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Kremlin: Russian President Putin To Address His Nation Soon; Sen. Tim Scott Praises Trump, Calls For Unity In GOP When Asked About Navigating Trump-McConnell Feud. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired February 21, 2022 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:30:00]
SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: -- that's so, as much as the Democrats can promote what they have done, which is getting the vast majority of schools open under the Biden administration and trying to resume the sense of normalcy could help considerably. But again, they're working with traditionally difficult headwinds of a midterm year.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST: And are they addressing that head on? I mean, President Biden has a State of the Union coming up, and he would say the schools are open. But I think what you're hearing in the San Francisco race is that people feel like there is not enough attention being paid to. Are they open all the time? Are -- is there reliability and consistency around the rules for that? I mean, does Biden have an opportunity here to speak to that?
TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION: He does, but it also highlights just the complicated politics of the coronavirus recovery, because, for example, in San Francisco, the school board had to deal with the teachers union that wanted to keep schools closed. And so, you know, it wasn't as easy as the school board just waving a magic wand and reopening schools. And Biden knows that the same thing with, you know, inflation and prices at the gas pump, you know. There's -- what everyone agrees they want to do but there's not always an easy pathway to getting it done. And that's the problem that Joe Biden is faced because he's still the president. He gets the blame when it doesn't happen.
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: And with the State of the Union, that's going to be the challenge for Biden, right? He wants to talk about the things that are going right, understandably. So I mean, there are some strong, positive economic signs of progress. But you risk looking out of touch with reality when you're not recognizing the pain that many voters are feeling. So that's something he's going to have to address in his speech. I mean, you can't tell people they should be feeling better than they're feeling. It's just not a winning message.
PHILLIP: Every president wants to, you know, toot their horn. But in a moment like this, I think a lot of Americans are looking for as David Axelrod said, a little empathy from President Biden.
But coming up next for us, we have a closer look at the intense diplomatic efforts to stop Russia from invading Ukraine.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:36:40]
PHILLIP: The Russian President Putin will deliver an address soon according to the Kremlin. But meantime today, the Pentagon is saying believe what you see in plain sight. Russia is ready to invade Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: It's also quite frankly, John, in plain sight, I mean, you can see it with cell phone footage of people on the ground there and what they're seeing in terms of tanks and armored vehicles moving closer to the border as well as missile launchers, you can see it in commercial satellite imagery. I mean, it's out there for everybody to see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: The U.S. official tells CNN that as many as 190,000 Russian troops along with vehicles, and tanks are within striking distance of Ukraine, that is nearly 75 percent of Russia's conventional military force. And here to share their insights and their expertise on all of this Angela Stent, Director of the Center for Eurasian Studies at Georgetown University, and Major General James "Spider" marks. So a "Spider," the National Security Adviser James Sullivan is warning that a Russian invasion of Ukraine will be extremely violent. Can you give us a sense of what that will look like given as we just described, you've got 190,000 troops arrayed across Ukraine's border, getting very close there to encircling that nation?
MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), HEAD OF GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGY, ACADEMY SECURITIES: Well, Abby, you know, it's true that what the Russians have deployed, puts Ukraine, as we know, in an incredibly perilous and immensely compromised position. They're surrounded on three sides, up to almost 200,000 forces now are deployed. And all of those forces are combined arms capability, you have the tanks, you have the artillery, you have the infantry men, clearly the logistics is in place to support an incursion into Ukraine.
Of course, it's going to any type of an incursion is going to include an immense amount of violence. I mean, that's why militaries exist, they exist for two reasons, one to deter, and two to slaughter those you're going against. You don't want to have a fair fight. You want to just pulverize your opponent. If the Russians choose to do that, it will be a violent incursion. But my view of all of this, and there's no, there's no soft way to put it. But I think there could be an invasion that is more limited in scope in the Donbass region.
I do not anticipate that the Russians will go to Kyiv. That's more than they can. I mean, if they chewed that up, they wouldn't be able to swallow. They don't have the forces to control Kyiv. What they want to try to do is to convince Kyiv that the path forward for Ukraine is through Moscow, not through NATO. And that's what this deployment is all about. NATO has progressed over the course of the last 20 plus years eastward in the direction of Russia. The geography of a nation dictates its politics and that's what Russia is all about.
Its European neighbors has -- have always abused Russia. And Putin doesn't want to see that again and wants to put an end to it. That's what this is all about in Ukraine. Belarus, by comparison is a vassal state of Russia. Ukraine is not. And that's what Putin is concerned about.
