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CIA Director In Cairo Amid Ongoing Ceasefire Negotiations; Sources: Trump Campaign Tells Donors It Raised In $76.2 Million In April; Interview With Rep. Max Miller (R-OH); Homes Flooded, Rescues Ongoing As Heavy Rain Pounds Texas; Univ. Of Virginia: Area "Stable" After Pro-Palestinian Encampment Declared An Unlawful Assembly; Biden Faces Criticism Over Campus Protests; Trump Embraces Authoritarian Leader As Model For 2nd Term. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 04, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:01:27]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone, I am Jessica Dean in Washington and new tonight in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, right now, a Hamas delegation is in Cairo for talks on a hostage and ceasefire deal.

Also, there, US CIA Director Bill Burns, who is playing a key role in those negotiations, and while Egyptian media is reporting noticeable progress in these latest talks, US and Israeli officials say any potential deal in a framework would take additional days to iron out those final details.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is with us now and Kevin, it is notable who is currently engaged and present for these negotiations and we know that President Biden and his team would like to see this get to a deal.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, it is always significant when you see Bill Burns head to the region for these talks. That does give you a sense that at least on the American side, they do think that this is reaching a critical juncture and we did see the Hamas delegation as well arrive this morning with what they said was a positive spirit about this framework agreement that they have yet to sign off on, and that is the topic of discussion in Cairo at this hour.

Now its past 1:00 AM there, so you can expect these talks will continue over the weekend, and I think that the real sticking point at this moment is whether this deal will eventually result in the end of the war. That is something that Hamas has said is a bottom line for them, but Israel has said that they need to continue going after Hamas in Gaza.

So that seems to be that not that they're trying to untie right now. Now, we did hear from American and Israeli officials today that said, even if Hamas agrees to this framework that isn't necessarily the end of the road. There will still be some details that need to be ironed out before the hostages can start coming out.

I think the real thing to watch over the next several hours is whether Israel sends its own delegation to Cairo. They are not there at the moment, but that will be an indication that at least some progress is being made.

And certainly, President Biden is very eager to get this deal secured and I think the real fear that you hear among American officials is that if this all falls apart, if this collapses, that will mean that Israel will go into Rafah. That's the city in Southern Gaza, where more than a million Palestinian civilians have been sheltering.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he will go into Rafah with a deal or without a deal. The American side has said that they need to see a plan to protect those civilians, they haven't seen it yet.

And if this deal was to collapse, I think that would be an impetus for that invasion to begin, and that is something that American officials very, very much want to avoid.

DEAN: Yes, that is definitely on their minds. All right. Kevin Liptak with the latest reporting on that. Thank you very much.

And back here in the US, former President Donald Trump trading a New York City courtroom, he has been sitting in for the last week for the banquet halls of Mar-a-Lago.

The republican frontrunner is looking to close the fundraising gap with his opponent, President Joe Biden by holding a fundraiser with wealthy GOP donors. Sources telling CNN one presenter privately admitted the hush money trial is "bleeding money from the campaign.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live in Palm Beach with more details on all of this. So Alayna, what are you hearing about this event?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, I think that comment you just noted, Jessica, is very notable and this is something that Donald Trump himself has said on occasion that he wishes that the money being spent, the millions of dollars being paid to cover his legal costs were going to his camp -- would be going to his campaign and not to his several legal battles.

Now, it was acknowledged by one of the presenters at the retreat last night.

[18:05:09]

But look, we also have some new details about what was said today and that includes a presentation given by Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, both of Donald Trump's campaign managers, as well as his poster, Tony Fabrizio and they said that Donald Trump and his team raised $76 million last month. That includes money raised by some pro-Trump groups.

Now, we won't be able to independently verify those numbers until the FEC reports come out later this month, but that was something according to multiple attendees in the room that they said was brought up. Now another thing they also discussed was a pathway that they see for the former president to compete in states like Minnesota and Virginia, both states that have traditionally been more Democratic leaning, so that is very notable as well.

And look, I think just to take a step back and talk about fundraising overall, this is an important weekend for Donald Trump and his campaign. There were a lot of wealthy donors and high profile Republican leaders here in Palm Beach this weekend and he hosted a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago today to help with his fundraising efforts, and this all comes of course, as the campaign is trying to catch up to Joe Biden and his ever-growing war chest, and that is something they've been very focused on.

