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Democratic Support for Speaker Johnson's Retention in the House is Split; Interview with Armed Services Committee Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA); Johnson Ignores Calls for Removal and Continues with International Aid Initiative; U.S. and Allies Meet Amid Rising Tensions Between Israel, Iran; After a Trump Juror was Dismissed, Jury Selection Resumes. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 18, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Is he going to manage the House of Representatives in a way that addresses the real fundamental problems that confront the United States domestically, as well as around the world. If he does that, then, OK, we'll see. If not, well, good luck, Johnson.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: All right. And, Congressman -- I mean, I do want to ask you about the Israel piece of this.

GARAMENDI: Yes.

ACOSTA: I mean, aid to Israel is obviously going to be considered by members like yourself as well. And I mean, before what took place this past weekend, obviously that may have scrambled the calculus a little bit with Iran's attack on Israel. I mean, there are a lot of members of the Democratic caucus who are uncomfortable with sending more aid to Israel considering what's going on in Gaza. What do you think?

GARAMENDI: Well, I'm with that group. I have very, very serious concerns about how Israel has conducted its war in Gaza. It's unconscionable. That -- the way in which they have done it. More than 30,000 civilians, half of which are children, have been killed. That is just not acceptable.

Now, going forward, what are we going -- how do we deal with this? Clearly, Israel was attacked directly by Iran. That does change the calculus. The second piece of it is that the Biden administration remains and has the power to deal with the flow of aid to Israel, and it can modify, change, withhold certain elements of the support that is in the legislation.

Given that situation, both the attack directly by Iran, and the ability of the Biden administration to yes or no individual pieces of the aid, I will be voting for that. Also, please keep in mind that the humanitarian aid is coupled with the support for Israel.

So, if we, as I do, want to have humanitarian aid, not just for Gaza, but for the rest of the issues around the world, then we're faced with a yes or a no because it is tied together with the aid for Israel. So, yes, I will be voting for that part of the package.

ACOSTA: All right. Congressman John Garamendi of California, thanks very much for your time. Appreciate it.

GARAMENDI: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. Coming up next, how the U.S. and its allies are trying to tamp down the escalating tensions in the Middle East amid dire warnings of a wider war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:00]

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Laura Coates outside the Manhattan courthouse, where the jury selection for Donald Trump's criminal trial is continuing.

Here's what's happening right now. We've got Kristen Holmes with us first of all. We know that there were originally 96 jurors who were brought into the courtroom today. Some were very surprised to walk in and find Donald Trump sitting there. Maybe some thought this had been resolved in some other way or they weren't a part of that pool. And for the very first time, he actually was turning around in the courtroom to make eye contact with various jurors.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Which is really interesting just given the fact of, like, it is a former president. He is sitting there in the front row. People are surprised to see him. We even heard from jurors previously once they had talked after they had left the courtroom, after they had been dismissed, saying essentially, it was surprising to see such a person of power, someone you see on TV in the courtroom.

So, of course, there is a question of whether or not when the former president turns around and looks at you, how does that make you feel as a potential juror? Now, where we stand now is of that 96, there are about 39 left. Half, 48 of 96, left and said they could not be fair or impartial. Another nine --

COATES: They went row by row --

HOLMES: They went row by row --

COATES: -- they were going to ask.

HOLMES: Exactly. Going through who could be fair and impartial, knowing now that it was going to be a larger number than any team had originally expected. They got down 48 there. Then another nine saying they had scheduling conflicts for some reason, which they don't have to disclose. They didn't think that they could participate in the jury.

So, now we're going to see the judge go through these questionnaires and actually get down to whether or not these would be the actual jurors. COATES: I mean, it must be a very surreal experience for a number of these jurors to walk in. Thinking you have jury duty, it comes out, you know, a couple weeks in advance. You know, you're going to be summoned and define this very consequential and historic matter.

And then, of course, you realize earlier this morning, there was a juror who called in, had already been empaneled, already been set as one of the seven jurors and said she can no longer do this. Does not think that she can actually be impartial in the end, felt that maybe her anonymity had been compromised in some shape or form.

But then you have the original number from the judge, six alternate jurors. Now, if we know that one juror has already been excused based on saying that she can no longer be anonymous, they might have to widen that pool of potential alternates in addition to the 12.

