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Crucial Biden News Conference; Baldwin Trial Resumes Today; Grier in Court in Turks and Caicos; Court Resumes in Menendez Trial; Trump Doesn't Know Who's Behind Project 2025. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired July 11, 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]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the brand new poll showing the two- thirds of Americans want him to drop out. More than half of his own supporters. Can a news conference today change the trajectory of President Biden's campaign?

Court about to resume in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Alec Baldwin. Prosecutors say Baldwin played a dangerous game of make- believe on set.

And then breaking just moments ago, prices just fell for the first time since the pandemic. I guess what you're looking at is live - a live look at futures right now, down a little bit. So again, prices down. Perhaps welcome news the economy.

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

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, the pressure is on and getting stronger as President Biden is right now staring down a crucial press conference that could do one of two things by the end of the day, silence the doubters and solidify his re-election run, or move calls for him to step aside from a trickle to a roar.

The newest pressure right now is coming in the form of a poll. Brand new numbers from ABC News, "The Washington Post, and Ipsos show Biden and Trump at a virtual tie, but it also shows this, 62 percent of Democratic and Democratic leaning voters say they think President Biden should step aside, not run in 2024, including 54 percent who call themselves Biden supporters. Those are big numbers.

CNN's senior White House correspondent Kayla Tausche leads off this hour.

Kayla, the big question this morning is what the performance is going to look like at tonight's news conference and will it help him or fuel his critics.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly the goal of the administration is to have this press conference help him. But to say the stakes are high, Sara, is an understatement considering a few factors. Number one, how few times the president has had in recent memory to

take questions from reporters on a solo basis. The last time was in November 2023 at the APEC summit in San Francisco. Recently, he's been flanked by world leaders and only accepted a couple questions on each of those times. And so the focus on the president as he stands on that stage by himself, we don't know how many questions he'll take today, that's good to be huge.

Second, all of the questions, if not most of the questions, are expected to focus on Biden's candidacy. And we know from the past that Biden has often bristled at what he feels are unfair attempts by reporters to take him off topic. For instance, last month at the G-7, when he was flanked by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he was asked by a reporter about this situation in Gaza. And here's how Biden responded then.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wish you guys would play by the - by the rules a little bit. I'm here to talk about a critical situation in Ukraine. You're asking me another subject. I'll be happy to answer in detail later.

But the bottom line is, we made an agreement. I've laid out an approach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAUSCHE: The White House and the Correspondents Association later clarified, there are no rules for such press conferences.

And, of course, today, the president has faced a stunning decline of support among his own party. In just the past 24 hours, in a development that surprised even some senior most members of his party, CNN has reported in the last day that the president left the weekend events in the swing states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania buoyed by the warm reception he received from elected officials and from voters. And that's what underpinned his view Monday morning that it was what the voters said that mattered, not what the political elites said that mattered.

But now with so many elected officials, whose viewpoints Biden holds in very high regard, they represent the voters after all. And if more elected officials continue to come out, Sara, that is going to make it very difficult for the president here.

SIDNER: And I know the campaign is watching, but so is the American public. Just out of curiosity, you're there at the NATO summit. How are world leaders reacting to all this turmoil within the Biden camp?

TAUSCHE: Well, I spoke to a few officials who were involved in some of the negotiations with these leaders and with their delegations. And there seem to be a few different views, Sara. I mean there is an acknowledgement that there's a real possibility of a second Trump term. But it's not just Trump that they're worried about. There is the rise

of far-right views on the other side of the Atlantic as well. The uncertainty of many of these leaders who face low approval ratings at home.

And I was told that in these negotiations ahead of this summit, that it took months to reach agreements on language and deliverables. Whereas a couple of years ago, it took mere days. And in the words of one official, everyone is hedging. No one is sure what they can deliver back home, how popular it will be with their own voters.

[09:05:02]

And so, to that regard, they say Biden is in good company.

But even so, you know, NATO, they point to, is a consensus-based organization. They say that NATO has been able to overcome opposition from Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey. And they say that regardless of what happens at the ballot box, NATO is a long-term organization.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Kayla, stick with us. I want to also now bring in Jeff - CNN's Jeff Zeleny.

Let's talk more about the - all of this kind of in the broader context of what today and tonight can mean. I mean Kayla's got great reporting, Jeff, on kind of how the White House is feeling. Nancy Pelosi has suggested that this press conference is important. Steve Cohen was on with me, the congressman from Tennessee, was on with me yesterday and he said that how Biden does in this press conference will be really important.

