go further in terms of making sure that we do the right thing by the American People and fight hard on behalf of all of those issues such as racial justice, criminal justice reform, housing, education, climate. So we have a lot of work to do, and im really excited about this possibility that were going to get the job done finally for people in our country. Congresswoman barbara lee, thank you so much again for coming on this sunday evening. Great to have you here. Thank you. I was really happy to be with you tonight, pamela. A quick cnn programming note. Now its an all new cnn global town hall. Join Anderson Cooper and dr. Sanjay gupta for coronavirus facts and fears. Airs live this coming wednesday night at 8 00 eastern. And a deeper dive into bidens first 100 days with someone who knows him best. Biden biographer evan osnos joins us up next. Reentering data that employees could enter themselves . 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Jackson hewitt is here to fight for the biggest refund you deserve. Whether youre a 95er or 59er. Well, the president s first hundred days are a metric were all used to measuring and joe biden will be no exception, but how exceptional are the conditions hes inherited. Cnn contributor evan osnos joins me on this. Evan, welcome to the show. As you watch events play outright now with impeachment, covid relief, what are you picking up about bidens approach . Well, as we heard on Inauguration Day as he said unity is more than rhetoric for him. He said my whole soul is in it. And you know when you talk to the people who are close to him these days what they will tell you is they see this really foremost as a rescue operation right now. I mean, literally a rescue operation in the sense that dealing with covid, getting relief out to people, getting money into their pockets, then you begin the harder process of recovery. And i think the question were all trying to figure out is whether there is any prospects for bipartisanship here. And i think all of us have looked at the number of 147 republicans who voted to throw out the results of the election and said is there any chance here of any kind of real cooperation . Is this just a delusion on joe bidens part . I will tell you its deeply felt and theres a political calculation there. He looks at it today and says the numbers of republicans who want to turn the page who say theyre done with the craziness, done with donald trump, that number is small but growing. Right now its about a quarter of the republican rank and file according to polls. And thats the area where they think they can begin to make some headway. There is this question of bipartisanship, though, because we have heard biden talk about it a lot. There was this call today with members from both sides of the aisle about his covid relief plan. But what has he actually done in terms of action to show that hes going to follow through with trying to create bipartisanship . Because some could argue, look, hes making all these moves with executive orders and tonight he reinstated restrictions on travel that trump had put in, basically policies republicans liked. So could that hurt his goal, essentially . Well, he wanted to send a pretty clear message at the outset, that things that were introduced by executive order can be unwound by executive order. In many cases those were unpopular policies, they couldnt be achieved in the congress. So with a stroke of the pen he went ahead to begin to undo them. Its also about sending a message to americans and also around the world to say were taking a new direction, you know, by getting rid of restrictions from travel from predominantly muslim countries, thing things like that. Theres a difference between the elective republican lawmakers in washington and the attitudes of the rank and file of america. When you look at polls its a fascinating pattern there are issues on which americans really do agree, things on immigration. Even though donald trump made hostility to immigration two thirds of americans actually agree that immigration makes america stronger. Its one of the reasons why you see the Biden Administration beginning to talk about a serious immigration bill within its first 100 days because they say despite what you might hear in washington theres actually appetite out there for making progress on an issue thats bedevilled us for years. You know joe biden so well after working on your book. Has there been anything hes Done Since Taking Office that has surprised you . Well, in many ways what he has done so far is very much a reflection of the things hes been telling me for months going back all the way to last summer. I remember saying to him once you said that you expect republicans to van epiphany after donald trump is gone. I said how could you really imagine an epiphany, and he said, no, i believe it. And i dont mean theyre going to wake up and suddenly become enthusiastic partners on everything i do. Thats nut what i mean. I mean if you remove donald trump, the very spusk maligned influence of this president who scares members of this caucus they begin to recalculate their interests individually and collectively. And that is what youre seeing right now where you begin to see around the edges members of the senate. You had ten members who came out in favor of impeachment. Thats the room joe biden has always worked in legislatively over the course of his career and thats where he believes you can peel off some successes. Hes stayed mum on where he stands essentially on the senate trial, whether trump should be convicted or acquitted and a lot of the circumstances around the trial. Does that surprise you at all, or is that what you would expect. No, hes trying a very hard hand. Look, what hes trying to do is be very clear he wants accountability for the former president but he also doesnt want it to blot out the sun. He needs obviously to get his nominees in place, and he wants to start getting some legislative points on the board. So hes