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Trouble for Gaetz's Nomination; Fate of Gaetz's Ethics Report Looms; FDA Warns Tom's of Maine; Kurt Volker is Interviewed about Ukraine; Prices may Rise from Tariffs. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired November 20, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:32:49]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, today we know that Matt Gaetz, the former congressman, is going to the Senate to try to lobby senators on his own behalf. Donald Trump wants him to be the next attorney general. Some senators don't seem to like the idea so much, including reservations among some Republicans.

CNN's senior data reporter, Harry Enten, is here now.

Harry, what do the betting markets think about the chances for Matt Gaetz?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: There is just one word when it comes to Matt Gaetz's chances in the betting markets. And it is yikes. Yikes, yikes, yikes.

Chance Matt Gaetz becomes Trump's AG? Look at this, 37 percent say yes. The majority, 63 percent, say no. And I should note, I looked up every other one of Trump's choices to be in his cabinet. This is the only one in which less than a majority say yes. The bottom line is the conventional wisdom suggests that Matt Gaetz's chance to be Trump's attorney general are in big, big trouble.

BERMAN: One thing I know from social media the last few weeks is the betting markets apparently know everything. That they're - they know more than political scientists, than political consultants. The betting markets are always right according to social media.

ENTEN: The betting markets aren't always right, though I should point out they did nail that Trump was going to win the election a few weeks ago. And when you have stuff like this in which you don't necessarily have polling, I think they're a good gauge of the conventional wisdom.

BERMAN: All right.

ENTEN: And at this point, the gauge of conventional wisdom is that Gaetz's nomination is in big trouble.

BERMAN: So, Matt Gaetz has many issues, one of which - Chuck Rocha, who's a Democratic strategist, I was on with him the other night, he said one of Matt Gaetz's biggest problems is that senators think he's an a-hole. That was his words there.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Why do they think that?

ENTEN: Yes. You know, look, Matt Gaetz just loves to make enemies on Capitol Hill. I mean Matt Gaetz's voting record among GOP House members this Congress, number one for most anti-establishment. Remember, he helped lead the effort to overthrow Kevin McCarthy as the House speaker. He has called the Senate, I think, like the swampiest thing in the world or something like that. He's gone after individual senators.

It turns out that it's not always good to make enemies on Capitol Hill when you need their votes to be confirmed.

BERMAN: Yes.

ENTEN: And he has, in fact, gone out of his way to insult folks. So it's not a real big surprise that there are a lot of senators who might be saying, hey, why the heck should we help this guy out.

[08:35:05]

BERMAN: It is worth noting that this may be seen as one of his main qualifications.

ENTEN: From Trump's perspective, absolutely.

BERMAN: By some - by some people. It is worth noting.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: OK. This nomination in general seems to have riled people up quite a bit.

ENTEN: Yes, you know, look, the politics of getting confirmed are mostly about what's going on, on Capitol Hill, but it's also about public pressure. And if nothing else, Matt Gaetz has certainly ginned up a lot of public interest in his nomination.

So, this is Google searches for Trump's cabinet picks over the last seven days. Gaetz has been the most searched by far, by far. He has gotten 13 - up 1,300 percent from the median Trump pick. So, he's generating a lot of public pressure. That public pressure may be felt by those who are potentially voting to confirm Matt Gaetz in the United States Senate.

I should note, while the public, you know, perception of him could be positive or negative, based upon all those folks who are searching for him, the initial polling data suggests that he is the least popular of Trump's picks. In fact, the only one that's underwater in terms of net favorability ratings. So, at this particular point, Mr. Berman, what are we dealing with? We're dealing with somebody who's not exactly popular on Capitol Hill to begin with. And then you might be dealing with a lot of public pressure from those outside of Capitol Hill saying, wait a minute, we don't want this guy to necessarily be the AG.

BERMAN: So, there's that.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: All right, Harry Enten, thank you very much for all of that.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, gentlemen.

Joining us right now is CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, and former national spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, Madison Gesiotto.

It's like - it's as if I haven't said your name one million times over the course of our work together. Maria, apologies.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I know.

BOLDUAN: It's - you know, it's the morning.

