Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Excitement Builds as Millions in U.S. Await Total Solar Eclipse; Trump Says States Should Decide Abortion Rights, Brags About Proudly Responsible for Ending Roe V. Wade; Egyptian State Media Reports, Significant Progress in Ceasefire Talks. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired April 08, 2024 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Very cool. You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We're roughly 87 percent of totality. We are just hours away from a where were you event, the solar eclipse of 2024. Some 32 million Americans will be in the so-called path of totality this afternoon. That means from Texas to Maine, they will be plunged into darkness when the moon blots out the sun for about four minutes. But if you're not lucky enough to be in this narrow band, don't worry. 99 percent of Americans will see at least a partial eclipse.

And this reminder, of course, be sure to wear those special eclipse glasses to avoid permanently damaging your eyes. Today's celestial wonder will be a sight to savor. It will be another 20 years before the next total solar eclipse is visible in the contiguous United States.

We're covering all the angles of this rare event, including in the studio in here. I mean, I don't know if we can take this shot for just a second here, but look at the set that our wonderful tech teams have put together here in Washington. It is marvelous. But in the meantime, we've got a team out there in the field as well. Of course, he knows Rosa Flores and Stephanie Elam are in the totality zone and Meteorologist Allison Chinchar will show us where weather could compromise the view.

But let's begin this hour with CNN's Rosa Flores in Kerrville, Texas. Rosa, I'm sure they're getting excited out there. You've got your glasses. I've got mine because we are doing sort of an eclipse here in the studio as well, although if I do that, I can't read the teleprompter, so that doesn't work. Rosa, what kind of crowds are expected there? How's it looking out there?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is definitely an eclipse party right now, Jim. And one of the things that I'm trying to figure out is what type of eclipse glasses should I be wearing? I don't know exactly. There's these kinds, there's these. And this is where the public service announcement comes in because you have to wear the proper glasses if you're going to witness this eclipse. If your glasses look like this and you can put your fingers through them, these are not good glasses. You're not going to protect your eyes. These are the real ones. These are the ones that you want. And, yes, there is a third eye of wisdom here right at the center where it says times two. That's because Kerrville, Texas, will experience two eclipses in six months. There was one in October.

I want you to take a look at this map from NASA because it really shows that X marks the spot. It's two paths of totality, one from October, the one from today, and right at the smack center is Kerrville, Texas, which is why a lot of people are saying that we might be feeling things here in Kerrville, Texas, that are not felt in other places.

Now, I talked to the mayor of the city. She says there's about a population of about 25,000, but it might grow to up to 100,000 today for the viewing of this eclipse. I asked her -- I said, mayor, that's a lot of pressure. The weather might not be great. Do you have any sense of what the weather is going to be like and if all these revelers are going to be happy? Well, she says that she tapped into some supernatural powers.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: One of the concerns, of course, is the weather.

MAYOR JUDY EYCHNER, KERRVILLE, TEXAS: Weather. But I --

FLORES: Would it be clear? Will it not be clear, will it rain, will not rain?

EYCHNER: I checked my magic ball this morning and it says, no rain, and we're going to be able to see it. So --

FLORES: What else does that magic ball tell you there?

EYCHNER: I'll have to look harder.

FLORES: Okay. Does it tell you the lottery numbers, because if it does, I want those too?

EYCHNER: That's a secret. That I can't share.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: And, Jim, I borrowed her crystal ball. I'm looking through it. I do see some cloud cover right now but I think, wait, let me look, it is going to clear we're going to be able to see this eclipse and all the people here in Kerrville, Texas, are going to have a ball. Back to you.

ACOSTA: All right, Rosa. FLORES: And we have a crowd.

[10:05:00]

ACOSTA: It sounds like it. Yes, absolutely. If you could tell us our future while you're at it, that would be good. Get some tarot cards out. We'll do the whole thing.

All right, Rosa, looking great, as always. Thank you so much.

FLORES: Oh, Jim, you don't want to learn what I'm seeing.

ACOSTA: I bet I don't. I bet I don't, Rosa. You're right. All right, Rosa Flores, thank you very much.

And what better way to celebrate this afternoon's rare experience than to show you love someone to the moon and back. Hundreds of couples are expected to tie the knot in a mass wedding ceremony at a free event appropriately called a lope at the eclipse.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is in Russellville, Arkansas, for the nuptials in a hot air balloon.

