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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Ukraine Official To CNN: Biden "Must Do More" To Stop Putin; Biden Clarifies: "Heavy Price: If Any Russian Units Cross Into Ukraine. State Dept. Approves Transfer Of U.S. Weapons From Allies To Ukraine; Sen. Joni Ernst, (R-IA), Is Interviewed About Ukraine; Jan. 6 Committee Request Testimony From Ivanka Trump; Jan. 6 CMTE. Reveals Fox Host Hannity Texted WH Press Secy. On Day After Insurrection: "No More Stolen Election Talk;" White House & GOP Leadership Back Bipartisan Efforts To Change The 1887 Electoral Count Act; Manchin Sets High Bar For Passing "Chunks" Of Biden's Agenda; Says They Will "Start From Scratch"; Beijing Olympics Organizers Attempt To Limit COVID Spread; Rare & Massive Coral Reef Discovered Deep In Ocean's "Twilight Zone"; Bob Saget's Widow Shares Her Final Communication With Him. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired January 20, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Kylie Atwood reports for us now. Those comments follow a rather scathing rebuke from Biden's ally, the Ukrainian president.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Any, any assembled Russian units move across Ukrainian border, that is an invasion.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden cleaning up his comments from Wednesday suggesting there may not be hard hitting consequences for Russia if they undertake in a minor incursion into Ukraine instead of a full blown invasion.

BIDEN: We met a severe and coordinated economic response that I've discussed in detail with our allies, as well as laid out very clearly for President Putin.

ATWOOD (voice-over): Coming after he said this just a day before.

BIDEN: It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera.

ATWOOD (voice-over): The initial comments left Ukrainian officials stunned, believing Biden gave President Putin the green light to enter Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky saying, quote, "There are no minor incursions and small nations, just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones."

Top Biden administration officials have been scrambling to clean up the comments. ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border and commit new acts of aggression against Ukraine, that will be met with a swift, severe united response from the United States and our allies and partners.

ATWOOD (voice-over): Secretary of State Tony Blinken wasn't alone. America's European allies also tried to present a united front to intimidate Russia.

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: NATO allies are ready to respond.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH MINISTER: Be in no doubt that if Russia were to make any kind of incursion into Ukraine, of any -- on any scale, whatever, I think that that would be a disaster.

ANNALENA BAERBOCK, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Any further aggressive attitude on the part of Russia would have grave consequences.

ATWOOD (voice-over): All this as Russia bolsters its arsenal for a possible invasion, bringing combat helicopters closer to Ukraine this week and using their intelligence services to recruit Ukrainian traders to prepare a takeover of Ukraine's government. The U.S. now sanctioning current and former Ukrainian officials, the Treasury says are quote, "engaged in Russian government directed influence activities to destabilize Ukraine." But the Kremlin saying another call between Presidents Biden and Putin would, quote, "be welcomed."

Meanwhile, President Biden saying he expects Russia to invade.

BIDEN: I guess is he will move in.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ATWOOD: Now, Jake, sources are telling CNN that this week the Biden ministration moved to give approval to three Baltic States to provide U.S. made weaponry to Ukraine. That is one move to ensure that if Russia does invade Ukraine it is a bloody incursion for Russia. Now all of this, the conversations about President Biden's remarks yesterday, the actions that the Biden administration is taking this week ahead of a very important meeting tomorrow. Secretary of State Tony Blinken will be meeting with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Lavrov. Jake

TAPPER: Kylie Atwood, thanks so much.

Joining us now live to discuss, CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance. He's live for us in Kiev, Ukraine.

And Matthew, you have some brand new reporting that Ukrainian official appear to be growing frustrated with the Biden administration and they want more from President Biden than they're getting.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. There have always, Jake, been the simmering tensions and frustrations behind the scenes in that relationship. But I think over the course of the past 48 hours or so, those frustrations have really started to boil over.

I had a briefing with a senior Ukrainian official this evening and he called for the United States to really ramp up its efforts now to deter a Russian invasion. He was speaking to me by telephone, of course, but he is basically expressing frustration that these U.S. threats to impose crushing sanctions on Russia, if it invades, are not having the deterrent effect that the United States and the Ukrainians want them to have. He wants immediate sanctions.

This has been reflected across the Ukrainian government, immediate sanctions to be imposed on Russia, for instance, blocking the opening of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany in order to punish Russia for its aggressive behavior. That's the words of the official I spoke to. He said this, if Biden wants to stop the Russian invasion, he must do more.