CARDONA: No worries. I got you.

BOLDUAN: Madison, let's - let's jump in on this.

Jumping off of all of the numbers that Harry and John just went through with regard to Matt Gaetz, here's the addition that I wanted to ask you about in terms of, are his chances getting better or worse as the days progress? Is the attorney representing the two women who testified before the House Ethics and say they were underage when having sex with Gaetz, when - when that started, the attorney told CNN last night a little bit more about what they gave to and told the committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL LEPPARD, LAWYER FOR GAETZ ACCUSERS: They provided photos to the House at the New York event. They provided selfies that Representative Gaetz sent them. They testified that they sent Representative Gaetz nudes from time to time at his request. And also on their own accord.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

LEPPARD: They're also in numerous text messages, group messages between them as well. But you have to understand that my clients are only two out of the over dozen witnesses that testified. I was present for two of those. And so, what I'm telling you is just a fraction of the evidence that's available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Madison, do you see there is a point that this nomination becomes more of a problem than it is worth for the president-elect, even though he's continuing to publicly back him? MADISON GESIOTTO, TRUMP 2020 BOARD MEMBER: You know, I'd be shocked to meet anybody today that thinks the chances are getting better for Gaetz, you know, going through the Senate and getting approved. Originally, I think a lot of the talk was about Collins and Murkowski, maybe a third person. I mean now you go down the list. Think of, you know, almost a quarter of the senators that I think would be likely to go against this nomination if it were to even get to a vote.

McConnell, young Cassidy, obviously not MAGA senators, very institutionalist. You have Curtis, who is the new senator in Romney's seat, who was heavily criticized by Gaetz. I would say would - would be likely to go against it. Ernst has made some comments as well. A couple other senators not running for re-election, a very big question marks on what they would do.

And then, obviously, this is before we even have any of this information. While it may not come out right now, I think it is going to come out. It's just a matter of when and how in regards to the House Ethics Committee report.

They will be meeting today. Of course, five Republicans, five Democrats on that committee that will make a decision whether they will release it either publicly or to the Senate.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

GESIOTTO: Again, the Senate can't compel the release, but information is going to be released. And so, I think this is not only an uphill battle, it seems that it's - it's not looking likely at all at this point.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and we're hearing more and more Republican senators saying, we'd like to see that report when - when - when they've got it, which is -

GESIOTTO: Right.

BOLDUAN: Which is when you're saying it publicly, it is a message.

Here's the other thing, Maria. John King is continuing his "All Over the Map" series. And this time he went back to Iowa, talking to voters who initially said they would not vote for Donald Trump but then did. And glad - but - but - and now are glad that they did. One of those voters is Betsy Sarcone. She says that she decided to vote for Donald Trump on the economy and wanting change.

Listen to what she says now about Trump's nominees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETSY SARCONE, IOWA VOTER: The Kristi Noem, the Matt Gaetz, not necessarily excited about it. Worried - I wouldn't say I'm worried. I voted for change, as did the majority of the people. And that's what we're going to get. So, I don't think worrying about it every day is going to do me any good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: An interesting perspective from one of these voters. This is what voters voted for. What do you say?

[08:40:01]

CARDONA: Well, let's go back to I think the original question that we all had going into the election, which was what - what was going to be the top issue. And it turns out that the top issue in what voters voted for, for change was on the economy. And what we're getting from all of these nominees is anything but. Yes, that voter is right, they are going to get change, but is it going to be the change that voters wanted and that voters asked for.

My sense is, given from the nominees that - that have up until now been the ones that Donald Trump has picked, it's not the kind of change that voters have asked for. I feel badly for this woman who I think is trying to make the best of what she is seeing is now coming across TV screens and the news, which is, as we just discussed, Matt Gaetz, with all of these icky, disgusting allegations against him, and then several others on down the line, you know, RFK Jr., Linda McMahon, Dr. Oz, you know, all of these folks who have very little experience and indicate a wholly unserious approach to the most important policy questions and issues that this administration is going to deal with. I think that voters are very concerned about what, in fact, it was that they voted for versus what it is that they're going to get.