Stephanie, I guess you're going to win the competition as to who's the closest to the eclipse. If you're up in that hot air balloon watching this thing, how big is this ceremony going to be today?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, I will not be up there during the eclipse because who wants a big balloon in their way? But you know what, right now, let's go ahead. Let's go ahead and raise up. So, you can see what we will be doing here for a good part of the day, Jim.

We are in Russellville, Arkansas, and we are in a soccer field where some 358 couples are planning to get married here during this elopement. Oh, there we go. We're rising up now. You see us. We're going up there, other balloons.

Look at this great day. We thought we were going to get some rain, but now we've got pretty blue skies, maybe a little high white clouds, but hey, we will still see something here. It's going to be a beautiful day.

And then let me just tell you how things are going to go. So, there is going to be the elopement, and then everyone is going to stop, and we're all going to watch the sky. And then after that, the Liverpool Legends, which you might guess is a Beatles cover band, they are going to play, Here Comes the Sun, appropriately, and the couples will have their first dance. That's how it's going to go. It's going to be a mass wedding. There's already wedding dresses out here.

And for some people, maybe, I don't know, the balloons is a morning thing, so some couples have been out here taking a ride.

I want to introduce you to Joel. Joel here is a pilot. How long have you been flying, Joel? JOEL STURDEVANT, HOT AIR BALLOON PILOT: I've been flying for 43 years now for RE/MAX.

ELAM: So, I'm safe right now?

STURDEVANT: Oh, yes, yes. We'll take good care of you.

ELAM: And so, tell me, when you heard about this event and coming here, what drew you to be here?

STURDEVANT: Oh, just the eclipse. You've got to see the eclipse. You've never been into an eclipse, you've got to you got to go see one. We drove all the way down from Kansas City for this.

ELAM: Kansas City. I'm from San Francisco Bay Area, but we're going to let got right now.

But you have named something, this phenomenon that's behind us. I see Raffy (ph) are photojournalists, you can show it. There's a big balloon shadow back here behind us. What's that called?

STURDEVANT: I call this the ballooner eclipse and I think it's pretty fitting.

So, that person right there is in total totality of the ballooner eclipse that we've got going on here where the sun is being blocked by the balloon and so we call that a ballooner eclipse instead of a --

ELAM: So, you know, we're having fun here, Jim, with what we're going through.

But let me just tell you how many people are here? This is a town of about 30,000. There are about 100,000 people that are here to take part in the festivities. And it looks like the clouds are agreeing with us. We're going to have a great show here today of the eclipse. Everyone is very excited, Jim.

ACOSTA: I'm excited for you, Stephanie. I've got correspondent envy (ph), a little FOMO happening here, but I'm so glad the weather has cleared up where you are. A lot of Americans are going to be wondering that very same thing at this moment.

All right, the news is capable of being fun. Stephanie Elam, I'll just prove it for you, Stephanie, thank you so much.

Let's go to the CNN Weather Center and CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar. Allison, I mean, that is -- I mean, the other big question is where you're at and how much of the eclipse you're going to see, but the other big question that's looming over everything today is the weather. Which areas are going to have the best views of this path or from the path of totality?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's right. I mean, will Mother Nature cooperate is really the ultimate question for so many folks. And the answer is, yes, there are going to be plenty of spots along the path that are really going to be fantastic. Take for example, areas of southeastern Missouri, Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, all looking at plenty of sunshine there. Another good spot is going to be way up into the northeast, basically from Burlington, Vermont, all the way up to Caribou, Maine, plenty of sunshine there as well.

Yes, there are going to be a couple of rough spots here and there basically from Niagara Falls up through Rochester, New York. We are going to be looking at some pretty significant cloud cover there. And we also have the potential for those thunderstorms across areas of Texas.

Now, the good news here is that the bulk of the strong to severe thunderstorms should be after the eclipse event is over. However, we know a lot of those clouds begin to increase out ahead of the storm, so that becomes the big question, how much of that increase in cloud cover do we get, and does it time up with the actual eclipse.

Now, one other thing to note is after the eclipse is over, a lot of those showers and thunderstorms are really going to fire up. So, for a lot of the folks that are leaving, maybe heading back to where they came from, they may be encountering some of these storms, especially large hail, damaging winds and the potential for some tornadoes, especially as we go into the evening hours.

[10:10:03]

But all is not lost some very good locations to see it, including Indianapolis, where the clouds are decreasing throughout the day.