He also spoke about military aid. We heard a bit of detail there in Kylie's report, about the kind of weaponry that's being given here. But there's a lot of frustration here in Ukraine being expressed by officials that the pace of military aid from the United States and the NATO allies to Ukraine is much too slow, even though it's been ramped up significantly in recent months.

[17:05:13]

We want patriots, the official said, referring to anti-missile batteries that they are demanding or requiring or requesting from the United States to deliver. With patriots, we might be able to hold off a Russian attack, the official told me, but without them, we do not stand a chance.

And so, you know, just some of the frustrations being expressed. Of course, in the light of this very rare public spat, I suppose, public rebuke, if you like, by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky to his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, following those comments about the consequences of a minor incursion into his country by Russia, Jake.

TAPPER: The NATO Secretary General told CNN today that NATO allies are united. That was an apparent response to President Biden suggesting that allies will be split over how to handle Russia, especially if it's a smaller incursion, in his words. How important is it for NATO countries to be on the same page about the threat that Russia poses to Ukraine and to the general region?

CHANCE: Well, I think, you know, from the point of view, if I can just put on my Moscow hat for a minute, and from the point of view of Russia, and, you know, Russia for many, many years, one of its foreign policy objective has been to try and split the NATO alliance, try and split the United States from Europe, try and split European countries from each other, because weakened Western institutions, sorry, divided Western institutions are weakened, and that plays into the hands of the Kremlin.

So, look, this is music to Vladimir Putin's ears, that there is division over what kind of sanctions may be imposed on Russia if it were to invade in a certain way. And I think if anything, it raises the chances that Putin may take that big invasion gamble.

TAPPER: All right. Matthew Chance, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss, Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa. She's a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Also a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard.

Senator, thanks for joining us.

So today, President Biden tried to clarify that any Russian forces crossing the border into Ukraine would qualify as an invasion and would merit a, quote, "heavy price." Was that clarification, in your view, enough to fix any possible damage done?

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): Well, unfortunately, it is regrettable what he spoke to yesterday about a minor incursion. But I am glad that the White House has corrected that and that there will be swift action should Russia invade into Ukraine. I think we must make this very, very clear that Russia going across sovereign territory lines -- country's lines is absolutely unacceptable.

TAPPER: The Biden administration today also confirmed that it approved the transfer of American weapons from allies in the region to Ukraine. What more do you want the Biden administration to do to discourage Russia from attacking?

ERNST: Well, again, I do think that this is an appropriate move by the Biden administration. It is a little later than I would have hoped, but at least he is doing that. So, I do believe that we need to be outfitting the Ukrainian military with not only defensive capabilities, but also offensive weapons to defend against a possible Russian invasion.

We also need very strict, very stiff financial sanctions and penalties against Russia. And we need to do that now. We don't need to wait until they have invaded another country to put those protections in place.

But then also one thing that we need to think about and what President Biden hasn't made clear, is what are we going to do with the 10 to 15,000 Americans that reside within the Ukraine. We need to make sure that we are communicating with those individuals and their families so that if something does happen, we can get them out of the country safely.

TAPPER: Do you think they should be evacuated now?

ERNST: Well, I do think that those discussions need to happen. If they are closer to the border, I think they need to be made aware of the tensions that exist.

The unfortunate thing is the State Department has not updated the travel advisory for Ukraine in over a month. So, we need to make it very clear to Americans that there are tensions in the area, things are escalating. And if they wish to be safe and their family safe, they need to think about how they get out of Ukraine safely. And, again, we need to have those discussions, and the Biden administration has not been engaged in those talks.

TAPPER: Your call for the sanctions, this strict sanctions to be imposed on Russia now. It's not the first time a Republican is coming on the show and said that the counter argument is that Putin needs to be given an off ramp out of this conflict, and that if those sanctions are imposed now before he invades, that would be needlessly provocative, that would that would push him to invade. What do you make of that argument?

[17:10:22]

ERNST: Well, Jake, that argument, I would say that by the time Russia invades, it is going to be shock and awe, and many, many lives will be lost. And I would hate to then impose sanctions after we've seen many Ukrainians, possibly Americans lose their lives in an invasion.

