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Erin Burnett Outfront
Speaker Mike Johnson On Collision Course With MTG; D.A. Wants To Ask Trump About Past Legal Defeats If He Testifies; Investor Predicts Bitcoin Will Be Bigger Than Gold. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired April 17, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:41]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The breaking news, a faceoff between Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Johnson, on a collision course tonight, as Johnson goes to war with his own party. Who will be the last one standing?
And breaking new details right now about what prosecutors want to ask Trump if he takes the stand in his hush money trial. Should his lawyers put him on the stand?
And bigger than gold. That's one major tech investors predicted about bitcoin. Is he right? I'll ask Suze Orman.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, a breaking point. Mike Johnson and Marjorie Taylor Greene on a collision course, and Speaker Johnson right now, fighting back hard to keep his job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: If I operated out of fear over a motion to vacate, I would never be able to do my job. Look, history judges us for what we do. This is a critical time right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Greene said she will take down Johnson over a high-stakes vote on Ukraine aid that Johnson says he is going to bring to a vote in days. It is a vote that Greene says could end Johnson's speakership.
And this is it. This is the outline of $60.84 billion bill that Johnson wants to bring to the floor. Now, look, it should happen a long, long time ago, but it is still a big deal and it's a massive gamble for Johnson. He's betting that he'll get this bill over the finish line on Saturday, thanks to the help of Democrats. And that'll keep his job when he's going up against a major opponent who does not want to give another cent to Ukraine, somebody who has Russia's backing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YEVGENY POPOV, RUSSIAN STATE TV HOST, STATE DUMA MEMBER (through translator): Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is proposing for the U.S. to withdraw from NATO. She believes that Americans should help Putin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That's amazing. That's Russian state television. In fact, ever since Marjorie Taylor Greene started speaking out against helping Ukraine, Russian state television can't get enough of her. Look at all that. And don't just, you know, listen to us saying this.
I mean, listen to what former Republican Congressman Ken Buck told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORMER REP. KEN BUCK (R-CO): Moscow Marjorie is focused now on this Ukraine issue and getting are talking points from the Kremlin and making sure that she is popular and she is getting a lot of coverage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Moscow Marjorie, he calls her.
But once Congressman Buck said, the nickname took on a life of its own, and Greene does have -- does share frankly, a lot of Putin's views on Ukraine.
You know, take, for instance, this tweet where she accuses the Ukrainians of being Nazis. Well, you've certainly heard that before, right? On Russian state TV.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSIAN STATE TV HOST (through translator): A flagrantly brutal provocation by Ukrainian Nazis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, this crucial bill to supply Ukraine, it details here with more aid and look, as I said, it is crucial. They needed it. It needs to be done.
But in a sense, gosh, time really mattered. Putin's military now has the momentum in Ukraine and the head of the Pentagon's European command just told Congress, and I quote, the army, Putin's army is actually now larger by 15 percent than it was when it invaded Ukraine.
And just over the past 24 hours, 71 battles across the front lines, 43 airstrikes from Russia to Ukraine. And Ukraine right now, does not have the firepower to fight back, and that's how Moscow likes it. And Marjorie Taylor Greene, of course, seems to like it, and she doesn't want any money going to help Ukraine.
Manu Raju is OUTFRONT live on Capitol Hill.
And, Manu, you have been speaking to your sources there. Is Johnson really willing to risk his job over this bill?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, he is, in short. And in fact, a lot of Republicans do support him, even as they question his strategy, given that he shelved $95 billion foreign aid package that came out of the Senate more than two months ago. But this ultimate product that could come over to the House this weekend is very similar to that.
But even so, this razor-thin majority, his speakership is at risk because of Marjorie Taylor Greene's threats. That means that he may need to rely on Democrats to save him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU (voice-over): Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to set up a high- stakes Saturday night vote and rely on Democrats to approve aid to Ukraine, now putting his job on the line.
[19:05:04]
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): There's no other way to describe it. It's surrender. It's disappointing.
REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): I'm very disappointed. I just think the speaker needs to get home and listen to our base.
REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): I'm well past the point of giving grace here.
RAJU: Is it time for him to get out of office?
ROY: I need -- I need a little bit more time today, but it's not good.
RAJU: Do you have confidence in him?
ROY: It's not good.
RAJU: Will you vote to vacate him?
REP. ERIC BURLISON (R-MO): I haven't made up my mind yet. And he's pushing us to the brink here.
RAJU: Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was leading the charge to oust Johnson, says she's still weighing went to force a vote, but says support for effort is on the rise.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): It is growing and I think some people are becoming more angry than I am, but I don't know how long people are going to tolerate this because he's doing nothing but serving the Democrats.