Later this month as well, Donald Trump is slated to use his one week day out of trial on a Wednesday -- on several Wednesdays this month to host fundraisers as well. That includes in Ohio, Kentucky, and Texas, all things they also brought up during the retreat.

DEAN: All right, Alayna, thanks so much. We appreciate that reporting.

And joining us now is Republican Congressman Max Miller of Ohio. He is also a member of the Congressional Jewish Caucus.

Congressman, thanks so much for making time to be with us today. We are going to get to Alayna's reporting and the RNC retreat in a moment, but I want to go back to the top of our program where we were talking about these ceasefire talks and the hostage deal that they are trying to work out in Cairo.

You supported that aid package to Israel. How do you hope these talks unfold? What do you hope to see happen?

REP. MAX MILLER (R-OH): Yes, Jessica and thank you very much tonight for having me on. I probably supported the supplemental not only for Israel, Taiwan, but also Ukraine. Look, I hope these talks are fruitful and I hope that this war can be brought to an end, but make no mistake people can give Israel every piece of advice, the United States of America can, other nations can, but at the end of the day, this is a decision for the Israeli people and Prime Minister Netanyahu to make this decision.

And so if they are not there at the negotiations, it doesn't give me a lot of hope that they're going to agree to something when they are not there to go ahead and have oversight of it.

I hope its fruitful, but it is Israel's decision to make.

DEAN: And I want to ask you to about Rafah because kind of looming over these discussions is this potential ground incursion in Rafah, which is that city in Southern Gaza, where more than a million civilians have gathered and been kind of sent toward and to, and the White House has asked for a plan, to see a plan from Israel and how they are going to protect those civilians should they go into Rafah.

We have reporting that says that the White House has gotten some information, but they don't so far think they have what they see as an executable plan that would protect civilians there.

So going off of what you just told me, do you think that the prime minister and the Israeli government will hear and accept the White House concerns around this issue?

MILLER: I think they can hear the concerns and I think they can accept the concerns, but ultimately the decision for their country to act on their own accord is up to them. And if they believe that they need to go into Rafah to take out the four Hamas battalions that are left in order to protect their own country, that is their decision to make.

And to be clear, Hamas has stated that there will be in October 7th every single day if they are still in existence. If we faced a threat like that within our country, I can promise you that we would react swiftly and eliminate the threat as we have in so many of these wars that we've been in.

I would like to see this end, but ultimately Israel, needs to do what is best for Israel and do not see another 1,300 Israelis slaughtered, raped, and babies put in ovens like it was the 1930s and 40s.

DEAN: Yes, and I hear what you're saying. What about the civilians there in Gaza who are just civilians? The children that are there in Rafah, what do you think should or could be done to protect them while Israel tries to clear their objective here?

MILLER: Every consideration should be taken into a place when it comes to civilian and casualty life and I believe that Israel has done that to the best extent possible in a war that no military has ever fought in, no military has ever conducted a war, were their enemies are hiding not only their own civilians, but Israeli hostages and American hostages in mosques, in schools, in over a dozen hospitals. How do you fight a war effectively and go ahead and conduct that?

[18:10:12]

And when it comes to the Gaza Ministry of Defense releasing their number, I believe that it is exaggerated to some extent. I don't trust anything that really comes out of that that region because look at the hate that they espouse and the indoctrination that they pushed to their children to go ahead and to say slaughtering Israelis and jews is a good thing.

This is something that Israel can work out, but at the end of the day, I believe that this has to end and the only way to do that is to eliminate Hamas.

DEAN: And I also want to talk about the Antisemitism Awareness Act that you helped draft. It was just passed in the House in a bipartisan vote. It was in response, in part to these campus protests that we have been seeing and that we have been talking about on our show as well. It would require the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism.

Tell us more about this bill and why you thought it needed to pass right now.

MILLER: Absolutely. So this bill was actually signed by President Trump in his administration by an executive order and maintained under President Biden. So a lot of bipartisan support there and well over 300 members of Congress in a bipartisan fashion supported this bill.