HOLMES: Exactly. And I do think, you know, we're having this conversation off camera. There is a part of this that as you walk in and you're surprised, the whole thing seems a little bit overwhelming. They're asking you, can you be fair? Can you be impartial? There are people who might say yes and then take a moment to step back and think about it and decide after break, or as this juror did after certain people were asking if she was a juror, that they actually can't be fair.

COATES: Right.

HOLMES: They can't be impartial in that. And the judge is going to take that into consideration because again, we know this is not a regular case. This is a case with a very polarizing figure and somebody who people tend to have opinions on. So, it is harder to be impartial or fair.

COATES: Now, Trump is -- he can get a capitalized fundraising-wise, I understand. He's mentioning his appearance in court today already.

HOLMES: Unsurprising, and I want to read what he said because it's very Trumpian.

COATES: OK.

HOLMES: He says, from Trump. I just stormed into court -- which we know from the pool there was no storming, but he did walk into court.

[10:40:00]

The gloves are coming off. MAGA, never surrender. Again, kook, this is all part of his larger plan to campaign around this and also to fundraise off of this. They have seen in the past that the -- any indictment, any court appearance does usually lead to some kind of boost in fundraising, some kind of support in the polls.

And as we know, recent polling has shown Biden somewhat closing the gap on Donald Trump, something Trump cares very deeply about is poll numbers even though he says that he doesn't. So, they are trying to capitalize off of this, particularly given the fact that he really can't be on the road. He can't be out there talking to voters or even donors when he is in court four days a week.

COATES: And again, remember part of the flack that Alvin Bragg initially got not only for being the first to indict. Some questioned his ability to do so. Others, it was because there was a -- quite a boost to the actual campaign. And the, of course, presence of Donald Trump following that decision to indict him. Obviously, not part of the consideration for Alvin Bragg.

We've got so much more ahead. We're going to continue to monitor all of the developments inside the courtroom today in this historic now third day of jury selection. Seeing one less juror already empaneled. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:00]

ACOSTA: Right now, Secretary of State Tony Blinken and his counterparts from the G7 are gathering in Italy. Israel and escalating tensions in the Middle East have become a central concern. And overnight, even more devastation in Gaza. An Israeli strike in Rafah killed 10 members of one family, including five children, according to hospital officials.

CNN National Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood joins us now. Kylie, what more are you learning from these discussions that are happening right now in Capri?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, listen, there was a G7 discussion today on the Middle East, also another one on what is going on in the Red Sea. Clearly, these world leaders are really focused on what we are all focused on, this aggression between Iran and Israel right now and trying to do everything they can to tamp down what is this growing escalatory situation there.

But we did hear from the top E.U. official who's at the table saying that the Middle East is on the edge of war. So clearly, they are concerned. The E.U. also saying that they are going to be drumming up new Iran sanctions to go after Iranian drones.

And meanwhile, here in the United States, President Biden rolled out new Iran sanctions today. The administration had said that these were coming and they go after two significant factors of Iran's capability, both their metal sector and also their drone capabilities. One of the specific sanctions that were rolled out today are individuals who are involved in the manufacturing of engines in the drones that were used in that attack over the weekend from Iran to Israel. Also, individuals who are involved in the servicing of those drones.

So, clearly, they're trying to make a statement here that they're going to go after Iran's capabilities that were used. And according to President Biden make sure that Iran is held accountable for that attack. But we'll watch to see what more comes out of the G7 today because as I said those sessions were just concluding earlier in the day and there may be more to learn as these world leaders, foreign ministers, gather while this is happening. ACOSTA: And, Kylie, the U.S. has put new sanctions in place on Iran. Can you tell us what that means?

ATWOOD: Yes. So, exactly. What it means is that the Biden administration wants to make it clear to Israel that they're not just going to watch what happened, even though they're telling Israel that they wanted to show restraint. They don't want it to further escalate things by responding to this dramatic attack over the weekend in a really aggressive way. They're not sitting on their hands.

So, the fact that the Biden administration ruled out these sanctions is a demonstration that they think that there are ways to target Iran's military capabilities that enabled them to carry out that attack. I think they're questioned as to how effective sanctions sometimes are. But the Biden administration is really being very specific with these sanctions. As I said, you know, going after those who were involved in building the engines for those drones that were used over the weekend.

