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CNN International: Kenyan Police Fire Tear Gas As New Protests Get Underway; Former Army Chief Behind Failed Coup D'etat Arrested; Soon: Major Rulings Expected From U.S. Supreme Court. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired June 27, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ERICA HILL, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Erica Hill. This is CNN Newsroom.
Just ahead this hour, the countdown is on to tonight's presidential debate. What you can expect from the Biden-Trump rematch. A failed coup attempt leaves Bolivia on edge, as the coup leader says it was just carrying out the President's orders. And after days of protests, live pictures here of Nairobi, deadly protests, Kenya's President making a U-turn on that controversial finance bill, the streets so far from calm. We will take you live to Nairobi.
Final preparations underway at this hour for the CNN presidential debate where for the first time a sitting U.S. President and a former U.S. President will go toe to toe. That 90-minute rematch, of course, set to take place. You see the stage there at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta. There will not be a studio audience. The microphones will be turned on only when it is each candidate's turn to speak. Donald Trump and Joe Biden taking different approaches in the lead-up to tonight. Biden hunkered down at Camp David with his advisors, as his campaign was busy releasing new ads.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a sheriff, it's awful to watch police officers getting attacked. That's not supporting this badge in this uniform. I have no desire to work with somebody who divides. That's not what America is. But, I work with anybody who unites. That's why I'm with President Joe Biden.
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HILL: Trump, for his part, talking to reporters and podcast hosts.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I assume he is going to be somebody that will be a worthy debater. Yeah, I would say so. I think --
DAVID SACKS, HOST, ALL IN PODCAST: OK.
TRUMP: -- I don't want to underestimate him. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: And of course, we'll have much more on this historic day for you in just a minute. But, first, I do want to take you to Kenya, protesters returning to the streets of Kenya's capital. Police, though, also out in force.
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You see the tear gas there used by officers earlier today to just fend some of the crowds, protesters preparing for what's been billed as a "one-million-person march" in Nairobi. They are still angry, despite President William Ruto accepting that key demand and withdrawing a finance bill that would have raised taxes. At least 23 people reportedly killed in clashes on Tuesday, after lawmakers passed the bill and protesters stormed the parliament building, setting parts of it on fire.
CNN's Larry Madowo has been at the center of these protests throughout the week. Larry, bring us up to speed on what's happening at this hour.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, we're in the middle of one of the busiest streets in Nairobi and it's completely empty because the police presence here is unprecedented. You see lots of trucks of police here, and back there, we saw some military trucks on the street as well. On this other side, we have at least two different police water cannon trucks just to make sure no protesters gather here. They've been trying to do so throughout the day. And every time a couple of them, a few dozen get together, they get tear gassed, sent away. Police are actively trying to get them to go home. They'll just be here on the streets.
The protesters had called for a "one-million march" today. One of their stated objectives is to go all the way to State House where President William Ruto lives and works from, and the police are trying to make sure that that does not happen. And they're getting complimented on the streets today by the military. The Kenyan National Assembly yesterday approved the deployment of the military on the streets, and that's the extra security presence we'll be seeing here. President William Ruto had to climb down yesterday spectacularly and pull his own finance bill that so many Kenyans felt would be -- would make life too expensive for them.
But, even after that, so many of the young people will be speaking to today, Fazzy (ph), if you can just come with me, say it's no longer just about the finance bill. It's about the high cost of living in the country. It's about corruption. It's about the -- I want to show you this. This is some of the police trucks doing the rounds here. They are plainclothes officers. They have their faces covered in balaclava and all of that, and they are some of the officers that have been accused of shooting directly at protesters, or shooting tear gas cannons directly at protesters and risking their lives.
You mentioned 23 people died in the protests on Tuesday.
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That's according to the Police Reforms Working Group. President Ruto said only six people died. But, part of the anger on the streets here is about the unarmed peaceful protesters who were shot by police in so many places, many of them here in Nairobi, but also in other parts of the country. So, today, police appear to be determined to make sure that doesn't happen. And that's what you hear is tear gas which has been ringing in the air all morning.
HILL: Larry, really appreciate it. It's so good to have you on the ground there, and we'll continue to check in with you. Thank you.
I want to turn our attention now to Bolivia, where an attempt to overthrow the democratically elected government was diffused in a matter of hours. The former army chief behind that failed coup arrested in La Paz after a dramatic confrontation with the Bolivian President inside the government palace. President Luis Arce reportedly telling Juan Jose Zuniga, quote, "I am your captain and I will not allow this insubordination." Zuniga was later shown handcuffed on national TV before being forced into a police vehicle. All of this happening a day after he was dismissed.