I think the best way to handle this is to go ahead and proactively put those sanctions on Russia. He has had months now to back off of the Ukrainian border, he has not done that under threat of sanctions. So, let's be proactive and let's make sure we're pushing back against Ukraine because -- or against Russia, because again, once he's gone into Ukraine, lives will have been lost, and I hate to be on that side of history.

TAPPER: So, in his press conference yesterday, President Biden had some strict, rather harsh criticism for Republicans. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I did not anticipate that there'd be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that President Biden didn't get anything done. Think about this, what are Republicans for? What are they for? Name me one thing they're for?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he does not feel that Republicans need to present an agenda to the country. And generally speaking, I understand the politics, midterms tend to be referenda on the people who are running the country. But what are three things that Republicans will do if you recapture the Senate in the midterms?

ERNST: Well, I think that Republicans stand for a strong, free and prosperous nation. And so, one, we need to tackle the issue of inflation. Biden is facing a 40-year high with the inflation rate, and Iowans and all Americans are feeling those pressures. So, alleviating those pressures on our families would be job, number one.

COVID as well. We need to make sure that American families have access to testing. But certainly we want to make sure that they are getting their children back into school and that their workplaces are safe and they can return to work. And then as well, we need to focus on additional things like, you know, foreign relations with our allies, because obviously with national security we are under a lot of pressure right now. So, Republicans believe in peace through strength.

I certainly believe that bolstering our military, but also making sure that we're using all of the other tools in our toolboxes to repair fractured relationships with other nations, engaging in trade, all of those things. That's what Republicans stand for. That's what I stand for.

There's a lot of work that we can do. And certainly we can do much better than many of Biden's first year failures.

TAPPER: All right. Republican Senator Joni Ernst of the great state of Iowa, thank you so much.

ERNST: Yes. Thank you, Jake, very much.

TAPPER: Coming up, will Ivanka Trump keep it all in the family? The January 6 committee since Donald Trump's daughter letter asking her to voluntarily talk to them. That story is next.

And the stunning discovery at the bottom of the ocean that could impact how scientists examine climate change. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:17:58]

TAPPER: And we're back with our politics lead now, the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol today officially asked for testimony from Ivanka Trump. The former first daughter's team confirming that they saw the request this afternoon but not saying if Ivanka Trump plans to cooperate with the bipartisan committee.

Here to discuss, former Federal Prosecutor Shan Wu and former adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, Olivia Troye.

Olivia, let me start with you. Do you think Ivanka Trump will voluntarily cooperate with the committee? She did try to get her father to call off the mob that day. She clearly cares about her reputation. What do you think?

OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER ADVISER TO VP MIKE PENCE: Look, I think she knows completely 100 percent the truth of what happened. But I do think that at the end of the day it's going to come down to protecting the Trump family name. and I don't think that she'll cooperate. Well, only I think she'll wait for a subpoena, maybe for some top cover, but I don't even know that she'll come forward even after receiving one.

TAPPER: Shan, Ivanka is the first Trump child to be asked to testify in front of the committee that we know of. What does that tell you about where the investigation is right now? I would imagine the children would be among the last people they go to, but maybe I'm wrong.

SHAN WU, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Oh, no, I think you're right, Jake. When you are approaching the kind of center piece of an investigation, you ideally would like to know everything else first. So by starting more at the outer reaches of it, they can come to these important witnesses knowing what those witnesses should know and it's easier to confront them. And ideally, leverage them ahead of time into trying not to deceive or to hold anything back.

TAPPER: Olivia, in that letter sent to Ivanka Trump, the committee released a very interesting text message exchange between Trump loyalist, Sean Hannity, and then White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany. It suggested Hannity texted Kayleigh McEnany on January 7th, the day after the insurrection, laying out a five point approach for talking to then outgoing President Trump. He started with one, "No more stolen election talk," two, "Yes, impeachment and 25th amendment are real and many people will quit," to which Kayleigh McEnany responded, "Love that. Thank you. That is the playbook. I will help reinforce."

[17:20:24]

Hannity, according to these messages also told McEnany the White House staff should try to keep Trump away from certain people. He texted her quote, "Key now. No more crazy people." To which McEnany responded, "Yes, 100 percent."

We should know that Sean Hannity show was a major place where these election lies were told, in fact, they're being sued as a result. And Kayleigh McEnany is one of the biggest election liars that we know. So what's your reaction when you see this conversation, this private conversation?