RAJU: Johnson defending his plan. JOHNSON: I'm operating with the smallest margin in U.S. history. The
only way to get a rule on the floor is that it requires a couple of Democrats,
Johnson's move came after he shelved the Senate's $95 billion aid package for more than two months. Instead, he decided to split that aid package up into several pieces and to add to it other policy measures, such as a loan for Ukraine aid, and a potential ban on TikTok. Yet the House is expected to tie those bills together in one big package, and send it back to the Senate for final approval.
The House will vote on a separate border security bill that won't be included in the final package that will be sent to the Senate, all of which a major rebuke to his right flank that includes Congressman Thomas Massie, the second Republican to join the effort to oust him.
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): The strategy is not to try. I think the strategy is to fall on his sword.
JOHNSON: But with just two votes to spare, Johnson will need Democrats to salvage the bill, something likely to happen with President Biden announcing his support.
Now, the question, will Democrats save Johnson's job?
Does he still deserve to be saved if it comes to it?
REP. TOM SOUZZI (D-NY): Well, I'm already committed to do that. The bottom line is we have to show that this chaos caucus does not have the power they think they have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll put it this way, if the speaker is the being as working to the better interest of the American people, I would definitely consider.
RAJU: All as many Republicans warning hardliners not to seek Johnson's ouster.
REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): They want Russia to win so badly that they wanted to oust the speaker over it. They didn't want to be minority, too.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU: Now, Democrats are divided over the idea of saving Mike Johnson's job. Pramila Jayapal, the progressive leader, told me she opposes that, concern about Johnson's ideology. Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez said that Democrats, to extract some concessions over the matter and everyone will be watching Hakeem Jeffries, a Democratic leader, what he says. The Democratic caucus plans to meet Erin tomorrow morning to discuss these matters further.
RAJU: Manu, thank you so much with all those new details.
And let's be -- joined now by the Democratic Congressman Mikie Sherrill. She sits on the Armed Services Committee, served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot and Russian policy officer.
So, all of these issues are right at the heart of what you do and who you are. You've just heard two of your fellow Democrats told Manu, they'd helped save Speaker Johnson's job if it comes to that. But then you heard him talk about others who say they absolutely will not.
Where do you stand on this? Would you save Speaker Johnson?
REP. MIKIE SHERRILL (D-NJ): Well, I think what's on the table right now is will Speaker Johnson get this supplemental package passed. That's what is most important to me, is the substance of that. And then quite frankly, as my father-in-law used to say, you have to ASK to GET. The speaker said earlier, he neither wants nor needs Democratic votes. And so until that time when he changes his mind, you know, that doesn't seem to be on the table right now.
BURNETT: Well, of course, it sounds like -- I mean, that's -- that's wishful thinking on his part. He's going to need Democratic votes, but so your sounds like you're not willing to say that you would do it, but you're not willing to be like some of your colleagues and say that you won't support him.
SHERRILL: I think it all comes down to what is this package is going to look like an are we going to be able to pack -- pass it. It's gotten to the point of ridiculousness. I mean, here we have a supplemental president asked for in October. The Senate passed it with a bipartisan majority in February and now, at the 11th hour, when you quoted general Cavoli about the Russians, it's not just that they're personnel are up 15 percent.
They are outgunning the Ukrainians 10 to one. So at the 11th hour, we're going to just split it up and then pass it and that doesn't seem to be being sold to anyone on the right. We have to get something on the floor. We have to pass this aid, get it to the Senate as quickly as possible if they need to revote it and get it to the president.
BURNETT: So, can I just ask you about -- as a former Russian policy officer in the U.S. Navy, fighter pilot, you're on Armed Services? The reality that you just said that their militaries bit more soldiers now bigger now Putin's military than it was before the war, despite the sanctions, despite the war, all these headlines of, you know, the death -- that's where they are, being outgunned -- Ukraine is, by Putin, by ten to one, our Fred Pleitgen recently on the front lines was talking about like basically these medieval cannonballs, Congresswoman that they're using, that are essentially just smoke balls that they're lobbing over.
[19:10:21]
The Ukrainians -- at the Russians, obviously, something -- it's crucial for something to be done. Do you worry that this is too late to make a difference?
SHERRILL: No, I think the Ukrainians have shown as time and time again that with our support, they can be incredibly successful. So, you know, time is of the essence. In fact, I have a large Ukrainian American community in my district,
and a gentleman who came there for medical treatment, his story haunts me. He lost both his legs and both his eyes and trying to defend the town because he knew from seeing other towns that this happened to that when the Russians went into the town, they would raise the town, they would rape women there. They would kidnap children and he felt like he had to stand in the breach, and he gave up so much to do so.