Stefano Pozzebon is joining us now live from Bogota, Colombia, with more. So, where do things stand at this hour? We had heard reports that the coup leader was actually saying the President himself directed him to carry out the military operation. We unfortunately have lost Stefano's audio. We're going to try to get that back so that we can bring you more of that story. So, we'll say on that as well.
Of course, as we mentioned at the top of the program, we are also in countdown mode here at CNN, with just hours to go now into the first debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign. Tonight, as you see the stage there, a shot from CNN's headquarters in Atlanta, just eight feet will separate Donald Trump and Joe Biden tonight, as they appear on stage together for the first time since their first debate few years ago, four years ago in 2020, 90 minutes here that will test the vulnerabilities of both candidates. Those questions about age, about temperament. It's no wonder analysts say this could be one of the most important debates in U.S. political history, two candidates who have a lot to prove to the American people and who want to win over that very small number of undecided voters in this country.
The political world, though, is going to take a brief pause from the presidential campaign, just about two hours from now, turning its attention to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices are set to release additional opinions this morning, and there are a number of consequential rulings we're waiting on, including a decision when it comes to emergency medical care, specifically abortion when a woman's health is in danger. We knew that opinion would be coming, but the heightened attention now, because the court briefly posted a document Wednesday on its website before it was taken down. And if that leak was accurate, the court plans to uphold a federal rule which allows emergency rooms to provide abortions to women in medical danger.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz is standing by on these rulings and following all of it for us. It did not go unnoticed by a number of folks, of course, that that document which seems to have been inadvertently posted was the second time that there seemed to be a little bit of a teaser in terms of what an opinion could be from the highest court on an issue dealing with abortion, Katelyn..
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Right, Erica. So, we are waiting to see if the formal opinion is going to be released by the court today or tomorrow. They have decision days, opinion release days, scheduled for 10 a.m. today, 10 a.m. tomorrow, and we're waiting to see if they will need an additional day next week to release opinions here at the end of the term. Other than that, abortion case, where we're waiting for that opinion and it does appear we saw what looks to be very close to the final decision by the court. We are waiting for about a dozen different cases.
But, in addition to that abortion case, there is essentially two other major cases that we are waiting on among those dozen that are going to be released and we just don't know what day they're going to come. They both have to do with the 2020 election and Donald Trump, his actions after those days.
One of the cases is about January 6 rioters and whether the Justice Department is able to use the charge that they used to accuse people of obstructing the congressional proceedings on January 6. The Supreme Court is looking at that. So, that could be a major case. It's also a charge that Donald Trump himself faces in his own criminal case. And then his big bid to try and get out of his criminal case is also before the High Court. They're looking at presidential immunity, something that will have an impact not just on Donald Trump and if he is able to go to trial anytime soon, if at all, but it will have major implications for the U.S. presidency for decades to come. So, looking for those.
The other thing we're waiting to see is if they're going to do anything for Steve Bannon, that top advisor of Donald Trump.
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He is set to go to prison on Monday. He has asked the Supreme Court to intervene, and the clock is ticking for him. Erica.
HILL: Clock is ticking. It will be especially interesting to see what's released today, of course, ahead of the debate tonight, as we're all watching for this. Senior Crime and Justice Correspondent Katelyn Polantz, thank you, my friend. Good to see you.
Well, as you know, we are of course hours away from that historic CNN presidential debate. Our Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny is in Atlanta for tonight's face-off. So, we've talked a little bit about the stakes here. But, just put it in perspective. Every debate is important. This matchup, though, does feel more consequential for both candidates in many ways.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erica, there is no doubt it's consequential for both candidates. And here is why. I mean, this is the earliest presidential debate in presidential campaign history. There have only been televised debates, of course, for about a half century, a little more than that, but this is the earliest one. And here is why.
I mean, President Biden and former President Donald Trump are eager to shake up this race. It has largely been a margin of error race for months now. Donald Trump has had a slight edge. But, President Biden is trying to use this debate tonight to show the American people that he is fit and deserves a second term in office, at the same time reminding former President Donald Trump, reminding voters about him of what they may not have liked during his first term and what he would do in a second term. So, the reason it's consequential, aside from these two men deciding to run, it is the biggest thing that's happened in this presidential campaign so far, and it could be going forward here.
So, the stakes, incredibly high, of course, against the backdrop of battleground Georgia. I mean --
HILL: Yes.
ZELENY: -- Joe Biden carried Georgia by some 12,000 votes out of five million votes cast. It was the closest battleground state. So, voters here, of course, are watching very carefully as well.
