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House Passes Anti-Semitism Resolution; Curry Works with Girl on New Shoes; North Korea's Missile Site Operational Again; Brown Takes Himself out of Running; Biden Inches Closer to 2020 Run. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired March 08, 2019 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00] MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "BLOOMBERG NEWS": On Israel has been so (INAUDIBLE). Whether you look at the -- what we think this -- the Middle East plan that -- of the administration's is, or whether you look the moving -- you know, declaring Jerusalem the capital, moving the embassy, all these things. But so you -- put that up against the context of the broader changes to policy in the Middle East, the efforts to engage differently with Muslim nations and the changing demographics in the U.S., the way this debate is being shaped decades out from World War II, decades out from 9/11, and you see exactly why all of this is so complicated.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: You want to put a button on it, John?

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I just -- this is a sign of things to come. The way this debate got politicized and will be politicized in all sorts of ways going down the line speaks to the identity politics division of the parties and the way that negative partisanship is being used as the glue, fear of the other, to hold these coalitions together.

CAMEROTA: Toluse, Margaret, David, John, thank you.

All right, it's the latest display of division in Congress. Why did two lawmaker debate Nickelback on the House floor? Is this one of the most burning issues of our time?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I can't decide if this is the best thing ever or a sign of the apocalypse. The answer might be both.

CAMEROTA: I can't either. Oh.

AVLON: It's c.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:16] BERMAN: A huge power outage has most of Venezuela in the dark this morning, raising tensions in a country embroiled in political turmoil. The blackout hit the capital of Caracas at the height of rush hour on Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is blaming embattled President Nicolas Maduro, writing on Twitter, quote, power shortages and starvation of the result of the Maduro regime's incompetence. Maduro's policies bring nothing but darkness. No food. No medicine. Now no power. Next, no Maduro.

CAMEROTA: All right, now to John Berman's favorite story of the day.

It's been said if you play a Nickelback song backwards, you hear messages from the devil. Even worse, if you play it forward, you hear Nickelback. Some say -- some say they're the most disliked rock band of all time. We don't say that. Some say it. And that was debated, of all places, on the House floor on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE POCAN (D), WISCONSIN: Seventy-seven thousand people did comment. Only four wanted to keep this provision. Everyone else wanted to change this. Out of 77,000, that's probably about the percent of people who think Nickelback is their favorite band in this country. It's pretty low. And I think if you look at -- Nickelback's your favorite band, I apologize to the gentleman.

REP. RODNEY DAVIS (R), ILLINOIS: Why would you criticize one of the greatest bands of the '90s?

POCAN: Wow. All right. One more reason why there's a difference between Democrats and Republicans, clearly found on the floor of Congress today.

DAVIS: I stand here to say that my colleague from Wisconsin, I know he did not mean to offend the many, many thousands upon thousands of Nickelback fans in his district in Wisconsin. I'll stand here to save you from doing that and have to face the political consequences at the ballot box.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Congressman Rodney Davis admits having Nickelback on his playlist --

BERMAN: Can you imagine admitting that?

CAMEROTA: And he says he gets ridiculed for it.

I think that's a brave stance.

First of all, why are we hating on Nickelback? There are so many more contemptable bands out there.

BERMAN: Well, I mean, they're empirically not good, right?

CAMEROTA: Says who?

BERMAN: Earth.

CAMEROTA: I love songs about the rock star life, which I relate to.

BERMAN: Look, they're not good, but there are worse bands, I agree with you on that.

CAMEROTA: Many.

BERMAN: And I will say -- I will say, as much as I was trying to like get outraged about this story, watching members of Congress actually laugh on the House floor and enjoy each other --

CAMEROTA: It was a salve.

BERMAN: So Nickelback is bringing us all together.

CAMEROTA: Bringing us together. There you go.

BERMAN: Thank you, Nickelback.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right, people around the world wearing purple today for International Women's Day. NBA star Steph Curry, he marked the occasion too by making good on a promise he made to a young girl. This is a great story.

Andy Scholes has more in the "Bleacher Report."

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey, good morning, John.

You know, Steph Curry's signature shoe, it's been available for boys for years now. And thanks to nine-year-old Riley Morrison, they're now available for girls as well. So Riley wrote to Curry last fall. She asked him why his signature shoes were only sold in boy sizes? Well, Curry responded telling her, you know what, let's do something about this. And today the Curry Six United We Win shoe by Under Armor is making its debut. The new shoes are going to be a blend of purple and deep orchid. They also have a sock liner that Riley helped design with two girls playing basketball along with the words "be fearless" and "girl power."

