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Sympathizers Defend CEO Murder Suspect; Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) is Interviewed about Israel's Airstrikes on Syria; Biden Defends Economic Record. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired December 11, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:35]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back.

The killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson sparking a flurry of pent-up anger against the health insurance industry. And there are some online that are now casting his alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, as a modern-day Robin Hood.

CNN's Jason Carroll reports on what's fueling this reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This Ivy League hottie named Luigi is the Robin Hood that we never knew that we needed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I listened to Luigi's manifesto this morning three times, and I cried. Honestly, it's beautiful. And I agree with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least he left a very powerful message, and he highlighted how terrible the health care system is in America. I think he'll go down as a hero in history.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He had been a named suspect for less than 48 hours, and yet within a fraction of that time, many in the world of social media had already made up their minds about Luigi Mangione.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just eating it up, because this is like regular, everyday person becoming our hero, our vigilante.

CARROLL (voice over): These types of comments angering law enforcement and public officials.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): I don't care your views about health care companies, because I don't think they're great right now either. But you do not celebrate the assassination of another human being who was just doing his job.

CARROLL (voice over): But interest in Mangione just continues to grow. On X, before his arrest announcement, he had just 64 followers. Now, more than 320,000 and counting. His initial 827 followers on Instagram grew exponentially Monday as we watched. By 3:00, more than 32,000. An hour later, 53,000. By 5:00 Monday, more than 71,000 followers before that account was suspended. Many of the comments calling for his freedom and calling him a hero.

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): Hear me on this, he is no hero. The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald's.

CARROLL (voice over): That McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where a worker spotted the 26 year old eating and called 911 Monday, targeted by Mangione's supporters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What am I going to do? I'm going to stop eating at McDonald's.

CARROLL (voice over): It got so bad, Google had to remove reviews after that location was flooded with negative comments.

Someone hung a banner above I-83 with the words "deny, defend, depose, health care for all," a reference to bullet casings left at the crime scene.

[06:35:09]

Amazon pulled apparel and home goods featuring the phrase.

Online, Mangione may be a folk hero to some, but offline and in person, no shortage of those condemning him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Health care is a mess in this country, but to celebrate somebody's death is sickening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The people in these higher positions, like CEOs, they need to look at themselves and their company and ask themselves, why are people so ready to condemn us? Why are they so willing to call someone who supposedly killed another human being a hero?

CARROLL (voice over): While some suspect support for Mangione is not all about rage against health care, but instead something far more subjective and superficial.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the halo effect like manifesting in real society.

CARROLL: You really think that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like, I truly believe so. Like, people treat people who are attractive, like, way differently.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are like giving him leeway with this because they are fantasizing him a little bit, but I don't think violence should ever be the answer, no matter the circumstance.

CARROLL: What this could end up being is a case that just captures the attention of the American public for a period of time. I mean you look at what's happening on eBay, where you can find merch related to the case being sold. And the hashtag, free Luigi Mangione, has been steadily trending on X.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNT: All right, our thanks to Jason for that.

And as he noted there, Mangione arrest has spawned Spotify playlists, fan art, and tattoos that glorify the alleged murderer and his crime. TikTok's nickname for him, quote, "the adjuster," an apparent nod to the health care insurance adjusters who process claims. Mangione's lawyer saying yesterday that his office has even received emails with offers to cover the suspect's legal bills.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS DICKEY, ATTORNEY FOR LUIGI MANGIONE: Obviously, my client appreciates the support that he has. But, I don't know, I just - it - it - I'd have to look in, but it just doesn't sit right with me, really.

The Supreme Court says, you know, all these rich billionaires can give all kind of money to candidates, and that's free speech. So, maybe these people are exercising their right to free speech and saying that's the way they're supporting my client.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Jonah Goldberg, just a remarkable cultural moment here. A difficult one, obviously. I did think it was interesting that when Jason went and talked to normal people, even some of whom, you know, who were willing to say, like, our health care industry has got a lot of problems. They were not saying the things that people are willing to say online.

JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, so that's what struck me in the piece, too. And it proves yet again, you know, we say this - we talk about this a lot in politics. The very online world is very different than the real world.

And, you know, that said, I find all of this appalling. I agree, it's a big cultural moment. It says something interesting. You know, I wrote a book where a big part of my argument was that one of the reasons our politics are so screwed up is we're following politics like it's a form of entertainment. When you follow entertainment, you just root for the hero. You want them to win. You don't really care whether they break the rules and all that kind of stuff. And I think that's bleeding out into these other things.

We've seen some of this before. D.B. Cooper, some of you might remember, was the guy who hijacked a plane and got all his money and parachuted out. Famously, they made a movie about him. He had copycats. And normally I'm one to say that mass shooters and those kinds of people don't have a lot of copycats necessarily, or at least it's overstated sometimes. When you start calling him a hero and a hottie and all this kind of stuff, it creates a much more perverse cultural incentive structure for somebody else to do this kind of thing.

ANNIE LINSKEY, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Yes. And there is something different going on here, too, where the algorithms on these social media platforms are rewarding people who are saying the most extreme things.

GOLDBERG: Right.

LINSKEY: And so, those kinds of messages are being amplified, whereas, you know, the person on the street from that piece isn't necessarily being amplified. So, I really think that plays into how this dynamic is unfolding.

GOLDBERG: Yes.

MATT GORMAN, FORMER TIM SCOTT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: As you were saying, I mean, a lot of talk to -- CEOs and corporate leaders I talk to are very concerned about their security in a new way, where they were - a lot of them were like Brian Thompson a week or two ago, just being a little bit more carefree about it, being willing to walk around without major security presence. That has changed in a major way now.

And Jonah's right, like, if you looked like you or I, Jonah, like, he's not getting the same attention that he would looking, you know, kind of, in a subjective way.

GOLDBERG: What are you trying to say?

GORMAN: I - yes, exactly. But, you know, you're right. You're absolutely right.

KENDRA BARKOFF, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY TO JOE BIDEN: But this is also a trend, I think, that you're seeing online across the board, where people are very angry with everything. They're angry with politics. They're angry with CEOs. They're angry across the board. And they're taking it out on social media. And - and - and I think the fact that people are making him a hero, it is. It's abhorrent. It is - they should not be connecting health care with murder. And - and I think as a society, I mean, not to be the, you know, we just need to be doing better. We need to be - we need to be, you know, lifting people up as opposed to, you know, trying to do what we do, what these people are doing on the internet.

[06:40:08]

HUNT: All right, coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, Antony Blinken will be in the hot seat today to answer questions about the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Congressman, former Marine, Jake Auchincloss is here to discuss what he wants to hear from the secretary of state.

Plus, an attack on The Hill. Congresswoman Nancy Mace says she was physically accosted on Capitol grounds.

And, President Biden's warning about what Donald Trump's tariff threat could mean for American's pocketbooks.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Who do you think pays for this? I believe this approach is a major mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We have no intention of interfering in Syria's internal affairs.

[06:45:02]

However, we do intend to do what is necessary for our society. As such, I have approved the air force bombing of strategic military capabilities left by the Syrian military so that they will not fall into the hands of the jihadists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Israel striking Syria 480 times over the past two days and moving its forces beyond the demilitarized buffer zone and into Syria for the first time since 1973. The move, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meant to prevent extremists from seizing the country's strategic weapons stockpiles.

As Netanyahu looks to shape the new balance of power in the region, the White House, hoping to contain the chaos, confirming Tuesday that they're in touch with Syrian rebel groups. The situation in Syria reinvigorating a broader debate about the role that the United States should play in the region and the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have as much experience in foreign policy as any president in the history of the United States has had. If we're not leading the world, who does? Not a joke. I'm not being a wise guy. If we do not lead the world, what nation leads the world? Who pulls Europe together? Who tries to pull the Middle East together? How do (INAUDIBLE) the Indian Ocean? What do we do in Africa? We, the United States, lead the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, joining us now to discuss Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts.

Congressman, thanks very much for being here. REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): Good morning.