HILL: Yes. Absolutely. So many eyes on Georgia this election cycle. We see -- we just saw that live shot of the setup there. We know the podiums are eight feet apart. Both campaigns agreed to all of this, of course. And this also means they agreed to no audience and that their microphones will be muted when it is not their turn to speak. What is the sense of who may benefit more from those conditions for the debate?
ZELENY: You're right. Both candidates agreed to this. They agreed to come here tonight. They agreed to having no audience, and that is one large difference here. This is the first presidential debate in a general election without an audience since 1960s, since John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon had their first televised debate here. So, that is the history of this.
But, history books offer a little guide for the rest of it. There have never been a sitting President and a former President on stage like this. The two men certainly have an acrimonious relationship, to put it mildly. They have not been in the same room for four years since their last debate in the fall of 2020. But, who benefits from this is really an open question. I mean, the reason that microphones will be limited to the candidate who is speaking to avoid the interruptions, to avoid the back and forth, and to allow the ideas and the policy to get through, so voters can hear that.
You could argue that President Biden perhaps could benefit from being allowed to not be interrupted. But, you could also argue that Donald Trump, if he is in a controlled environment, may seem different than he did some four years ago. So, Erica, we will see who benefits from it. But, there is no doubt both sides have been preparing extensively because the stakes are so high for tonight's debate.
HILL: Yeah. They certainly are. Jeff, always good to talk to you. Thank you.
Still to come this hour, fears growing of a wider regional conflict as Israel and Hezbollah engage in cross-border strikes. We are live in Beirut after this short break.
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HILL: I want to take you back now to Bolivia. There was, of course, an attempt to overthrow the democratically-elected government there. It was diffused in a matter of hours.
Stefano Pozzebon joining us now live from Bogota, Colombia. So, we had heard there have been reports, Stefano, that the coup leader here is actually now saying it was the President himself who directed the leader of this coup to carry out that military operation. Bring us up to speed here. What's really going on?
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Yes, Erica. Well, I think that is some perhaps a testament to how confusing those hours were on Wednesday afternoon up in La Paz in Bolivia, because the coup monger, the general Juan Jose Zuniga, who had served as the head of the Bolivian army until Tuesday, was dismissed for saying live on television that the army would intervene to prevent the former President a new presidential run. Well, he said that he had a conversation with a sitting President Luis Arce and that Arce had asked him to stage something in order to revive his pause. Arce, must be said, he is deeply unpopular.
However, that is the same general that we saw live on television ordering his men to take control of the central square of La Paz to ram through the doors of the presidential palace. I think that is the image that many people will remember for the upcoming days when it comes to Bolivia. An armored vehicle, an armored personnel carrier from the Bolivian army literally ramming through the main door of the presidential palace in La Paz. This army stormed at the palace. The general was attempting to enter that palace and met with the President and that is when we had that historic exchange with the President. Arce reportedly saying, I am your captain. I ask you to stand down.
By that time, Juan Jose Zuniga had already realized perhaps that his coup was not going to be successful. Many countries around the region and around the world, the United States and Spain, as well as Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and others had already condemned any sort of unauthorized military action in La Paz, and calm was restored in a matter of hours. The latest is that Juan Jose Zuniga is now in the hands of Bolivian authorities, together with the Vice Admiral, head of the Bolivian Navy, who has also been accused of participating in the coup.
Arce is still very unpopular. Bolivia is going through a political and economic tough time. But, at the same time, Arce is still the sitting President and remains in charge in La Paz. And in the last few hours of Wednesday afternoon, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of La Paz to defend democracy, to sing and to chant against a potential coup. So, of course, we don't really know what happened there in those frantic exchange. We'll probably get more information to you, Erica, in the upcoming hours and days, but calm has been restored in La Paz.
HILL: All right. I know you'll continue to keep an eye on it. Appreciate it, Stefano. Thank you.
Tensions are again flaring on Israel's northern border. Lebanon state media reporting Israel launched two air-to-surface missiles in the southern city of Nabatieh. At least 19 people were reported injured after a building was destroyed. The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to CNN's requests for comment. Earlier, Israel said firefighters responded to fires in two buildings in the northern part of Israel, which it says were the result of rocket fire from Lebanon.
CNN's Ben Wedeman joining us now live from Beirut. So, Ben, in a recent article, you pointed out, an Israel-Hezbollah war would be far more dangerous today than the last time around. Walk us through why. What more is at stake?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think, Erica, it's a question of sort of quantity and quality when it comes to Hezbollah.