TROYE: Well, it's stunning, right? It's stunning to see this full on evidence of these types of conversations that were happening in THE LEAD up to January 6. But even more so just the fact that they knew the gravity of the situation, they knew the repercussions of the possibility of what would happen and continuing down this narrative. And then even more egregious is that now they've doubled down on it, right?

And the problem is, not only do -- does this narrative still exist out there, the big lie lives on. It's being used by people who are seeking public office this year. I mean, it's become sort of the Republican Party's platform, it's really, really the big lie and you have to support it or you're going to get kicked out.

And I think that, you know, I think it's important to get this evidence out there to the American people so that they can see that in the lead up in that situation with Donald Trump people knew, people knew that this type of action was worthy of impeachment, it was worthy of the 25th Amendment, that these are actual discussions happening with people like Sean Hannity.

TAPPER: Yes. And Shan, does -- let me play a little clip of Kayleigh McEnany on Fox during that era just to give you an idea of how much baseless nonsense she just -- she put out in the public sphere, paid for by your tax dollars, by the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: For President Trump to be ahead as far as he was at 3:00 a.m. in these four states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and for the vote to swing by as much as it did, the probability of that in one state is one in one quadrillion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I mean, complete nonsense that analysis is based on the idea. It doesn't even take into account that Democrats overwhelmingly voted by mail and Republicans overwhelmingly voted that day. I mean, it's just sheer utter crap. Does the fact that privately, she seemed to be acknowledging that this stolen election stuff was not true, Shan, and the fact that she was acknowledging, seem to be acknowledging to Sean Hannity, that there were crazy people in Trump's fear that we're pushing this, does that make her legally liable in any way?

WU: I think it can, Jake. I mean, if anyone is going to be held legally liable at a criminal level, then those who had an awareness that they were pushing falsehoods and took active steps to make those falsehoods come true, such as the elections banned should be overturned, they certainly could face criminal liability.

I think the question here is, obviously we're on kind of untested turf. And one issue is, in the past when people contest elections, it's usually through courts, they're asking for recounts, et cetera. Here, there's a very obvious common sense line that's been crossed, which is people know that they're lying about it and yet you're trying to use government to make that lie have an effect. That's really kind of new ground.

And although it certainly feels criminal, I think the evidence may likely be there. It's a tough call for the prosecutors because it's not the typical kind of corruption they see. But at least to me, it sure is corruption.

TAPPER: Yes. And Olivia, the Fulton County, Georgia district attorney is investigating former President Trump's attempts to overturn the election results and they've requested a special grand jury. Olivia, do you think that there will ever be in any real sense any accountability for Donald Trump for what he did when it came to trying to undermine the election and democracy?

TROYE: I mean, we can only hope. We can only hope that this continues to work through the court system, that he gets held accountable personally. I mean, he -- the dereliction of duty displayed on January 6, and not only I would say probably in many instances while he was in office and various scenarios was grave.

And look, this is -- this -- what this has -- what has happened here has led to additional consequences here, right? This narrative continues to undermine our democracy on a daily basis.

[17:25:00]

TAPPER: All right. Olivia, Shan, thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it.

After President Biden opened the door to a smaller Build Back Better bill, Senator Joe Manchin today did not commit. How do progressives feel about it? We'll talk to the chair of the House Progressive Caucus, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: There's no question, last night was a disappointment. I split (ph) with the President said, he's disappointed but not deterred. So, the fight goes on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Fight goes on in the politics lead. That was Speaker Nancy Pelosi today reacting to Senate Democrats failing to change Senate rules to get two bills on election reform past. All Republicans voted against both bills. So what is next for Democrats? CNN's Manu is live on Capitol Hill.

Manu, there still might be another chance at election reform, right, in this version involves of all things Democrats and Republicans.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's overhauling the 1887 Electoral Count Act. Now that is much different than what Democrats had been pushing. They've been pushing FRC ease access to ballots that could affect the elections, in this election, potentially 2024 elections, affect how house lines are redrawn. Also dealing with campaign finance disclosures.

Those issues are now set aside after Democrats failed to get any Republican support to overcome a filibuster. They couldn't convince two of their members to change the Senate filibuster rules. So as a result, that's an aside.

Now, the focus is on how to deal with the process for counting electoral votes that have been certified by the states when Congress meets after a presidential election in a joint session to essentially do count those votes. We saw Donald Trump tried to get Mike Pence as the Vice President to discard those electoral votes. We saw Republicans object and tried to overturn some of those states.

