Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

DeSantis Says Trump Lost 2020; U.S. Women's World Cup Run Ends; Swift Close To Earning $1 Billion; Migrant Crisis In New York City. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 07, 2023 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The largest ever investment in flighting climate change. Then on Wednesday he heads to the state of New Mexico, where he will focus on the manufacturing portion of the Inflation Reduction Act, clean energy manufacturing in particular, but I think you can also expect to hear about the Chips and Science Act, which invests in semiconductor manufacturing.

And then, of course, on Thursday, the president heads to the state of Utah to talk about that Pact Act which provides veterans benefits to those affected by burn pits and other toxic chemicals.

But the through line in all of this is going to be the impact on the economy and the uphill battle that the White House faces as it tries to convince Americans that the economy is indeed doing better and that it is because of those various policies that we were just talking about.

Look at this number, though, on economic approval. The president is under water still despite the slowing inflation, despite the fact that unemployment remains at a 3.5 percent low. Sixty-three percent of Americans still disapproving of the president's handling of the economy. A majority, a slim majority of Americans, still believe that the economy is in a downturn. So, this is the challenge that the president faces and why you're going to be hearing him talk about those legislative accomplishments, try and tie it to this improving economy.

Now, one silver lining that White House officials do see, the Michigan consumer sentiment, which shows consumer confidence in the economy. That number in July was the highest it has been in two years. So, the White House believes that as Americans feel more confident about their personal finances, they'll feel better about the overall economy and better about the president's handling of that economy.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of work to do on this.

It's good to see you, Jeremy. Thank you so much.

John. JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning Republican presidential hopeful and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is rejecting, kind of, former President Trump's 2020 claims, he says, DeSantis does, of course Trump lost the 2020 election. In a new interview DeSantis acknowledged that Biden is the winner and he issued a warning of sorts to Republicans ahead of the 2024 race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL) AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If, on the other hand, the election is not about January 20, 2025, but January 6, 2021, or what document was left by the toilet at Mar-a-Lago, if it's a referendum on that, we are going to lose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: With us now, "USA Today" White House correspondent Francesca Chambers and CNN's senior political analysis and senior editor for "The Atlantic," Ron Brownstein.

Ron, the answer from DeSantis, notable, because that was the most forceful he has been on this front, but also nuanced.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: And I do wonder if DeSantis, as far as he's concerned, if he's not 100 percent right in the sense that he may be right in a general election if it's about 2020 instead of 2024, Republican candidates in trouble. But 70 percent of Republican voters say that Joe Biden didn't legitimately win the election. So, is Donald Trump lost a viable argument for Republican primary candidate?

BROWNSTEIN: You're "kind of" does a lot of work there, correct work there, John. I mean, look, the trajectory of DeSantis' comments is unmistakable. You know, losing by now 30 points in the - in the national polling and still a substantial deficit in Iowa where he's putting a lot of chips. Inevitably, and inexorably, he's moving toward more criticism of Donald Trump across multiple fronts. But it is always, at least so far, been nuanced and qualified and offset by other comments, like him saying that the indictment last week was, of course, politically motivated and not criticizing Trump's underlying behavior.

I think there's only one direction that this can go. I mean he has to provide Republican voters a stronger, more compelling reason to move past Donald Trump than he or anyone else has so far. What we saw in 2016 and what we're seeing again in 2024 is that hoping that Trump somehow collapses of his own weight, that some external event knocks him from the race and you're there to pick up the pieces with his base, if you don't offend them, that simply doesn't work. So, I think we know where this is going, but he's still kind of hemming and hawing as he gets there.

BERMAN: And, Francesca, if you just listen to that small 15-second bite that we played before, he sort of leaned into the documents found in the bathroom part also. And I feel like DeSantis is such a deliberate speaker that he put that there for a reason.

FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "USA TODAY": He is sharpening his criticism of the former president of the United States. And other Republicans say that if they can focus this on how not -- in addition to those cases that Donald Trump also was influential in Republicans losing the midterms in 2022, if they can make the case that he would lose against Joe Biden, that there might be an opening for them.