BOLDUAN: But change, voting for change, this is definitely change. This is what they - this is - this is what they - what they see. What the result of it, you know, TBD. No one knows. But that is one thing that we know voters did - that we heard from her and other voters saying why they went for Donald Trump.

And on the issue of the economy, Madison, we now have Walmart, America's largest retailer, and also Lowe's now warning that prices on some of their products are likely to go up if Donald Trump follows through on his promised tariffs.

I want to read for you the quote from Walmart's CFO saying, "we never want to raise prices." This is an interview we did with CNBC on Tuesday. He says, "our model is everyday low prices. But there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers."

And what he's talking about is all because of tariffs. Is this one promise that you hope that Donald Trump does not keep?

GESIOTTO: Well, I don't think it's necessarily going to be those blanket tariffs that a lot of people are talking about, or may be expecting. I think you may see some instances when we deal with countries like China, where you see tariffs implemented. Again, this is also to protect the American worker and in the long-term bring prices down as a whole.

And so, I think we'll wait to see what happens. Of course, when it comes to the economy, this is something that, obviously, as Maria mentioned, people voted for President Trump as a result of this. They saw the economy under the Biden administration. They weren't happy. They wanted their prices to go back to what they were paying in 2019. They wanted their wages to continue to go up. Obviously, wages weren't outpacing the rate of inflation. And this was a problem for many American families. And they continue to deal with it today. They can't afford to live the way that it is. And people are making very difficult decisions.

When I was running for Congress back in 2022, I talked to so many moms, so many families here in Ohio that said, we're going to the grocery store and having to choose between orange juice and other things because we just simply can't afford all the things we used to buy, and gas, and our, you know, all of our bills, car insurance going up at the time as well. And so, it's very difficult to watch and hear from Americans who are struggling to live. And so, we want to see those prices come down.

But when you talk about that mandate for change, I think it goes past the economy. Obviously, the economy was top of mind for voters on November 5th, but I think there's this underlying sentiment among Americans that, you know what, we aren't treated the same as the elites in Washington. You know, this is part of why Trump obviously won in 2016, and they want to feel like they have a larger voice in their government because for so long they were promised by both Republicans and Democrats to get the job done. And so many of the very conventional D.C. elites that continue to get put in these positions weren't getting the job done for them.

And so I think, while cautiously optimistic, a little bit nervous in general, I think they're - they're very excited for the change that's to come. And the real answer will be in one year from now, are their lives better and has this change happened? Have we drained the swamp in Washington?

BOLDUAN: Yes. Yes, but on - where - in a world where there's no unanimity, there seems to be almost unanimity on the question of what I was asking about, which is tariffs, which is they're going to raise prices on the goods that America needs -

CARDONA: Right.

BOLDUAN: Especially the America - Americans who - I mean we all shop at Walmart. That's where - exactly where you do not and cannot, a lot of people, see prices go up right now when they are struggling to buy the things that you're just talking about. So, stand by to stand by.

It's good to see you guys. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, the popular manufacturer of natural personal care products, Tom's of Maine, is getting a warning from the FDA. Inspectors say they uncovered several violations of the company's manufacturing plant, including bacteria in water used to make toothpaste, and mold.

CNN's health reporter, Jacqueline Howard, has the details.

[08:45:01]

Jacqueline, what did the FDA find here and, ultimately, is this going to be recalled or what's happening with this toothpaste?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Sara, what we know for now, in this FDA warning letter, the agency says that it has also found bacterial growth in some toothpaste products. It's mentioned a black mold-like substance near manufacturing equipment. So, there are some significant violations here. And we do know that some of the bacteria mentioned in this warning can cause human infections. So, that's concerning to see as well.

But I will say, the company, Tom's of Maine, did tell CNN in a statement that they are, quote, "working with the FDA and are remedying the issues raised in their May inspection of the Tom's manufacturing plant in Sanford, Maine." So that's what the company is saying.

And for now, Sara, these are warnings. So, we will not see any recall as of yet, but, again, Tom's of Maine is a major brand and consumers looking for natural products are often seeking out Tom's of Maine products. So, this is getting a lot of attention right now.