Now the Democrats and Republicans are talking about tightening up those standards, making it much harder to do just what Donald Trump had wanted to do. There is support for it, Jake, but there's still going to be some time to get consensus on this. And negotiation are expected to take a matter of weeks before they get to any sort of proposal.

TAPPER: And Manu, President Biden yesterday said, it quite willing to scale back his Build Back Better Act in order to get it through the Senate. You caught up with West Virginia, Conservative Democratic or Moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin today. Is he on board with a build back smaller?

RAJU: Well, he said a very high bar to getting even chunks of this plan through it. Joe Biden said he's open to getting chunks through -- Joe Manchin simply said that he has not had any discussions recently with the White House. He said his last offer, Manchin's last offer that he put on the table in December simply is not there. That point he was talking about $1.75 trillion.

But right now he said, quote, we're starting from scratch. He said there'll be a, quote, clean sheet of paper to move ahead. And I asked him where he needs to be on this. He said, first, you need to deal with inflation, then you need to deal with COVID. And then we need to get our fiscal house in order before we move ahead.

So Jake, getting to a deal with Joe Manchin is going to be incredibly difficult as we get closer and closer to the election as well.

TAPPER: All right, Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thanks so much.

Let's bring in Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. She is chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us. Let's start where Manu just ended. Senator Manchin, one of the Democratic Moderates in the Senate who held up the change of the filibuster, that would have gotten the election reform bills passed.

He's unwilling to say if he would support a scaled down version of Biden's Build Back Better plan without the Child Tax Credit. Manchin said from the beginning, possible annual extensions to that Child Tax Credit would hike up the bill's price tag. Would you support a bill that doesn't contain it but does have other provisions in that bill, universal childcare, the climate change provisions, a plan to lower prescription drug prices?

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA), CHAIR, CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS: Well, Jake, it's good to see you. Thanks for having me on. You know, the Congressional Progressive Caucus endorsed the framework that Senator Manchin had agreed to back in October, end of October, that the President unveiled. And as you may know, that framework only had one year of the Child Tax Credit, because Senator Manchin has been clear from the beginning that he didn't support the Child Tax Credit, unfortunately.

And so we still believe that a deal that is very close to that framework is exactly possible. He has been, to his credit, consistent about what he is willing to support going back to several months ago when I first met with him. And he was pretty much in the same place as he has been all along.

He supports universal pre-K. He supports childcare, where no family pays more than 7 percent. He has supported the housing provisions. He has supported elder care. He has supported the subsidies for health care so that we can continue to make sure Americans get affordable health care, especially in this crisis. And he supported the climate provisions as changed in that framework, not the original thing.

But -- so this is, in many ways, this was Senator Manchin's bill. And I think we should go back to that framework and recognize that for all of the pushing that we have done to try to get him on some other things that we put into the House bill. The reality is that framework is what Senator Manchin wanted. And I believe that we can still get that done.

And yes, we would -- we endorsed it. We would vote for that framework as it is.

TAPPER: I guess what I'm asking, though, is that he's obviously not committed to that framework anymore. And would you accept a bill that is, I don't know what the percentage is, but let's say 80 percent of what you won. Biden also said his plan for free community college might also need to be taken out of his Build Back Better plan. He's literally married to a community college professor, that's something that's near and dear to his heart.

[17:35:07]

Would you be able to deal with a bill -- I mean, is there room here to talk about something other than what the deal that you cut that obviously I know many Progressives feel that they were betrayed. But wouldn't something be better than nothing?

JAYAPAL: Yes, I mean, look, we're continuing all of those discussions. But again, I would just say on the community college piece, remember that was not in the framework because, again, that was something that Senator Manchin didn't support. We all wanted it to be in the framework.

There was some things -- I think this is the thing that may be confusing. There were some things we put into the House bill that we passed off the floor, that were not the same as what was in the framework. And so we are going to get as much as we can get done, done. We are not going to draw red lines in the sand, we are going to fight to keep it as close to that framework as possible, because I think that that is what he has been very consistent about.

And the President is right. You know, I remember him saying to us, I'm going to have to go home and tell Jill I couldn't get Community College done. We will fight that on a different day. But absolutely, Jake, we are not going to throw away a chance to get these big, important pieces done like child care pre-K --

TAPPER: Right.

JAYAPAL: -- you know, housing, climate, these are big transformational changes that we believe we can still get done.