ACOSTA: Fantastic. All right, Allison, and I see that eclipse themed outfit that you have on there. We're all getting in the spirit, just like the guys and the crew here in D.C. with this amazing studio that we have set up here. It's getting me in the spirit as well. Thanks, Allison, I really appreciate it.

We're following the eclipse all morning long. We'll have live special coverage starting at 1:00 P.M. Eastern right here on CNN and streaming on MAX. And we'll have more news after a short break.

Take a look at the eclipse theme we have going on here in the studio. It's going to be amazing keep watching.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

ACOSTA: New this morning, former President Donald Trump says he is clarifying his position on a central issue in the 2024 race, saying abortion rights should be left to the states. In a video posted on Truth Social, Trump bragged about his role in overturning Roe versus Wade while also spreading lies and dangerous conspiracies about Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was proudly the person responsible for the ending of something that all legal scholars both sides wanted and, in fact, demanded be ended, Roe v. Wade. They wanted it ended. It must be remembered that the Democrats are the radical ones on this position because they support abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month, the concept of having an abortion in the later months and even execution after birth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. A fact check, Democrats do not believe in execution after birth and the claim that both sides demanded the end of Roe versus Wade is completely false. In fact, new polling indicates the vast majority of Americans, including nearly half of Republicans, support a federally guaranteed right to abortion.

Let's discuss with CNN Political Commentator, Democratic Strategist Maria Cardona and CNN Political Commentator and Republican Strategist Alice Stewart. Alice and Maria are the hosts of the podcast, Hot Mics from Left to Right.

Alice, your reaction to what Trump had to say this morning.

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think from a political standpoint, moving into the general election, this was the smart move to make, because as those numbers indicate, most -- a majority of Americans support a right to abortion access. And he understands that people that fought to overturn Roe v. Wade and people that are pro-life fought to take this issue out of the hands of unelected justices and put it in the hands of the states, which is exactly what happened with the Dobbs case.

And what President Trump said in that comment was, now, it's in the issue hands of the states and the states' rules are the law of the land. Each state will be different.

But here's the pushback. He's getting a lot of pushback from the pro- life community. The Susan B. Anthony Association, who is strong pro- life, they say ceding this issue back to the states basically turns this back to the hands of Democrats. Concerned Women for America, who is another pro-life organization, say they favor limits on abortion and want the conversation to be held on limits.

The campaign has already reached out to many of these pro-life groups trying to gauge the feel and the pushback on this.

ACOSTA: They might not be so happy on that side of the equation.

STEWART: Exactly.

ACOSTA: And, Maria, I mean this allows Florida six-week abortion ban essentially to stand. So, does that put states like Florida in play? I mean, this is what Democrats kind of want, isn't it, in a way?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, yes, because the issue will continue to be that this is something that should just be in the hands of women. It should not be in the hands of anyone who's elected. It should not be in the hands of justices, though what happened with Roe v. Wade was an earthquake and nothing will eclipse the fact that Donald Trump, Donald Trump is the one who appointed the three judges, conservative judges, who overturned it, lying during their confirmation hearings because this was settled law of the land.

And that's why you have seen since then, Jim, electorally, this has been kryptonite for Republicans. That's why we did so well. Democrats did well in the midterm elections. That's why we have been overperforming in special election after special election. And that's what is going to continue to be in the general.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, Alice, it wasn't a good idea, politically speaking, for Donald Trump to say he was glad that he overturned Roe versus Wade. He continues to say that. I mean, that that has not worked in Kansas, not worked in Ohio, where voters have gone to the polls and voted to protect abortion rights.

STEWART: Well, again, the issue putting it back in the hands of the states was a huge victory for life and those that protect the sanctity of life. But when you look at this issue from a federal ban, look, Donald Trump can say or not say that he supports a federal ban. And Maria and your Democratic friends are going to say, regardless, Donald Trump is going to try and get a federal ban.

Politically speaking, no side is going to have the 60 votes necessary to reimpose a federal ban on this. So, using that argument is ridiculous. And I think the issue right now is where it should be, in the hands of the states. And if people in that state, as we've seen already, decided we want to have reproductive rights and pro-abortion issues on the state ballot, then it will be in their favor.

But the pro-life community is extremely frustrated that Donald Trump said one thing as they helped him get elected. And now that he is in a tough general election, they feel as though he's turning his back on the pro-life movement.

CARDONA: Here's what Republicans don't understand. There are 20 states now that have almost complete abortion bans. Almost one in three women --

ACOSTA: You've got south of Virginia.