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According to Israeli estimates, Hezbollah has somewhere around 1,000 -- rather 150,000 rockets and missiles and somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 fighters. Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, recently said actually more than 100,000 fighters. Now, the difference is that Hezbollah, for instance, it has strategic depth. It, unlike Gaza, which is surrounded on all sides by either Israel or Egypt, Hezbollah can go through Syria, go through the Iraq, all the way to Iran. So, Hezbollah fighters regularly go to Iran. They get training there. They have years of experience fighting in Syria alongside the regime against the rebels there.
Hezbollah, for instance, has now long-range missiles. They can reach well inside Israel. And they've also succeeded in punching holes in the surveillance system that Israel has set up across the border. So, there is a chance, a good chance that they may be able to overwhelm the Iron Dome system.
Now, back in 2006, less than 24 hours after the war began between Hezbollah and Israel, the Israelis knocked out Beirut International Airport. It's widely believed that given Hezbollah's new capabilities, it could do the same to Ben Gurion National Airport outside of Tel Aviv. Basically, the fear in Israel is that Hezbollah can actually paralyze much of northern and central Israel with its rockets and missiles. In addition to that, Hezbollah has invested a lot of time and effort in mastering drone technology. And we've seen, for instance, they were able to fly a surveillance drone undetected about 30 kilometers inside of Israel and collect vital intelligence of strategic military and civilian infrastructure in the city of Haifa. That, of course, city, it contains one of Israel's most important port.
So, really what you have is, if you look at sort of the history of the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and its neighbors, Hezbollah is really the most formidable foe Israel faces since the 1973 war against Syria and Egypt. Erica.
HILL: Yeah. Absolutely. Ben, really appreciate the perspective. Thank you.
Still to come this hour, the political world decamped to Atlanta for the day. We have live reports from our reporters. We're covering both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, as they prepare for this historic CNN presidential debate. We'll take a closer look at the issues that matter most to Americans. CNN's John King making his way across the country, as we approach that election in November, hearing directly from voters.
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HILL: We are, of course, just hours away now from Joe Biden and Donald Trump facing off their first face-to-face showdown in four years. Tonight's debate, coming to you live from CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, is a crucial moment in the presidential campaign. Anna (ph) was looking at this, noting it could go a long way toward defining a front rider in what is a tight race. For Donald Trump's part, he may want to calm some fears that he could dismantle America's democratic norms and opt for a more autocratic approach. Joe Biden, of course, facing deep concerns about his age and his vigor.
Alayna Treene is following the Trump campaign, joining us now from the spin room in Atlanta. So, as we walk through what has been happening in terms of prep, there has been a lot of back and forth as each campaign is sort of said what they were doing and maybe tried to throw a little shade at the other side for what they are or are not doing. Where do things stand specifically for the Trump campaign in the hours now leading up to the debate?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, they are all at Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump is currently there, and that's where he has been for the last two days, and even as much as his team is really trying not even to use the words "debate prep". They've been really downplaying the amount of preparation the former President has done in relishing the contract with Joe Biden who has been hunkered down at Camp David for the past week.
Of course, Donald Trump, Erica, is preparing behind the scenes. I am told that at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, he has been having several policy discussions. He has been talking with advisors, and some of those discussions have included them really trying to make sure that he stays on message on that stage tonight. They want him focusing on three key issues. That includes the economy, immigration, the border, all areas where Donald Trump is currently polling higher than Joe Biden on, and as part of that conversation as well, they're also encouraging him to be less aggressive. They do not want him to use the 90 minutes allotted on that stage in Atlanta tonight to air his personal grievances.
Now, that is something that has been difficult for Donald Trump to avoid in the past. We know this from covering him for several years now. When he is on the campaign trail, he often kind of reverts to using some of that aggressive rhetoric to attack his opponents. His team doesn't want him to do that tonight. Instead, they want him to stay on message. And so, that's kind of the conversation behind the scenes that has been going on with regard to them looking forward to the content of tonight.
Now, another thing I want to point your attention to, Erica, is the debate format and how Donald Trump's team views that. It's been interesting, because initially in my conversations with his advisors, they were skeptical of the differences and having the microphones being allowed to be shut off and having them only be on for candidates, a lot of time, but also the fact that there is going to be no live audience. Now, in recent days, they actually think that could help the former President.
Remember, back in 2020, in that first debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Trump widely was thought to have lost that first debate. It's actually something Trump himself candidly remarked on and acknowledged in an interview earlier this week. He said, I think I was a little too aggressive. I think the common takeaway from that debate was that I lost it. And that was because he was very aggressive. He did not let Joe Biden get a word and he interrupted him a lot. He spoke over the microphone. Tonight, he will be cut off if he tries to do that. And so, Trump's team thinks that could actually help him.