So, how much could this shake things up?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, Kate, it's definitely important. There's no question about it. I mean, as Kayla was just talking there, if President Biden were to have another moment, as he did in Italy, just sort of scold the press and say, stay on the question at hand, that, you know, certainly would not be reassuring to many Democrats. But even if there's a strong performance, even if President Biden hits it out of the park, if you will, that is not going to put this genie back in the bottle according to all the conversations or most of the conversations we are having with Democratic lawmakers and leaders. The reality is, this has moved beyond that.

But there is no question, every time the president now appears in public and is answering questions, you know, there is going to be added scrutiny on what he says. So, yes, the stakes are remarkably high. They could not be higher. But again, even a performance that is viewed as very strong might ease some concerns a bit, but it's not going to change the broader question here, is he the strongest nominee to defeat Donald Trump in November?

BOLDUAN: Yes, and, Kayla, kind of crystalizing just this morning what a distraction like this, even in - on the - on the - you know, the least impactful end of the range here of like, it is a distraction rather than it is an existential crisis for this - for this candidacy, is that this is the question at hand is how Biden is going to do at this press conference and can he sustain when, at the same time this morning you have coming out the latest Consumer Price Index reading, and it's great news for consumers, and that means good news for the president in office. Prices fell in June for the first time since the pandemic.

And you have to wonder, what now is the number one issue and priority for voters, Democratic voters, when it comes to this election?

TAUSCHE: Well, that's a headline that the Biden campaign and the White House would have begged for just a few months ago when they could have paraded it around and gotten more coverage for it. And for them it's unfortunate that that news comes on a day like today when the questions about the president are much broader.

I mean Jeff is right, even if the president knocks it out of the park, there are still going to be questions about what events will look like in the future. The level of scrutiny, the level - the focus of the spotlight on him from here on out, even if he remains the candidate, is unlike anything that any candidate has experienced before. And in talking to aides in the leadup to the debate, there were some concerns about, you know, the president's potential performance because, you know, he has the tendency to be uneven.

But what we had heard largely from advisers to the president was that they were hoping for a night like the state of the union. They were hoping that he came out swinging, that he was forceful, that he was energetic and the President Biden that his own team got on that night surprised many people. And I think that there's also a question to be asked of the president's own advisers of, you can prepare the president as much as you want, as he prepared in the leadup to the debate, but it's simply uncertain which Biden will arrive on that stage.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and, Jeff, George Clooney, the George Clooney element at what - and what it represents, if you will. He's among Biden's biggest supporters and donors in Hollywood. And - but he's also seen as some - as more than just another Hollywood actor in kind of-in his support and what he stands for. He's calling on Biden to get out.

Let me read the quote just to remind folks. "One battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It's devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at a fundraiser was not the Joe 'big f-ing deal' Biden of 2010. He wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at that debate."

CNN also has reporting that at least one scheduled fundraiser in Chicago during the convention coming up, it's been scrapped now over a disagreement over - in the way it's been described, a disagreement over how to proceed given the continued erosion of support for Biden's candidacy. Op-eds or no op-eds, fundraisers being canceled, that's a problem.

ZELENY: It definitely is a problem. And as our team was reporting yesterday, Kayla, myself, and others, fundraising is a big problem here. The Chicago canceled fundraiser is just one example of many phone calls not being returned.

[09:10:05]

And the broader question here is, Democrats are in a bit of a holding pattern. Democratic donors are - and others are waiting to see what happens. And just when the door sort of seemed like it was closed and President Biden is in, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday, actually, he still has a decision to make at the end of this week. So, we are likely going to be watching this play out for several more days.

The Republican Convention starts next week. President Biden has scheduled another interview with Lester Holt of NBC News next Monday evening. They are going forward. But Democratic donors and others watching this are still unsure. So, until that sort of changes, the money has frozen up.

And the reason it matters is, the Biden campaign has built this massive apparatus in battleground states across the country with hundreds and hundreds of officers and staff and a large television advertising budget as well. That's why they need the money.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

ZELENY: So, this is a concern still deepening. But by the end of the day, after that press conference that Kayla will be covering, we will see how the president does.

But again tomorrow, Kate, I suspect there will still be many questions about the president's future.