And here is why, Jessica. If college presidents and university leaders are going to take action on their universities to address the hate and when we see signs that say "Free Palestine" and "Final solution" right below it, that is why that bill hit the floor and that is why we passed it in such an effective way with the vast majority of Congress pushing it, and make no mistake, if university presidents aren't going to take control of their campuses, we will, and we will push back against all forms of hate and not just antisemitism.

DEAN: And we have heard from Jewish students who do feel very unsafe on some of these college campuses. We have also heard from other students who say they do have a right to their first -- they have their First Amendment right to protest.

What do you say to critics toward this legislation that say that it curbs the right to free speech, that it infringes on their First Amendment rights.

MILLER: I didn't hear these critics go ahead and come out when President Trump signed this executive order. Everyone was silent then. I think that right now, we are dealing with a very emotional climate when it comes to people and the Jewish people in Israel and people who are not acting based off of logic anymore, they are reacting off of emotion.

And I believe that anyone who didn't support this bill in my opinion, not just because I am Jewish, this is the right thing to do to be clear and I believe that members of Congress, when I am there, my first term, they do this as political votes.

I mean, I am so upset and disappointed by so many people that I know on my side that didn't support this piece of legislation because they thought it would be a good fundraising opportunity for them, and I hate to tell you that, but that is just the unadulterated truth about some members of Congress.

At the end of the day, this does not limit free speech. What this is going to do is hold accountable individuals who are espousing genocide and saying final solution. You can disagree with Israel. You can disagree with their policies. But if you say from the river to the sea and you would like to exterminate every Jew, Jessica, what does final solution mean?

Because I can tell you that half of my family or two-thirds were wiped out in the Holocaust at Auschwitz. I understand what it means and so do all of my people and so does every American, and this is why we went ahead and did it.

DEAN: And you know, I am hearing your voice, the frustration at some of your colleagues for not supporting this and I am thinking about, too how so many people are retiring from Congress at this moment in time, kind of saying, kind of a similar thing to what you're saying.

It has become too political. It has become all about fundraising. No one wants to work together. Does that -- do you think about that a lot? I can hear it in your voice on this issue, but more broadly, does that frustrate you as well in the House?

MILLER: Overall, you know, I am a freshman member. I go there every single day. I put my head down and I look at every piece of legislation that I believe can do the very best from my district.

And what really disheartens me, and by the way, it is not only on our side, it is on the Democrats side as well. We genuinely have people now who have gone beyond the pale in terms of their rhetoric just to seek attention. I mean, we talk about the Motion to Vacate with Marjorie Taylor Greene, that is nothing but a danger to this country and the continuity of government while Republicans only have a one- seat majority. She would effectively give it away to the Democrats.

I mean, we are working with people who are ripping our party apart, and we are now making incremental progress. And I believe and I was a critic of Speaker Johnson, I believe that Speaker Johnson has been doing a tremendous job by leading and not giving in to 20 people who act like petulant children and lead from the front.

And I am proud to support them and I am proud that he is putting these pieces of legislation on the floor and leading.

DEAN: All right, Congressman Max Miller, we've got to leave it there, but thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

MILLER: Thank you, Jessica. Appreciate it.

[18:15:21]

DEAN: We've seen two weeks of testimony in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, but Friday's testimony was the most dramatic yet with a longtime Trump aide taking the stand.

Also, hundreds of people and pets are rescued from flooded homes and neighborhoods in Texas as strong storms pound that state.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:15]

DEAN: Perhaps the most dramatic moment so far in Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York came on Friday when Hope Hicks, his former spokeswoman took the stand.

Hicks, once a trusted adviser was described as nervous. She also cried on the stand. She described what it was like to try and keep a lid on reporting involving the president's sex life, just as the Access Hollywood tape became public in October 2016, you'll remember just right before the election.

Joining me now, CNN contributor and former White House counsel for President Nixon, John Dean.

John, great to have you here. I want to ask you about Friday's testimony as we saw Hope Hicks, who for so long was so close to President Trump and his orbit. How difficult do you think it was for her to take the stand in front of her former boss.

She kept saying she was there under subpoena and she is also one of the few aides that hasn't tried to get a cable deal or a book deal or anything like that.

JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I suspect it was very difficult for her. She appears to be a lovely young lady. I have three granddaughters. I am very sensitive to young ladies her age, and I watched her -- I've got secondhand report, obviously but I am not surprised it was a very emotional experience.

The Trump family was very close to her. She was given wonderful opportunity at a very early age, and did well in the post. It is not surprising she was nervous because she was going to tell the truth and the truth wasn't always what Mr. Trump wanted to hear, and he was just a few two feet away from her.

DEAN: Right, and she gave a lot of background on how the Trump campaign was feeling after the Access Hollywood tape came out that obviously showed his lewd comments about women. Do you think that the prosecution did a good job of using that testimony to paint a picture of Trump being politically motivated in silencing Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal?

JOHN DEAN: I think they did. I think it was very vivid. She was deep in the campaign, right at the top, and could see it all unfold and her descriptions of the events were very compelling and certainly did show the tremendous focus the campaign had on these issues.

While some of her testimony somewhat softened it, it is clear that everything was in the context of the campaign and these events are very related to the campaign.

DEAN: And what about Michael Cohen in all of this, because he potentially could -- you know, he plays a key role in this whole case, and they have said, they have tried -- the prosecution has tried to kind of soften the road for him a little bit by telling the jury that not everybody has a perfectly clean record that they're going to be hearing from, but what about the testimony from Hope Hicks and her characterization of Michael Cohen.

What kind of impact do you think that had on the jury in terms of how they're going to view him?

JOHN DEAN: I don't think her characterizations will be as important as her corroboration where she provided as other witnesses already have a structure into which he can fill a lot of the first-hand information. From Pecker who was the initial witness, the head of the "National Enquirer" organization right down to Hope Hicks.

The prosecution has done a really solid job of corroborating what is going to be Michael Cohen's testimony. He can take it then a little bit further and fill in a few more gaps.

But you know, I've been following the transcript. It is not always -- it takes a couple of days for it to come out. It is not immediate. The exhibits, however, are coming out and it is striking how many exhibits there are. That just tells the story.

So the jury really has solid paper to look at and unfold this whole tale.

DEAN: Right, and then see it in front of them.

John Dean, always great to have you.

JOHN DEAN: Yes.

DEAN: Thank you so much. We appreciate it.

JOHN DEAN: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: People in the Houston area are dealing with some of the worst flooding that area has seen since Hurricane Harvey and forecasters are saying things will likely get worse before they get better.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:29:02]

DEAN: Heavy rains and flooding so dangerous that 178 people and more than a hundred pets have now been rescued in Harris County, Texas.

Mandatory evacuations are in place in the state amid widespread flooding. Governor Abbott has already declared more than a third of the counties in Texas disaster areas and more are expected to be added.

CNN correspondent Rosa Flores joins us now, and Rosa, you interviewed someone who explained why people feel like they can't necessarily follow the orders that are being put in place and just last hour, we saw people behind you trying to walk to get medications through the water.

What are people telling you?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jessica, it is just very emotional for the people who are impacted by this flood. There is just so much water in this area and they're taking unnecessary risks because they either want their medication and some individuals are moving barricades, this is according to authorities and trying to drive through water where really the water has been swallowing roads.

I want you to take a look behind me because you will see a blue truck. It is difficult to see, but I talked to the owner of that truck and he says that late, late overnight, he was in that truck. He was trying to drive out, but then it was absolutely too late for him.

[18:30:24] He says that he could feel the push and pull of the water underneath and he eventually was rescued by authorities and that is what has been happening.

As you mentioned, more - about 178 people have been rescued so far because they're either in their homes or in vehicles and they have to be rescued. Now, I can hear an airboat in the background I'm not sure if we're going to see it at some point behind me. But there's still rescues happening right now.

Now, this street - if you keep on going on this street - if you were - to be able to go there is an area back there where there's 8 to 15 people who are still in their homes who have refused to evacuate.

Now, the last time that I talked to you Jessica there was a couple and we have video of this that was trying to walk through this flooded water. The name of these two individuals is Donna Sinclair (ph) and Manuel Alvarado (ph), boyfriend and girlfriend. She was trying to go get her medication. But if you look at that video, you can see that the water just gets deeper and deeper and deeper.

