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Biden Campaign Co-Chair Mitch Landrieu Interviewed on Political Ad regarding Donald Trump's Felony Convictions; Donald Trump Meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Chairman of National Republican Congressional Committee; Wildfire Burns 15,000 Acres in California; 14 Mass Shootings in US Leave Nine Dead, 70 Injured. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired June 17, 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]

AMBASSADOR JULIANNE SMITH, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: NATO allies are directly engaged in the war, which, of course, is not true. Russian disinformation is out there swirling around in many, many corners of the globe, and I think it's upon all of us to push back on that narrative and set the record straight, to help countries understand that Russia is the aggressor and Putin could stop this war tomorrow. He started it over two years ago, and he's the one that would bring an end to this senseless and unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ambassador Julie Smith, thank you so much for being with us this morning. We do appreciate your time.

We are getting fresh reporting from the fire lines, fast-moving wildfires out of California. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Intense whipping winds threaten to fuel a dangerous wildfire raging this morning in California. Hundreds forced to evacuate and 15,000 acres already burned.

Also, a weekend of deadly shootings across the United States. In Michigan families ran for their lives after gunfire erupted at a community splash pad. Nine people injured there. The gunman's motive under investigation this morning.

And the U.S. Surgeon General says he wants to see warnings on social media like the ones you see on cigarettes, adding to the pressure on lawmakers to protect children on social media apps.

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

The first presidential debate right here on CNN 10 days away. This morning, the Biden campaign going on offensive against Donald Trump with a brand-new ad directly leaning into the former president's character and recent felony conviction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the courtroom, we see Donald Trump for who he is. He's been convicted of 34 felonies, found liable for sexual assault, and he committed financial fraud.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden has been working.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Joining me now is the Biden campaign co-chair and former mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu. Thank you so much for being here this morning. I want to talk about that ad.

MITCH LANDRIEU, NATIONAL CO-CHAIR, JOE BIDEN CAMPAIGN: Hi, Sara, good to see you.

SIDNER: It's great to see you. I want to talk about the ad first because for all this time as these cases have been coming forward, President Biden has really shied away from saying anything about the justices. And because Donald Trump has been attacking him saying this has all his fault, he's the one that's pushed these forward, why change this now?

LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, it's not a change. When the case was in litigation, the president didn't have any comment about it. Clearly, this was a case brought by an independent district attorney, and there are no facts or evidence to support Donald Trump's attempt to take the focus off of himself.

But what this ad is about is about showing the American people about the issue that's going to decide this campaign -- wisdom, courage, character. You have a choice between two people. You have somebody like Joe Biden who wakes up every day. He's fighting hard for American citizens. He's working hard to lower prices. He's building 56,000 projects across the country.

And in the meantime, you have another stark choice, one of the most dramatic stark choices in the history of our country. Somebody who is in fact a convicted felon of 34 felonies. Also, most of the people around him when he ran for office before have been convicted, are in jail. Seventeen of his cabinet members have now said they won't vote for him, including his vice president. He's been bankrupt six times. He's been determined to have been liable for sexual assault, for defamation, and for business fraud.

Now, that just is like the choice. And that's the choice that American voters are going to face in a couple of months, and you're going to see the clear difference between the two in the debate that you guys are going to host in just a couple of weeks.

SIDNER: Mitch, it sounds like this is going to be a big theme, as you would expect it to be during a presidential debate.

I do ask you about polling. We heard from President Biden when he was talking to Erin Burnett that he doesn't really believe the political polls. He was talking specifically about the economy. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The polling data has been wrong all along. When I started this administration people were saying there's going to be a collapsing economy. We have the strongest economy in the world. Let me say it again -- in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All right, so he talked about that. And then we have some polling that has come out that our data reported Harry Enten pointed out, that for the black vote, President Biden, they're showing he's losing support, according to the pollsters, that Donald Trump could get 21 percent of the black vote. Is that being ignored? Is the campaign ignoring that? Are you worried about it?

[08:05:04]

LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, it's going to be a very close election. Every one of every one of them is. Secondly, there's no universe in which Donald Trump is going to get 21 percent of the black vote. That's never going to happen. And so it's not that were not worried about that, but we're fighting very, very hard for every vote.

And the records of each of these men is clear in this regard. Polling is always important, but it is true, and I think you guys have to recognize that it has been vastly wrong for a lot of time, especially in the recent past. So it's not that you don't care about it.

