Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Biden Plans to Speak about January 6th at Debate; Trump Prepares for Debate; Awaiting Key Rulings from Supreme Court; Presidential Debate Tonight. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired June 27, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of them is called Mohammad Qalibaf, who's actually the current speaker of Iranian parliament. The other is a gentleman named Saeed Jalili, who many in the west will still know because he was once Iran's chief nuclear negotiator.

Both of these politicians have said that they would continue the path of Ebrahim Raisi, which of course means a tough line towards the U.S. and a tough line towards Israel as well.

Of course, one of the things that we know is that right now there is lot of turmoil here in the Middle East. And Iran and Israel were very close to an all-out war quite recently that could have also had massive repercussions for the U.S. and its assets here in this region.

Now, there is still one moderate who is in the race. His name is Massoud Pezeshkian. And he's actually called for better relations, especially with countries here in the middle eastern region. It's unclear how much of a chance he actually has though.

In the end, though, one of the things that we've also picked up is that a lot of people here are telling us that they will also be closely watched the debate on CNN between President Biden and Donald Trump. Of course, whoever becomes the next U.S. president, also a big issue here in Iran as well.

Kate.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: The room where history happens tonight. You see that on your screen. The first-ever presidential debate between a president and a former president. The earliest presidential debate Americans have ever seen and new rules that each candidate agreed to. We're giving you a rare, behind the scenes look on debate day.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Both candidates to arrive here in Atlanta in the next few hours.

This as we are learning last-minute preparations from both sides. And yes, yes, Donald Trump is preparing despite the spin from the campaign.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN is ready to bring it all to you. It is debate day in America. Our special coverage of tonight's historic presidential debate starts now.

And right now President Biden is at Capp David, where he spent the last few days deep in debate preparations. This morning CNN has learned a little bit more about how President Biden is specifically preparing to handle - not even talking - not just talking about policy, but also the insults and attacks that are sure to be coming from Donald Trump during this debate against his family, including specifically likely against his son, Hunter.

CNN's Kayla Tausche is with us here in Atlanta.

You have fresh reporting about what is to come from President Biden on the debate stage. What are you hearing?

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're hearing specifically about a key tenant of his messaging as it regards to January 6th. We've learned that President Biden intends to frame the insurrection as a watershed moment for voters, not unlike the way that the 2004 election was the first election that voters went to the polls after 911. So, it became a referendum on 911. And in 2008, that election was at the height of the financial crisis. And so that became the pivotal moment, the pivotal issue that voters were really galvanized by.

And President Biden intends to frame the insurrection in the same way, that it should be - it should light a fire under people to get them to the ballot box. This electorate that's been largely disengaged. And one source that I spoke with about this messaging said that the president will say that the embodiment of that threat to democracy is returning and that the insurrection, coupled with the overturning of Roe, should be the two forces that show Americans, in their words, that democracy is unraveling.

To that end, the campaign is also launching attacks on Project 2025, which is Trump's transition playbook. They launched a website. I'm told they're going to be pushing QR codes to people.

One of their strategies is to use Trump's own words and Trump's own plans against him because they believe that they're not popular with voters and that voters are not aware of a lot of the things that Trump has said. So, we'll see how that plays out throughout the day today. As I've been reporting, the Biden schedule for today is fairly fluid. When they went to bed last night, they wanted to allow for the possibility that President Biden woke up this morning and wanted to do another mock debate, depending on how he felt. They have a few hours before they arrive here in Atlanta. And then there are a few campaign events before they really get ready. There's still some discussion over whether the president will eat before the debate, whether he'll eat afterward, how many orange Gatorades he'll have and the like.

BOLDUAN: Right.

TAUSCHE: So, of course, we'll be reporting on all of those important details today too.

BOLDUAN: Of course. Well, like - like any prize fighter, we must know how their fuel - how they're fueling.

TAUSCHE: Yes.

BOLDUAN: I will say, your new reporting I think is very fascinating. The framing, the connection of the first election since the insurrection, the first - akin to the first elections since 911, the first election since the global financial crisis. That is an interesting framing that we're - that, obviously, we're going to be seeing tonight.

TAUSCHE: It's described as seismic was the words of - of one of the sources I spoke with.

BOLDUAN: Great reporting, Kayla, as always. Thank you so much.

TAUSCHE: Thank you.

BERMAN: It's also interesting how they're rolling out how they describe their plans. I do find it -

BOLDUAN: The more people talk about your message, the better, right?

BERMAN: Yes. Seismic.

SIDNER: That's true.