And the water starts pulling her and pulling them, and they are trying their best to continue walking but then they turn back and we talked to them. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Earlier you had mentioned that you were trying to get your medication.

DONNA SINCLAIR: Yes.

FLORES: Is that why you were trying to take the risk?

SINCLAIR: Yes.

FLORES: And?

SINCLAIR: I got scared.

FLORES: Too scared, too emotional, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. But you're okay, your medication is not with you, but you're okay. You're safe. You're alive. You didn't ...

SINCLAIR: Thank you.

FLORES: I'm sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: And we're taking another live look here. Literally the airboat that we were listening to just moments ago is moving in and they're asking us to move back. So we're going to move our camera back so that authorities can pull up to shore.

And this is literally what we were talking about. Authorities are still conducting rescues and we're seeing one right now live on the air. These are individuals from the sheriff's office. We can see - and they're pulling a woman to safety.

Again, Jessica, just emotional moments and just difficult moments for these individuals who are just trying to get to safety. Back to you.

DEAN: Yes and they have to make the decision to leave their homes which is a really scary decision as well even if you know that you're in danger with the water and that that could be dangerous as well. Rosa Flores for us there in Harris County, Texas. Rosa, thank you very much.

And the University of Virginia says the area around a pro-Palestinian encampment at the school is now stable after police moved in to clear what they declared an unlawful assembly. CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now.

Polo, what more have you learned about this?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Jessica, we know that today's clash at UVA, this came after pro-Palestinian protesters had been demonstrating on that campus and the protesters had been actively engaged in talks with university officials amid those calls for divestment from Israeli companies.

But once the tents came up recently that is when the university then turned to police to move in and this was the result earlier today. You see officers advancing in riot gear on a group removing umbrellas, removing tents as some onlookers chanted.

At one point you do see some sort of smoke or mist in the air. It is unclear if that was any sort of chemical agent that was deployed. Now, UVA Encampment for Gaza participating in this in this protest claims that it was tear gas. A campus police however not responding to CNN requests to verify that claim. The UVA Department of Safety and Security did declare this an unlawful assembly earlier today and then as you point out a few hours ago - a few moments ago that it was deemed as stable.

The university itself is speaking to CNN saying that participants of this encampment had been warned repeatedly about the university's tent policy and that those tents were against it. Nonetheless so they remained in place and that is essentially what caused officers to then move in at the request of the university.

So really though if you look at the broader picture here, Jessica, UVA just the latest universities where tensions between protesters and police have resulted in a confrontation.

[18:35:04]

We have not received any reports though of any injuries during this incident at the University of Virginia. Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Polo, that happening right now. All right, thank you so much for that reporting. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:39:55]

DEAN: College campuses across the country have seen growing unrest this week with protesters calling for an end to the war in Gaza and for schools to cut ties with companies linked to Israel. And the crisis is becoming a political headache for President Biden.

CNN Senior Data Reporter, Harry Enten, is joining us to run the numbers.

So what do the numbers say, Harry?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes. So this is one of those interesting things where I see something in the news and obviously I'm in New York. I actually live near Fordham University. I saw those protests. You're going - myself - okay, this has to be a massive political crisis for Joe Biden.

But take a look at the poll numbers against Donald Trump before the Israel Gaza war began and then now. And what do we see? We see there's no movement there. There's no movement. Donald Trump was slightly ahead beforehand. He's slightly ahead now.

You look at swing states like Michigan, right, where obviously there was that big effort during the Democratic primary to vote uncommitted over Joe Biden's stance on the Israel Hamas war. And what do you see there? You see basically the exact same thing. Donald Trump slightly ahead before the war started. Slightly ahead now.

So when I look at the numbers at least overall, Jessica, I just don't see that there's been a major impact on the presidential race and I don't see a major impact on Joe Biden's numbers. He was unpopular before and he's unpopular now.

DEAN: Mm-hmm. And a lot of people including Sen. Bernie Sanders have been comparing the recent protests to those during the Vietnam War. But how do voters see it?

ENTEN: Yes, they're not anywhere near on the same planet. I went back through the numbers and we can simply see it here. How many people said that this was the nation's top problem? Back in 1968 the Vietnam War made LBJ quit the presidential race. His handling of it a lot of people disagreed with it. It was the top problem, 44 percent of Americans said that the Vietnam War was the nation's top problem. That ranked numero uno.