And yesterday Curry surprised Riley with her own pair of United We Win shoes. Proceeds are going to go toward a scholarship The Curry Family Foundation and Under Armor created for college-bound female students in the Bay area.

So, Alisyn, next time you go to hoop, there you go, you can now get your own Steph Curry shoes.

CAMEROTA: That's very cool. I love the relationship. I love that this Riley, the same name as his daughter, wrote to him and that all of this has resulted.

Andy, thank you.

BERMAN: Riley Morrison, the hero here. Thanks, Andy.

Chicago, better or worse than Nickelback?

CAMEROTA: Worse. BERMAN: Oh, no. Oh, we're going to discuss that.

CAMEROTA: Listen, I heard Kansas yesterday while I was driving. I had to pull over and like regain my will to live, OK. So there are worst bands out there, all right.

One week after the failed summit between President Trump and Kim Jong- un, there are new signs North Korea has resumed operations at a missile launch site. We have the details, next.

BERMAN: And sing "Dust in the Wind."

CAMEROTA: Yes. It was "Dust in the Wind."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:48] CAMEROTA: New information about what's going on inside North Korea. U.S. analysts say that North Korea's long-range missile site is fully operational again, meaning they could launch something if they want to.

This comes as CNN learns that North Korean state media is acknowledging for the first time the summit in Vietnam was what they're classifying as a failure.

CNN's Will Ripley is live in Beijing with more.

These are big developments, Will.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are, Alisyn, because what they signal, according to analysts, is a potential shift by North Korea to a more militaristic posture given the failed summit in Hanoi with President Trump last week. It's significant the North Korean media is now acknowledging that the summit ended unexpectedly without an agreement and that they are blaming the United States because the coverage up until now has been largely positive about the summit. North Korea even aired an 80-minute documentary full of pictures, including Kim Jong-un and President Trump and glowing commentary about what a success the trip in Vietnam was. But it now sees that North Korea may be starting to shift the narrative to let their own people know that the United States, in their view, didn't follow through with its end of the bargain and that changes could come in terms of North Korea's approach.

That as this missile facility at Tongchang-Ri -- I should say it's a satellite launched facility. They've never launched an ICBM from there. They have tested missile engines there. After Kim Jong-un pledged to shut it down, now he's built it back up with rapid work happening just in the last few days. These satellite images taken on Wednesday showing that the facility could be ready for a launch, or a test, at any moment.

[06:45:19] And, of course, President Trump saying that that would be very disappointing to him, an indication that tensions could be creeping back up after that abrupt and really humiliating for the North Koreans and to the Hanoi summit in Vietnam. Alisyn. John.

BERMAN: All right, Will Ripley for us. Fascinating reporting, Will, thank you very much.

Joining us now, Ambassador Richard Haass, he's the president of the Council on Foreign Relations and author of "A World in Disarray."

Ambassador, that news from Will Ripley is really interesting because you were part of the group -- and the consensus I think -- that it was better to walk away from that summit with no deal rather than strike a bad deal. And the implication from the president was, well, we're no worse off for trying. Well, now, one week later, there are signs that maybe things are worse off.

RICHARD HAASS, PRESIDENT, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: We don't know what the North Koreans have in mind. It's a one-person decision-making system there. It could be simply for leverage. It could be that they do intend to resume testing.

Either way, let's get real. We're not going to get their complete denuclearization. They're not going to give up all their missiles. The real question for the United States, which is something we can control, is, are we prepared to settle for less than complete denuclearization on their side? And, if so, what are we prepared to give up for it?

CAMEROTA: Well, obviously, we are willing to settle for less than denuclearization because President Trump has talked about how, well, they're not testing anymore, there are no tests. So it seems like that -- the marker has moved.

HAASS: Yes, but we have to be realistic here. Even if there's no overt tests that we can see, they're doing testing. They can do things with simulation, they can do things in laboratories. For all we know, the Chinese, the Russians, Pakistanis and others are testing things for them.

The one thing I'm confident about, Alisyn, is that their program is not standing still, whether we see them testing or not.

BERMAN: You look at this whole meeting as a failure?

HAASS: I look at the whole policy as a failure. Again, we set unrealistic goals. They're not going to sign up to them. And, again, the question is, what are we prepared to settle for? We don't want to go to war with them. I understand that. I don't believe sanction could ever bring North Korea to its knees because China would never allow that. So the only -- we've got to -- are there -- are there lesser outcomes that we're prepared to live with? If not, then it's not -- then we're -- then it's not clear to me we have a policy.