BERMAN: All right, that is the reporting from the Biden campaign. What is the reporting from Trump world?

[09:05:01]

CNN's Alayna Treene in the spin room. Look at that behind you right there.

Alayna, what are you hearing this morning?

ALANYA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, it's actually really interesting to just to go off of what Kayla's reporting is. I can tell you that Donald Trump's team has been paying very close attention to the news coming out about the preparations that Joe Biden is doing. I mean actually one Trump adviser had told me a turning point for them where you saw them go on offense much more aggressively and actually tried to raise the bar for the expectations regarding Joe Biden's performance changed when they learned that he would be spending an entire week at Camp David,

I also know that they are paying very close attention to this specific messaging, including on the discussions around the January 6th attack on the Capitol. The Biden campaign's intent to want to push him toward talking about abortion. Obviously, both issues that Donald Trump has struggled on messaging wise for the last several months. These are all conversations that Trump's advisers are having with the former president behind the scenes.

Now, to go through his schedule, over the past two days he has been at Mar-a-Lago. He will be leaving his Mar-a-Lago club later today. He's expected to land in Atlanta around 5:30 and do some last preparations with his team before heading over to the debate.

And to just think about the messaging that actually Trump's team wants to focus on. They want him to avoid personal attacks. You heard Kayla talk about the Biden team preparing for potential attacks on Hunter Biden. That is a line of attack that Donald Trump's team does actually not want him to go and do. He did talk about that back in 2020 in that first debate between the two men and it didn't go well for him. And so Trump's team has actually been urging him not to talk about personal grievances or personal attacks on Joe Biden's family and instead focus on the economy, inflation, and the border.

And these are all things that we heard them roll out in a new ad campaign today. And what's really notable about this ad campaign, it's actually the first time we're seeing ads from the Trump campaign since he became the presumptive Republican nominee.

Take a listen to that ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No matter what Joe Biden promised in the debate, ask yourself, are you financially better off since he became president? Are you and your family safer since he became president? Is our country more secure since he became president?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, you can see there, those three key issues, like I said, that they all want to focus on. Those are issues that Trump's team believes Joe Biden, or, excuse me, Donald Trump is polling better on then Joe Biden.

And this really does come down to their overarching theme tonight, which is that they want Donald Trump to sharply contrast his former administration with that of Joe Biden's. And they think that's how he will perform better tonight on the debate stage.

BERMAN: Yes, such a clear message - effort at messaging from both campaigns.

Alayna Treene, great to see you. Thank you very much.

SIDNER: OK, in less than an hour the Supreme Court could begin handing down major rulings. One of them could give presidents immunity from prosecution. Also, a mistake by the court making waves this morning. The court accidentally releasing a document that may have hinted at its decision on a pivotal abortion case. The Supreme Court acknowledging it inadvertently and briefly posted a document on its website yesterday. That unsigned opinion indicated the court may temporarily allow abortions in medical emergencies in a case brought over Idaho's almost total abortion ban.

CNN's senior court analysis Joan Biskupic joining us now.

You have talked about the fact that if the court does not put some of those decisions down today, that it would be quite unusual for them to push it into July. What do you know this morning?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: That's right, Sara.

And it's good to see you. You're all about suspense and energy drinks down there in Atlanta. And we are too up here. It's going to be a very suspenseful morning at the Supreme Court.

First, we're going to be looking for whether they do indeed formally released that opinion that they inadvertently put up yesterday, that would allow women to obtain abortions in Idaho in emergency situations rising likely from pregnancy complications. But if they do go that route, if they do dismiss the case, as it looks like they might given what "Bloomberg" posted yesterday from the court's website, it would diffuse abortion in some ways as a political issue because the court would be removing itself instead of providing a second chapter in their abortion ruling since the 2022 decision in Dobbs that completely reversed constitutional abortion rights. So we're going to have to see how they handle it.

What the court did say yesterday, Sara, was, "the court's publications unit inadvertently and briefly uploaded a document to the court's website. The court's opinion in Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States will be issued in due course." That's a reference to the clash between the state of Idaho and the Biden administration that wants to ensure some continued abortion access in states that have enacted bans since 2022 and the reversal of constitutional abortion rights.

[09:10:10]

But more broadly, Sara, what we'll be watching for in that courtroom today is, you know, perhaps some action in the Trump cases that are pending. The most important being whether former President Donald Trump can be shielded from criminal prosecution for actions he took in 2020 and soon after to protest the election results that validly put Joe Biden in the White House.

