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Biden: Putin "Cannot Remain in Power"; The Academy Awards Go On Despite Ongoing Struggles. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired March 28, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: As the month of March winds down, we`re happy you`re spending some time with us. I`m Carl Azuz.
U.S. president Joe Biden has returned to the White House after a high- stakes trip to Europe. In Belgium, he met with America`s NATO allies and discussed the war in Ukraine. One announcement made there was that
officials were looking at ways to reduce Europe`s dependence on Russian oil and gas. On the flight home, President Biden said the meeting of European
and North American leaders was unlikely to cause Russia to withdraw from Ukraine but that the most important thing was for NATO to stay unified in
opposing Russia`s invasion.
After the NATO meeting, the U.S. leader made a stop in Poland and delivered a major speech there. It was during that address that President Biden made
an off-the-cuff statement that caused controversy. He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, quote, cannot remain in power.
Why is that significant? For one thing, it was the first time someone in the White House publicly suggested that Russia needed a different leader.
For weeks, the Biden administration has said regime change -- the replacement of the Russian president -- was not part of U.S. strategy.
Shortly after the American leader`s statement, U.S. officials walked it back. They said President Biden didn`t mean that President Putin should be
removed from power in Russia but that he shouldn`t be allowed to use that power over Russia`s neighbors. They also said the phrase was not in
President Biden`s prepared speech. A spokesman for the Russian President said his country`s leadership is, quote, not to be decided by Mr. Biden. It
should only be a choice of the Russian people.
Here`s how the controversial remark was delivered along with a look at some other things President Biden said during his speech at a Polish stadium on
Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For God`s sake, this man cannot remain in power.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden delivering a forceful and dramatic condemnation of Vladimir
Putin.
BIDEN: A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase the people`s love for liberty.
MATTINGLY: The White House later clarifying Biden was not calling for regime change but an unmistakable message.
BIDEN: Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia as Biden delivered a clarion call to western democracies at the moment of the highest stakes,
drawing parallels to Eastern Europe`s emergence from Soviet rule. It was a long painful slog fought over not days and months but years and decades,
but we emerged anew in the great battle for freedom, a battle between democracy and autocracy, between liberty and repression.
MATTINGLY: The speech a capstone of a European swing defined by unity in the face of searing images of disaster just a border away. Ukraine and his
people are in the front lines fighting to save their nation and their brave resistance is part of a larger fight for an essential democratic principles
that unite all free people.
BIDEN: Biden`s remarks coming just hours after new Russian strikes in Lviv, just 40 miles from the Polish border. And its Biden`s caustic view of
the Russian president grows even darker.
REPORTER: You`re dealing every day with Vladimir Putin. I mean, look at what he`s done to these people. What does it make you think?
BIDEN: He`s a butcher.
MATTINGLY: And his warnings to the Russian leader of NATO`s commitment grows even sharper.
BIDEN: Don`t even think about moving on one single inch of NATO territory. We have sacred obligation we have a sacred obligation under article to
defend each and every inch of NATO territory for the full force of our collective power.
MATTINGLY: In the final day of an urgent and hastily arranged trip to Europe that brought Biden face to face with dozens of Western leaders, he
sat down with Polish President Duda pledging close ties for a NATO country housing 10,500 U.S. troops.
BIDEN: We do acknowledge that Poland is taking on a significant responsibility that I don`t think should just be Poland. It should be the
whole world, all of NATO`s responsibility.
MATTINGLY: And more than 2 million Ukrainian refugees, Biden meeting some first hand.
BIDEN: Can I hug you?
You`re so big.
You`re all brave, brave, brave
MATTINGLY: And just hours after a surprise meeting with the Ukrainian foreign and defense ministers --
DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The good thing is that since the beginning of the war, I learned how to sleep under any conditions.
MATTINGLY: A face-to-face sit-down where Biden pledged even more U.S. support, a welcome commitment for a country under siege and Western
democracies facing a challenge now reshaping European power dynamics.
BIDEN: It will not be easy. There will be cost, but it`s a price we have to pay.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
Which of these events occurred in 1929?
The first Academy Awards, the Empire State Building opened, Fleming discovered penicillin, or the first transatlantic flight was made?
