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Ricardo Pires, UNICEF Spokesperson, Discusses Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza Worsening Amid Violence; Anderson Clayton, North Carolina Democratic Party Chair, Discusses Key Down-Ballot Race Results From Super Tuesday; Mitch McConnell Speaks After Endorsing Trump For President. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired March 06, 2024 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[14:31:04]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Turning now to the latest in the Israel- Hamas war. Hamas saying it's, quote, "shown flexibility and will continue negotiations to try to reach a ceasefire in Gaza."

The U.S. and U.K. are among the countries pressuring for an end to the violence as the humanitarian crisis gets dramatically worse.

At least 20 people, including newborn babies, have starved to death in northern Gaza according to Palestinian health officials. The real number may be even higher. But aid agencies have limited access in the region.

One health worker telling CNN that thousands of babies could starve if Israel's severe restrictions on aid persist.

Joining us now is a UNICEF spokesperson, Ricardo Pires.

Ricardo, thank you so much for being with us.

Obviously, the situation is very dire. And we do want to get a handle on what you have learned about what's going on, on the ground. Can you tell us the very latest?

RICARDO PIRES, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: Thanks for having me, Brianna.

The situation is catastrophic. It's been terrifying for children in Gaza since the onset of this conflict. And then four months on now, it's just getting to a point nearly of no return.

Because as you mentioned, children are dying of starvation when aid and the food and nutrition products that they need so badly to stay alive are only a few kilometers away and not able to get in.

So we're really calling for that ceasefire as soon as possible so more humanitarian corridors are open, more aid can get through and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of children -- of children diminishes a little bit. Because right now, they are at severe risk, not only from bombardments and bullets on the ground, but also from disease spreading. And as you said, the lack of food and malnutrition spreading very rapidly.

KEILAR: And what happens? I mean how are you expecting this to increase here in the coming days and weeks if aid remains restricted?

PIRES: That's a good question, Brianna. We have been alerting the international community and the world over and over since this conflict started, but especially in the last couple of months because we have seen cases of malnutrition increasing.

And when it reaches the point of severe acute malnutrition, children are basically fighting for their lives every single minute. And without the proper treatment, without food and without a safe space to recover, they will die.

So for us, for UNICEF, this is not surprising. It's tragic, but it's something we saw coming. And we can guarantee that if a ceasefire is not in place, if more aid doesn't get through, these numbers will, indeed, increase and might reach the thousands.

Every estimate we put out now, it's very likely to be an underestimate. So what we need now is a ceasefire so we can get in, so humanitarian workers can assess the situation and make sure that the adequate response starts to get in place as soon as possible.

KEILAR: I want to dig in a little bit on the specifics about the problems getting aid in. Because CNN has learned that restrictions on aid can be kind of arbitrary.

And often include things that you would expect should be able to get through easily, anesthesia, anesthesia machines, things for oxygen machines, x-ray machines, food, toys that are in wooden boxes instead of in cardboard boxes, or sleeping bags, hygiene kits that have nail clippers in them.

And we'd heard from one Senator here who had gone to Israel to look at what was going on, that if you have a situation like that, where some kind of object is flagged in a shipment, the entire shipment might then be put aside and take weeks then to get back in.

[14:35:00]

Are you having any luck getting past these kinds of issues with getting aid in?

PIRES: We do manage to get aid in. In fact, over the weekend, we got our first truck to the north of Gaza, which hadn't happened in a while after the tragic incidents of last Thursday when lots of people died trying to access aid in an area that has been completely isolated.

But that's correct. We have faced the same issues in terms of getting more supplies in, lengthy inspections, products that are actually really important right now being denied and also long queues to get in and too many sorts of checkpoints along the way. So just a very, very slow process, Brianna, that is preventing the

necessary items and life-saving aid to get through. We have an example of wash products, as we call water, hygiene and sanitation products, being denied.

That would be used to help rebuilding some of the infrastructure that has been destroyed, including desalination plants that are not fully operational.

So it is, indeed, a problem. And it hasn't gotten -- gotten any better. It's actually pretty much the same as it was a couple of months ago, which is just unacceptable, given an acceptable given that children are dying every day for lack of supplies, but also violence on the ground.

KEILAR: And, Ricardo, the most vulnerable, of course, are the smallest. And we understand, according to a UNICEF report that was out yesterday, thousands of women due to give birth in the next month, their babies are at risk of dying.

Talk to us about the specific factors that are threatening these pregnant women and the babies that they will birth.

PIRES: Again, a very good question, Brianna. Maternal health is a huge concern for UNICEF and it has been again since the onset of this crisis, especially in areas where aid is not getting through, even in the minimum amount.

So the main risks they face are, obviously, infections. Given that they're delivering babies without the proper infrastructure, without the proper health care.

Most hospitals in Gaza have been destroyed or are not functional or at the brink of collapse. Health workers are stretched there. They're tired. They can no longer cope with the demand that is arriving.

And women are sometimes delivering baby, having caesarians without anesthesia, which is, some doctors would think, unimaginable. But it is happening.