TAPPER: Well, right. I mean, Bill Clinton I think said something along the lines of, just let Joe Manchin come forward, offer his version of the Build Back Better plan, pass that, pass it in the House, get it on the desk, campaign on that. Look at all these big things, reduction in prescription drugs, pre-K, health care subsidy, all the things you just talked about. And then you can run again on things you want to put, you know, other things you want to do. Why isn't that just happening? I don't understand.

JAYAPAL: I think that that is what's going to happen. I think there was just a turn to voting rights, which was very, very important. And so, this sort of got left off the table. But that is actually what happened with that -- with the things I mentioned with the framework. That was Senator Manchin's plan.

We gave him the pen. And we said, OK, you write it. And that's what we have. And I think that's still what we can get done. It won't be the House bill that we passed. But it will be, I think, very, very close to the things he's already said that he would support. And that we endorsed back in October.

TAPPER: Biden was asked yesterday about his campaign promise to cancel $10,000 in student loans, not total per person he had that question, never really answered the question. If it doesn't get done, do you expect your party will suffer consequences? There are a lot of young people excited about $10,000 in college loan debt being canceled.

JAYAPAL: Well, this student debt cancelation is really important both for the economic recovery and for people. And, by the way, the fastest growing demographic of people with student loans, Jake, is seniors. So on fixed incomes. So this is something that affects the country at large. And it also has a deep impact on racial equity, which is something the President has said is so important to him, and racial wealth.

And so I think we will get something done on that. I think it's not really that any one thing is going to stop people from coming out. But we do just have to recognize the crises that people face, and recognize that the more that we can deliver, the more we have a story to tell that keeps people in the game and believing that their vote matters, which it does. But we need to show them that they delivered us the House, the Senate and the White House.

And now look at all the things we've accomplished. We've got a good first year. We need to have a good second year, really a second six months. And we need to be able to show people that we are delivering for them so that they're waking up feeling better about their lives and opportunities.

TAPPER: Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, thanks so much. Good to see you again.

They didn't build a wall but China built an Olympic fortress to try to keep COVID out, that's next.

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[17:43:15]

TAPPER: In our sports lead, the International Olympic Committee is expecting nearly 3,000 athletes to descend upon China's capital Beijing in the next two weeks. CNN's David Culver now takes a closer look for us at how one of the world's most densely populated cities is hoping to protect Olympians from the COVID pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Traveling into Beijing may prove to be a tougher race than an Olympic competition. These winter games taking place in a capital city that increasingly feels like a fortress. China determined to keep out any new cases of COVID 19. Starting at the airport.

(on-camera): This is the terminal that's going to be used by athletes. Some of the Olympic personnel and media arriving into Beijing. They've got a wall up that keeps the general population away from everyone who's part of the Olympic arrivals.

(voice-over): Those coming in required to download this official app to monitor their health, inputting their information starting 14 days before arriving in Beijing. While health surveillance and strict contact tracing is part of life for everyone living in China, it's making visitors uneasy. Cybersecurity researchers warn the app has serious encryption flaws, potentially compromising personal health data.

China dismisses concerns but Team USA and athletes from other countries are being advised to bring disposable burner phones instead of their personal ones. From the airport, athletes and personnel will be taken into what organizers call the closed loop system. Not one giant bubble so much as multiple bubbles connected by dedicated shuttles.

Within the capital city, there are several hotels and venues plus the Olympic village that are only for credentialed participants.

(on-camera): The dedicated transport buses will be bringing the athletes, the personnel, the media through these gates. But for those of us who are residents outside, now this is as close as we can get.

[17:45:11]

CULVER (voice-over): Then there are the mountain venues on the outskirts of Beijing, connected by a high speed train and highways. All of them, newly built for the Winter Games, so as to maintain the separation. Even the rail cars are divided, and the closed loop buses given specially marked lanes.

(on-camera): It is so strict that officials have told residents if they see one of the vehicles that's part of the Olympic convoys get into a crash to stay away. They've actually got a specialized unit of medics to respond to those incidents. It's all to keep the virus from potentially spreading.

(voice-over): It also helps keep visiting journalists from leaving the capital city to other regions like Xinjiang or Tibet to explore controversial topics. With the world's attention, the Olympics allows China to showcase its perceived superiority in containing the virus, especially compared with countries like the U.S. But this will in many ways also be a tale of two cities. One curated for the Olympic arrivals and pre-selected groups of spectators. Another that is the real Beijing. Though some local Beijing residents are now in a bubble of their own.