CARDONA: Exactly. Almost one in three women of reproductive age live in those states. Those women's lives are in danger. We have already seen the nightmare scenarios of women having to leave their states to get the reproductive that they want.

[10:20:00]

We've seen nightmare scenarios where 12-year-old girls who have been raped are being forced to carry that that pregnancy to term.

This is what Republicans have caused and this is where women all across the country, including Republican women, are saying absolutely not. We do not want to live in a country where our daughters will have less rights than we did. This should be something that only women, their families, their doctors should be the ones to be able to decide this.

STEWART: And I think the important thing that pro-life community is looking at changing the conversation from abortion outright bans to limits and where we can agree on this with also the exception of rape, incest and life of the mother, which is an important component of this.

CARDONA: That will never be enough until this decision is in the hands of women only.

ACOSTA: We're going to keep this conversation going. Ladies, thank you. Enjoy the eclipse. I really appreciate it.

CARDONA: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. In the meantime, six months into Israel's war against Hamas, the two sides may be inching closer to a ceasefire deal. Egyptian state media is reporting, quote, significant progress as negotiations continue today in Cairo. And in Gaza, the IDF says it has withdrawn forces from the southern city of Khan Younis, but says they are still far from halting ground operations in Gaza.

CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson joins me now from Jerusalem. Nic, where do things stand right now?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it's a big withdrawal by the IDF from Khan Younis. They say that this is now markedly or marks the end of the phase of ground operations inside of Gaza by adding in their current form and implying that these troops could be redeployed to Rafah. That's the town on the border with Egypt. 1.5 million Palestinians estimated there, something the White House doesn't want to happen.

So, the move by the IDF does that in the context of these talks in Cairo changed the equation significantly. It certainly seems to change the dynamic of the battlefield in Southern Gaza. At the moment, a lot of IDF forces still left in the north of the Gaza Strip. What we're hearing from the Qataris, the spokesman for the foreign minister, has just said in the last few minutes that he is optimistic about the new proposals that have been put on the table. But it says waiting for -- to hear back from both sides about it.

Look, we know these talks have at times seen close. The gaps have not been bridged. But each time it gets like that, we hear from usually both sides saying this cannot be done, negative comments, if you will. Right now, we're not getting those negative comments. So, the door is still open. That's where we stand.

ACOSTA: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you very much.

Let's discuss more now with Democratic Congressman Mark Pocan of Wisconsin. He's the chair emeritus of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Congressman, thanks very much for being here. What's your sense of it? Do you think they're going to come to an agreement on some kind of a ceasefire that involves a hostage release? What do you think?

REP. MARK POCAN (D-WI): Thanks for having me, Jim. I hope so. We want peace in this region. I think everyone looks at what happened, the horrific attack on October 7th, understands Israel's right to be able to respond to Hamas. But then from what I hear, as I've been around my district the last two weeks, people think this is way more than a response to Hamas, and it appears to be a collective punishment of all Palestinians in Gaza, 2 million people displaced, 33,000 dead, 70 percent being women and children.

We need to stop the bombing now. We need to get aid and food and water to people now who are starving, and we need to get this resolved. I think the United States' position has always been a two-state solution, recognizing states of Israel and Palestine. I think that's where we need to focus our efforts.

ACOSTA: And, Congressman, you and other progressives recently penned a letter to President Biden calling on him to stop transferring weapons to Israel after that strike in Gaza that killed those seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen. The president has warned the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that there could be changes in U.S. support, changes in U.S. policy if he doesn't change course. He has not gotten to a point where he is demanding that Netanyahu bring about an immediate ceasefire today, right now. Are you satisfied by his response to the attack? Do you think he needs to go further?

POCAN: Well, at minimum, I think any new assistance to Israel has to have conditions. We can't allow it to continue to bomb people who don't even have food and water. We need to be able to protect aid workers. We're providing aid ourselves, the United States, but we have to do it by air and by water rather than through our friend's checkpoints, Israel. That's not acceptable. We need to get aid to people. We need to make sure it's delivered safely.

Over 208 workers have been killed, not just the most recent seven that's gotten a lot of attention.

[10:25:01]

A whole lot more has to be done. They should not be invading Rafah and certainly not doing it with the weaponry that the United States is providing. So, we're hoping to talk to the administration about conditions on that funding for offensive weapons. And that's what the letter was about from the members of Congress.