And they face the threats of any women who would have to deliver a baby, which is a risky process in many cases, without the proper health care and without the infrastructure or the support they need in place in case something goes wrong, which it often happens.

So babies and women in Gaza right now, pregnant women who are about to deliver, are high, high risk, Brianna.

And were very concerned with the babies that are born and need support, premature babies that need incubators. UNICEF got 50 incubators in the last couple of days into -- into Rafah.

But again, this is not enough, just given the sheer number and the huge demand for more support, more health care, more medication, more food, more water, and above all, an urgent ceasefire. KEILAR: Yes. And dehydration causing an issue with breastfeeding very

broadly. And then there's a formula shortage and the water isn't clean. It's really a -- really a dire situation.

Ricardo, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate it.

PIRES: Thank you.

KEILAR: Still ahead, it's set to be a Biden-Trump rematch in November, but a president can only do so much if his party doesn't win Congress. Next, we're going to look at key down-ballot races that could decide the balance of power in the next Congress, where margins are already razor-thin.

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[14:42:20]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Mitch McConnell, let's listen.

MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): We're making our best effort to do the other six before March 22nd. That's important to get the government funded and getting it funded in a non-C.R. way.

Secondly, the speaker - and I recommended that our junior senator from Alabama, Katie Britt, reply to the president tomorrow night.

We think she is particularly effective to make the points that many Americans are concerned about. And we're pretty excited to have her do the response to President Biden.

UNIDENTIFIED SENATOR: But we are finally, and I emphasize finally, turning to the appropriations process.

SANCHEZ: So we're going to get out of that on Capitol Hill. We were hoping to hear the Senate minority leader talk about his endorsement of former President Donald Trump in the race for the White House in 2024.

Obviously, the two of them have had a contentious relationship over the years. McConnell saying that Trump should be held responsible for January 6th. Trump leveraging a slew of personal attacks against McConnell, including attacks against his wife, Elaine Chao.

We'll keep monitoring those remarks from Senators and bring you up to speed if McConnell does mention this apparent change in mood that he had to endorse Donald Trump for president.

Aside from the presidential primaries that we saw yesterday on Super Tuesday, the day set the stage for some key down-ballot races.

Let's get into those because there are razor-thin majorities in both the House and Senate. And these races could define the balance of power in the next Congress.

First, let's start in the Californias Senate primary. CNN is projecting that Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff is going to face off against Republican candidate and former Major League Baseball star, Steve Garvey. They held off two sitting congresswomen, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee.

We also have to mention the record-setting money spent in this race. Over $70 million spent in this primary alone.

Also in the Golden State, voters went to work filling two vacant seats, one from Adam Schiff running in district 30, another in district 20, once held by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Republican Vince Fong, endorsed by McCarthy and Donald Trump, currently in the lead in district 20. Democrat Laura Friedman, pulling away from a crowded 15-candidate contest in district 30.

Shifting to another House race, this one in the south in Alabama where in the first congressional district, because of redistricting, we saw a rare intra-party battle of Republican House members, friends-turned- foe.

[14:45:01]

CNN is projecting that Congressman Barry Moore is going to defeat the incumbent in that first congressional district, fellow Congressman Jerry Carl.

Meantime, another Senate primary in Texas. There, Congressman Colin Allred will be the latest Democrat to try and defeat incumbent Senator and one-time presidential candidate, Ted Cruz.

CNN is projecting that Allred, a former Tennessee Titans linebacker, who broke with his party over President Biden's handling of the border, will have enough votes to avoid a runoff and go head-to-head with Cruz, the Republican winner.

We should point out Allred, he's got a tough fight ahead of him. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas in 30 years. That is the longest losing streak of its kind in the United States.

And finally, what is expected to be the most competitive governor's race in November in North Carolina. CNN is projecting that Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson secured the Republican nomination.

On the other side, CNN projecting that Attorney General Josh Stein has won the Democratic primary.

Robinson has a streak of homophobic and anti-Semitic rhetoric that will likely play a role in the general election. Stein, meantime, he enjoys the backing of the state's current governor, as well as a sizable war chest.

Both this governor's race and the presidential election in North Carolina could be neck and neck.

Brianna? KEILAR: All right. let's talk more about this now, a growing political spotlight shining on North Carolina, with Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party.

Anderson, it is great to have you.

And I know that were sort of fresh off of watching what happened here. And 12 percent of Democrats, 88,000 voters, voting no preference last night, instead of for Biden, which is notable, especially because Trump won North Carolina in 2020 by less than 75,000 votes.

Do you have a handle on why they voted no preference?

ANDERSON CLAYTON, CHAIR, NORTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: I mean, I think that young voters right now, especially across our college campuses, are advocating and using their democratic process, right, to make sure that they are pushing this president to do what they need him to do right now.

We're really proud to see the vice president call for a ceasefire when she was in Selma this last week. And we are very excited to see this administration takes seriously the needs of young voters in this election cycle.

But I will say what we have seen in North Carolina, in particular, this a margin that were looking at for the 88,000 voters is not any different than -- and it's actually smaller than what we saw in Barack Obama's reelection campaign. And in 2012 and North Carolina as well.