HUNT: Let's start in Syria, where the Israelis have moved beyond this buffer zone and into Syrian territory. There's, of course, concern about in particular chemical weapons. Are you comfortable with how far the Israelis are going? And do you think the U.S. government should be supportive of that?

AUCHINCLOSS: Yes, America and Israel on the same page here. We collectively, I think, have three interests. One is the Syrians themselves. The second is our friends. And the third is our enemies.

The Syrians themselves have been under brutal rule for 50 years. And we want them to be able to self-determine and to throw off those shackles. And that really starts with a tolerant regime. It's a multicultural society.

And HTS, or whatever group ends up taking over governance, needs to be affording protections for women, for Kurds, for other minority groups.

Number two, Israel needs to be able to defend itself. They're right to be taking out chemical weapons, stockpiles, or long-range missiles. There's a lot of bad actors walking around Syria right now. Nobody needs their hands on those.

And then finally, our enemies, most importantly, Iran. Severing Syria as a transit corridor between Iran and Hezbollah is a major win for the United States and for Israel. And we should be doubling down on that. When your enemy's on their back foot, push them.

HUNT: Let's talk also about Afghanistan. We're, of course, going to hear from the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, later on today in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The administration seems to have been reluctant to send him to Capitol Hill to discuss the, you know, I mean, there were some Americans who died, right, at the gate.

And we haven't seen him answer for that. What do you expect to hear from the Secretary of State today? And what responsibility do you think he bears for what we saw during that horrible day of withdrawal?

AUCHINCLOSS: Thirteen Americans died at Abbey Gate, and Secretary Blinken absolutely should be testifying in front of Congress. That is a responsibility that Congress has, is oversight and accountability. And I think he really has three jobs to do today.

The first is defending the President's decision to leave Afghanistan, which remains the right decision. I would challenge you to find an American right now who's sitting there saying, boy, I wish we had 100,000 American troops fighting in Afghanistan against the Taliban, with all the other things that are happening in the world. It was the right call to get out of there.

Number two, he should talk about mistakes that were made. Just because it was the right decision doesn't mean it was executed perfectly. And then finally, he needs to draw a line that protects the generals and the officers who executed the strategy from political retribution under Trump.

Because going after officers who swear an oath to the Constitution, who were executing orders given by politicians, is unfair and it demoralizes the military.

HUNT: On that point, we've obviously had a lot of conversations recently about pardons, the pardon power, preemptive pardons. That's been in the political space. But considering your military background, on that point you make about, we have also seen reports about potentially holding some of these officers accountable.

Is there anything President Biden could or should do preemptively to protect some of the people that you're talking about?

AUCHINCLOSS: Regrettably, there isn't a lot he can do proactively. Because when Trump comes in as Commander-in-Chief, he does have a tremendous amount of authority over the military command structure. That's one of his core responsibilities.

And so that's why I think it's important that Secretary Blinken, as part of this testimony today, makes clear that for 20 years U.S. military officers executed a fundamentally flawed political strategy in Afghanistan. They did so honorably. They did so competently. And to go after them under a Trump administration would be unfair and it would undermine the nonpartisan nature of the military.

HUNT: Congressman, this morning we woke up to news that someone has been arrested after Congresswoman Nancy Mace, a Republican, came out and said she was assaulted, that she ended up with a brace on her wrist, and that the Capitol Police had arrested someone.

[06:50:12]

She obviously has been, you know, focused on trans-related issues that have raised her profile in recent days.

But my question to you, the Capitol office buildings are open to the public. How concerning is it, do you think, that there has been an incident like this reported of someone assaulting a member?

AUCHINCLOSS: It's concerning and that person should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I've been on the Capitol when it was a fortress right after January 6th and we had fences and we had very, very tight security and it really was not permeable to the public. I've obviously been here now when it's much more open. Open is better. It's the front porch of democracy and Americans should be able to walk through it.