The least we can do is support our Democratic allies, especially given what we know Putin to do. So to watch your report and to think that there are these people like Marjorie Taylor Greene on the right that are pro-Putin, that are -- that are pro-Russia, it's really shocking.
BURNETT: And I guess that brings me back to that point. You know, if she chooses to go ahead and move the motion to vacate the speaker, if you don't save the speaker, you're helping Marjorie Taylor Greene and whoever the kind of person is that Marjorie Taylor Greene and those who support her would want to be the speaker.
Is that something you'd ever be comfortable with?
SHERRILL: Well, I think first I have to see some leadership from the speaker. I've not seen that yet.
As I said, this has taken him too long. This has been going on for too long, and his solution at the end of the day is not to do anything different, but to do to break it up so that now were going to have to revote it in the Senate, which is going to take even more time.
So I'm incredibly frustrated right now. If we can get this passed through the House and then if there is a need for Democrats to support him, I'll address that at the time, but I think right now, the substance of this bill and getting it passed is the critical priority.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Congresswoman Sherrill, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
SHERRILL: Thanks for having me.
BURNETT: And I'm joined now by Steve Schmidt, who is the founder of the "Warning" newsletter and podcast, former GOP strategist who worked as a top campaign adviser for President George W. Bush, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, among many others.
So, Steve, good to see you.
All right. So you hear Congresswoman Sherrill. Look, some Democrats are closing the doors, saying they're not going to help Johnson no matter what that might mean in terms of then therefore implicitly siding with Marjorie Taylor Greene, but it sounds like Congressman Sherrill is open to that. Clearly, once this Ukraine bill passes.
So do you think Democrats bail them out?
STEVE SCHMIDT, FORMER REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: So I was listening to the congresswoman, Erin, and I was reminded of the old Ronald Reagan quote talking about Mikhail Gorbachev at the end of the Cold War, he would repeat all the time, doveryai no proveryai, which meant trust, but verify. And I think that's what the congresswoman is saying.
She wants to see some action on aid to Ukraine and the larger issue here is the aid to Ukraine at a really, really dire hour.
BURNETT: Yeah.
SCHMIDT: And Mike Johnson became speaker I believe he's an extremist Republican, but history has placed him in a moment of dire consequence. And very often, it seems like that the debates that take place in the American Congress are completely detached from the reality of what's happening in the world. And this is a momentous moment.
The Russians have sustained half a million casualties and they're on the march and the bet that Putin has made is that the West, America lacks resolve. This is the same Congress that invited Zelenskyy and cheered for him --
BURNETT: Yeah.
SCHMIDT: -- not so very long ago.
And the bet that Putin has fundamentally made was perhaps best expressed by Winston Churchill in 1938 when he talked about the moral collapses democracies in the appeasement to Hitler and Czechoslovakia, and he said, wade in the balance and found wanting, and do not suppose that this is the beginning of the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning.
And that's what this vote is about. We have a lower -- lowest common denominator majority that held hostage by its most extreme and ludicrous members, but the Congress is an institution on behalf of the people of the United States, at an urgent moment -- at the edge of a new era when the Polish president says we're in a pre-war period get ready. We should listen and that's what this moment is.
[19:15:11]
BURNETT: I want to ask you about one other thing, Steve, since I have you here, we just saw a letter was sent from Trump's campaign to other Republican in candidates and committees. I don't know if you saw this, but the letter begins -- beginning tomorrow. We ask that all candidates and committees who choose to use President Trump's name, image, and likeness split a minimum of 5 percent of all fundraising solicitations to Trump's campaign.
What are your thoughts about that?
SCHMIDT: Look, it's always been a grift, and it continues to be so. Donald Trump is consumed by legal debt, by legal judgments, by multiple legal judgments.
And so this is the tool by which much of this is all going to be funded. His campaign is cash-strapped up against the Biden effort right now to the tune that they're on a trajectory potentially if you just kind of on the back of a napkin look ahead, they could be outgunned by $350 million, $400 million coming into the fall election. That's a big number that could very much be determinative when this is likely to come down to tens of thousands of votes across three or four states and a handful of counties.
BURNETT: All right. Steve, thank you very much. Nice to see you and appreciate your perspective.
And next, we have some breaking news because we've just are getting in some new details about what exactly prosecutors will ask Trump if he takes the stand in the hush money trial. We've got that for you.