The other part with the audience is that we know that Donald Trump loves to feed off a crowd. He gets energized from his supporters in the audience. Without an audience in the studio tonight, Trump's team believes that it'll help him stay on message and really focus on some of the talking points that they have provided him with.
HILL: Alayna, appreciate it. Also with us, Kayla Tausche, of course, one of our White House correspondents. So, Kayla, we -- there has been a lot of talk about the compare and contrast between the two candidates and what they have been doing this week. President Biden really hunkered down there, doing a lot of debate prep. And I understand some of your reporting, Kayla, is that there may actually be yet one more mock debate for the President today ahead of tonight's event?
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Erica, at least that was the plan late last night when I spoke to a source close to the President, who said that it was a long evening. They've been keeping long working days. The President himself is a night owl, and that they wanted to reserve the right to do another mock debate today if the President woke up and decided that he felt like that would help him. Now, he is expected to come to Atlanta midday. There are a couple of
events that the DNC and the Biden campaign are holding. And then, really, it's a hunkering down moment for President Biden. He loves pasta with red sauce, orange Gatorade, Coke Zero. But, up on stage, the candidates are not allowed to have any notes and no other beverages other than water.
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They're also not allowed to talk to staff. So, there is also discussion about how does the President spend his commercial breaks. But, for Biden, this is a familiar matchup but at a much more critical time with Biden set to argue that the embodiment of the threat to democracy is returning to the main stage of this country, and he is going to urge voters to make a watershed decision at the ballot box in November. We know that democracy as well as the economy under Trump, as well as abortion, are going to be the three pillars, the tentpole topics that President Biden's team want him to focus on and want him to be on the offensive on. That being said, President Trump plans to raise three issues of his own, where President Biden, he believes, is on his back feet.
So, certainly, there is going to be a lot of back and forth, a lot of tussle between the two. And the President is also currently -- has been planning for Trump to go for the jugular and attack his family, something that he did back in 2020 as well.
HILL: All right. We'll be watching it all. Kayla, good to see you this morning. Thank you.
What will this look like from outside the U.S.? Joining me now is Leslie Vinjamuri from London. She is the head of the U.S. and the Americas Programme at Chatham House. Great to have you here this morning. We've been talking so much about what people can expect in terms of performance, and much of the debate tonight is about performance. And we'll be looking at, as we just discussed with our reporters there, can Donald Trump keep his cool, essentially? And what will Joe Biden look like? How much energy will he have? How do those two things play outside the U.S.?
LESLIE VINJAMURI, HEAD, U.S. & AMERICAS PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE, ROYAL INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: Well, I think that outside of the United States, I sit here in London, in the United Kingdom, across Europe, first of all, people are very distracted. We have an election in the United Kingdom only next week. There was a debate last night. The French are clearly focused on their elections. But, having said that, there is a very clear sense that the most important election in the year of elections is the United States, but it's deeply consequential for Europe, and that unlike many past presidential elections, voters may not be voting on foreign policy, but foreign policy is on the ballot.
These are two candidates with very different worldviews with very different diplomatic styles. And Europe will be watching these debates probably on replay in the morning, given the timing, but to see how President Biden holds up. There is a real concern as to whether he can mobilize the enthusiasm of American voters. We know that this is a highly unenthusiastic American electorate in comparative terms.
And I think Europe is just watching to see, will President Biden deliver in this debate, which has seemed to be absolutely critical, not only on the issues, the economy, inflation, immigration, reproductive rights, abortion, of course, but to see whether he sends any messages to the American electorate and to the rest of the world about his commitment to Ukraine, to Euro-Atlantic security, to NATO, and to that broader set of global challenges that are so not only urgent, but also very significant and consequential in the medium and long run, and again, where these two candidates differ very concretely.
HILL: Absolutely. And we heard some of that, of course, at the G7. It was brought up even at the anniversary celebrations, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, of course, in Italy just a few weeks ago, as all of that is playing out and the concerns and the anxiety that some world leaders feel as they watch this election. As you point out, these are two men with very different views about the role of the United States on the world stage, and with elections, as you rightly point out as well, playing out in so many other countries at this moment. Is it just a collective moment of holding one's breath?
VINJAMURI: Well, I think here in the UK, as soon as we're through this election, the next British Prime Minister is going to have to think very carefully about how to engage not only with President Biden, but with the Republican -- potential Republican leadership to try and hedge their bets because, of course, there is no alternative to America's leadership and its security provision in Europe. There is a lot of talk about Europeans working together, working with the United Kingdom, on delivering more of their own security and defense bond as a long-term project. In the short term, it's absolutely essential to work with the U.S.
The second really significant challenge, as we all know, is climate change, and on this issue, there couldn't be a more significant difference between the two U.S. presidential candidates, with Donald Trump continuing to deny the basics of climate science.