It was in 1929 that the first Academy Awards were held in Hollywood, California.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Last night`s award show was the 94th in the Academy`s history. And with the advancement of time and technology, the event at the Dolby Theater
looked a lot different than the 1929 dinner party at the Roosevelt Hotel. The prestigious awards for merit in film have also been characterized as
Hollywood celebrating itself.
They`ve lost tens of millions of viewers since 1998 when a record 55 million people watched. We don`t have numbers from this year`s event yet,
but some industry experts say they`ll never again approach their record. Why?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK PALLOTTA, CNN MEDIA REPORTER: The Academy Awards were for decades Hollywood`s biggest night, bringing together the glitz, glamour, and best
films the industry had to offer. It was also one of the most watched events on TV every year, usually only being beat out by big time sporting events
like the Super Bowl.
That`s changed lately as the show has seen record low ratings, going from an historic high of 55 million viewers in 1998 to an historic low of less
than 10 million viewers in 2021.
KATE WINSLET, ACTRESS: What?
PALLOTTA: This has caused the Academy to take some drastic and very criticized steps to make the show more watchable.
In 2022, the Oscars try to redefine itself in two ways, the first is by asking Twitter users to vote for their favorite film. The winner will get
recognition of some sort on the show, and more notably cutting some major categories like score and editing from the main telecast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do pardon me.
PALLOTTA: A move that`s not been well-received in Hollywood.
TIM GRAY, AWARDS EDITOR, VARIETY: I think it`s just the wrong decision and these are just, you know, what they used to call the little people, the
cinematographers, the editors, because the TV audience doesn`t know most of those people. It`s just a list of names. I think it was the wrong decision
because it diminishes those people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think so.
PALLOTTA: But the Oscars changing up its format is nothing new. After the "Dark Knight" failed to be nominated for best picture in 2009, the Academy
expanded its best pitcher nominations from five to 10 in hopes of bringing in more popular fare.
Then in 2018, the Oscars announced a brand new award, the Academy Award for Outstanding Achievement in popular film, whatever that means.
It was ultimately scrapped after its announcement wasn`t received well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This new best popular picture is the worst idea they`ve ever had.
PALLOTTA: Why the Academy goes through all this trouble to get people to watch makes sense. It`s big business for the show`s network, ABC.
Despite falling ratings, ABC still got advertisers to pay nearly $2 million a spot in 2021, and ABC`s relationship with the award show isn`t going
anywhere anytime soon since it renewed its contract with the Academy through 20218.
But can anything truly restore the Oscars to its former popularity?
GRAY: They will never get to the point with where they used to be. The audience has changed on that. And so, I think a lot of people in the
Academy and at ABC are waiting to return to those numbers and it`s not going to happen. I -- you know, they`re never going to get those numbers
again.
PALLOTTA: And the Oscars have to evolve in order to stay relevant. But it still has to find a way to stay the Oscars or to lose what`s made it
special over the last century.
GRAY: I kind of like the Oscars because they`re a little microcosm of life. It`s like, you know, even if you don`t like the best picture winner,
it kind of reflects what`s going on in society. But I still think the name recognition Oscar, it still means a lot to a lot of people around the
world. So I don`t think the Academy will let it die, but I don`t think the fans, the hardcore fans will let it die either. But the more casual fans,
they may fade away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
AZUZ: Natural goat lawn mowers it`s really not a bad idea. About 400 ruminants have gotten jobs in the city of Sacramento, California. Their
mission: to clear out any unwanted overgrowth in the area.
This is an environmentally friendly way to spruce up landscaping cut down as much as two acres of brush a day and to reduce the fuel that wildfires
use to spread. And while you might not want to frolic barefoot through the area afterward, we`re sure those willing to fore-goat traditional clearing
will be goating others into the goaten opportunity to bleep back over goats by goating for the goal of using cashmere mammals, unlikely to fleece the
area before goating it all cleared out. So it`s good day goat y`all.
I`m Carl Azuz.
Frederick is a village in Wisconsin where we heard from Frederick High School. Thank you for your comment and subscription to our YouTube channel.
END