You look now at how many people say that the Israel Hamas war is the top problem, it's 2 percent - 2 percent. You don't have to be a mathematical genius to know that 2 percent is way less than 44 percent and you don't have to be a mathematical genius to know that an issue that's ranked 17th is not going to be one that's going to have a major impact on the presidential race as we saw in the last slide.

So yes I know Bernie Sanders has said that, he's not the only one. But when you look at the numbers, Jessica, I just don't see that that comparison at least when it comes to the broader American public holds really any water.

DEAN: And what about young voters, because I do feel like we sometimes go into the subset of young voters on that issue.

ENTEN: Yes, right? I mean, look, that's what these campuses tend to be full of is young voters. Voters under the age of 35 or under the age of 30. And yes, it is true that Joe Biden is struggling with younger voters compared to where he was four years ago right. You look at those final 2020 polls, Joe Biden led among young voters by 29 points, those under the age of 35 and now he leads just by five points.

That is a massive, massive decline. The question is what is causing that and there is a way that we can get at that. Look at the polls that were taken for the 2024 race but before the Israel-Hamas war started what do we see there? We see that Joe Biden was already suffering a tremendous decline among young voters. His lead before the war started was 11 points. Now it's five points now so you do in fact see that decline continuing.

So I'm not here to tell you that it's not having any impact among younger voters but the fact is it's significantly less than I think a lot of people think it is.

DEAN: And speaking of being unpopular we do need to quickly talk about South Dakota governor, Kristi Noem, who appears to have sunk her chances of becoming Trump's VP pick after she among other things revealed in her new book that she shot one of her dogs, a puppy, because it was untrainable. I mean look at your face, but what are the numbers say?

ENTEN: What the hell is she doing? What the hell is she doing? That's - I feel like George Costanza's father in "Seinfeld," I feel like Jerry Stiller. Because, I mean, there's nothing more popular than dogs in this country.

DEAN: Yes.

ENTEN: I went back - I found the poll, favor rating of dogs, 88 percent, just what percent ...

DEAN: What is that favored? Right. Who gets 88 percent but a dog?

ENTEN: Nobody does. And there you even get a picture of me and my childhood dog Cody on the screen right there. I love dogs. He's still my Twitter avatar. There is nothing that infuriates Americans more. You see - look at his face. He's so adorable. So adorable.

I like to think I was adorable, too. Nothing more than infuriates Americans than going after dogs, 88 percent. You can't beat it. I don't know what Kristi Noem was thinking.

DEAN: I know. A boy and his dog, there you are. Harry Enten, thanks so much. Good to see you.

ENTEN: Thank you.

DEAN: We'll be right back.

[18:44:59]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:49:35]

DEAN: Donald Trump is once again refusing to unconditionally accept the results of this year's presidential election. During an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week he said, "If everything's honest, I'll gladly accept the results. If it's not, you have to fight for the right of the country."

Meanwhile Trump's allies are already modeling a potential second term in the White House after Hungary's authoritarian leader Viktor Orban. CNN's Kyung Lah is in Budapest.

[18:50:02]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Enter with me into the right-wing's utopia, where the slogans are American and unapologetic.

This is America's Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, but exported to Budapest, Hungary, a country led by authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Since 2010, Orban has crushed dissent politically and socially, consolidating power around his office, severely restricting immigration. He's taken control of the judiciary and major media and limited rights, especially for gay people.

This is the leader held up by CPAC as a conservative hero in a war against the left and praised by another charismatic leader who shared a greeting via video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm honored to address so many patriots in Hungary who are proudly fighting on the front lines of the battle to rescue Western civilization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): Familiar Trump allies joined in ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: You guys are an inspiration to the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): ... from video messages. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for standing strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): To appearing in person, saying Hungary should be a roadmap for a Trump second term.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL GOSAR (R-AZ): Hungary's immigration policy should serve as a model to the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that confirms that I am in good company here in Hungary.