CAMEROTA: You said Hanoi should never have happened, meaning that this was too big of a roll of the dice, that President Trump shouldn't have done, in your opinion? HAASS: Right. You don't want to have diplomacy that you try at such --

with such a spotlight and then have it fail because then people say, well, we've tried the diplomatic path, now we've got to try something else. Well, what's the something else here? You know, again, do you want to think about using military force? That would be extraordinarily risky and costly. Do you simply want to let them do what they will, to let time pass? Well, then, right now North Korea has, what, 20, 30 nuclear weapons on pretty flawed missiles.

BERMAN: Yes.

HAASS: In five years they could have 100 nuclear weapons on pretty good missiles. So time in and of itself is not working in our favor. We ought to feel some real urgency here.

BERMAN: Well, the president thinks one thing that's working in his favor is love, right?

CAMEROTA: He did.

BERMAN: Well, let's see. I mean let's remember what he said about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And then we fell in love, OK. No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters. And they're great letters. We fell in love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Does that need to change now? The president said he would be disappointed if all of a sudden North Korea started testing rockets and missiles again. Does the love need to change radically?

HAASS: The short answer's yes. All presidents tend to exaggerate the personal chemistry dimension of diplomacy. You saw it with FDR and Stalin. We've seen -- literally seen it with every president, but this takes it to a new level. This is one of the most -- probably the greatest dictator in the world who's been ruthless about his own people. Millions of North Koreans, millions, have died one way or another through starvation, incarceration, you name it. So the idea that somehow they're going to have this personal relationship where North Korea is going to totally change its stripes is just a real misreading. But it's a real exaggeration of what you can bring to a table and how you can change the dynamics.

CAMEROTA: But do you fear that there will come a day where we miss the love? Where it was better when they were in love than what is now possibly a fraying of the bromance?

HAASS: Look, bad situations can always get worse. But we shouldn't kid ourselves. Just because there's an era of good feeling doesn't mean that North Korea is moving in the direction we want or not moving in the direction we don't want. And again, I keep -- sorry to repeat myself -- I keep coming back,

what are we prepared to settle for? You know, in diplomacy, like anything else in life, you've got to decide what your definition of success is. If you say it's complete denuclearization, you're setting yourself up for failure. So let's have a serious conversation about what we're prepared to live for -- live with.

BERMAN: A lot of new information about China, connected to China over the last day. Number one, that Chinese exports have gone way, way down. This at the same time the U.S. trade deficit with China has gone way, way up. And this as the U.S. ambassador to China has said that the United States and China may not be that close to a trade deal. I wonder if you could look at all of those things and explain where we are here.

[06:50:12] HAASS: Look, I think the United States and China are not that far from a trade deal if, and it's a big if, we're prepared to settle for something modest. We're not going to get the Chinese to change their economic model. They're not going to start -- stop massive government subsidies of their so-called state-owned enterprises. Even if they agree to it, history suggests they're not going to stop stealing American technology that would advantage them.

Could we get a trade deal, though, where they would reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers? Could we get a trade deal that would reduce the trade imbalance between us which for some reason matters to this president? Yes. We could get a modest trade agreement. We are not going to get a transformation of China's economy.

CAMEROTA: Ambassador Richard Haass, always great to have you in studio.

HAASS: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thanks for being here.

BERMAN: Nice to see you.

All right, several big-name Democrats have said no thanks this week to a presidential run in 2020. Former Vice President Joe Biden is apparently 95 percent of the way there. Does he have a clear path to clenching the nomination? We'll discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:54:59] CAMEROTA: All right, we are 606 days away from Election Day. Go get ready.

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown just took himself out of the running. Could it be because former Vice President Joe Biden is about to jump in?

There's something about Harry. So let's break it down with CNN's senior politics writer and analyst Harry Enten.

So, did -- was Sherrod Brown tipped off by the Joe Biden people to get out? HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER AND ANALYST: He -- he -- I

don't know if he was tipped off by the Joe Biden people, but certainly there was some belief, you know, Biden getting in would hurt Brown's chances. And, indeed, if you look at where Sherrod was in the polls, he was only at 1 percent. Only 27 percent name recognition.

CAMEROTA: He wasn't in yet.

ENTEN: He wasn't in yet. He would have gotten in. But it would have been very difficult with so many candidates running to be able to get that name recognition up, to get the press that was necessary, especially if Biden were to jump in. You know, there's only so much press attention.

But I think that Brown getting out, he was one of the first that I really thought had a real shot, a real dark horse of winning the nomination. He was ranked third by activists, at least in considered support for the invisible primary. This is something that Seth Masket (ph) has been doing over at FiveThirtyEight, interviewing people and seeing, activists in the key swing states, hey, do you think that key -- you could support this person? Normally support among activists predicts future success.