PHILLIP: Right. And Angela, I mean, given what "Spider" just laid out there, the White House is still though pushing for diplomacy. I mean take a listen to what Secretary of State Tony Blinken told CNN.
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[12:40:05]
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: Until the tanks are actually rolling and the planes are flying, we will use every opportunity and every minute we have to see if diplomacy can still dissuade President Putin from carrying this forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: So we will wait until the tanks are rolling. But, you know, will diplomacy really at this point dissuade Putin from what he seems intend to do?
ANGELA STENT, DIR., CTR. FOR EURASIAN, RUSSIAN & EAST EUROPEAN STUDIES, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, we will see. I mean NATO and the U.S. have put forward these proposals to Russia, we're willing to talk about a number of different things, arms control, troop deployments, missile defenses, reviving the intermediate range Nuclear Forces Treaty that the Trump administration pulled out of, there are lots of ways in which we're willing to take a President Putin's security concerns seriously.
But the problem is, we are not willing to make the concession that he demands, which is that NATO say that it never enlarge again, and that it withdraw, withdrew to the military posture it had in 1997. So if you look at that, it's hard to see how diplomacy can work. We're waiting to see whether Mr. Putin is going to announce in as we speak, the recognition of those two separatist entities, which would involve maybe a small military incursion there that I think wouldn't solve everything, but it would eliminate one of the diplomatic paths, which is the so called Minsk agreements with a French and the Germans, Ukrainian, Russians, was supposed to resolve the conflict in southeastern Ukraine.
PHILLIP: And Angela, I mean, if there is that kind of small incursion, let's say in the Donbass region, does that produce serious sanctions? And does that deter Putin from going even further?
STENT: I'm afraid I don't think that does produce at least multilateral serious sanctions, I think the U.S. would impose some I have much more doubt than our European allies would go along with something where there isn't really a full military or even a minor military incursion. And it's just a recognition of these two entities. So I think that's where allied unity would be more questionable.
PHILLIP: And "Spider," Russia has extended their military drills and Belarus saying they're staying. That's been one of the more concerning developments over the weekend. How concerned are you about this?
MARKS: Well, it's not surprising. Look, Russian forces and Belarusian forces have this ongoing exercise and a very, very tight relationship. If you were to paint the picture, comparing that to the relationship we've had with our NATO partners for over 70 years, what you see as the emergence of Russia's influence over its neighbors and wants to maintain that very tight military relationship which gets into preparedness, commonality in terms of their systems, how they conduct tactical operations, so it wouldn't surprise me if Russian forces stay in Belarus for the long term.
PHILLIP: Angela Stent, Major General "Spider" Marks, thank you both for being with us today.
MARKS: Thanks, Abby.
[12:43:08]
PHILLIP: And coming up next, the most intense political contest of 2022 might be the one that is not on any ballot, Donald Trump versus Mitch McConnell.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIP: Senator Tim Scott's very, very carefully worded this weekend, prove he is one of the many Republicans performing a balancing act between former President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader -- Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. It is no secret that Trump is not a fan of McConnell. And listen to how when even asked directly, Scott doesn't take sides.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX HOST: President Trump called Mitch McConnell a disaster. How are you navigating this?
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Well, Maria, you're right that President Trump's position in our party is powerful. And I think he's still the most powerful voice in politics without any question. The road to socialism runs right through a divided Republican Party. And while we may have some fractures and even some fissures, the truth is putting America first means uniting the Republican Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Our panelists back with us. I mean, that's some really skilled, you know, intra party diplomacy happening right there. What is he doing?
KIM: I mean, that is as direct of a message that you can convey to Donald Trump about how important Republican Party unity is right now, because most Republicans agree with Senator Tim Scott, that Republican divisions, if anything, if anything imperils their party's chances this November and beyond it is going to be Republican unity. And they are going to need -- they are, you know, to be successful, they want to focus on what the Biden administration is doing what they perceive to be the Biden administration shortcomings on so many top -- so many issues that voters care about.
But we know time and time again, just from covering Donald Trump that the former President cares about one thing himself and his legacy and his winning and that collides in so many ways with what the Republican Party is pursuing right now.
PHILLIP: At the end of the day, it is always about Trump. And Mitch McConnell was caught in the middle there. This is one of his members who is not exactly coming to his defense but he doesn't really -- he doesn't really care either way. He is just happy to let Trump be mad and have Tim Scott say what he needs to say.
[12:50:07]
ZANONA: Yes, Mitch McConnell is going to let Tim Scott do what he needs to do. I think the power struggle between Trump and Mitch McConnell is going to be one of the most important storylines heading into the midterms, because it's not only going to determine who controls the Senate, but whether the Senate GOP conference is Trumpy next year. I mean, as Seung Min pointed out --
PHILLIP: And it could be very well Trumpy.