But I do want to make sure that folks understand that people are speaking. And I'm proud honestly to say that folks are using the democratic process to do that rather than saying were just not going to vote.

That's something that I'm really excited to see that young people are saying we're going to organize our power to be stronger in this year.

KEILAR: Yes, it was pretty amazing and 2008 when Obama won North Carolina, something he couldn't repeat in 2012., Biden obviously came pretty close in 2020, didn't seal the deal though.

Why do you think that he can now? I mean, if were looking at Obama where it was sort of this swing of about on 115,000 votes, why do you think Biden will not see that in North Carolina?

CLAYTON: We even saw it from 2016 to 2020, the margin that Donald Trump won by in this state decreased. And we know that North Carolina is a state that's on the margins. It's won and lost on the margins.

North Carolina has the second-highest rural population besides any state in the country other than Texas right now. And we're looking at an administration that's fundamentally said we believe in revitalizing rural economies again.

This is the first federal administration I feel like in history that's invested money directly into communities. These communities need to hear that.

The American Rescue Plan Act, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the Inflation Reduction Act were three historic pieces of legislation that invested money directly into those communities.

People and companies like Wolfspeed here in North Carolina, received millions of dollars of investment.

Three guys that started a chip manufacturing plant when they graduated from N.C. State University, one of our flagship public universities here in North Carolina, a university system that was founded by Democrats in North Carolina, and really invested in their right and their ideas.

And that's what this administration has done. And that's what we've got to tell people across this state this year.

Joe Biden lost North Carolina by 20 -- or 74,000 votes in 2020. And we know that we have the ability to go after and chase every single person in this state this year to turn out for him.

KEILAR: How do you turn them out in the rural areas?

CLAYTON: You come in and show -- and show up. I mean, what Barack Obama had in 2008 that I've heard consistently on the ground from people, from Murphy to Manio in North Carolina, is saying, we had an organizer for that campaign out here talking to us.

[14:50:00]

People I think really negate the aspect of just what these communities, what people on the ground need to see right now, which is that government cares about them again.

Right now, people feel very alienated. And the Republican Party in North Carolina has strategically done a good job of making sure that folks feel like government is not working for them right now. And that's not true.

What Bidenomics and why Bidenomics in North Carolina isn't working as effectively as it needs to, is because our state legislature is saying that right to work laws are still OK to be in place.

We are an anti-union state. And Joe Biden is building a union economy right now. He's the first president in the nation's history to walk on a picket line.

I mean, people want to see the fact that worker's rights are at the front line of the fight that were going into this year because we know that people's pocketbooks are hurting.

And they're hurting because of corporate greed. They're hurting because of the fact that folks are getting bled dry from the fact that people are using the post-pandemic and the inflation against them.

And this administration is trying their hardest to make sure that people know that they're fighting for them on the other end of this, too.

KEILAR: Anderson, it's great to speak with you. Of course, we'll be watching your state very carefully. Thanks for being with us.

CLAYTON: Thank you.

KEILAR: And coming up, a major escalation. For the first time, a Houthi strike in the Red Sea has turned deadly. We'll have the details ahead.

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SANCHEZ: We want to replay some video for you now from Capitol Hill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke with reporters.

We were waiting for him to talk about his endorsement of Donald Trump, which he released just a few hours ago. This of course, coming after Nikki Haley suspended her campaign earlier in the day.

A difficult history between these two.

[14:55:02]

Let's listen to McConnell now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): -- 2021, shortly after the attack on the capitol, I was asked a similar question, and I said, I would support the nominee for president even if it were the former president.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Senator McConnell, in April of last year, you indicated you didn't really directly answer the question as to whether or not you were comfortable with Mr. Trump and he was in the middle of criminal trials and indictments. He was the nominee.

So that means you're comfortable with him?

MCCONNELL: I don't have anything to add to what I just said. I said, in February of 2021, shortly after the attack on the capital, that I would support President Trump if he were the nominee for our party. And he obviously is going to be the nominee of our party.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Senator McConnell, most your Republican colleagues would say you had a very effective 17 years as Republican leader.

What do you think of this new idea of putting term limits on the Senate Republican leader?

MCCONNELL: Well, we have term limits now. They're called elections. And I had a contrast myself during my last election as leader.

I think the conference ought to be able to be free to choose whoever. There's no limit on this speaker or the other House leaders. That won't be my decision to make. But I think it's totally inappropriate.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Senator McConnell?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you endorse a candidate in the leadership race to succeed you?

MCCONNELL: No. No.

OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So two big pieces of news there. McConnell saying that he is not endorsing a candidate for Senate leader upon his vacating that position.

Then McConnell answering different questions about his endorsement of Donald Trump effectively the same way.

Saying that, after January 6, 2021, when he said that Trump should be held accountable for what happened at the capitol that day, a riot in which insurrectionists tried to undo the results of the 2020 election as they were being certified.

McConnell says that even in those moments where he was remarking that Trump should be held accountable, he believed that he would support the Republican nominee for president in 2024, even if it were Donald Trump.

Still plenty more news to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. We're back in just a few moments. Stay with us.

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