HUNT: Do you think that there are -- do you think that this is a sign that America as a country, as a culture, is becoming more inured to violence as a means to political ends? I mean, we saw, obviously, we were just having a long conversation about what happened with the UnitedHealthcare CEO and what we've seen online in terms of sympathy for him. Now something like this, someone coming to Capitol Hill to assault a lawmaker. AUCHINCLOSS: Yeah, unfortunately, social media amplifies anger, right? That's what gets clicks. That's what draws people in is the anger of it. And I think that sometimes can crystallize the worst elements of human nature. And then when you add that into the fact that the United States has the most lax gun laws of any developed nation in the world, you get a real recipe for violence. I mean, we make assault weapons purchasable by anybody at a Walmart with very few days of background checks.

So we need to, one, condemn unequivocally violence wherever we see it, against Nancy Mace, against a healthcare CEO. And number two, we need to get our gun laws in order so that safe storage, background checks, red flag laws keep people safe.

HUNT: All right, Congressman Jake Auchincloss, thanks very much for your time today.

AUCHINCLOSS: Good morning.

HUNT: Really appreciate it. Thanks for being here.

All right, 51 minutes past the hour. Here is your morning roundup.

A massive wildfire threatening Malibu has now burned more than 3,000 acres. The Franklin Fire ignited late Monday, it's being fueled by high winds. The fire tripling in size in just a matter of hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA MICHEL, FIRE VICTIM: Everything, all these mountains were covered in flames. Just covered. Like you took a crayon and just colored everything.

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HUNT: Eighteen thousand Malibu residents now under evacuation orders or warnings.

One of Sean "Diddy" Combs' accusers speaking out with CNN. He is a John Doe who filed a civil complaint against Combs in October claiming he was drugged and sodomized at one of the rappers' infamous white parties in this exclusive interview with CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first drink started to have some effect on me. And I just thought, wow, these are really strong drinks. It wasn't until the second drink, and it was already too late, that I realized that there was something wrong with the drinks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Diddy's accuser says he kept the alleged assault secret since 2007, not even telling his wife at the time because of the shame that he felt. Diddy has denied all the allegations. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrows' home broken into while he

was away facing off against the Dallas Cowboys earlier this week. The incident comes just a month after the NFL, NBA and NHL all warned teams about being targeted by thieves. In october, both Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce's homes were burglarized.

Now this.

With just a little over a month left in his presidency, Joe Biden is defending his economic record and has a warning about what comes next. During his 40-minute address, the president took aim at Donald Trump's stated plans to impose tariffs on some of America's largest trading partners, including Mexico and Canada.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He seemed determined to impose steep universal tariffs on all imported goods brought to this country, on the mistaken belief that foreign countries will bear the cost of those tariffs rather than the American consumer. Who's he thinks pays for this? I believe this approach is a major mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Biden also taking credit for signing the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package into law early in his administration, but also seems to regret not signing something else related to the rollout of that plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, within the first two months of office, I signed the American Rescue Plan, the most significant economic recovery package in our history.

And I also learned something from Donald Trump. He signed checks for people for $7,400 because we passed the plan. And I didn't. It's (ph) stupid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, our panel has returned.

Kendra, it was kind of a joke.

[06:55:02]

BARKOFF: I think it was a joke.

HUNT: But also, I mean, people have reacted to it because, well, maybe he was actually right, that he was stupid not to.

BARKOFF: I mean he - yes. Look, he's out there. He's talking about the 16 million jobs that he created. He's taking a victory lap. Lowest unemployment rate. I think, you know, if you - if you see the facial expression, that is a Joe Biden classic, I am joking, maybe, you know, kind of self-deprecating kind of joke. I think that's exactly what he's doing, when he's talking about some really great things that he's done for our country and also sending sort of a sign to Congress about these tax cuts and what it could mean for middle class America.

HUNT: Jonah, does this not, though, kind of underscore what it is about Donald Trump that has sort of cut through for a lot of American's who are otherwise disengaged from politics. That like when they all got an economic stimulus check, it had his signature on it, because President Biden, I mean he uses the language of Washington. He's been in Washington, you know, for decades and decades. It's a really different approach.

