Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

President Biden Meeting with World Leaders at G7 Summit in Italy; President Biden to Sign Security Pact with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump to Visit with Republican House Members and Senators on Capitol Hill. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired June 13, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The vigilance that we need in this period that the FBI director says we all need to be vigilant.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and there was another incident in Arizona where someone was arrested who was targeting black people. And there's just -- we've been warned about this from the FBI over and over and over again. Christopher Wray warning that this could be happening and the threat is high. Juliette Kayyem, you always give us great information. Thank you so much.

Another hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: An unprecedented security deal for Ukraine and a new plan to fund Ukraine with Russian money. We are standing by for an announcement.

Vandals target the homes of Jewish board members of a big museum. The mayor calls it overt, unacceptable antisemitism.

And then a state of emergency, and rain and rain and more rain, the floodwaters over south Florida.

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner, and this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening right now, President Biden meeting with other world leaders at the G7 summit in Italy, while back at home Donald Trump is about to meet with Republicans on Capitol Hill. Trump will be meeting Republicans that are friend and even some foe in the House and Senate for the first time since he told supporters to fight like hell on January 6th, just before the insurrection. The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, who is no fan of Donald Trump yet has thrown his support behind him, will be among the lawmakers meeting behind closed doors today.

President Biden, behind a different set of closed doors, meeting not only with G7 leaders, but about to meet with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy. CNN's M.J. Lee is traveling with the president in Italy. And M.J., big announcements are coming, and announcements also that President Biden clearly want to use to send a message to Russia's Vladimir Putin.

M.J. LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Kate. Now that the ceremonial aspects of kicking off the G7 or behind us, we are now deeply into the working sessions portion of the summit. The leaders have been behind closed doors meeting on issues including Africa, climate change, the situation in the Middle East.

And while there are a number of myriad of issues at the leaders are going to be working on and discussing this week, there's no question that a top priority for this group is strengthening the alliance's support for Ukraine. We do expect that announced men of a $50 billion loan for Ukraine that comes from interests accrued from hundreds of billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets. The final details, we were told, were still being hammered out this week.

And then this evening we are going to see President Biden sign that new security pact with Ukraine. And this is, of course, a really important symbolic move for the U.S. and Ukraine, coming at a moment when the war is in its third year and Russia claims to have made significant advances recently in this conflict.

And remember, really important sort of fine print about this pact is that it is not necessarily binding for a future U.S. president. Of course, you know a presidential election is coming in the U.S. in November. So that means that a different future U.S. president that isn't President Biden, say Donald Trump, wouldn't necessarily have to uphold this pact which would commit the U.S. for 10 years to working with Ukraine on important issues like intelligence-sharing, or working together to work on creating military equipment, for example.

So just keep in mind the broader context here as well that I think is significant, which is that when the president attended his first G7 summit some three years ago, he made this public pledge. He said he is going to be bringing back the U.S. leadership on the global stage. And I think that question is one that really looms large. As we know, there are a number of world leaders and at different world capitals, there's growing anxiety that is setting in about the possibility of a second Donald Trump term.

Now, I should note, later this evening, we are also going to see a joint news conference with President Biden and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. So of course, there's not a shortage of questions and issues that the president could be pressed on, issues related to things happening abroad and back at home as well. Kate?

BOLDUAN: M.J., great to see you. Glad you're there. Thank you so much.

John?

BERMAN: All right, this morning, the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, now a convicted felon, is headed to Capitol Hill. This will be the first time he will be there since the January 6th insurrection.

[08:05:00]

And the Biden campaign is marking the occasion with a new video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On January 6th, Donald Trump lit a fire in this country, stoking the flames of division and hate. Now he's pouring gasoline.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: They were unbelievable patriots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pledging to pardon the extremists who tried to overthrow our government.

There is nothing more sacred than our democracy, but Donald Trump ready to burn it all down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: John King is here to talk about this. John, I was with Senator Chris Murphy a few minutes ago and I asked him, on January 6th, 2021, could you have ever imagined that Donald Trump would be becoming to Capitol Hill as something of a conquering hero for Republican members of Congress?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Could Mitch McConnell, who will greet the president today, the Senate Republican leader on Capitol Hill, ever imagine that after he said he bears responsibility, Donald Trump bears responsibility? Could now former Speaker and former Congressman Kevin McCarthy, out of Congress because of this, who first blamed Trump and said Trump needed to go, and then hugged Trump and tried to keep his relationship with Trump?