ACOSTA: And I know some of your colleagues up on the hill are worried that the president's stance on Israel could complicate efforts to pass a bill that would include aid for not just Israel, but also Ukraine and Taiwan. How do you unpack that?

POCAN: Yes. I mean, I think if you put the -- alone on the floor the funding for Ukraine, you'd have three quarters of Congress voting for it. Half the Republicans and virtually every Democrat, including myself, would vote for assistance for Ukraine. The problem is right now it's tied in through what the Senate had in a package with aid to Israel that does not have conditions as well as humanitarian aid.

Right now, Mike Johnson, the speaker, won't put it on the floor. We've got to figure out how we get that to the floor. But there is wide support to support Ukraine. I think the question really that is out there is we can't continue to support Benjamin Netanyahu, who does not have the best interest of the United States. He doesn't support a two state solution. That's a big deal. And we have to make sure that we're protecting as many innocents as Benjamin Netanyahu is conducting his war in Gaza.

ACOSTA: And, Congressman, I mean, I'm sure you saw the news this morning, former President Trump announcing his abortion policies, saying it should be left up to the states, saying he was proud of overturning Roe versus Wade. Do you trust Trump when he says he would leave abortion up to the states? And what did you make of his announcement this morning?

POCAN: Yes, you could have put the period after, do you trust Trump? The answer would be no. Unfortunately, I've served with him when he was president on this issue. He's particularly wrong. When over -- when he helped to overturn Roe versus Wade with his appointments on the Supreme Court, that made states like Wisconsin --we now are under 1849 law.

We used to tax horses and buggies. I think it was 10 cents for one horse, 15 cents if you had two in 1849. And that's the exact same law people in Wisconsin have to live under for abortion. That's why we had Roe versus Wade to protect women no matter where you lived in this country, and he is completely out of sync with the American people on this issue.

ACOSTA: And I'm sure you know this, Congressman, President Biden is set to travel to your state of Wisconsin today. And this comes after a new round of polling by the Wall Street Journal revealed he's tied at 46 percent with Trump among registered voters.

Obviously, we've seen these polls move all over the place. But, I mean, it's sort of deadlocked all over the country. If you look at our poll of polls in Wisconsin kind of mirrors that. Does that concern you? How close is Wisconsin going to be, do you think, at the end of the day?

POCAN: Yes. Look, we're a purple state. I think Joe Biden wanted by under 21,000 votes last time. We have a tendency to have those really close statewide elections, sometimes under 1 percent difference. And it means a number of things. One, showing up. Joe Biden, this is his ninth or tenth trip. In fact, he's been here so often. I'm going to ask the governor if he's eligible for residency requirements to pay state income taxes. He's showing up. That's good.

But it's also people want to know what's happening, and he has done so much to deliver for the American people investing in infrastructure, rebuilding things in this country, creating good paying jobs, doing that also reducing cost for Americans and health care and energy through the inflation Reduction Act. And today he's announcing saving millions more people money on their student debt.

I think that's the sort of stuff people want from our president. So, he's actually showing he's taking that age and experience he brings to actually deliver things and get things done. And I think at the end of the day, people in Wisconsin, that's what they're going to look at. You look at, you know, what affects your family the most directly. Clearly, Joe Biden has been very good for families in Wisconsin. I think that's going to pay off.

ACOSTA: Just very quickly, though. Finally, though, if I mean, it was so close the last time around in Wisconsin, if you have an RFK Jr. there on the ballot, if you have Cornell West, Jill Stein, could that really cause havoc for the president? And if it's just down to a few thousand votes and you have a third party or multiple third party candidates in there, that that might be the difference.

POCAN: look, if the election was decided just on the merits, what I just explained, what the president is doing for people, he should win, no problem. But, you know, there's other complicating issues and third party candidates certainly complicate things. I think the current situation in Gaza is I've gotten around my district is complicating things.

So, we're going to do everything we can to make sure people understand that, you know, Joe Biden is fighting and working hard for Wisconsin families. And I think that message at the end of the day will be what delivers votes for Joe Biden. But, you know, third party candidates certainly are never going to be elected president and I hope people understand that when they go to vote.

ACOSTA: All right. Congressman Pocan, thank you very much. I appreciate your time.

[10:30:00]

POCAN: Sure, thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. In the meantime, we are just hours away from a historic total solar eclipse. Coming up next, you will hear from NASA's deputy administrator about what their scientists will be looking for.