The second thing is this -- President Biden has its, in fact, created 15 million jobs since he has been an office. Donald Trump lost 2.5 million jobs, the greatest loss of jobs in the history of the country for any president except Herbert hoover. And so we are going to continue to tell that truth because it is the strongest economy in the world.

However, prices are still too high. And that is why the president is really working hard to fight corporations, to really make sure that we bring down costs for prescription drugs, and to do the work that is necessary to give every American a little bit of breathing room. That is a message that we have to take to the American people. And we're not going to stop talking about how well America is doing in this particular time.

I don't know why Donald Trump keeps tearing down America. Everything he says about this country would make you believe that we're gone through a hellhole. All you need to do is travel around this country and see the unbelievable things that are going on. That's not to say that we don't have problems and we have challenges. That's why the person who sits in the Oval Office is important. And that's why wisdom, character, and judgment are necessary, because if you're the kind of guy that make decisions in the dark that only help you and hurt everybody else, that's not the kind of guy you want and sitting behind the Resolute Desk.

SIDNER: The economy is doing well by all measures. Yes, the prices are high. There was also the infrastructure bill that was pushed through that some Republicans in their states have been touting, not giving the credit, of course, to Joe Biden, but metallic their citizens that this is a great thing. Look at the roads, look at the bridges, we're doing things. But the messaging doesn't seem to be hitting voters. Why do you think that is? And how do you think that needs to change?

LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, that's not necessarily true. We're not at Election Day. We still have time to get there. And of course, over time, people will see those things. They see the incredible work that was done to restore I95 or to clear the channel in Baltimore or to get the highway backup and operating in Pittsburgh and the competence of elected officials as a result of the work the Joe Biden did with governors. They see part of the 56,000 projects that are helping them have clean water, clean air, high-speed Internet, and building all of this infrastructure. And 15.5 million jobs will continue to resonate.

But we've been through a very, very tough time. Remember, when Joe Biden took over, the economy was in a freefall. Donald Trump was asking people to drink Clorox. Thousands of people were dying. This president rescued this country and actually started the recovery, and we're well into it right now. But that is no reason to actually hide when you created more jobs than most presidents have done in that term, or not to talk about how strong America is, or how well were doing vis-a-vis all of our international partners. Joe Biden led that effort primarily because he gets up every day thinking about people.

Donald Trump, as you know, you know this, I don't have to sell this to you. That guy gets up, he thinks about himself. He looks in the mirror and he decides who he needs to go punch in the face because he's mad at them about something. Somebody resigned every day when he was in his administration. You have 17 cabinet members that left Donald Trump's administration that said please don't vote for him again, including his vice president. That's never happened before.

And as we continue to tell that story in America, the American people are really wise. They know that the choice they're about to make is going to have consequences that are going to reach far in to the future. And we haven't yet started talking about the pain that the Supreme Court has put on people and how it's going to get that much worse when Donald Trump gets another choice for that court or maybe even two.

SIDNER: Mitch, I just have to ask you. I know I'm being been wrapped, but I have to ask you about what Trump challenged Joe Biden on, which was he wants him to take a cognitive test. We have a very short bit of time, but he did, he tried to remember the name of his own doctor, Donald Trump, and he messed that up while he was challenging Mr. Biden. What do you make that?

(LAUGHTER)

LANDRIEU: I think Donald Trump is a joke. I mean, when this guy, when his lips are moving, he's lying. And then when he tries to confuse -- when he tries to accuse somebody else of speaking improperly, he can't keep two thoughts in his mind. I would encourage Americans to go listen to Donald Trump's full speeches and try to put that word spaghetti together. And I wonder why anybody is questioning Joe Biden's mental acuity. Donald Trump can't string two sentences together. I mean, it's the biggest joke in the world.

My president is going to show up on time, on task, and he is going to give it to Donald Trump next week. He shows up. He's doing his job. You just saw him crisscross the continent three times with world leaders, and he's back home getting the work of America done because that's what he does every day. And the proof is in the pudding. We have the receipts, 15.5 million jobs, 56,000 projects going on, an economy that's stronger than any other economy in the world, and taking it to big corporate America to reduce their prices because inflation has come down from nine percent to three percent.

[08:10:04]

SIDNER: Mitch Landrieu, I think you got all the talking points in there today, just FYI. Thank you so much.

LANDRIEU: Just the truth, just the truth, Sara. It's all the truth. Fact check me, Harry.