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And again, this is an area where for Europe, there have been challenges certainly from the far right in Europe, a rejection of the left, a rejection of Green parties. But, a public that by and large still recognizes the significance of adopting policies to mitigate climate change and needing an American partner in this set of policies, very difficult, very challenging. But, I think really, at the end of the day, the thing that people are looking for is, can America be stable? Can it be committed to Europe? Can it engage with the rule of law? Will it turn to a much more transactional, disruptive, dysfunctional style of engagement? Or will we see an America that's on the up when it comes to international engagement? There is a -- it's hard to overstate the level of concern. It's really very significant in Europe.
HILL: Yeah. It certainly is. And I would say, for a number of Americans in this country, it is as well. Leslie, really appreciate your time this morning and your perspective. Thank you.
Well, when it comes to voter sentiment here in the U.S., in many ways, it's all over the map for this presidential race. CNN's John King has been spending his time crossing around the country to talk about these incredibly important issues to voters and get their take on which candidate they think can address those pressing concerns.
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JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ray Flores owns a handful of restaurants in battleground Arizona, and is unimpressed with both men who will share the debate stage.
RAY FLORES, ARIZONA VOTER: At this juncture, they both had four years, and I'm just eight years more frustrated than I was before. I wish we had a candidate that had more of a middle of life and middle of the road perspective. And I -- I'm very uncomfortable right now with either choice.
KING (voice-over): We hear that a lot. Our "All over the Map" project is at 60 voters and counting across 10 states. Yes, President Biden has his share of true believers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Biden, Biden, Biden.
KING: Do you like him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. I think he has done a great job.
KING (voice-over): So does Donald Trump.
CHRIS MUDD, IOWA VOTER: I liked what happened in our economy for four years when Donald Trump was President. I liked the America First mindset.
KING (voice-over): But, many voters dislike or have doubts about both, which makes this debate a critical campaign crossroads.
KIM CAVALIERE, GEORGIA VOTER: I just don't feel comfortable with Biden's age and I don't feel comfortable with Trump's mouth.
KING (voice-over): For the incumbent, the cost of living is a giant challenge.
KING: Are your day-to-day costs the same now as a year ago?
FLORES: Oh, no. They're higher.
KING (voice-over): Rising rents came up a lot in Milwaukee and in Las Vegas, and in other places, Biden must dominate, like Atlanta.
CAREY FULKS, GEORGIA VOTER: Everything here in Georgia is so expensive. I can only afford so much with whatever job I find.
KING (voice-over): Even strong Biden supporters complain of supermarket sticker shock. WALTER ROBINSON JR., MICHIGAN VOTER: It's just me and my wife and it
is $200 every time I go to the grocery store.
KING (voice-over): The President's age is already part of the campaign debate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No matter how many Taylor Swift promises you make, you'll never understand us.
KING (voice-over): A bigger Biden problem with younger voters is anger at his handling of the Hamas-Israel conflict.
IBRAHIM GHAZAL, MICHIGAN VOTER: I don't think anybody wants -- nobody wants to vote for Biden. If Biden wants to get certain votes, he needs to change course.
KING (voice-over): Trump, though, also has a long list of weaknesses that could be debate flashpoints. Joan London just left the Republican Party and registered as an independent.
JOAN LONDON, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I had more of a positive vision, just a different emphasis. And I'm -- and what I'm seeing in the national party just didn't reflect my values the way it had.
KING (voice-over): Linda Rooney hasn't ruled out voting for Trump, but January 6 is an obstacle.
LINDA ROONEY, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I remember watching it on TV, and I couldn't believe that it was happening. And I was angry that he didn't -- that Trump didn't say something, that Trump didn't stop it.
KING: And yet, you still might vote for him.
ROONEY: I might. Yeah.
KING (voice-over): Matt Vrahiotes is a Georgia Christian conservative pondering a third-party vote because of doubts about Trump's character.
MATT VRAHIOTES, GEORGIA VOTER: Honestly, I wish that there was another candidate that would have come through the primaries, instead of being just Donald Trump.