Plus, Republicans -- they've been running away from Arizona's law that bans nearly all abortions in the state and goes back to the civil war era.
So then why did they just sink an effort to repeal it? They had a chance. The governor of Arizona will be OUTFRONT.
And tensions boiling over in the Middle East. A top Israeli official now calling for an attack that, quote, rocks Tehran, using the word "erase" in the conversation about Hamas, as Iran flexes its military might today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:21:05]
BURNETT: Breaking news, we have new details on what we could hear in Trumps first criminal trial. This is really important because we've got a new filing from the Manhattan D.A. We've just gotten it.
What it reveals is some of what prosecutors want to ask Trump if he takes the stand as he's indicated he wants to do. And this is coming just hours before jury selection resumes in the case.
And OUTFRONT now, Ryan Goodman, OUTFRONT legal analyst, and Joey Jackson, criminal defense attorney.
So, Joey, you go through this. The D.A. says he wants to question Trump about false testimony he gave under oath. In other recent cases on the stand, what stands out to you about what the D.A. saying we want to ask?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. So full big picture. This is important because it will inform his judgment that is Trump that is Trump as to whether he'll testify.
So the system wants you to have a fair trial, but you can't have it both ways. If you want to testify, we the prosecution will say and has said, have the ability to cross-examine you about prior things you did that may impinge on your credibility and they've listed that is the Manhattan D.A.'s office. What those things are.
So the fact that your organization has been convicted of a crime, that could be problematic. Why? You're the head of that.
Explain that, sir. If you want to talk about credibility, you violated orders before you were told not to, but you did it anyway, what does that say about you?
Speaking about the issue of the half-a-billion -- well, listed as 300 something thousand dollars, the fact that there was his New York state conviction. Explain and talk about that.
And that dealt with falsity. It dealt with conspiracy. It dealt with things that your business did that were pretty unsavory.
And so this is important because if you testified, be prepared to be confronted with those issues before the jury. It doesn't make you look too good in the jury's eyes. So those are things that are somewhat significant.
BURNETT: So, the reason this is filed this way, I understand right, Ryan, is because the judge would have the ability to say yes, you can do these sorts of things. Yes. You know, you can't. So where does this go from here? Do you think the judge says yes, to all these things that Joey is laying out or fair game?
RYAN GOODMAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: We'll have to see. The hearing is supposed to take place on Friday. The judge has enormous discretion. The judge also has to say, no, I will not let the evidence in if it's trying to prove that the defendant is a propensity towards committing certain crimes.
But everything Joey said would be allowed in if it's about his credibility, his honesty, and things like that. But the judge will have to decide is it maybe also to prejudicial to let it in against the defendant or is it very important information for the jurors to have to evaluate his credibility. That's all up in the air and we'll see which way the judge cuts it.
BURNETT: All right. So that's going to be crucial. That's coming on Friday. Jury selection (AUDIO GAP) and 30 years of experience questioning jurors in criminal trials in Manhattan. That's a perspective you bring to this.
We had none, then all of a sudden, an hour-and-a-half (AUDIO GAP)
JACKSON: Wow.
(LAUGHTER)
BURNETT: Do you think the full jury could be seated tomorrow?
JACKSON: Listen, it's certainly possible for all this narrative about the judges rushing this. (AUDIO GAP) This is the way the process works. (AUDIO GAP) you have a pool that's excluded right away. So, I think what the judge is doing is moving it along an appropriate pace.
And then when you have these challenges, these peremptory, ten challenges, inside baseball, which is where you could for any discretionary reason, remove a jury. They are limited. And so what you're left with unlimited challenges for cause, those go away.
(AUDIO GAP)
BURNETT: -- point about a fair jury. Trump is on his social media website, quoting a Fox News host. So he puts in quotes on his post. They are catching undercover liberal activists aligned to the judge in order to get on the Trump jury. So he puts it in quotes as referring to jurors.
I want to take this from two points here. One, he's talking about jurors is but in quotes from Jesse Watters.
[19:25:03]
Is that a violation of the gag order which says he cannot talk about jurors?
GOODMAN: It is a very, very clear violation of the gag order. The gag orders last provision says that Trump cannot make public statements about any prospective juror or any juror, full stop. It's not about his intent. It's not about making statements about jurors in order to interfere with a criminal proceeding, which is part of the other parts of the gag order, just cannot make public statements about them.
He just --
BURNETT: Regardless whether he's quoting a Fox News host.
GOODMAN: No, it's his statement. He can't just put it in quotes and then somebody else said it, I'm just pushing it out there. And this is going to come up next week. There is a hearing about his other violations are alleged violations of the gag order, three of them, with the D.A., saying to the judge, please warn the defendant he can spend time in jail if he continues to do this.