ZANONA: Right. Trying to elect candidates look like him, McConnell's trying to win back the majority, sometimes those priorities line but oftentimes it does create a conflict of interest.
PHILLIP: So interesting thing about Tim Scott, in addition to what you just heard there, I want to pull up this Maggie Haberman tweet, she says Trump has been talking up Scott, that's Tim Scott and Rubio in some conversations as VP candidates. And this is why. Here is Tim Scott, when asked, would he consider being on the ticket?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT: Well, I think everybody wants to be on President Trump's bandwagon without any question. One of the things I've said to the president is that he gets to decide the future of our party in our country because he is still the loudest voice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Not exactly shutting that door right.
MITCHELL: Yes, he definitely didn't shut the door. And I think in some ways, you know, Tim Scott makes sense. The Republican Party is trying to make inroads with black voters. He's a black man. He's got a powerful story. And he's proven that he can win in a state that, you know, is very consequential in a presidential election year. That being said, we've talked about the fact that Tim Scott has stopped short of endorsing the big lie and going all in in a way that we know Trump usually favors when he's picking political allies. So the question is, you know, could he get to a place that Donald Trump would want him as a running mate?
PHILLIP: Right. I mean, could he?
KIM: It's hard to see that right now. I mean, remember, Senator Tim Scott, as well as Senator Marco Rubio did vote to certify the election results along with all but eight of their colleagues in the Senate. So if you're talking about a pretty clear litmus test, that is one vote you could directly point to, and it's hard not to see, you know, if pressed -- if Donald Trump does run again, and when he is choosing his running mate, that embraces a big line not becoming a litmus test and a test for his eventual running mate.
PHILLIP: That's the whole reason that Mike Pence, we're not even talking about Mike Pence, because Mike Pence would not embrace a crucial part of the big lie, although not all of it, the crucial part being his supposed role in overturning the election results. And so when you hear Tim Scott saying, we got to put all these disagreements aside, we know that that's not the case. Because at the end of the day, this is about whether you side with Trump, especially on the big line, whether you don't.
ZANONA: Right. And that is what the issue is bubbling up in so many of these Republican primaries that we're seeing starting to take place over the next few months. I think for Tim Scott, one thing that I've seen a lot of Republicans do is talk about election irregularities. They try to, you know, sort of do this delicate dance without embracing the big lie but also trying to appease their base voters. I think that's going to be really difficult for Tim Scott to do. The question is, can Trump's political advisors get through to him and say, you need to give some of these candidates potential VP candidates a pass because they would be so good for you on the ticket. But, you know, Trump does what he wants to do.
PHILLIP: We shall see. And I think the question that we are asking about Tim Scott could also be asked about Marco Rubio and several others, who are rumored to be maybe on the ticket, will they also endorse the big lie.
[12:53:26]
But coming up for us, new reporting about the President's Supreme Court pick.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIP: And Topping our political radar, President Biden has started interviews with his top Supreme Court candidates. Sources telling CNN that Biden sat down with at least one candidate last week. And the shortlist of possible nominees includes a D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, and South Carolina U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs. The White House says Biden is on track to make his pick, as he said by the end of the month.
And U.S. Special Envoy John Kerry is in Egypt pushing for action on global climate crisis. In a speech at American University in Cairo, Kerry urged global partners to slash emissions by a minimum of 45 percent by 2030. And he explained the dire consequences if we don't act, the collapse of the entire ocean ecosystem unpredictable and unsustainable temperatures, dying crops and millions starving.
Former President Trump's new social media app truth social went live this morning. The app's release comes a year after major social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube suspended Trump's accounts following the January 6th Capital riot. And the CEO of Trump's media company former congressman Devin Nunez said that the platform is expected to be fully operational by next month.
And tonight there is a big debate scheduled in Pennsylvania's hotly contested Republican set of primary. Four candidates will take part but the two biggest named candidates won't be there. Mehmet Oz and David McCormick are skipping. The Celebrity surgeon says he has a scheduling conflict and the former hedge fund executive says if Oz isn't going, he's not either.
And a quick programming note for us what drove Lyndon Johnson's decision to escalate the war in Vietnam, even as he pushed through the most productive legislative session in history, the CNN Original Series LBJ Triumph and Tragedy continues tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time on CNN.
[13:00:05]
And thank you for joining us on INSIDE POLITICS. Don't forget, you can also listen to our podcast. Download INSIDE POLITICS wherever you get your podcasts.
And Dana Bash will pick up our coverage on CNN right now.