BERMAN: Yes, I think this number's interesting here. When Sherrod Brown made the decision yesterday, what I saw from people was, this was the first candidate who had a chance to make an impact in the race who decided not to run.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Let's talk about Joe Biden, though. What is Biden facing? "The New York Times" said yesterday there are reports that he's 95 percent certain to run.

ENTEN: Yes, 95 percent. Again, margin of error. Who really knows.

BERMAN: Yes.

ENTEN: You know, there's no poll that's taken.

Look, let's talk about first that Biden is leading the pack right now. He's clearly the quote/unquote front runner, at least with concern in the polls. Well ahead of Sanders, Harris, Warren, O'Rourke, and Booker.

But I think there's a lot of suspicion from people like myself, can this lead actually hold? Part of it is that he's an older gentleman. Democrats say they don't necessarily want someone who's over the age of 75.

But part of that also has to do with the fact of where the Democratic Party is from where it used to be. So this is a percentage of Democratic voters who self-identify as liberal according to the Pew Research Center and what we see is over time the percentage who self- describe themselves as liberal has been going up, 28 percent in 2000, 33 percent in 2008, 44 percent in 2018. And the question is, can Joe Biden fit within that party?

And why are we saying that? Well, take a look at this. This is -- we've shown some graphic like this before, right, where a zero is most liberal, 100 is the most moderate. This is based off upon their congressional voting record. And what we see if the past nominees were generally in the 60s, right? But, of course, that was when the Democratic Party was more moderate. What we see is the average of the 2020 candidates has been moving to the left with the voters, Sanders furthest to the left and Harris to the left. But look where Biden is. Biden is actually somewhat to the right of not just the past nominees, but also of the average of the 2020 (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: There is such a big distance between over there and over here.

ENTEN: Yes, there is a huge distance. I mean if Bernie -- Bernie Sanders clearly can claim that being the most progressive, the most liberal of all the candidates, while Joe Biden is perhaps much more positioned to be the moderate. But, of course, they're becoming a smaller, smaller pie of the Democratic electorate.

CAMEROTA: Tell us about the Biden focus.

ENTEN: So -- OK. So if Joe Biden has a problem, right, with being seen as more moderate, right, he's being seen as someone who has that record on crime, the crime bill, the Biden crime bill, the record on integration in the '70s, what can Biden do to perhaps ameliorate that problem? Well, I think this is key, don't focus on the past, focus on his connection with Obama, because in polling what we see is that -- you know, forget the liberal moderate conservative angle. If you say, OK, do you consider yourself an Obama Democrat, right, what's your connection with Obama? Democrats say they're much more likely to identify as an Obama Democrat than a liberal Democrat, a progressive or a Democratic socialist.

CAMEROTA: What does Obama Democrat even mean?

ENTEN: Well, that's in the minds of voters, right? They have this real connection with Obama. And if you look at the 2016 primary exit polls, you saw then 24 of the 27 states, they preferred a continuation of Obama's policies than going to the left.

BERMAN: And you have one more chart on the wall (ph)?

ENTEN: I'll just show one more chart.

Look at this, he's the leader of the Democratic Party right now. If you were to look at how popular different Democratic politicians are, he is well and above with the net favorability of plus 89. The only one who's any close to that is, not surprisingly, his vice president. Everyone else, less popular, although still pretty popular with Democrats. So if you're Biden, attach yourself to Obama.

CAMEROTA: All right. Most importantly, we're going to lose an hour of sleep this weekend?

ENTEN: We're going to lose an hour of sleep, and I'm already tired as it is. And I'll tell you how I know I'm tired, is because actually the sunrise on Saturday is not 6:19, that's the sunrise today. It's actually 6:17 on Saturday in New York. So we can, wee. The next time the sunrises is that early, it's not until April 15th. We're up this early. What's going on? This is all for the night owls. How about something for the early folks?

CAMEROTA: What's your solution?

ENTEN: My solution, maybe we should just go the full -- full time. No Daylight Savings Time. None of this stuff. This was for -- you know, this is stuff from way back. Remember when George W. Bush decided to implement that. I'm more upset over that than pretty much anything else.

BERMAN: How about no daylight at all.

ENTEN: That's perfectly fine. Let's all -- we'll go up to the north for the winter and then we'll go down to the south for the summer. Forget daylight. I'm a night owl anyway.

[07:00:00] BERMAN: Harry Enten, have a great weekend.

ENTEN: You too.

BERMAN: Get some rest.

ENTEN: I'm going to try.

BERMAN: All right. Thank you to our international viewers for watching. For you CNN "TALK" is next. For our U.S. viewers, NEW DAY continues right now.

END