trying to have both things done. I think its worth pointing out biden as you know is a real believer in the power of the congress. He thinks it has its job and the president has his job. Bidens going to encourage the process, sure, as much as he needs but he doesnt want it to come at the expense of eevg else. Hes trying to put these two things in some balance with each other, and its not all that easy. Evan, thank you so much for coming on. My pleasure. Thanks for the invitation. And whatever happens with truffles impeachment trial judgment is already being passed on the expresident by forces that have nothing to do with the senate namely his bankers, customers and the marketplace. Cnns randy kaye reports. Being president has cost me a fortune, a tremendous fortune like youve never seen before. Reporter that may be true and his own mismanagement of the pandemic may be partly to blame. Revenues dropped around 40 . Trumps golf courses and hotels were hit especially hard. Just look at the numbers. At the Trump International hotel in washington, d. C. , sales dropped 63 compared to the year before. In 2019 sales at that hotel were more than 40 million. But theyve since dropped to 15. 1 million. This is the most coveted piece of real estate in washington, d. C. , the best location. Reporter coveted perhaps, but keep in mind along with those sinking revenues trump still has a 170 million loan on that property. And revenues at some of trumps golf courses are in a free fall. At his golf resort in scotland revenue fell about 62 last year to 9. 8 million. And here at Trump National dural golf resort near miami revenues have also dried up. After a banner year in 2019 with revenues more than 77 million, revenues dropped to just over 44 million last year according to trumps final financial disclosure. And documents also show trump has mortgages on this property between 55 and 75 million. Those loans come due in 2023. Trumps golf club in bedminster, new jersey, saw revenues slashed by about 3 million down to about 14. 7 million last year. On top of that the pga canceled its upcoming tournament there delivering another gut punch to the former president. At trumps ice skating rink in new york city, one of the areas hardest hit by the pandemic, revenues fell by nearly 5 million year over year. It wasnt all bad news for trump. Sales at the maralago resort in palm beach, florida, which the former president now calls home increased by about 3 million to 24. 2 million. But still trumps impeachment for inciting an insurrection sparked a mass exodus as businesses and banks severed ties with the trump brand. Beyond the pga tournament, new york city is looking to endall business relationships with the Trump Organization and cancelled contracts with its ice skating rinks and parks. Financial documents shows signature blank which ran trumps Checking Account is severing ties. Even Deutsche Bank trumps largest business lenlder has decided to no longer do business with him. The Trump Organization still owes Deutsche Bank about 340 million. The Trump Organization tells us in a statement there are places that due to government mandates we were not able to operate, which in some cases means you lose the entire season. We are very proud of our team and how we have continued to navigate this devastating pandemic. We have never been stronger. Randy kaye, cnn, dural, florida. And coming up, they came to the u. S. Capitol ready for war according to prosecutors. A closer look at the extremist group, the oath keepers, up next. The world is pretty smart. Wicked smart. So we built an education just as smart. So smart it can work at my speed . Yep. With flexpath, you can finish your bachelors degree on your terms and budget. Capella university. Dont just learn. Learn smarter. Youre strong. You power through chronic migraine 15 or more headache days a month,. Each lasting 4 hours or more. Botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. So, if you havent tried botox® for your chronic migraine,. Check with your doctor if botox® is right for you, and if samples are available. Effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection. Causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing,. Speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness. 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And this week federal prosecutors filed the first significant conspiracy charge stemming from the attack on the capitol giving the public a glimpse at three people they say are part of a Violent Extremist Group who did more than just participate. Cnns Sarah Schneider reports. Reporter it is striking just how many people who are u. S. Veterans that are now accused of attacking the u. S. Capitol. They came to washington trained in warfare wearing combat gear, forming a line marching up the Capitol Steps and then used their training against the u. S. Capitol. These three americans are some of the first to face the most severe charges in the attack on the capitol including conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding and violent entry or disorderly conduct. All three are u. S. Veterans. 