KING (voice-over): Yes. Many minds are already made up. But, for those with doubts about both Biden and Trump, this is a giant test.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And our thanks to John King for that report. Of course, as we were just discussing, this is a big year for elections, not just in the U.S., but frankly, around the world, and a big couple of weeks coming up as well. In Iran, tomorrow, they'll choose their next President. We're going to take a closer look at that high-stakes election. Plus, Britain's general election, of course, just one week from today. So, how did Wednesday's final debate influence voters? We'll take a look. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:40:00]
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HILL: Iran will commemorate the life of its late President Ebrahim Raisi in the next hour. Raisi and Iran's Foreign Minister, of course, were killed in a helicopter crash last month. Tomorrow, voters will cast their ballot for Raisi's successor.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran with a look at who is running and what's at stake.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A children's group warms up the crowd. But, things really heat up when Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf enters the room, one of the leading conservatives in the presidential race. The first thing people expect is economic development, he says. There is no doubt that this development can happen through the path of elections. Qalibaf's supporters saying they also want a hard line towards the U.S. and Israel. Under any condition, we will be supporting the oppressed and fighting our enemies, this man says. We are very determined. And he says Qalibaf is the one who supports the Supreme Leader and follows him. Whatever the supreme leader says, he puts into practice.
PLEITGEN: Five of the remaining candidates are considered conservative, but Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf is certainly considered to be one of the frontrunners, and he has vowed that if he becomes President, he will can continue the hardline policies of Ebrahim Raisi who was killed in that chopper crash a little over a month ago.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): After Iran's embassy compound in Syria was bombed in April, killing several Revolutionary Guard commanders and Iran retaliated for the first time launching drones and missiles from its own territory, Iran is now warning it will hit Israel again if its assets in the Middle East are targeted. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticizing presidential candidates he thinks could seek ties with the U.S., not naming names but some believe he referred to Masoud Pezeshkian, the moderate left in the race. Pezeshkian has called for improving ties with nations in the region. A Pezeshkian campaign event in Tehran on Wednesday was canceled abruptly.
PLEITGEN: The Pezeshkian campaign says after a long process, they didn't receive the necessary permission to hold their rally inside a stadium. So now, as you can see, the rally outside on the street screaming their vote for Pezeshkian.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Disappointed supporters saying they still believe Pezeshkian has a chance to win. The wave of support has added to people's hope in elections, this man says. So, we hope that those who are hesitant will come out and vote. And she says, in general, the change we need in politics is foreign policy, so it will result in improvements in people's economic situation. As the campaign's come to an end, Iranians will go to the polls on Friday to elect a new President.
PLEITGEN: And today is a day without any campaigning going on. The Iranians will then head to the polls on a Friday morning. However, one of the things that, of course, looms large over this election is the death of Ebrahim Raisi in that helicopter crash a little over a month ago.
[08:45:00]
And today, there will be a big ceremony held for Ebrahim Raisi to commemorate 40 days after his passing.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Voters in Britain head to the post one week from today for the general election, where it looks like Labour leader Keir Starmer could become the next Prime Minister, as the Tories led by current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak continued to trail in the polls. Sunak and Starmer went head to head Wednesday in their final debate before that July 4 election, Starmer touting his Labour Party is best suited to lead the country out of a cost of living crisis and soaring inflation, while Sunak accuses his rival of not being straightforward about his plans for taxes, women's rights, and illegal migrants. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We need to make it crystal clear to people that if they come to our country illegally, they won't be able to stay. And that's why, if I'm your Prime Minister on July 5, the flights will go to Rwanda. We will build that deterrent that multiple other European countries now agree is the right way to deal with this problem, and that's how we solve this problem. If Keir Starmer is your Prime Minister, all those illegal migrants will be out on our streets, and that is the choice for you. Do not surrender our borders to the Labour Party.
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: Why are record numbers still come down to your watch, Prime Minister? How on Earth can you say it is working? You put the scheme in place. The flights could go off. I notice you've called the election, by the way, before any flights could actually get off and it could be tested in the interesting timing. But, if this was such a deterrent, why is it obviously, obviously not working?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: CNN's Nic Robertson has more now from London.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Elections close, UK PM Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party facing an historic drubbing.
GIDEON SKINNER, SENIOR UK DIRECTOR OF POLITICS, IPSOS: The polls are showing that the Conservatives are in a pretty difficult position. Our central estimate was having the Conservatives around about 115 seats.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): 650 seats at stake, each week of campaigning damaging Sunak more than the last. The British Prime Minister left D- Day commemorations in France early.
SUNAK: On reflection, that was a mistake and I apologize.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): More damaging allegations followed. Several of his senior staff bat on the unexpected July 4 election date.
SUNAK: Well, I was incredibly angry.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Good for his main opponent, Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer, you'd think, not so much. Labour, like Conservative, have dropped a little in the polls.
SKINNER: Add maybe two to three points. The big picture is still that Labour have got, on average, a fairly healthy lead.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Healthy, meaning about 20 percentage points. Starmer's challenge, most voters aren't sure what he stands for, recently, praising his socialist predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, now booted from Labour, saying he would have been a better Prime Minister than Donald Trump friend Boris Johnson.