BURNETT: All right. And so then the other point here is the point that he's making about liberal activists. There were two jurors that Trump had wanted to put a challenge that had moved ahead, but then the judge did end up dismissing them. I'm not saying they're under -- I'm not even -- I'm just saying is the system working?
JACKSON: I think the system works as it's designed to work, right? You'd pick a jury if there's any fabrications or people are not upfront, you cross them, really, that's what you're doing to the jury with information that flies into the face.
When you have social media posts that contradict your answers and you're confronted with that and then in the judge sees that --
BURNETT: And the judge got rid of the juror.
JACKSON: That's -- that, Erin, is what voir dire, voir dire, is all about.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much. And next, breaking news, Republicans just sink an effort to repeal Arizona's controversial civil war near-ban on almost all abortions. And now just months away from going into effect, they had the opportunity to stop this and they chose not to tonight.
And bitcoin worth more than a trillion dollars before dropping. But now, here are some insiders who say could be about to skyrocket. It's a big question for many right now. Should you get in? Hear what Suze Orman has to say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:30:52]
BURNETT: Breaking news, Arizona lawmakers failing to move forward tonight on repealing one of the strictest abortion laws in the United States. This is a law actually from 1864 that bans nearly all abortions. And you know, we've been talking about this lot lately because back to 1864 and because it threatens to jail doctors who even dare defy the law, if the law does not get repealed, it could go into effect very soon, as early as summer.
OUTFRONT now, the Democratic governor of Arizona, Katie Hobbs.
And, Governor, I very much appreciate your time tonight. I mean, this is incredible what's happening in your state, the Republicans who control the state house are blocking efforts to move forward with a vote to repeal the law. So what's the bottom line for you tonight? Do you hope that the law can be repealed (AUDIO GAP) they're not?
GOV. KATIE HOBBS (D), ARIZONA: Well, there is absolutely no excuse for their failure on this.
In 2022, many of these Republicans voted for Arizona's law that created a 15-week ban, that explicit said this does not repeal the 1864 law. They knew that if Dobbs, the Dobbs decision went the way it did (AUDIO GAP) the law. And they've had years to figure out the consequences of this and figure out a plan of action and now, they're just failing to act.
This law is so terrible for women in our state. It will have devastating consequences, which is why I called for them immediately to repeal this.
They went to the floor last week. The Democrats were ready to do it. The Republicans blocked it last week, and they blocked it again today. They're only showing up to work once a week right now. So, you know, I guess well see what happens next week when they come back.
BURNETT: So once a week, they show up to work on this. I mean, I guess what I'm partly very confused about governor, to be honest, is that the Republicans have blocked this repeal vote from taking place as you point out, now, twice. Yet, many in the party, including in your state, have come out against the 1864 abortion ban publicly, right? They've spoken out. I mean, here are some of them.
HOBBS: Yeah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARI LAKE (R), ARIZONA SENATORIAL CANIDDATE: This total ban on abortion that the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled on is out of line with where the people of this state are.
DAVID COOK (R), ARIZONA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: This territorial law needs to be repealed.
REPORTER: Did Arizona go too far? Did Arizona go too far, sir?
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah, they did and that will be straightened out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And so, again, national but also Republicans from your state. I mean, if Republicans are against this bill, saying it does not reflect where the state is, then what's the issue here? Can you explain why they will not let it come up for repeal vote?
HOBBS: No, I cannot. You'd have to ask them.
But every single Republican voice that you just played, they own this. My former opponent was out on the campaign trail celebrating this law, saying this is a great ban that we have on the books. And now she finds that it's politically inconvenient for her. So she's encouraging its repeal.
The Republicans in the state legislature who are now saying it goes too far, they voted for this ban in 2022, that explicitly left this law in place. They have sent fetal personhood bills to my desk that would have the same effect of this law. So they're just being disingenuous, and they really own the consequences of this.
BURNETT: And the reality of it is, this -- this fight has helped your party because it has galvanized those who find going back to 1864 to be appalling when it comes to the abortion law.
Larry Sabato was one of the most well-known accurate race predictors in the country and today, Governor, he actually changed ratings for two big races in your state, the Senate race between Kari Lake and Ruben Gallego, which he previously had rated a toss up he now has leaned Democrat, and a House race leaned Republican, he now has as a toss up.
And the anger towards us abortion law has its clearly motivated Democratic voters. You know, in a sense, it might -- might make the most sense for your party, for this to continue because you get more and more people who are going to go out and vote on it.