Now, what Ron DeSantis also has to prove, though, is that the country would get behind his vision for the future. And he has focused a lot of his campaign on these culture war issues.

[09:35:01]

And it's not clear yet whether those are the things that most Americans in a general election would want to vote for either.

BERMAN: Ron Brownstein, I saw the eyebrows raise when Francesca says he needs voters to get behind his -- DeSantis does -- his version of the issues. Why the sort of rye look from you there?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, no, I think - I think she's exactly right. I mean, you know, DeSantis has -- the core problem he has in making the case that he is more electable than Trump is that polls right now don't show that. You know, it may be true in the end and there are yellow warning lights on the dashboard for Republicans in terms of public reaction to the indictments beyond the Republican coalition of what it would actually mean to have a nominee who was facing multiple criminal trials, but DeSantis has chosen to run at Trump, as we talked about before, almost entirely from the right, trying to pass him on the six inches of shoulder to his right that he is leaving in the Republican race.

And that does raise questions about whether he would be any more successful at Trump at bringing back in particular those white collar suburban voters who have moved away from the party in the Trump era, even in the Republican primary itself. I mean this is a -- kind of a fraught decision for DeSantis because he is not consolidating the more moderate voters, the college educated voters, who have always been the most skeptical of Trump. He's trying to peel away a significant portion of Trump's base. Maybe that is the only way to beat him, but if you leave a lot of those moderate voters, even the primary on the table, it's going to be hard to make the math add up.

BERMAN: Francesca, our friend Jeremy Diamond was just explaining President Biden's trip out west to talk about the economy, and he put up the numbers, the poll numbers, in terms of Americans' view of Biden's handling of the economy. Sixty-three percent negative. How frustrated is the White House by this? Unemployment is low. You know, inflation is decreasing here. Consumer confidence is going up, yet Biden -- their approval numbers are still terrible here.

CHAMBERS: And that's why you see him out in the communities talking about these issues. Their strategy here is to just repeat it over and over again until Americans get the message. And Democrats have long said that they wanted to see the president, the vice president out across the country in the communities talking directly to voters, whether it's a campaign event or not. And these are official events because that is their strategy right now is for him to be president of the United States, look presidential, and to focus on that while they have, for instance, the vice president, she has been focusing on some of these more political -- political events that they have her doing, speaking of the culture wars.

And so that is, again, what you'll continue to see the president do for the next several months as Republicans are in their primary, as him focusing on being president of the United States and trying to draw a contrast in that way.

BERMAN: Francesca, Ron, great to see both of you. Thank you both very much.

Omar.

JIMENEZ: Still to come, they were sleeping on the sidewalks waiting for shelter. New York City is dealing with an influx of migrants. We'll tell you the latest plan for dealing with the surge. Details just ahead.

Plus, America's reign at the women's World Cup, it's come to an end. Coming up, the heartbreaking end to their championship dreams, at least heartbreaking to Americans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:40]

JIMENEZ: Team USA is headed home after a devastating knocking the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team out of the World Cup. The U.S. team came into the tournament as the favorite, taking aim at their third World Cup title in a row and their fourth overall, but Sweden beat the Americans on this penalty there in a dramatic and tragic 5-4 shootout yesterday. Not so tragic for Sweden, though.

CNN sports anchor Coy Wire joins us now.

OK, Coy, what happened here?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, that's the question everybody -

JIMENEZ: Yes.

WIRE: You know, they were the heavy favorites to win it all.

JIMENEZ: Exactly.

WIRE: And there have been mixed reactions from analysts and from fans alike. I mean there were some who were saying, look, this was a really young team. They have a bright future. There are 14 first timers on this team. And then there were others who were saying, this team looked a little bit overconfident. They're questioning the coaching. They're questioning the flippant demeanor there. You know, Megan Rapinoe smiling after missing that crucial penalty with Sweden winning by the slimmest of margins. They're going to miss the semi-finals in a World Cup for the first time ever.