Look big picture, this just, again, Donald Trump taking us to a place we've never been, right. He is the presumptive nominee. He is a convicted felon, and he will go up to the Republican House members and Senate members tonight as their leader, as their leader. And if you remember on January 6th how many people thought that we would be in this position.

But, a, it proves the resilience of Donald Trump, b, it proves his dominance over the party. That doesn't mean there's not tension under the surface. There are 15 or 20 House members for whom Trump is a problem. And look, Mitch McConnell is leaving. He's just decided he wants Republicans to take back the Senate. Trump is actually an asset to them in most races this year, if you look at where the tough races are in this case. So Mitch McConnell is going to eat his peas.

But that Donald Trump is back on Capitol Hill of all places as Republican kingmaker is a wow.

BERMAN: It's interesting because there's the issue of what it says about him. And as I think you know, he's got this skill, whether you like him or not, it's this political resilience that is in many ways unprecedented. That's what's it says about him. But there's also the what does it say about them? What does it say about these Republican members who absolutely were saying other things on January 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th?

KING: Many of them, some will never say this publicly, but in private conversations, many of them from the beginning had been trying to figure out, how do we make them go away? How does he go away? When will the trap door open and he will go away? Because never mind, never mind the 5:00 a.m. tweets when he was president, even never mind the insurrection. I know people are going to throw things at the TV. But he's not a conservative, he's not one of us. He doesn't stand up against Vladimir Putin. He's just not a traditional Reagan Republican or a Bush-Cheney Republican. They've wanted him gone a long time, but they haven't figured out how.

And I think that the fact that the Marco Rubios and the Ted Cruzs and the people who Trump just eviscerate it in 2016, and still to this day doesn't really respect, thinks he dominates, will just follow him, follow him because they were afraid of his people. They're afraid of the phone calls, the protests, the people back home.

BERMAN: We just saw pictures of Joe Biden in Italy, President Biden in Italy. You and I were speaking last night overnight. I'm still marveling at it's, what, it's two weeks from today where there is the first presidential debate right here on CNN. Thats not why I'm talking about it. I'm talking about it because it's really extraordinary that it's going to be happening this early. President Biden has got two weeks to prepare for this. I mean, how much debate prep can one do?

KING: Well, he would argue he's doing the job, and that's the best debate prep, but you're right, he does need to prepare for this moment. Communicating has never been Joe Biden's great strength. What's he going to be like in a room with Donald Trump? The election is 20-and-a-half weeks away. The first debate is remarkably early. They're not technically, not even officially the nominees yet.

I will say this, though, those pictures today, President Biden hopes that's part of it, right? Yes, he's going to have to stand as close as I am to you and debate Donald Trump in a room in two weeks. But he hopes these moments, Donald Trump on Capitol Hill today, that video the Biden campaign puts out, his people, that small slice that will decide the election. Most people are locked in. There's a very small slice of persuadables. He hopes him on the world stage with Zelenskyy, with the other world leaders talking about alliances, talking about preserving democracy. And then Donald Trump, he has hoped the mood will change, but the mood hasn't changed. Thats been so interesting.

This has been a remarkable, if you look at the polling, a remarkably consistent race for months. I would argue that just beneath that in my travels, all the ingredients of volatility there, economic anxiety, disgust with Washington -- the question is, what makes those pots boil over? I think the debate is a huge moment for both of these men.

BERMAN: We're going to hear much more about those travels in a little bit. So don't go far. John King. And I will note, just one more game, one more game. No, K.P., no problem. (LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: All right, Sara?

SIDNER: All right, thank you, guys.

State of emergency in south Florida. Take a look at these pictures from WPLG. We're tracking today's threat because there's expected to be more rain and potential flash flooding on the way.

Plus, the rising tide of partisan reporting, how more and more politically back websites our targeting voters in swing states. And they may not even know it.

[08:10:00]

And right now, Tesla shareholders vote to decide if Elon Musk deserves a bonus worth about $50 billion, with a "b", dollars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Five counties in southern Florida under a state of emergency now as destructive flooding has rolled through, worsening three days of heavy rains and storms. Officials say some areas saw an entire month's worth of rain over a two-day period. Cars were submerged up to their windshields. You can see some of the video there.

[08:15:00]

They were forced -- some drivers had to leave their cars. It was just too dangerous for them to stay and wade through knee-deep floodwaters.

Now, more than eight million people are under flood watches in the state as a risk of flash flooding worsens through Friday because more rain is expected.

CNN's Carlos Suarez is on the ground in Fort Lauderdale for us.

Carlos, you're in another spot. It looks like the waters you said had been receding, but they are still very much there and danger maybe on the way, correct?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right.