As you know, special counsel Jack Smith, on behalf of the Department of Justice, the United States government, has charged him with four counts of fraud and deceit and trying to disrupt the election. One of those charges is tested in a separate case, Sara, that January 5th - January 6th defendants also are facing, and that's corruptly obstructing an official proceeding. The justices will decide whether that count can apply to many January 6th defendants, as well as former President Donald Trump.

So, we have a host of social policy questions, like abortion, homelessness, the opioid crisis is before the justices now, as well as weighty questions of presidential power, Sara.

SIDNER: There are so many. That one being one that everyone is watching.

BISKUPIC: Right.

SIDNER: And I find it very interesting that you have this document released that has to do with an abortion decision. And you'll remember that there was a leak in the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe versus Wade, that there was an investigation but they never figured out who leads fat draft. So, it is interesting.

BISKUPIC: Well, they know who leaked this one. They leaked this one.

SIDNER: They did. Right.

BISKUPIC: They put it out inadvertently, yes.

SIDNER: Exactly. Admitting that it was their fault this time.

Joan Biskupic, thank you so much. Appreciate you.

Kate.

BISKUPIC: Thanks, Sara.

BOLDUAN: So, we are going to be bringing you more details, not only on how the candidates themselves are approaching the big CNN debate tonight, a live look inside the debate hall, but also more details on the rules surrounding the debate that both campaigns have agreed to. What you can expect when they take the stage with the caveat that when the lights go on it's anyone's game.

Also ahead, we are standing by for a verdict in the murder case of a woman accused of killing her boyfriend, a Boston police officer. Her legal team says that she's the fall guy though for a police cover-up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:17:08]

SIDNER: In case you didn't know, we are just hours away from the historical presidential debate between President Joe Biden former President Donald Trump, which will happen right here in the CNN debate hall. It is the first time ever a sitting president will debate a former president.

The stakes, astronomical. Both candidates need a political boost as polls show they are now in a dead heat, neck in neck. What would a debate victory actually look like?

Joining me now, Democratic media consultant Brian Goldsmith, former senior adviser to Tim Scott's presidential campaign, Matt Gorman, and CNN political commentator and former lieutenant governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan.

Thank you, gentlemen, for being here.

Brian, I'm going to start with you because we've got this new reporting that is coming from our Kayla Tausche about the plans on the debate stage for President Biden, and basically what he's saying as he's going to very much starkly show and talk about the seismic shift that happened in this country after the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Something that you should expect, correct? BRIAN GOLDSMITH, DEMOCRATIC MEDIA CONSULTANT: Oh, for sure. I think it would be very surprising if the president didn't talk about January 6th. On the other hand, I think most of the people who are convinced by the need to preserve American institutions and our democracy are already winning the president. He's got to convince people who are struggling with house payments and car payments, who believe that the economy is in a recession right now. So, I would lean much more into project 2025, the threats to American families, than the threats to American institutions.

SIDNER: Matt, to you now. If he's using this really as an attack on Donald Trump, how should Donald Trump respond to this?

MATT GORMAN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, TIM SCOTT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Well, first of all, I - I would say if I were him that according to the latest CNN poll and other people trust me, meaning Donald Trump, more on democracy than you, Joe Biden. And why is that? Because, you know, and then you kind of transition into the economic argument, right? They want to save capitalism and they want to have, as Brian said actually, I agree with a lot of what he said, talk about the economy. Talk about how it's cheaper to afford gas, and groceries and buy a home, buy a car, lean into that a little bit more.

So, I think long - long-term strategy, pivot everything back as much as you can into immigration and the economy.

SIDNER: Geoff, you know, in the polls, yes, the economy, immigration, the two big hitting issues for Americans. But democracy has inched up in some of these polls. Is this something that you think needs to be addressed robustly? And the reaction obviously, from Donald Trump, because he will be on the back foot in this issue.

GEOFF DUNCAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, certainly democracy is an issue for everybody, but I do think the economy ways on so many, right? If you're trying to go - bring a $20 bill to buy your groceries and instead you need to reach in and grab a $50 bill, that hits home before democracy does.

[09:20:01]

Not that it's not important, but it's the task of the day.

I think the takeaway to this is going to be the - how the middle reacts to these messaging, right? The winner of this debate is going to be who figures out how to appeal to the middle. When we wake up Friday morning, I think that's going to be how we determine who wins and who doesn't win. And I think composure matters to the middle. I think, you know, policy, looking forward, vision looks a lot.