Now, when it comes to Rapinoe, we're seeing the end of a legendary career. She was asked what moments she's going to remember most when she looks backs on her storied career.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGAN RAPINOE, PLAYED FINAL GAME FOR USA SUNDAY: Probably equal pay chance after the finals. I think this team has always fought for so much more and that's been the most rewarding part for me, of course, playing in World Cups and winning championships and doing all that. But, you know, to know that we've used our really special talent to do something, you know, that's really, like, changed the world forever, I think that means the most to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: I think that is the big takeaway. Julie Ertz also saying she's done for the national team.

We have some iconic players who really changed the game. That's the reason why we're seeing a lot of parody in this World Cup, right -

JIMENEZ: Yes.

WIRE: Because the levels of the teams all across the world, they're getting more attention, they're getting more money, in large part because of these - these women who have fought for equal pay and equal opportunities when it comes to soccer.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And, obviously, this - this result is disappointing this time around. When you look at the entirely of what this team, the leaders on this team have been able to do, it's pretty incredible historically when you look at not just women's sports, but sports in general.

So, all right, disappointment this time around. But we also have some triumphant news for U.S. athletes.

WIRE: Yes.

[09:45:00]

JIMENEZ: Simone Biles. Tell me about her triumphant return, so to speak.

WIRE: Whoo, she is back. THE GOAT, baby. And I know you played basketball and you have hops, but when you see Simone Biles --

JIMENEZ: But not that type.

WIRE: Like, oh, man, Yes, the GOAT is back, and she's back for the first time since those 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. And she looks like she did not miss a beat. Check her out, Omar. JIMENEZ: Oh.

WIRE: Yes. That's what it's all about.

JIMENEZ: Wow.

WIRE: She -- this was Saturday. The 26-year-old newlywed out there dominating at the Core Hydration U.S. Classic. She top scores in vault, floor and balance beam. She won the all-around. And, listen to this, she says her mentals are in a good place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIMONE BILES, 7-TIME OLYMPIC MEDALIST: I worked on myself a lot. I still do therapy weekly. And it's just been so exciting to come out here and have the confidence I had before that, especially after everything that happened, reading those comments, everybody still celebrating me and like wanting me to do so well. It means the world because I feel like I lost a part of that sometime. And so to come back out here and to just do what I did tonight and have that support from the fans and everybody watching, I just couldn't thank them enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: So, she qualifies for nationals in San Jose later this month. And it will be good to see her back in those Olympic games just a year away. She did not rule them out. We can all hope for Team USA for all of us to get to watch some of that magic in Paris.

JIMENEZ: Coy, thank you so much.

WIRE: You got it.

JIMENEZ: And if my hops required doing a back flip, I would never have made it past high school basketball, maybe even middle school.

Coy, thank you so much.

WIRE: You got it.

JIMENEZ: John.

BERMAN: Yes, you know, we're on the air like four and a half months on this show. Coy Wire, the first time he comes in person is when Omar is here. I get it. I see what's going on.

JIMENEZ: It's a -- it's a good vibe right here.

BERMAN: All right.

So this morning the end is nye, but not really. Taylor Swift is set to end the first leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TAYLOR SWIFT, MUSICIAN (singing): It's me, hi. I'm the problem, it's me. At teatime, everybody agrees. I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror. It must be exhausting always rooting --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: More tickets go on sale this week for international shows and a second round of stops in the U.S. Clearly this era will never end. It could earn Taylor Swift close to a billion dollars.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins us now.

And you can settle a debate. First of all, that's to scale. Secondly, like, is it Swift-onomics or Taylor-nomics?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's - it's both.

BERMAN: It's both.

YURKEVICH: It's absolutely both. You cannot deny the economic power of Taylor Swift. One economist saying that she could add, with her Eras U.S. tour, $5 billion to U.S. GDP. That's not just ticket sales. That is the ripple effect. That's merchandise. That's also airfare. That's hotels. Also the Federal Reserve also saying that Philadelphia has been struggling with a little bit of downturn in tourism. But when Taylor Swift came to town in May, hotels saw the strongest month since before the pandemic. That is huge.