So we are in Fort Lauderdale. That is an Broward County where we are expecting more rain to move through this part of South Florida throughout the day.

Now, we are in a neighborhood just north of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood International Airport, where the folks out here are still dealing with this mess right here.

It has been incredibly difficult for some folks to get out of their homes and into their cars, to go out to their jobs, to go out to school because of all of this water that you see right here. This is a result of some rain that has fallen across parts of South Florida over the last 48 hours.

In the city of Fort Lauderdale alone, we are talking about more than a foot of rain that fell across this part of South Florida. Things were not a whole lot better down in Miami-Dade County, the cities of Miami Beach, as well as Hallandale and Aventura. They are at this hour also dealing with some flood -- of some flooding there.

Now, over in Southwest Florida, the folks there have been drying out since about Tuesday and Wednesday when more than a foot of rain fell across parts of Southwest Florida.

Here now is one man that spoke to a CNN affiliate here in South Florida, describing just how bad things got a for his wife, who at one point was stuck inside of her car amid all of this rain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLAD GALIYEV, WIFE WAS STUCK IN FLOODWATER: My wife was coming back home from beauty salon, and then she was calling me saying that, oh, I am in the middle of the lake. Can you please help me?

And I was with my son, so I didn't have any time and opportunity to come here. Then our friend came and picked her up so, yesterday like a bunch of people just stuck in and I didn't know why many people saw that there are so many cars stuck in there and they still wanted to go there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: And so Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in five counties across Florida, including here in Broward and down in Miami-Dade County.

City officials tell us that the hope today is that as soon as all of this bad weather is able to clear out, then they will start the process of trying to bring out these water pumps, all in an effort to try to get all of this water out. However, with more rain expected throughout the day, folks out here are going to be dealing with this situation for the next several hours -- Sara.

SIDNER: Carlos, Kate is very anxious seeing you stand in that water because she is almost sure that an alligator is going to somehow get to you.

BOLDUAN: It isn't safe.

SIDNER: Get out of there as soon as you can.

BOLDUAN: Floodwaters in South Florida concern me. Floodwaters anywhere do. Floodwaters in South Florida may present a bigger issue.

SIDNER: Having grown up there, it is a real thing. Poor Carlos is like, I am not saying anything to you two.

BOLDUAN: He is saying, ladies, it is time to move on. Play the IFV doesn't work hard right now. SIDNER: Thank you to you and your team who are out there in that

mushy mess -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: It is like, this is when I say audio has now gone out.

Coming up still for us, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are battling for union support, a key voting bloc, but are there signs union members might be looking to buck union leadership this time around?

And a bitter end to fight for reparations over a massacre more than a century ago.

We will be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:23:06]

BOLDUAN: President Biden has often called himself the most pro-union president ever, joining the picket line with striking United Auto Worker workers in Michigan last year, the first sitting president to do so, and while he has been endorsed by some of the biggest unions in the country, there are signs that some union members might be ready to buck their leadership this time around.

CNN's John King went to Michigan to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Thirty years at the same job means you develop a routine. So when the United Auto Workers called the strike last fall, Tonya Rincon was a little lost.

TONYA RINCON, MICHIGAN VOTER: We were scared.

It was weird because none of us ever thought we'd actually be out on strike and we didn't know what to expect and I mean, in living memory, Ford hadn't been on strike, I think it was the early 70s.

Shoulders, knees, hips --

KING (on camera): Right.

RINCON: Yes.

KING: Hard work.

KING (voice over): For six weeks, the Local 900 Union Hall was to place to get a meal. Now, you can grab a Biden-Harris yard sign.

The president's pro-union record included joining the picket line.

RINCON: It showed solidarity with everyday men and women that are putting their lives on the line and putting their paychecks on the line for a better living. It mattered. KING (on camera): Did it change the conversation about him at all?

RINCON: Inside the plants, no, I don't think it did.

KING: If you had a secret ballot in there, how would it come up?

RINCON: In the rank and file, it goes about 50/50. Maybe it will move a small percentage, and Michigan is a state where small percentages matter. So maybe it will be 51/49.

KING: But no doubt for you?

RINCON: No doubt for me. No, I am supporting President Biden in this election.

KING (voice over): It is way down from Detroit's heyday, but 134,000 members still makes the UAW a force in battleground, Michigan.

Chris Vitale works in an engine development at Chrysler and believes President Biden's push for more electric vehicles hurts business.

CHRIS VITALE, MICHIGAN VOTER: The government seems to be appeasing the coasts. Everyone who lives in Manhattan thinks everyone should drive an electric car.