[19:35:04]
Are you worried that a repeal, if it happened, actually could hurt your party in November? HOBBS: Look, there's no question that this ban and this ruling is going to motivate voters up and down the ballot because Arizonans are outraged about it. But right now, today, in the aftermath of this ruling, I'm not concerned about the political ramifications. I am worried about women's access to health of care and the dire consequences that we will face in our state if women don't have access to the healthcare, they need. This isn't just about abortions. It's about treatment for miscarriages.
We've heard all kinds of stories from around the country in states with these kind of extreme bans. And we're headed down that road in Arizona as well.
BURNETT: Governor Hobbs, I appreciate your time and thank you very much for being with us tonight.
HOBBS: Thank you.
BURNETT: Well, the fight over abortion rights has given Democrats a major boost and Biden tonight is facing resistance though, from college students who you would think would be among those who cared passionately about this issue. So what is going on there?
Jeff Zeleny tonight reports from the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania for our Voters OUTFRONT series.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At one stop after another, cries of protest trail President Biden, even outside the United Steel Workers headquarters in Pittsburgh, one of the many friendly venues the White House selects in hopes of minimizing angry disruptions over the Israel-Gaza war.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of (INAUDIBLE).
ZELENY: Whether or not the president can hear their message, many demonstrators share a common bond -- they are students frustrated and furious at U.S. foreign policy.
KARIM SAFIEDDINE, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: There is indeed a will to stop this conflict, it can be stopped.
ZELENY: Karim Safieddine is a PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh, one of many young Americans speaking out.
If there is not something that changes dramatically, can you vote for Joe Biden?
SAFIEDDINE: I do not believe so, and I do believe that many people will not be voting for Joe Biden this indeed does something it does open a debate, a discussion.
The debate plays out most everywhere Biden goes, as he tries to rebuild his winning coalition. One of the most resistant pieces of that puzzle is young voters on college campuses, a place Biden has avoided almost entirely.
DAHLIA SABA, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON: I think he would be met with a lot of backlash, a lot of protest, because his policies have been have killed tens of thousands of people.
ZELENY: Dahlia Saba is a Wisconsin graduate student who helped organize a protest vote in the state's primary earlier this month. She bristles at the notion of whether her opposition to Biden could help Donald Trump.
SABA: We reject the idea that the Democratic Party feels like they have to coerce people into voting for them by leveraging the threat of another candidate that is worse.
ZELENY: If protests raged until the election, Biden could well become the first Democratic president since the Vietnam era, unwelcomed to large crowds of students.
BARRY BURDEN, DIRECTOR, ELECTIONS RESEARCH CENTER AT UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON: He does have this problem of a kind of nagging protest vote on the Democratic side because of his handling of things in Gaza.
ZELENY: Barry Burden leads the election's research center at the University of Wisconsin, where presidential visits to college campuses --
BURDEN: Thousands of people to see Kennedy.
ZELENY: -- have long been historically critical stop for Democrats.
BURDEN: You could feel the kind of youth energy behind the Clinton campaign. This was just a very comfortable place for Obama as a candidate, and a very necessary place for him to find votes.
ZELENY: What do you make of the protest vote and how that could impact November?
BURDEN: Well, Biden certainly does not have the support of young people the way Obama did. I think the Vietnam War is the closest analogy that was also the period when we had the biggest generation gap between the parties.
ZELENY: While pro-Palestinian demonstration durations are far more than it campus movement, Biden's advisers are studying young voters carefully.
ANNA SORYAL, STUDENT, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY: One thing that's surprisingly is the degree to which he is disregarding public opinion.
ZELENY: Anna Soryal is a graduate architecture student at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. She regrets her vote for Biden four years ago.
SORYAL: That was the first time I could vote in the presidential election. Frankly, I look back. I'm embarrassed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY (on camera): Now these protests are coming from with inside the president's coalition. Erin, that is what worries some campaign advisers so much. But one told me, look, if politics was driving this, the president would have changed his view months ago. The question is, what does this look like by November? And will the president be able to spend time on college campuses like this one -- Erin.
BURNETT: I say it's going to be crucial.
Thank you so much, Jeff Zeleny.
And next, bitcoin bigger than gold. That's what one major tech investor is predicting. Is he right? Suze Orman is next.
Plus, a massive military parade, as Iran shows off its deadly drones and missiles. Is Iran daring Israel to attack?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:44:24]
BURNETT: New tonight, bitcoin bigger than gold. Well, those are the words of a top tech investor named Anthony Pompliano.