ACOSTA: All right. Kylie Atwood. Thank you very much.

Still ahead. President Biden heads to Philadelphia to gain the official endorsement from members of the most famous family in American politics. We'll tell you more about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

ACOSTA: In just a few moments, President Biden will be heading to Philadelphia where he will receive endorsements from members of the most famous family in American politics, the Kennedys. It's a move going against their very own. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is currently running as a third-party candidate in the 2024 presidential race.

Joining me now to discuss is CNN Political Commentator, Former Senior Advisor to Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential Campaign, Karen Finney. And CNN Political Commentator and Republican Strategist Alice Stewart. Karen, I'm old enough to remember back in the 2008 campaign when Ted Kennedy came out for Barack Obama and that just infuriated the Hillary Clinton campaign.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

ACOSTA: And this is a slightly different situation where the incumbent president, he really kind of needs the Kennedys to step in here because, you know, for folks who may not just be paying a whole lot of attention right now, they might be thinking, oh, Robert F. Kennedy, he's just like one of the Kennedys.

FINNEY: Sure. And look, we have evidence that that is part of how he's running. He's -- knows that he's talked about. He gets for -- you know, support from both sides. You know, I've heard him focus groups. People say that they, oh, well, he's a Kennedy, right? That they're taking a look at him because of that famous name. And I think the family believes -- and if you look at Kerry Kennedy's interview from earlier this morning on CNN, they believe they really -- this is a moment to step in and to say, no. If we're going to take back our name and the legacy of their father, RFK Jr. and their uncle JFK, and claim it as a family in support of Joe Biden.

ACOSTA: Yes. And Alice, I mean, it's not really clear how this RFK Jr. candidacy is going to affect the race. Trump has been going after Kennedy, calling him a, "Radical left candidate." I mean, that seems to suggest that they're worried on the Trump side of this too.

ALICE STEWART, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Look, it remains to be seen. Often times when we look at third party tickets, they do much better in polling than they do in real life. And how this plays out, we'll see. But look, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Joe Kennedy and the Kennedy family.

[10:55:00]

And what we're seeing now clearly is that blood is not thicker than water. And the family is coming out here to, as Karen said, protect and preserve the Kennedy legacy and protect and help promote Joe Biden.

And this is more, I think, not a factor of how RFK Jr.'s policies align up, but where he is in the polling. I mean, he's in eight, nine, and 10 percent in many of the polls. And by all indications, he is chipping away at some of Biden supporters. I think it's smart for them to flex their muscles and show what the Kennedy name can do.

And they also need to make sure and realize Joe Biden needs a lot more help than just with RFK Jr. The Harvard Youth Poll came out this morning, and the youth vote is important for Democratic candidates. Right now, the youth vote is at 50 percent for Joe Biden. Democrats typically need 60 percent to win an electoral college. He's got to overcome and really appeal and reach out to the youth vote in order for him to help boost his numbers and beat Donald Trump, and certainly these key battleground states.

ACOSTA: Yes. And Karen, I mean, with Kennedy getting eight, nine, 10 percent in the polls, I mean, should he be up on the debate stage? Can he make the case for that?

FINNEY: No, I -- because remember the presidential commission on debates, it's not just about where you are in the polls. It's also about what states you're actually on the ballot. Obviously, he's been able to get on to more ballots. But you know, I think -- look, here's the other thing about why this event today is so important as someone who is, you know, keeping on a close eye on these efforts.

Americans need to understand third-party candidates are very dangerous. We saw it in 2016 where, again, with Jill Stein, it doesn't take much to just pull away, you know, percentages, right, particularly these days as our campaigns are one on small percentages. So, chipping away a few percentage points in the right number of states can completely shift the election. And I remember people saying, well, I wanted to show the party, you know, show them a lesson. OK. We voted for Jill Stein and look what we got.

ACOSTA: Yes. I got to run. Alice, I'll get you more time next time, but thanks ladies to both of you. That's going to be very interesting to watch, how all of that pans out. And we'll be watching that Kennedy event with the president in just a short while.

Thanks very much for joining us this morning. I'm Jim Acosta. Our next hour of "Newsroom with Wolf Blitzer" starts after a quick break. Have a great day.

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