BOLDUAN: Yes. But as, you know, Nancy Pelosi said, he has decisions to make by the end of this week. Maybe one of the biggest data points now to contribute to that decision is going to happen this evening with that press conference.

Thanks, guys. It's great to see you.

John.

ZELENY: You bet.

BERMAN: All right, sentencing day for an American arrested after being caught with ammunition in her bag at the airport.

Jury deliberations could begin today in the federal corruption trial of Senator Bob Menendez. Will they find him guilty of defrauding the U.S. government.

And, this is the last time you're going to see me. Why Ellen DeGeneres says she is done with performing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:16:06] BERMAN: Shortly, testimony resumes in Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial. During opening statements, prosecutors accused him of playing, quote, make-believe with a real gun. The defense argued the gun was checked and deemed safe.

CNN's Josh Campbell, outside the court in Santa Fe.

Josh, what do you expect today?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, you know, day two is about to start here in Santa Fe, the criminal trial of Alec Baldwin. He has, of course, pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

You know, it's interesting, I was listening last hour to our friend Sara Sidner and Joey Jackson talk about these two competing narratives. And that is really spot on. What both sides are trying to convince the jury, it's two entirely separate things. What the prosecution is saying is that, look, anyone holding a gun, this is a real gun, this is not a prop gun, it actually fires bullets, they should have known that you don't point it at someone. You have to keep that in a safe direction. On the other side, what the defense has been telling the jury is that, look, this is not real. This is make- believe. This actor was handed the gun and he was told it was empty.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERLINDA JOHNSON, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR: It's simple. It's straightforward. The evidence will show that someone who played make- believe with a real gun and violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety is the defendant, Alexander Baldwin.

ALEX SPIRO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He was an actor acting, playing the role of Harland Rust. An actor playing a character can act in ways that are lethal that just aren't lethal on a movie set.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, I was in court yesterday, John, and it's hard to describe the mood as anything other than sad and somber. Baldwin's family was there. At one point his wife, Hilaria, approached him, pressed her head against his. They embraced.

Outside court, Beth Baldwin, who was Alex's brother, she was in tears, being comforted by Stephen Baldwin, Alex's brother.

Now, of course, on the other side of this case is a family of Halyna Hutchins. They've obviously been devastated. This is the cinematographer who was killed. And that's really what makes these negligence cases so difficult. The emotions so raw. No one is disputing that this was an accident. But, of course, what prosecutors have said all along is, look, this is New Mexico law. We have to hold someone accountable. That's what they're seeking to do.

BERMAN: All right, Josh Campbell, good to have you there. Thank you so much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, John.

In less than an hour an American mother busted for carrying ammunition into Turks and Caicos is due in court. Sharitta Grier is one of several Americans detained under the territory's strict gun laws this year alone. Bringing firearms or ammunition is strictly illegal in those territories. She ended up pleading guilty to mistakenly bringing a couple of rounds of ammo into that territory in her luggage. After pressure from American officials and other cases involving Americans this year, Turks and Caicos authorities did ease up on the penalties, which now gives the court leeway when it comes to a once mandatory 12 year prison sentence.

CNN's Carlos Suarez joining us now from Miami.

Is there an expectation, Carlos, that she will get the same treatment as the other Americans who basically got time served and a fine in order to leave?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara. So, at this point, that's pretty much the understanding here, right, that Grier, although she does face this possibility of 12 years in prison, it does seem unlikely that she's really going to face any additional time in custody considering just how the judge has handled the other cases of the Americans that were all arrested on the same charge.

Grier, as you noted, she pleaded guilty to carrying ammunition into Turks and Caicos earlier this year. Now, like the other Americans that were arrested, she claimed that she had no idea that she had ammunition in her luggage.

Now, the mandatory minimum for breaking the law was 12 years in prison, though - and this is key hear - judges this entire time had the discretion to find what they called, quote, "exceptional circumstances," and they could depart from the sentencing guidelines, which is what happened with the other cases.

[09:20:04]

Now, in response to all of the immense criticism over all of these arrest, lawmakers in Turks and Caicos, they amended the law last month to say explicitly that courts have the discretion to impose either a fine, a custodial sentence, or a mix of both. And so the other Americans that were arrested, they all received a suspended sentence, a fine and they were all allowed to return to the U.S. Their arrests, as we've been reporting, really led to this heated back and forth between American lawmakers, who at one point traveled to the islands asking that the charges be dropped, and then you had officials in Turks and Caicos telling the Americans not to metal in their judicial system there.