And I think an adult in the room. I think America, specifically the middle, is dying for an adult in the room to show up. And I think Joe Biden has a better chance of doing that than Donald Trump. If history's a predictor of the future, Donald Trump has no chance of being an adult in the room.

SIDNER: We are about 40 to 45 minutes away from the Supreme Court potentially making a huge decision on whether or not presidents are immune to prosecution. A case that Donald Trump brought and is hoping he wins. If that decision comes down, I want to go to you, Matt, what kind of reaction do you think you're going to get on that stage? Will they address it depending on what the decision is? Because if it's a status quo decision, maybe they won't.

GORMAN: Yes, look, I think certainly they -- I would expected them to ask about it and I would certainly, if I were in the Trump campaign, I would have gone through and done debate prep.

Look, that stage and that moment's not the point - way to get into the finer points of executive privilege or immunity on this, that and the other. Again, I think as much as you can, pivot back to the economy, pivot back to immigration, and I think as much as possible go to those safe grounds. You're not going to win an argument going in-depth that people can't understand about immunity and all this other stuff. Go back to the points that you're winning on consistently in the polls.

SIDNER: Brian, there are new rules. You all have known this. We've been speaking about this. The mics will be muted and there will be no audience.

Who do you think that benefits, and what are the pitfalls?

GOLDSMITH: It certainly benefits President Biden. I think he was the one, and his campaign, the drove those rules to try to avoid the catastrophe of the first debate from four years ago. But just because the audience doesn't here Trump when his mic is cut off, doesn't mean that Biden won't here Trump if he keeps going. So, he's got to stay very clear and very focused.

And to your earlier point, I think Biden's got to drive home the message that this debate is not about the candidates and the way that Donald Trump is trying to use the presidency to protect and fight for himself. This debate is really about the voters and their future. And that's a contrast that's really good for Joe Biden.

SIDNER: Geoff, having stood on that stage this morning, you literally put your arms out and you can touch the podium. Like, each candidate, if they wanted to, could inch over and touch the podium of the other candidate, or the other candidate themselves.

So, I am curious from you what that is going to do to the dynamic? These two men have not been in the same room since 2020 in that debate.

DUNCAN: The most intense thing I've ever done in politics is debate, right? I did it as begging for a state house position and then as lieutenant governor, and it is intense. And you rarely get along with the person that's next to you.

SIDNER: Right.

DUNCAN: And I can only imagine - and, once again, I think this comes back to composure. I think without a crowd being in there, without being able to drop quick one-liners to get a crowd approval or a praise or a clap is going to really fit to I think whoever shows up with composure is able to deliver a message.

It is going to be interesting to watch how this microphone not being on thing plays out. I know there's technology that kind of back - you know, not allow the voice to leak in, but it should be interesting.

SIDNER: Yes, there's been a demonstration that we were looking at and you really can't hear. The audience can hear. But as was mentioned, Trump and Biden should be able to hear.

I am curious, Matt, you don't have to say anything to react. We have seen Donald Trump react with his facial expressions. Do you expect that to be the way that he responds? Because we've seen, you know, every single time the facial expressions tell you a whole heck of a lot.

GORMAN: Absolutely. Like, look, no matter who the candidate is, (INAUDIBLE) debate prep with a candidate, you want to coach them and talk them through, what are things that can get the camera on them. Facial expressions - and these not being rude or obtrusive per say, but you want to be able to get a little bit of the spotlight on you. And also we you talk about the mics. What you want more than anything when you're prepping someone for a debate is consistency. So, the audience, that's something that you can't control. That's a variable. You want to eliminate that. So that's a good thing.

The mics. You want to eliminate any other variables as much as possible so that way you can prep as close as you possibly can to the actual game day. And so actually I think these rules help both candidates prepare for when they go on the stage. It will be very similar to what they saw in prep.

SIDNER: Matt Gorman, Brian Goldsmith, Geoff Duncan, thank you so much.

Let's get ready to rumble.

Joining CNN tonight as President Biden and former President Trump meet for their first debate right here, Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, moderating this. The "CNN Presidential Debate" starting 9:00 p.m. Eastern. And you can stream it on MAX.

[09:25:01]

And there's John.

BERMAN: They - there's John.

SIDNER: There's John.

BERMAN: They will be very close to each other, but I hope no touching on the stage tonight.

SIDNER: Let's hope so.

BERMAN: All right, the prosecution says she is a cold-blooded killer. The defense says she is being framed. Any moment a jury will decide the fate of a woman accused of killing a Boston police officer.

And we are less than 12 hours away from this historic presidential debate. New polling just in shows how close the race really is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]