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Bidens to Meet with Survivors and Response Teams in Maui Today; Fire-Ravaged Maui in Danger from Remnants of Strong Storm; To Assess the Damage, President Biden Travels to Hawaii; Interview with Maui County Council Chair Alice Lee; Following Maui Wildfires, 114 Fatalities and 850 Still Unaccounted For; New Polls Released Ahead of 204 Republican Presidential Debate; Trump-Backed Super PAC Runs Ad Against Biden; California Experienced Unprecedented Rain, Flooding, Mudslides, and Earthquake. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired August 21, 2023 - 10:30:00   ET

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

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[10:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: Very shortly, President Biden leaves for Hawaii to get a firsthand look at the damage from the deadly wildfires. His visit comes as Maui officials prepare for possible impacts from post-tropical Cyclone Fernanda. That storm could bring heavy rainfall and possibly flash flooding. Maui officials say that 850 people are missing -- still missing, nearly two weeks after the wildfire swept across that island. Our Bill Weir reports.

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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Here in Maui, we've had almost now two weeks of anxious anticipation for the latest announcement on the dead and the missing. But that is, sort of, shifting into grim resignation that a lot of loved ones may never be found given the temperature of the fire. Governor Josh Green said that many of them will never be recovered.

So, as we stand overlooking the town, we are seeing the clouds of dust coming up from some of the heavy machinery, and it's so heartbreaking to realize recognize that dust holds people's children and parents and neighbor and loved ones. And how do you get a sense of closure in this particular space? This will be a sacred space for so many for so long. Three and a half square miles of area burned.

The president is expected to fly over Lahaina. It's uncertainly whether he'll actually touch down on the ground. He's expected to meet first responders and victims of this disaster. He, of course, is known as an empathizer in chief given the tragedy in his personal life. But he uncharacteristically gave a "no comment" when asked about Hawaiians a few days ago. The White House insists he's been on the phone hourly, almost, making sure that everybody gets the resources they need.

But this is really an emotional charged time. So many tender emotions right now. And so, the president is, sort of, walking into that. As for the future, so much of that depends on, sort of, ancient fights over water rights, in particular. So, that's at the top of mind of people who say that the water could have kept this place lush and fireproof was diverted to resorts and rich homeowners at the expense of locals. That may come up during today's visit, but it certainly will be an issue going forward.

Bill Weir, CNN, Maui.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: Bill, thank you for that. A sacred space as Bill puts it. As he's mentions, President Biden will be meeting with survivors of the fires, as well as community leaders when he visits Maui with the -- along with the first lady staying (ph).

And joining us right now is the chair of the Maui County Council, Alice Lee. Thank you for coming back in. You're going to be meeting with the president and the first lady when they visit Maui today. What is your message for him?

ALICE LEE, CHAIR, MAUI COUNTY COUNCIL: First of all, we are very grateful. And I will express that on behalf of our community that the we have had a tremendous response from the federal government because of him, because of his proclamations. And also, you know, we have over a thousand federal personnel on the ground, almost 10 or 12 agencies are represented here on Maui.

I think, I hope he's going to give us even more good news. We're looking forward to that. He's been very responsive. And hopefully we will continue to have this wonderful partnership with the federal government.

BOLDUAN: What would good news be coming from him today?

[10:35:00]

LEE: Additional funds. This going to be the costliest recovery in the history of Maui County, perhaps the history of the United States because this is unprecedented. And this tragedy not only destroyed a whole town, a community, it destroyed, you know, part of our spirit. So, to rebuild that is going to take billions of dollars. And it's going to affect, of course, our economy in the meantime because jobs have -- are lost, businesses are destroyed. And it's going -- it's just a long and winding road ahead of us.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely, you said a tremendous response from the federal government so far. I spoke with -- we've spoken with many residents, but I spoke with one woman, Jessalyn Manina, on Friday. She was on the show. And she lost -- she is from Lahaina. She lost her home. She lost her business. And she says, she really feels let down by the government's response so far. Listen to this. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSALYN MANINA, MAUI RESIDENT WHO LOST HOME, BUSINESS IN FIRE: I think everyone's a little bit letdown at the lack of response from our government. People have rallied together far more than any government has so far. Our Walmart and Targets are empty because all of our people here in Maui have gone to buy brand new supplies for all of us who have lost stuff. And if it wasn't for them and these donation centers that FEMA and Red Cross have not set up, or our personal donations. We do have GoFundMe and Venmo set up. All of us, personally, I wouldn't have food on my table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And what do you say to her?