SIDNER: What else did the FDA find when they were looking at Tom's?

HOWARD: Yes, so, the main findings were the bacterial growth and, again, that black moldlike substance. But what we can expect to happen next, because Tom's of Maine did say that they are addressing these violations, they have 15 working days to respond in writing to the FDA. And we do know that what will happen next is the FDA will receive this response and then decide on how best to move forward.

So, that's what we can expect to see in the days to come. But again, the company says they're addressing these violations, and the FDA right now, it seems, is waiting for that official response.

SIDNER: All right, thank you so much, Jacqueline Howard, for your reporting there.

John.

So, this morning, you can buy a house for just $1 if you're willing to move to a rural village in a foreign country. It's not going to look like that, trust me.

And a broken wrist, a missing fingernail and an eye swollen shut. Jay Leno's new serious injuries after apparently falling down a 60-foot hill.

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[08:51:44]

BERMAN: So, overnight, the U.S. embassy in Kyiv was shut down over specific fears of a Russian bombing. Now, it was not hit. This comes amid news that the Biden administration is poised to approve sending anti-personnel mines to Ukraine. This would be a first.

With us now, former U.S. ambassador to NATO, former U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations, Kurt Volker.

Ambassador, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

I know embassies sometimes get shut down. I know sometimes there are concerns about these things. But this felt a little different overnight. It felt specific. And it felt like it was a direct response to fears of Russian escalation.

What do you read into it?

KURT VOLKER, FORMER U.S. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS: Well, it's been a pattern that we've seen in the Biden administration. They have always been afraid of Russian escalation and they've overestimated the chances of that. It's what led us to be so cautious in our aid to Ukraine to this point.

It is a good thing if there's any risk at all. You, you know, just let people work from home for a couple days, let the risk pass by. But I don't think there was anything particularly new or risky here. And the idea that Russia would deliberately target an American embassy is, to me, rather farfetched. I think they know the consequences of that would be very grave.

BERMAN: Along the lines of what you were saying, obviously the Biden administration has been careful over the last thousand days not to push Russia too far. But we learned overnight that today the Biden administration will approve sending anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine.

Now, this is a first. These are specific mines that apparently wear out essentially. The idea is to not leave active landmines behind for generations, as we've seen somewhere, some places around the world.

VOLKER: Right.

BERMAN: But still, sending mines is something new and different. What difference will that make, and would it be a provocation to Russia?

VOLKER: Yes. Well, first off, it's very important people understand that landmines are a defensive weapon. That they are meant to prevent an opposing army from advancing by making it difficult to do so. So, what this is all about is, Russia has been making gains in eastern Ukraine over the past few months. And this is an effort to give the Ukrainians some more defensive capability to slow or stop that advance.

As for the type of landmine, you're absolutely right, they're self- deactivating. That means after a few weeks or months they - they will not be a danger to civilians. But it's important that Ukraine actually be able to slow this Russian advance right now. BERMAN: Why right now? I mean the way you say that, it makes it sound like you think that there is a time frame here. Is that time frame January 20th, when Donald Trump gets inaugurated?

VOLKER: I think there's something to that. I think the right now is basically because Russia is seeking to advance right now. Why is Russia doing that? I think Vladimir Putin knows that his own military is in very difficult conditions, can't get the weapons, can't get the ammunition, can't get the troops. It's borrowing from North Korea, getting drones from Iran. So, I think he is trying to grab what he can right now as he looks at 2025 and the possibility of some kind of stabilization of the war.

BERMAN: You said you think the United States has overestimated what it would take to provoke Vladimir Putin, or retaliation form him. Do you think there is anything that would - I - you know, obviously, nuclear weapons is not something the United States would do, but short of that, is there anything that the United States that could give Ukraine right now that you think would provoke a disproportionate response from Putin?

[08:55:14]

VOLKER: Well, look, if we were to enter the fight directly, which we are not, even though Putin claims we are, he knows full well we're not fighting in this war. If we were to do that, then that would bring us in direct conflict with Russia. And that's one thing.