Grier is expected in court later this morning. If the proceedings play out just like the other cases, she's expected to receive a suspended sentence and a fine. And, Sara, she could be back in the U.S. as early as later today.

SIDNER: All right, Carlos Suarez, thank you so much for that reporting.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, as soon as today a jury could begin deliberating the fate and future of Democratic Senator Bob Menendez. H's been in court for weeks now facing federal corruption charges. And we are live outside of court.

And there are new details coming in on the staggering number of heat- related deaths that have happened out west just this month.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:25:45]

BOLDUAN: Moments from now closing arguments are expected to wrap up in the federal corruption trial of Senator Bob Menendez and two co- defendants. The New Jersey Democrat has been on trial for the past nine weeks, facing 16 felony charges of extortion, wire fraud, bribery.

Remember, he's stayed in the job this entire time.

CNN's Kara Scannell outside of court today, and he has remained defiant, saying that he is - he is not guilty.

Kara, what are you expecting today?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, Senator Bob Menendez is on trial here with two of the New Jersey businessmen that prosecutors say paid him bribes, including gold bars, about a half a million dollars in cash that the FBI found at his home, as well as other things such as a Mercedes Benz convertible. So, one of those defendant's lawyers is going to finish his closing argument today. Then the prosecution will give their rebuttal, their response. From what we've heard over several days of closing arguments, including a five hour closing argument by Menendez's attorney, urging the jury to acquit him, saying that the steps, the actions that the senator has taken were all routine and normal, that he was advocating for his constituents and that these meetings that he had with Egyptian military officials, saying that those were routine, that he didn't soften his stance on human rights abuses that prosecutors say was Menendez actually acting as a foreign agent. Including, they brought in the prosecution testimony from some of Menendez's aides, former aides, who said that his stance on Egypt, his change, had become weird. They also said that some of these meetings were weird.

Now, this is all the evidence that the jury has heard over these nine months. Both sides giving their last arguments to the jury today. We do expect then once the prosecution does wrap up, this could take about two hours the prosecutor said. Then the judge will instruct the jury on the law. That is what they need to find to satisfy whether the prosecution has proven its case and whether the senator is guilty of these charges.

Once that's completed, then jury deliberations will get underway. That's expected to be later this afternoon and will continue for as long as it takes. As you said, they have heard a lot of testimony over the past nine weeks of this case.

And a lot is at stake for the senator. If he is convicted of some of the most serious charges. Some of those carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison. Now, it would be up to the judge to decide just what his sentence would be if convicted. But a lot on the line for the senator, who, as you said, is still a senator, acting in Congress. Despite having - stepping down as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he is still an acting senator, the senior senator for New Jersey, and a lot at stake for him in this case.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Kara, you've been covering this so well all along. We'll talk to you soon. Thank you.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, a CNN review has found that dozens of people in Donald Trump's immediate sphere were deeply involved in the controversial Project 2025 project, even as Trump himself makes the questionable claim that he knows nothing about it.

CNN's Steve Contorno has done the digging here.

What have you found, Steve?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, when Donald Trump said last week that he didn't know who was behind Project 2025, we decided to take a look at all the authors and contributors and organizations that have pitched into this project. And what we found is 140 people who had previous experience working for Trump were authors and contributors to this massive 900 page playbook that is supposed to be the blueprint for a second Trump term.

We also found that many of these individuals had reaches - reached the highest levels of his governments. Six people who were cabinet secretaries under Donald Trump participated in this project, including Ben Carson, his former HUD secretary, who he remains close to, and Russ Vought, who led OPM for him and recently was overseeing the RNC platform that Trump just approved.

Now, we took all this information to the Trump campaign. They said, look, yes, these individuals might have worked for Donald Trump in the past. They don't work for him now. There's no guarantee they're going to work for him in the future. And they don't necessarily represent the views of Donald Trump.

If you want to know what Donald Trump wants to do in his second term, you should look and the agenda that he has posted on his website or the Republican Party platform. Trump himself weighing in overnight, posting on Truth Social, quote, "I know nothing about Project 2025. I have not seen it and have no idea who is in charge of it. And unlike our very well received Republican platform had nothing to do with it."

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