KING (voice over): Vitale says he will again ignore union leadership and vote Trump a third time, hoping to end the EV mandates and to get better trade rules.

VITALE: I've watched this region go from the arsenal of democracy, now, were happy if we can get a sports stadium or were going to sell weed or fireworks or whatever it is. It is absolutely pathetic what we have sunk to now, and our politicians are just -- they're good with it. He isn't, so that's the difference.

KING (voice over): Bill Govier voted Trump in 2016 and 2020, likely Trump this time. But first though, he wants to study Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Michigan election math.

BILL GOVIER, MICHIGAN VOTER: If I would really rather have Kennedy, but by voting for Kennedy, it means I think Biden would win, I might have to vote for Trump.

KING: Govier is a 25-year Ford worker and UAW member. This is a side business, using dry ice to clean car under bodies and engine parts. He pours his savings into the business and is about breaking even right now.

GOVIER: We are going to use dry ice to remove all of that stuff.

KING: Govier calls himself a middle of the road conservative. He doesn't like what some people call him or Trump.

GOVIER: The powers-that-be label me as some far-right, White supremacy, MAGA Republican, and you're still entitled to your opinion, but I just don't see him as the anti-Christ or Hitler. That's ridiculous.

KING: Bob King worked at Ford for more than 40 years and served a term as UAW president when the industry was trying to recover from the 2008 financial crisis.

He ties Trump's support among union auto workers to years of lost jobs and lower wages.

BOB KING, MICHIGAN VOTER: People feel like the government and the establishment hasn't been delivering for them. Is their life better now than it was 10 years ago or worse? And for many, many working people, it is worse. Their standard of living has deteriorated. In some cases, their communities have deteriorated.

KING: Walter Robinson, Jr. bets about 40 percent of his Ford co- workers are for Trump.

WALTER ROBINSON, JR., MICHIGAN VOTER: He has never done a hard day's work, not physical work like you do in a plant. He has a solid gold toilet at home, so I mean, how can he really empathize with your life?

KING (on camera): And when you say wait, Joe Biden walked the picket line with us. Joe Biden has been a pro-union president.

ROBINSON: They say that, you know, guns, gays, abortion, Sleepy Joe, Hunter Biden --

KING (voice over): Robinson says the new contract wins were impressive, but didn't fix everything.

ROBINSON: Gas prices are still pretty high. Food, when you go to the grocery store, every time, it is just me and my wife and it is $200.00 every time I go to the grocery store.

KING: His side job, meet DJ Furious, helps pay the bills.

But Robinson says he does it mostly for fun and to make people happy, no matter their politics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: John King is here with us now, once again. It is funny, what we call you is DJ Furious as well.

KING: All the time, all the time.

BOLDUAN: All the time.

KING: I mix them.

BOLDUAN: Don't -- just stop while you're ahead.

But back to the issue at hand, in what you heard from the union workers in Michigan, if this trend continues in Michigan and beyond, how significant would that be? KING: This has been one of the defining battles in the last two

presidential elections, right? Donald trump flips the blue wall. Hillary Clinton loses Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, in part because of blue-collar voters, many of them union voters, right?

And so Joe Biden wins it back, gets all three of those states back. Why? His standing among blue-collar voters, including union voters went up.

He ran nine points better among union households in Michigan in 2020 than Hillary Clinton did in 2016. So this is it. In those industrial states, this is one of the big tug-of-wars right there.

One factor in 2016 that we didn't have in 2020 was the third party candidates. So watch them this year.

Biden is holding his own. Is it enough? That's it. Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, they're won in the tiniest of margins.

BOLDUAN: Right.

KING: And so 50 percent isn't good enough. You've got 62 percent in Michigan union households in 2020, he has to be right around that number again.

BOLDUAN: Also in Michigan, it is becoming kind of encapsulation of all of the issues that Joe Biden is facing right now.

KING: Right. The one thing missing for Michigan would be Latino turnout. It doesn't have a large Latino population. You see that, you have that in Arizona, you have that in Nevada, other battleground states, but is there apathy in the Black community? He needs to turn out voters there and especially in the Detroit area, it is huge.

These blue-collar workers, younger workers. I've been to college campuses several times there, the Israel-Hamas conflict has turned a lot of young voters away from President Biden. They also have concerns about his age. Then you have this blue-collar question right there.

So, all the cracks in the Biden coalition, you can find them in Michigan, all of them.

So you could look at it from the half-empty perspective and say, wow, tough state.

BOLDUAN: We've got problems. Yes.

KING: Or you can look at it from the half-full perspective. It is despite all of those problems, it's that close. It's that close.

[08:30:10]