GOLDBERG: Yes, no, look, I agree. And my own personal theory is that Joe Biden, who watches another show early in the mornings, famously, on Monday, Bill Clinton gave an interview with Joe Scarborough where he said Donald Trump knew what he was doing by putting his name on those checks. And then, boom, Joe Biden picks up on it. So, that's my theory about that.

GORMAN: That's good. That's a good (INAUDIBLE).

GOLDBERG: That said, yes, I mean, look, I mean, look, I'm a noted critic of Donald Trump. Doesn't mean I'm a critic of everything that he does. But one thing that you can give him credit for, or blame for or whatever is that he does not talk like he relies on focus groups. And he does not talk like he poll tests his phrases or that he has been inured and shaped by the culture of Washington. And there are a lot of people who pick up on that and - and who like it. And Joe Biden is a creature of Washington to his core. He's been here longer, I think, than I've been alive. And I think I'm the oldest person on this panel.

HUNT: Guilty.

GOLDBERG: And - so, yes, no, I think your point is right.

GORMAN: I mean it reminds me a little bit - so when Social Security was first created, they were obviously uncertain of the future. They didn't think it would be lasting this long, right? And FDR really insisted that it be put in people's pay stubs because people thought, like, if they see it coming out of their money, people will demand it when it's their time. And it's that sort of kind of mindset in a - in a - in a similar way that you see kind of with the Trump checks now.

And, you know, sure, you see those infrastructure signs on the highway or at certain places that have Joe Biden's name very prominently, but it doesn't cut the same way as getting a check in your - in your mailbox.

LINSKEY: The signs are often right before there's like construction on the highway (INAUDIBLE) -

GORMAN: After a big highway jam, yes.

LINSKEY: I think the Biden people have been really frustrated. They feel like they were good stewards of this economy. They got a really - you know, they came into office when Covid was going on. You know, the country didn't go into a depression. And at least to me, a lot of that speech, and then Jared Bernstein was in the White House briefing afterwards, was about saying, like, look, hey, this is - these are the benchmarks. We're handing over an economy that was in rough shape. We did a lot to get it into - to stabilize it. Inflation is in - is closer now to the target that the Fed wants. And so I think that's what they were trying to lay out, but they've never - this White House has always struggled to articulate its message and, again -

GOLDBERG: He also has a problem that he took all of Trump's first term trade policies and kept them in place essentially.

GORMAN: Yes. Yes.

GOLDBERG: And so it makes it for - makes - it requires more nuance to explain why Trump is wrong on trade when you took all his policies.

HUNT: Yes, very interesting.

All right, I'll leave you with this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": Google just released their year-end search, which shows the things people around the world Googled the most in 2024.

Yes, it's Google's nice little way of saying, we're absolutely spying on you.

Meanwhile, tomorrow will be way more fun because they'll be releasing the top searches done with incognito mode.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Google is releasing their spy - oh, I mean search results for the year. Perhaps it's no surprise the top trending search for the year was the U.S. presidential election. The Paris Olympics also starred heavily in searches this year. The top performance search, yes, you guessed it, the Australian breakdancer who went viral for her, shall we say, unorthodox routine.

Now how about the top recipe?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know the muffin man?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The muffin man?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The muffin man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: We got Olympic chocolate muffins after a Norwegian summers - swimmer's TikToks showcasing those treats at the Olympic village took off. The village started selling out of the muffins after his viral reviews hailed the muffins as 11 out of ten.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOOLS LEBRON, TIKTOKER: See how I do my makeup for work? Very demure. Very mindful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: If you're like me, I had no idea why everybody was suddenly saying "demure" this year. Oh, guys, come on, you're not giving me enough credit. The people who - I do actually know what this is.

[07:00:00]

The term took off after this video from TikToker Jools Lebron. According to Google, the word became the top search for people trying to figure out the meaning of that internet trend this year. I mean, I guess I - I guess I did probably have to Google it. I don't know. Did you guys have to Google it?

(CROSS TALK)

HUNT: I'm like, I don't think I would have picked it up. I'm not that cool.

All right, guys, thank you very much for being here. Thanks to all of you for joining us. I'm Kasie Hunt. CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.