If there were any kind of deep invasion into Russian territory, serious attacks on Moscow, OK, hitting, you know, that's also possible. But, frankly, I don't think there's anything there right now that would cause a major reaction from Russia, largely because they don't have many options. As I said, they - their military is deeply stretched. They can't both be on offense and defense at the same time. They're bringing in North Korea. So, I don't think there's much there that Putin can really do. We just - he says these things to deter us, not because he can do much.

BERMAN: All right, Ambassador Kurt Volker, always great to have you on. Thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, on our radar this morning, a once in a decade bomb cyclone is slamming the pacific northwest and parts of Canada with hurricane force winds, drenching rain and snow. At least one person has died, and hundreds of thousands of people are without power. The worst of the storm is expected to hit parts of northern California on Thursday with a rare level four risk of excessive rainfall.

All right, Comcast expected to announce today that it will spin off the majority of its cable properties, including MSNBC and CNBC. Sources tell us under the new arrangement Comcast is expected to keep NBC, its Peacock streaming service, NBC Sports and Universal theme parks, among other properties. "The Wall Street Journal" first reported these major spin off plans. All right, Jay Leno, man, look at that. He is recovering after a fall

that left him with a broken wrist, a missing fingernail, severe bruises - you can see them there on his face - and a patch over his left eye, which was swollen shut. The former "Tonight Show" host told reporters he was walking to a restaurant and decided to take a shortcut down a steep hill when he took a tumble. Leno saying, quote, he hit a bunch of rocks on the way down, but that it isn't a big deal. Although that looks like a big deal. He performed his comedy show, by the way, though, just three hours later.

And this morning, a rural village in Italy selling homes to Americans for just a dollar. We've seen this before. Ollolai, a village on the island of Sardinia, is looking to boost its population. That's why they're offering these great deals. The village launched a website writing, "looking to embrace a more balanced lifestyle while securing new opportunities? It is a time to start building your European escape in the stunning paradise of Sardinia." The village mayor told CNN that he is convinced Americans are the best people to help revive his community.

Kate, I got to go. I got to go buy a building for a dollar. I'll see you later. Bye.

BOLDUAN: I mean, look, if we split it, it's -

SIDNER: Fifty-fifty. Fifty cents.

BOLDUAN: I mean, like, I'm - I'm good with splitting it 50-50 with you. John can go buy his own place.

SIDNER: I mean -

BOLDUAN: But I feel like this could be -

SIDNER: He could be our next door neighbor for a buck. It's amazing.

BOLDUAN: I mean, we can take this show on the road. We do it once in a while. This could be great.

SIDNER: I agree. Let's - let's talk about this. Maybe we won't be here for the rest of the week, and we'll just go deal with that. Rebuild (ph).

BOLDUAN: Maybe. Maybe not. As we love to say, stand by to stand by to find out.

All right also new this morning, there's a new warning from America's largest retailer. The CFO of Walmart saying that if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his promised across the board tariff plan, prices are likely to go up for consumers.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkovich is joining us now with much more on this.

This has been much discussed, but it's important, especially when it's coming from Walmart. What are they saying?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very important coming from Walmart. But a lot of corporate America is weighing in on this.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

YURKEVICH: Trump's tariffs haven't even gone into effect yet, but just the talk of it is forcing corporate America to reevaluate raising prices and also moving business out of China.

Just to remind our viewers, the tariffs are - up to 60 percent of tariffs on China, Chinese imports, and up to 20 percent on other countries. So, the CFO of Walmart, David Riley, telling CNBC just yesterday that, quote, "our model is everyday low prices. But there will probably be cases where prices will go up for consumers." Not something that consumers want to hear, especially when they're trying to shop deals at Walmart.

But again, this is not just Walmart. This is a host of other companies, including Steve Madden, which said that they're going to move up to 45 percent of their business out of China to try to avoid these tariffs.

BOLDUAN: That's right.

YURKEVICH: Also, Black and Decker. This is a tool company. They said that if these tariffs go into effect, they're going to see a hit of $200 million to their bottom line. And then you have Columbia, this is the sportswear company.

[09:00:01]

They are saying that they're already buying stuff for next fall just to try to avoid these tariffs.

BOLDUAN: Yes.