SIDNER: Harry will fact check you, but I know most of what you said, definitely true. Thank you so much, Mitch. John?

BERMAN: The mayor was talking about the presidential debate, which is now just 10 days away. That's next week right here on CNN. So much at stake.

Today, Donald Trump meets with the House Speaker and another key Republican at Mar-a-Lago. CNN's Alayna Treene is with us. What's going on here with these meetings, Alayna?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, that's right, John. Donald Trump will be meeting today with House Speaker Mike Johnson as well as the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Richard Hudson. And look, I think this meeting is very important for both sides. What the two House leaders want is for Donald Trump to help get their members and their candidates elected as fall. And Donald Trump has some agendas of his own, which I will walk through.

But first I just want to talk about the House races. So we know that Donald Trump in the past has been a kingmaker in many of these key battleground races, and for many House members. However, in 2022, many of Donald Trump's candidates, who he endorsed, went on to ultimately lose in the midterm elections.

And so this is something that I know has weighed very heavily both on Donald Trump's mind personally, but also that of his team. They have been endorsing far fewer people this cycle. They say publicly it's because Donald Trump is focused on his election, but in my conversations with the Trump campaign, a lot of it comes down to them not wanting to support candidates that could ultimately lose. So that is part of what they will be discussing today.

The other part of this is Donald Trump wants to stack the House with people who are going to be very loyal to him and who will help him fight the Democrats. Now, we have some reporting that in the aftermath of his conviction in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records, Donald Trump called up Mike Johnson to vent to him about this and wanting Republicans to do more on his behalf to fight Democrats against what he thinks is weaponization of the government.

And this is going to be a key part of this conversation today, because if Donald Trump can get enough people in office who will help him, if they can secure a large enough majority in the House this fall, and if Donald Trump were to win, they can do two things. One, they can help him with his 2025 agenda. They can also help him wage war on the Democrats, which Donald Trump is very much obsessed with doing at this time. And so a lot of topics I think that will get discussed today at Mar-a-Lago. John?

BERMAN: Alayna Treene, great to see you this morning. Thank you very much.

And that debate, the first presidential debate right here on CNN, it is next Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern, June 27th. The day is so close. The debate, of course, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Do not miss it.

Sara?

SIDNER: All right, a wildfire about 70 miles north of Los Angeles has consumed nearly 15,000 acres so far and has forced 1,200 people to evacuate so far. The post fire began Saturday afternoon, Gorman, California, quickly spreading due to high winds and really dry conditions. So far CalFire saying its only two percent contained.

CNN's Camila Bernal is live from the area of Lebec, California, where you can see those winds whipping right now.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Sara. Yes, it really has not died down. The National Weather Service predicted winds, or gusts front 60 to 70 miles an hour, and it's likely what we're experiencing right now. I don't I have a wind gauge, but you can see the wind just hitting not just us but also the fire and the embers. And that's really the concern here, because the wind gusts can pick up those embers and fly them really across highways, across streets, and directly into people's homes sometimes. That's why they already have those 1,200 people under evacuation orders. There are many others under evacuation warnings.

And the thing that they've been telling us throughout the day, all day yesterday, was that people needed to be ready because you just never know how quickly these flames could spread. We know that firefighters right now are trying to do everything they can to keep that fire line, to keep the weight from continuing to push the fire. And they've been using air resources. We saw a number of airdrops yesterday just over and over again. Because we are near a lake, those resources were available, so that was great for those firefighters who are communicating with the cruise on the ground who were inside of all of this bush and this terrain trying to cut some of it out with chainsaws and hand tools. It is 24/7 hour work, but today, of course, the problem is that they're up against this wind, Sara.

[08:15:00]

SIDNER: Yes, that wind. We can see you. We don't need a wind gauge for that. That is incredibly dangerous for that fire.

Plus, we are looking at some pictures of helicopters dropping some of the retardant there and they cannot fly usually in almost hurricane- force winds if it gets to that 70 miles per hour.

Camila Bernal, thank you to you and your team for being out there for us this morning -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, Camila Bernal is a human wind gauge out there.

SIDNER: Exactly.

BERMAN: All right, new reporting on a shooting at a splash pad, children among those hit.

The FAA now looking into a flight that reportedly dropped within a few hundred feet above the ocean. That is not supposed to happen.

And celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay reveals what he called a near fatal bicycle accident. What is his warning this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:21:07]

SIDNER: At least 14 mass shootings in one weekend in the United States. Nine people are dead in one shooting, more than 70 are injured across multiple states.

In Texas, a shooting during a Juneteenth celebration claimed two lives and injured at least 14 people, and authorities are now trying to figure out the motive for a mass shooting at a splash pad near Detroit that left at least nine people injured including young children.

Joining me now is CNN contributor and writer for "The Trace," Jennifer Mascia.

Thank you so much for being here.

We sometimes see this in the summer. I know that sort of shootings and violence kind of build almost with the heat. But what the heck is going on here?

Fourteen mass shootings, that means four or more people were shot.

JENNIFER MASCIA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, what we are seeing is interpersonal violence.

School is out, people are outside. They are in each other's faces and each other's spaces. They are drinking. People let their guard down.

They also have guns nearby. We just had several years where we had millions of guns sold every year in both of those pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. Those put 40 million guns on the street.

So now when people are upset, things that might turn into a fistfight end up turning into a shootout. I mean, what we see here is there was a family squabble in West Virginia where family members were shooting at each other. That was five wounded.

Shootings at gas stations. People just getting upset reaching for a gun and then it turns into a shooting.

SIDNER: What kind of sticks out to you in the sense of where this is all happening?

MASCIA: You know, usually, we see a lot of shootings in the southern states, states where there are a lot of guns and loose gun laws.

Here, we are seeing shootings everywhere -- Massachusetts, Michigan -- these are states that have gun licensing laws, where you actually have to get a license just to buy a gun.

What we are seeing is kind of the democratization of gun violence across the country. Even states with very strong laws can't seem to contain their gun violence problems.

SIDNER: It is really fascinating. I was struck at all of this happening and just before this, the Supreme Court on Friday struck down a ban on bump stocks.

Joe Biden -- President Biden is trying to get Congress to make some action to sort of get rid of bump stocks.

What do you think about this? In context with what happens in this country where we see mass shootings on a regular basis, unlike any other developed nation or a developing nation in the world.

MASCIA: This doesn't happen in other countries, and there is a reason. It is because they implemented some pretty strong gun regulations before hundreds of millions of guns got out into circulation. We are a country with 450 million guns, and that's more guns per people.

Now with the bump-stock decision, bump stocks aren't really found in street crimes. There are about 500,000 of them in circulation, but it is indicative of an attitude toward the Second Amendment that seems to be prevailing in the Supreme Court, which is gun rights over public safety and we saw that in 2022 with the Bruen decision where they actually changed the calculus for deciding Second Amendment cases.

Even though it didn't apply in the bump-stock case, it was more about federal authority, federal agency's authority, what we see is if it wasn't a gun law, if there wasn't a historical analogue, if it wasn't a gun law 150 years ago, it is not part of our history and tradition of gun regulations, so we have to toss the regulation.

We are seeing a lot of regulations and we have a case coming up possibly this week where domestic violence, if you're a domestic offender, if you have a restraining order, the justices are deciding whether you might be able to have a gun and this is how guns get in the wrong hands.

SIDNER: What is really interesting and for those women and men who have survived domestic violence, it is terrifying to think about what happens if people who have been convicted of something like this.

But then you also have red flag laws, like when you see this, if the Supreme Court decides that they are going to allow those who have been convicted of domestic violence to have guns.

[08:25:11]

The red flag laws, when it comes to mental health, do you see that being the next thing that is attacked by potentially the gun lobby?

MASCIA: Everything is on the table as long. As you can put every gun really regulation up to this history and tradition test, it is a crapshoot really where these laws are going to land.

I mean, we are seeing foundational gun laws being challenged including people who have had felonies.

You know, in some districts now, if you have a non-violent felony, you can possess a gun. And so everything is on the table and it is because of this Supreme Court that is six-three conservative.

SIDNER: It is really interesting because it is very divergent from what the public a-large has been pulled on. Time and again, they do want some restriction, not total getting rid of guns, but they do want some restriction over and over and over again and it is very different from what the public thinks this country needs.

So we will be watching this very closely. I know you will.

Thank you so much for coming on. Appreciate that great report.

MASCIA: Thanks for having me.

SIDNER: All right, what went wrong when a Southwest flight came within 400 feet -- that is close y'all -- to the ocean's surface. We will discuss.

And Princess Kate returning to the public eye after announcing she is suffering from cancer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]