65yearold Thomas Edward caldwell served in the navy. 50yearold donovan ray a former marine. The person who popped up behind him is Jessica Marie watkins. She served in the army as jeremy david watkins. On january 6th the former army veteran riled up her troops in person and on the social media site parler. We storm the capitol today. Watkins is a member of the oath keepers, an extremist antigovernment group. She also started her own selfstyled militia in ohio. We wanted to know more about these americans now charged attacking the democratic transfer of power they claim to support. So we went to their towns. Turns out watkins runs a bar with her partner. I spoke with a neighbor who lives down the street from this bar who didnt want to be identified and he said this is the watering hole and when you go in to get your beer watkins would often try to recruit you to her militia. He said most people didnt bite, but we know at least one person did because he was in d. C. With watkins, and they were both arrested. That person was donovan kroul who lives just down the street from pwatkins bar. The two live up stairs where the fbi showed up last week. The shots woke us up and the yelling because they were on the microphone yelling it is the fbi and to come down. And it was crazy. Reporter it was flash bangs not gunshots. The blasted out window remains broken. Only he was home and was questioned and released. She was supposed to help protect some vip members within the trump rally. Reporter there are people calling her a traitor. How would you describe her . Is that fair . That is very much an unfair statement. She would never try to dismantle the constitution. Reporter so you dont see this as an insurrection or sedition . It was illegal and people involved they need to reporter including ms. M watkins . If shes found guilty of anything then shell have to pay the consequences of that. Reporter whats he like . When drunk will tell you to shut up, when sober the best guy you could have. Reporter you saw him both drunk and sober. It was a good thing to help him like it was a reason to be sober. Reporter crow has been convicted in ohio for drunk driving. A couple years ago her son said they were going to take over the government if they tried to take trum trumps presidency from him. His mother said she didnt think much of it until january 6th happened. Near berriville, virginia, is where Thomas Caldwell lives. Every single [ bleep ] in there is a traitor. Reporter that is caldwell at capitol calling legislators traitors. In washington, d. C. Authorities say he was a coconspirator with crowl and watkins in the assault on the capitol. I do not believe the charges of conspiracy are at all fair. Reporter its unclear how caldwell knew crowl and watkins, but according to federal prosecutors they were all in d. C. , and watkins was using the zelo phone application to communicate and help plan the attack on the capitol. And our thanks to sarah snider for that report. And also a quick reminder you can tweet me pamelabrown at cnn and on instagram as well. In a year of changes. Dont take chances on your taxes. Be 100 certain with jackson hewitt. Well get your taxes done right, guaranteed. Rakuten cash back on the things all in our home i shop on Rakuten Rakuten well, senator Bernie Sanders hoped to be celebrating his own inauguration as president this week. As a consolation prize, he still turned out to be one of the stars of the show. Im sure youve seen this with his mittens and manila folder. The look that launched a million memes. Cnns jeanne moos has the report. Reporter people gushed about Michelle Obamas outfit. Can i just remark of how flawless Michelle Obama is. Reporter some even gushed about the 2,000 sneakers worn by an inlaw of Vice President kamala harris. Rocking some dee or air jordans, amazing, amazing. Reporter but none of that gushing came close to the gusher of memes inspired by Bernie Sanders for what was dubbed his grumpy chic look. Reporter there was just something about the pose, the mittens, the social distance. One company is already rushing to turn bernie into a bobblehead. His images on a set of birch coasters selling for 11. 99 on etsy. He has been transferred to Forrest Gumps bench, behind the resolute desk, seated in the game of thrones throne, appropriately dressed for crossing the delaware, or less heroically an old man on his way to the post office. As if he had an appointment at the dmv. Reporter or as he was taking a break with the boys in that famous construction photo. True, his mittens may be on the far fringe of fashion, but so what if he seemed dressed for riding the subway rather than attending the inauguration. Looking warn tweeted dionne warwick. People were smitten by the mittens made for him two years ago by a Vermont School teacher fan. I gave those mittens to bernie just as a gift, expecting nothing in return. I think its beautiful theyve gone so far. Reporter theyre made out of old wool sweaters with fleece from recycled plastic. Sadly, i have no more mittens for sale tweeted jen ellis after a flood of requests. Maybe the look isnt everyones cup of tea. Maybe youll never be described as absolutely flawless. Reporter but bernie saw no flaws in his look coming from vermont. We know something about cold. Were not so concerned about good fashion. We want to keep warm. Reporter bernie isnt just warm, hes hot. Oh my love reporter capable of making pottery and love in mittens. Jeanne moos, cnn, new york. You just have to laugh. Well, sanders is taking his newfound fame in stride. And as he told dana bash on state of the union, its helping him raise money for a good cause. Not only are we having fun, what were doing here in vermont is were going to be selling around the country sweatshirts and tshirts and all of the money is going to be raised, which i expect will be a couple of million will be going to programs like meals on wheels that feed low income senior citizens. It turns out to be a good thing. And not only a fun thing. Thank you for joining me this evening. Im pamela brown. Ill see you again next weekend. Everyone has a story. A history. We have different needs and challenges. But one thing we share is wanting to make our lives the best they can be. If you have medicaid and medicare, a dual complete plan from unitedhealthcare can help. Giving you more benefits at no extra cost to you. And oneonone help managing your care. To get you the help you need, whatever your story may be. With dual complete from unitedhealthcare, theres more for you. The following is a cnn special report. Our country has had enough. Taking our freedom, locking us down and turning this country into a blasted socialist republic, and that is not right thats what im doing here. You will never take back our country with weakness. Thats what were doing, fighting back. You have to show strength and