And Roe Pau, a major head fund manager, he predicts bitcoin will go as high as $1 million by next year.
I mean, this is after the worlds most known cryptocurrency plunged this weekend is missiles rained down the Middle East, briefly falling to its lowest price and more than a month today, its a roller coaster ride. You've got the plunge and then you've got investors like that saying such pie in the sky things.
But it does have people wondering and asking whether to get involved.
And Suze Orman is OUTFRONT now, one of the world's best-known personal finance advisors and the founder of Secure Save and the host of "The Women and Money" podcast.
[19:45:05]
So, Suze, I mean, bigger than gold or big words. And you're hearing big investors talk like this. People see bitcoin in the center of all this, this weekend, selling off when the missiles were coming down.
How do you see bitcoin right now?
SUZE ORMAN, FINANCIAL EXPERT: Well, I have to tell you, I think there's some legitimacy in the possibility that bitcoin could absolutely turn around here and go back up, maybe to $80,000, $85,000. Some people have projecting $150,000.
But that's not what's important. Because what somebody thinks it's going to do doesn't mean its going to do it. You have to look, Erin, what backs bitcoin. It's peoples' emotions. It's not like a stock where are you have a company, you have a product, you have earnings, you have a solid thing.
This bitcoin -- the movement of it is simply based on the projections of people, and are they willing to buy, sell, or whatever?
So if you are going to put money in bitcoin, I still say this is money that you can afford to lose, because nothing is backing it. Remember, it was at $64,000, at $70,000, or $67,000 a few years ago when all the way down to $17,000, all the way back up.
So it goes up and down. So why are you investing in it? Can you afford to lose it? And remember, there's nothing backing it. So just think about that.
BURNETT: And then, Suze, if someone really gets the point of taking all that advice and says, I want to do it. How do you even do it?
ORMAN: Yeah. I think the best way to do it for the majority of people out there is through an exchange traded fund? Yes, you can buy the actual bitcoin or do it on an exchange and own bitcoins are a little bit of a bitcoin. I think you're far better off for ease of buying and selling to look at a very large ETF, an ETF that owns a whole lot of bitcoin. And that really is solid.
And I think if you could just do it that way, that would be the best way to do so.
BURNETT: The ETF way, all right, which is very significant. People do ask how it's just like when you and I talked last week about gold bars and you're saying, if you're going to do it, there's a way. ETFs don't go about buying a gold bar. It's not what you think it is, in terms of ease of sale and moving it around.
I mean, but the reason, Suze, bitcoin is in people's eyes right now a lot is because that unprecedented attack on Israel, it moved so much this weekend. And that is attack is just part of the anxiety out there economic fears. Now, you've got fears of war and all of this contributing to some pretty scary things.
I mean, the average 30 year fixed rate mortgage today went to 7.71 percent.
I mean, I can remember what was it two or three years ago when it was in the 2s. I mean, this is believable what's happened. It's a very scary time for so many people.
Is there a flip side to this? Anyway, for people to take advantage of these rates that keep going higher and higher?
ORMAN: Yeah. You know, there's two things. It's when you want to borrow money. And interest rates are going up. It's really bad than interest rates are going up.
But when you want to earn money off of your money, it's fabulous for you that interest rates are going up. You say, when mortgages where 2 percent a few years ago, what we're interest rates and savings accounts, on CDs, 0.1 percent, whatever it may be. Now, you can get a 5 percent rate in a money market account. Now you
can get a CD for 5 percent. Now, you could probably very shortly here get a 30-year bond for five percent, a ten-year note for 5 percent. So those people, especially those in the retirement years, Erin, that are living off of their income, the high interest rates are fabulous for them, especially if they take advantage of locking it up longer term because when interest rates do come down again. They're still getting that higher rate because interest rates eventually will come down again.
BURNETT: And it's like gravity.
So, you know, we spoke a few days ago and you had told people not to worry about some of the selloff that we'd seen in the stock market. I'm wondering how you feel now, Suze, and what is it that keeps you up at night when you think about financial concerns?
ORMAN: I'd say two things, the stock market. Most people are invested in the stock market, where in their retirement accounts, 401k, 403b, TSP, IRA, and they put money in it every single month.
Most of those people aren't going to need that at money for 10, 20, 30 or 40 years. So who in their right mind wants to see the stock market go up? You actually want to see the stock market go down exactly like its doing right now.
[19:50:03]
So that every month when you put money into your retirement account, your money buys more shares. The more shares you have, eventually, when it goes back up again, the more money you make. So, for the long run, you know, just be okay with it and actually be happy if you have time on your side that the markets going down.