Communities locked down after recent cases surfaced in the city outside the Olympic boundaries. A mounting challenge for a country that's trying to keep COVID out and yet still stage a global sporting spectacle to well the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CULVER: And that really is the biggest challenge, Jake. This desire to portray an open welcoming host city. But the optics of barriers throughout the city, well, they say otherwise. And locals here can tell you they're happy to keep their distance, especially with health officials claiming the recent cases that we've seen here are imported.

It adds to the fear that anyone coming in from outside China might be carrying COVID with them. And under these incredibly strict zero COVID measures, one case in your community, it can make your life miserable here for weeks or months, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, David Culver in Beijing. Thank you so much.

Why the discovery of this coral reef could change what we think we know about climate change. Stay with us.

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[17:51:39]

TAPPER: In our Earth matters series today, a rare and incredible find off the coast of Tahiti, a previously unknown coral reef believed to be in pristine condition, stretching for nearly 2 miles. It's one of the largest coral reefs ever discovered.

And as CNN's Rene Marsh report, scientists say this discovery illustrates why so much more needs to be done to explore the world's oceans.

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RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here off the coast of Tahiti, a stunning discovery. Resting up to 230 feet below the surface was this, a huge untouched rose-shaped coral reef nearly 2 miles long. Researchers on a United Nations led scientific mission discovered it diving near the depths of the ocean known as The Twilight Zone.

100 to more than 200 feet below the surface where there's just enough light to sustain life. That's where they found one of the world's largest coral reefs, appearing unaffected by climate change. Stunning since warming waters have wiped out nearly half of the Earth's known reefs. And over the next couple of decades, there will be a 90 percent decline, according to the latest projections. EVERT FLIER, NORWEGIAN MAPPING AUTHORITY: It shows us still how little we know about our own planet, and how important it is to gain more knowledge to better understand the processes of those oceans that will again influence life on our planet.

MARSH (voice-over): Norwegian oceanographer Evert Flier is helping to lead an international network of governments, ocean scientists, industry and volunteers in a mission to map the world seabed by 2030.

FLIER: The shape of the seabed and how deep it is and the ocean currents, it all influences to a great extent how climate will develop and how climate will change. And therefore, if we lack parts of the knowledge on what -- on which these climate models are based, our climate models are not as good as they could be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It also depends where the currents are.

MARSH (voice-over): The topography of the ocean floor dictates how currents move warm and cold water throughout the planet. And that impacts climate. Ocean seafloor mapping is critical for precisely predicting and preparing for the climate crisis, melting glaciers and storm surge.

JAMIE MCMICHAEL-PHILLIPS, PROJECT DIRECTOR, SEABED 2030: That will allow lots of clever people to use that information to conduct all sorts of science, all sorts of modeling.

MARSH (voice-over): This mission is underway in various parts of the world. But so far, just 20 percent of the world's ocean floor has been mapped. That's the equivalent of the continent of Asia and Africa. But what still needs to be mapped is almost double the landmass of all of the Earth's continent. It's estimated it will cost $3 to $5 billion to complete the mission.

The technology exists, but the financial appetite to do it is not robust. Countries, militaries and private entities like oil and gas companies map areas central to their work at sea, but are not always willing to share the data. The leaders of the seabed 2030 mission are now calling on everyday citizens.

MCMICHAEL-PHILLIPS: Whether you're a master of a bulk carrier, whether you're a yacht Skipper, whether you're a ferry boat captain, then you're in a position to gather data to help us chart the seabed.

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MARSH: Well, Jake, really anyone with a boat can get involved here by visiting seabed 2030's website.

[17:55:03]

Now as for those beautiful coral reefs, researchers hope that they will learn how and why it's been able to thrive despite the climate crisis, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Rene Marsh in our Earth matters theories, thanks so much.

MARSH: Sure.

TAPPER: Bob Saget's wife sharing detail of the very last conversation she had with her beloved husband, that's next.

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TAPPER: In our pop culture lead, the widow of the late actor and comedian Bob Saget is opening up about her husband surprise shocking death. In an interview today with NBC, Kelly Rizzo shared her final conversation with her husband.

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KELLY RIZZO, BOB SAGET'S WIDOW: I think I said I love you dearly and he said I love you endlessly. And then he said -- I said I can't wait to see you tomorrow. And then, you know, it was just all very -- it was just all love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Investigation into his death is ongoing. Our coverage continues now with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."