And you know who's taking notice? World leaders. They want a slice of this pie. World leaders like the mayor of Hungary, the president of Chile, both saying that they've written to Taylor Swift and asked her to come to town to boost their local economy. Also, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he said in a tweet, hi, it's me, I know places in Canada would love to have you, so don't make it another cruel summer. And Taylor Swift just announced she's going to be heading to Toronto. So, everyone wants a piece of Taylor Swift.

BERMAN: I haven't seen anything like this in my lifetime where a concert tour like this has generated so much excitement. Honest to God. Like, half the people you meet are excited, telling you they're traveling to a different city to go see Taylor Swift.

Now, there are other people on tour, too. Does, like, Beyonce have as much of an impact?

YURKEVICH: We absolutely can't forget our other fierce female songstress, Beyonce. She has a big economic impact on her own. Her world tours historically have done about $767 million in ticket sales according to Ticketmaster. And when Beyonce came to Sweden, to Stockholm, Sweden, when she launched her world tour, Sweden was struggling with inflation. They were hoping that it would cool. But Beyonce had other ideas. Because she came to town, inflation stayed very high because of all the money that people were spending on hotels, people were flying in, as you said. And so the country was a little bit like, thank you, Beyonce, for coming, but no thank you, Beyonce, you kept inflation higher than we would like to see it. So, it just shows the power of these ladies.

BERMAN: Beyonce is inflationary?

YURKEVICH: She is.

BERMAN: That -- I love - I love all of this.

YURKEVICH: She is.

BERMAN: All right, Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

YURKEVICH: Thank you.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: I love that. That's amazing. And those costumes, they're just epic. I mean you see those costumes. I mean they - anyway, they've taken it away now and told me to move on.

BERMAN: Just when you like it enough, they take it away.

BOLDUAN: They take it away every time.

All right, moving on. Coming up for us, 100,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since last spring. The city's new plans now to possibly take over soccer fields to try and ease the crisis.

[09:50:00]

We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: In New York City this morning officials are considering turning soccer fields into a tent city for thousands of immigrants. The mayor says shelters are just maxed out, which is evident and has been evident by the scenes of migrants sleeping on the streets outside a hotel recently.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is tracking this for us and the very latest that's being considered and he's joining us now.

Polo, the city is clearly straining to find a solution here. What are they considering now?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the resources are still strained, Kate. And part of the plan certainly does not including, according to the city, a situation like what we saw last week where some of these migrants were actually camping out, outside of the Roosevelt Hotel, which you see just across the street there, serving as that initial intake center. At that time, the city simply did not have any space for dozens of asylum seekers that were essentially camped out for a couple of days before the city was finally able to actually place them in shelter. Fortunately on this rainy morning, we haven't seen that take place.

However, Eric Adams, the mayor of this city, made very clear at the end of last week, that those scenes, those sad scenes, could potentially repeat themselves as the shelter system continues to buckle under the pressure.

[09:55:08]

Since the start of this month, some 2,300 asylum seekers have arrived here in New York and turned to the city for resources. So, we have heard time and time again, and if anything just amplified that call for not only state officials but also officials at the federal level to intervene, to take the lead and to assist New York City as they continue to shoulder this burden.

We should note that this weekend actually marked one year since the first bus that was chartered by the administration of Texas Governor Greg Abbott pulled into the Port Authority bus station here in New York City. Now, since then, we've seen about 10,500 asylum seekers arrive by those means. Comparatively, that's a relatively small number compared to the over 95,000 asylum seekers that we've seen since the start of this crisis in the early spring. But again, they are certainly not ruling out any potential options in terms of housing. The shelter - the facility you see behind me, one of about 200 different facilities. And get this, Kate, the Adams administration also has made very clear that among those potential places where they could shelter asylum seekers, the iconic Central Park and soft-sided facilities there. So, certainly you're going to have to see if they do reach that point where we would see asylum seekers housed in Central Park.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, I mean, some of the options they're considering, pretty remarkable.

Polo, thank you very much.

John.

BERMAN: Ukrainian officials say they uncovered a plot to assassinate President Zelenskyy, and they have a suspect, they say, in custody.

And Donald Trump lashing out. His new post that could create new legal problems for him as we wait to hear from a judge on a key decision in the next few hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)