REP. ANDY HARRIS (R-MD): Hungary has become one of the most successful models as a leader for conservative principles and governance in Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LAH (voice over): Not that they want outsiders to see any of this firsthand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (on camera): Everything has a mesh around it. Mesh fencing. We got an email back from CPAC when we applied for credentials and it said that we're getting denied access because CPAC is a no-woke zone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): That was a standard response sent to most independent media. We got tossed out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No photo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no photos?

LAH: Why not? Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Closed zone, closed zone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's close. Okay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Closed zone. Closed zone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAW (voice over): Back inside, Orban is clear about who he supports in the U.S. election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VIKTOR ORBAN, HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER: Make America great again. Make Europe great again. Hajra Donald Trump.

LAH (on camera): Why did the prime minister, your prime minister, invoke the name of Donald Trump and use the words make America great again?

PETER SZIJJARTO, HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Because we would like to see great America. We are good friends of America. And do we want U.S.-Hungary relationship to be improved? Yes, obviously we do. Do we have a better chance for that with President Trump in office or Democrats in office? Of course we have a better chance with President Trump in office.

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LAH (voice over): Hungary's foreign minister agreed to a short interview with CNN, telling us Orban and Trump share much of the same vision, including that governments should be run by strongmen.

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LAH (on camera): How is that a democracy?

SZIJJARTO: It's really annoying to me that there's no common understanding in the world now about what democracy means. We are a truly right-wing party, a truly right-wing political movement. The approach that the prime minister represents and the approach represented by President Trump are very similar to each other.

LAH: Hosting CPAC isn't the beginning of the relationship between Hungary and the U.S. right-wing. We reviewed disclosures with the Department of Justice and found that since 2010, when Orban came into power, his government has paid U.S. lobbyists at least $4.5 million, the goal to build ties with the American conservative movement.

GLADDEN PAPPIN, PRESIDENT, HUNGARIAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: When American conservatives look to Hungary, they see a prime minister and a government that actually delivered on the slogans that they promised.

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LAH (voice over): An open door by Hungary for American conservatives- led Gladden Pappin here. He leads a think tank attached to Orban's office, a Trump supporter who would like the U.S. to be more like Hungary.

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PAPPIN: When Trump came into office in 2017, it was a very rude awakening. He realized the importance of having a strong team of people who are aligned and willing to carry out the same mission. Prime Minister Orban has built that in Hungary. And so I think that's the mentality that Trump is bringing into this 2024 campaign.

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LAH (voice over): The relationship between the two men is close. The former president heaping praise on Orban during a recent visit to Mar- a-Lago.

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TRUMP: The prime minister of Hungary. He does a great job. He's a non- controversial figure because he said this is the way it's going to be and that's the end of it, right? He's the boss.

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LAH (voice over): Marton Gulyas is a left-leaning political commentator. He's the host of "Partizan," a popular YouTube channel in Hungary. And says critics of Orban have been taken mostly off the air.

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MARTON GULYAS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, PARTIZAN: Most of the channels are financially, economically tied to the government.

LAH (on camera): So would you say that the media landscape is then controlled by Orban?

GULYAS: Yes. A large part of the media landscape is controlled by Orban or impacted by Orban. If you want to do independent, free and trustworthy journalism, you have to go to the online sphere because that kind of a freedom doesn't exist on cable.

ZSUZSANNA SZELENYI, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, CEU DEMOCRACY INSTITUTE: This is an autocratic state by definition.

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[18:55:06]

LAH (voice over): Zsuzsanna Szelenyi was once Orban's political ally, but witnessed Orban's right-wing shift. She has a warning about what's happened to her country being glorified by Trump world.

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SZELENYI: Basically all the state institutions, including the president, everyone is Orban's nominee. So he has a very, very big institutional control. Orban is selling his model as a sample for radical rights all around in the Western world.

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LAH (voice over): At CPAC Hungary, the conservative movement claims victory. In an election year, U.S. Republicans attending are hoping to find the same success back home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHAD WOLF, FORMER ACTING U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Both your capital and your government are more conservative than mine in America, but we're looking to change that.

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LAH (on camera): This right-wing gathering here in Hungary is happening at a critical time for democracy around the world. Elections in India are happening right now. In June, European parliamentary elections will be taking place. And in November, the U.S. elections, where conservatives around the world are cheering on a Donald Trump victory.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Budapest, Hungary.

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