BURNETT: All right. Suze, thank you very much. We'll see you soon and thank you so much as always.
And next, the top Israeli official tonight pushing for an attack that, quote, rocks Tehran. And Iran is issuing new warnings against Israel.
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BURNETT: Tonight, an attack that, quote, rocks Tehran. That's the demand from Israel's finance minister, who is also a minister in the defense ministry, saying any Israeli counter-strike should be quote, fears, severe, and inflict a disproportionate toll.
[19:55:02]
And that those who hurt Israel, like Hamas should be, quote, erased. This is Tehran is getting bolder with its own threats, including a massive show of force by its military today.
Fred Pleitgen is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Iran showing off its combat drones and missiles at a massive military parade, just days after launching hundreds at Israeli territory. Iran's president attending the event under tight security warning Israel not to strike back.
EBRAHIM RAISI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If the Zionist regime makes the slightest move to violate our territory and harm the national interests of the Islamic Republic, they must understand that they will face a severe and heavy response.
PLEITGEN: Iran trying to pile the pressure on the Israelis saying its waves of drones and missiles requiring Israel to team up with the U.S., France, Britain, and Jordan to shoot most projectiles down, and Hamas is attack on October 7, last year, called Al-Aqsa storm show Israel is weak and vulnerable.
RAISI: The Al-Aqsa storm operation and operation true promise crumbled the Zionist regime's aura of invincibility. It proved that the strength of the Zionist regime and its back as a comparable to the strength of a spider's web.
PLEITGEN: Israel has said there will be a military response from its side, but the U.S. and other Western allies are urging limited action. The Iranians warning if the us and its Middle Eastern allies helped Israel in the attack against Iranian territory. They too will become targets for Tehran's forces.
ALI BAGHERI KANI, IRANIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): If anyone wants to support the Zionist regime in any way in this confrontation, we will target that country and its interests.
PLEITGEN: Tough talk as the Middle East wait, watches and braces for what could be a further escalation de-stabilizing the entire region.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (on camera): And, Erin, more harsh rhetoric coming from the Iranians today. The head of the Revolutionary Guard aerospace forces around that parade was asked, what happens if Israel does attack? His answer was around that will strike back 100 percent -- Erin.
BURNETT: Fred, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, Seth Jones, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
And, Seth, you just saw from Fred Iranian missiles and drones showcase at that military parade today, the president of Iran saying they could have launched a stronger response, he says, were nothing would be left of Israel.
So what are the facts? How -- how deep, how formidable is the Iranian arsenal?
SETH JONES, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, Erin, the Iranian arsenal, arsenal is the most formidable I think in the, in the Middle East. The Iranians have a ballistic and cruise missiles, including the Sumer, which can reach 2,000 to 3,000 kilometers. But I think just as important, the Iranians have upwards of 200,000 missiles and rockets in Lebanon, right now, that Hezbollah has and could shoot from, from Lebanese territory, and would frankly overwhelm Israel's air defense system -- the Arrow, the David's Sling and the Iron Dome. So, really both direct and indirect through partner responses.
BURNETT: So you talk about the depth of the arsenal. Now the finance minister from Israel, who also is a minister in the ministry of defense, is demanding that Netanyahu launch a counter attack that, quote, rocks Iran, referring to the acts of Hamas and others. They say that would do things like October 7 to be, quote/unquote, erased.
All we know, so we hear that, we know Israel's considering a strike on Iranian soil, but we don't know more than that. So, what does such a thing actually mean? What happens when a counter strike occurs?
JONES: Yeah, so this is just a another, although an escalated series in what is a long-standing war between the Israelis and the Iranians. I think in this case, the Iranians do have a lot of options. My understanding is that they are considering many of them.
They could be two target a range of basis in Iran itself to those in places like Syria or even Lebanon itself, or Yemen, particularly those that are populated but Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, which is the paramilitary arm. There are -- there are some other options.
The former head of the Mossad is Israel's former spy agency a couple of hours ago, also said the Israeli cabinet is considering targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure, which would definitely be an escalation. So, I think they are considering a lot of the options and probably trying to take an action that makes him look serious, but not get them into a complete all-out war.
BURNETT: Of course, though, that every single one of these things that you say, I think anybody watching is fearful you think its just a small escalation? But none of these things really are. We're in unchartered territory.
Seth, thank you so much.
JONES: Thanks, Erin.
BURNETT: And thanks so much to all of you for being with us. We'll see you back here tomorrow when jury selection, once again, resumes in the Trump hush money trial here in New York.
In the meantime, now, it's time for "AC360" width Anderson Cooper.