STARMER: Look what we got, Boris Johnson, a man who made massive promises, didn't keep them.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Labour's left-wing legacy haunts Starmer, a centrist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said he'd make a great Prime Minister. Did you mean it?
STARMER: It wasn't a question that really arose because I didn't think we were going to win the election.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): His skills so far uniting his once fractious party, not so for Sunak. Tight-wing Tories voters increasingly tempted by the upstart right-wing disruptor Reform Party, led by Nigel Farage --
NIGEL FARAGE, REFORM PARTY: Thanks for coming, everybody.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): -- another friend of Trump who almost a decade ago led the charge for Brexit, now back in the political fray as ever, pulling the country right, costing Sunak voters. The field, though, bigger than these three leading parties. Middle class, middle of the road Liberal Democrats struggling for attention.
FARAGE: But, I don't think politicians should take themselves too seriously.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): His stunts paying off, Lib Dem polling up slightly, mostly at Sunak's expense. Starmer looking into benefit in Scotland too, the powerful but scandal-hit independents-driven Scottish National Party (SNP) onto their third leader in 15 months.
JOHN SWINNEY, FIRST MINISTER OF SCOTLAND: Be careful what you wish for, because the Labour Party is going to pick up where the Tories left off.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): But, despite their tough talk, likely losing their dominance north of the border.
ROBERTSON: Polls are notorious. There is no hard guarantee of actual results. And if the most favorable outcome for Sunak is an historic loss, the worst could leave his party and the political wilderness for years, vulnerable to populace like Faraj.
Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[08:50:00]
HILL: And be sure to watch CNN's special coverage of the UK elections on July 4. It starts just before 5 p.m. in New York, 10 p.m. London time.
Still to come, the U.S. preparing to welcome a pair of pandas from China, the first in more than 20 years. Details ahead.
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HILL: SpaceX says it is ready to help NASA retire the International Space Station and collect a pretty penny for the job. NASA will shell out nearly a billion dollars to Elon Musk's SpaceX to build a vehicle to drag the ISS out of Earth's orbit. That massive lab, by the way, is roughly the size of an American football feed and it would be traveling more than 27,000 kilometers per hour. Both the ISS and the deorbit vehicle are expected to burn up as they slam back into the Earth's atmosphere. All of this expected to happen by 2030.
Finally this hour, panda diplomacy is back for the U.S. and China, two giant pandas now enroute from China to California, where they'll soon call the San Diego Zoo home.
CNN's Steven Jiang has more on the first new panda loan between China and the U.S. in more than 20 years.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: These two giant pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, left their home at a panda base in southwestern China on a rainy night, with some locals lining up the streets to bid them farewell, holding signs with their names and images, watching them leave in a truck headed for the airport for their charter flight bound for San Diego. Now, the loan of these pandas was finalized in February, marking the first time that China sending pandas to the U.S. in two decades.
On their flight crossing the Pacific, these pandas have access to plenty of water and special meals, including fresh bamboos, bamboo shoots, fruits and veggies, as well as corn bread. Each country has sent a team of five experts to accompany them on this flight with a Chinese team staying on for three more months to help the pandas adapt to their new environment.
The San Diego Zoo, of course, has a history of cooperating with China and panda conservation and actually has a special connection to one of the pandas on board. Yun Chuan's mother was actually born in San Diego. Now, as part of these agreements, zoos typically pay China a million U.S. dollars a year for their conservation efforts. And the Chinese say in many ways that has paid off with a population of pandas almost doubling in the past 30 years, prompting the government in 2021 downgrading panda status from endangered species to vulnerable.
China also has a history of engaging in so-called panda diplomacy, initially giving and then loaning pandas to countries with friendly or improving ties with Beijing. The U.S. received its two pandas in 1972 following then-President Nixon's historic visit to China. But, in more recent years, the number of pandas has dwindled in the U.S., with tensions rising between the two governments. Now, with bilateral ties somewhat stabilized, zoos in the U.S. and indeed in many countries that are U.S. allies are anticipating new arrivals again, with fresh agreements just announced for the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. as well as zoos in Australia and most recently in Austria.
Steven Jiang, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: The original artwork that graced the cover of the first Harry Potter book just sold for a record $1.9 million. Sotheby's says that is the most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold at auction.
[08:55:00]
The artist, Thomas Taylor, was one of the first to read J.K. Rowling's manuscript about the boy wizard and created the cover art with watercolor and black pencil in just two days. It will go on to be featured on the cover of the book's first edition in 1997.
Thanks for joining me this hour on CNN Newsroom. I'm Erica Hill. Stay tuned. Connect the World with Becky Anderson is up next.
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