LEE: I'm sorry that she's having this experience. But she needs to call the Maui County Administration and they can offer her help and guidance. Luckily, for the most part, we have been able to assist most of the people, as you probably have heard, the thousands of people who were in our emergency shelters are no longer there. I think there's nine people left as of today. Thousands have been moved to transitional quarters like the hotels who are taking very good care of the people, as well as individual homes and short-term rentals.

So, I'm sure, as you go through talking to various people, you will hear stories of disappointment, of course, because they have lost a lot. And I can't -- you know, you can't blame them for being disappointed. But there are many success stories as well.

BOLDUAN: And we are nowhere near through it, you know, 850 people still unaccounted for in that difficult arduous task continues in middle of it. And the president will be there today, and we'll be following that when he does arrive. Thank you very much for coming in.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: We are just two days away from the first presidential debate. President Trump confirms though he is not going to be there. This as new polling shows he holds strong grip on Republican voters in Iowa. We'll break it all down for you, that's ahead.

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[10:40:00]

BERMAN: Brand-new polling out this morning for the Republican presidential race, both national and important state polls as well. And it comes as many of the candidates get ready to get on the debate stage Wednesday night. I say many, not all, Donald Trump, the current frontrunner, he's not going.

With us now, CNN Political Director David Chalian. David, we talk about the gold standard for Iowa polling, we should trademark that phrase for the Des Moines register, you know, the Ann Selzer poll. New poll out this morning showing the state of the race in Iowa, what does it tells us?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, it shows us what "The New York Times", Sienna Polls showed us in that very same state a few weeks ago, and largely mirrors what we're seeing nationally. Take a look at these numbers, Donald Trump is the formidable frontrunner in this race. That is today's snapshot, 42 percent in this latest Iowa poll. Ron DeSantis is back at 19 percent. So, Donald Trump has more than double Ron DeSantis' support. Tim Scott in third there at nine percent. You see Nikki Haley and Mike Pence at six.

And if you look at the next four, you've got some single digit performers here. Five percent for Christ Christie, four percent for Vivek Ramaswamy, two percent for North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, and one percent for former Texas Congressman Will Hurd, John.

And I think it is important to note here what is inside these numbers. We are seeing two thirds of Trump supporters at also six percent with Mike Pence. So, looking inside of the number, it is 2/3 of the Trump supporters at this stage of the game saying they're locked in. They're not even going to move from Trump or consider someone else. We see two thirds of the likely caucus going electorate in the Republican caucuses in Iowa saying, they don't believe Donald Trump committed any serious crimes despite what we have seen in these four indictments.

So, we have seen Donald Trump at this point successfully take his legal woes, make himself sort of a victim here that has caused a rallying affect among Republican primary voters.

[10:45:00]

BERMAN: And in fact, in that Iowa poll, his numbers improved while they were conducting the poll after the Georgia indictments were handed up. David, what then are the stakes for those who will be attending the debate on Wednesday night?

CHALIAN: Well, Wednesday night's debate is the first real big opportunity for candidates, not name Donald Trump, to really introduce themselves to the Republican primary voters across the country. You mentioned we got some national polls as well. We can throw those up on the screen. Donald Trump's lead is even larger there. He -- if you look at an average, our CNN poll of polls over national polls, he's got a 40-point lead over Ron DeSantis, 57 percent to 17 percent.

So, what do these candidates need to do? They need to, in Donald Trump's absence, since he is not showing up on that debate stage, seize this moment to start building a coalition and a coalescing of the piece of the Republican electorate, John, that is not for Trump and start building support. One person is going to need to that over these next several months if they're going to have a real shot at taking on Donald Trump.

BERMAN: Big picture, David, just thematically here. I wonder what your opinion is of whether when we look at polls we should consider Donald Trump an incumbent, if you know it. He's not the incumbent, he is not the current president of the United States. But in terms of polling, one of the things we always say is, oh, if an incumbent is not above 50 percent, then they're not doing that well. Well, nationally, we can see Trump is over 50 percent. But in Iowa, he's, you know, 42 percent. So, what do you think the right barometer is for a guy like Trump? CHALIAN: Yes. Well, that 50 percent threshold is a good barometer, perhaps, in a one-on-one race or a general election context. But in a very crowded Republicans primary field, John. As you know, the way that the delegate rules are set up, 42 percent could be quite sufficient for Donald Trump to march his way to the nomination if he maintains that level of support next year.

BERMAN: That kind of lead. Pretty formidable. All right. David Chalian, great to see you. Thank you very much.

CHALIAN: You too.

BERMAN: Sara.

SIDNER: Meanwhile, Trump's super PAC is already targeting voters in the general election. It's launched a new ad slamming President Biden and the economy. It's the second Trump-Biden comparison ad that they've put out in just the last couple of weeks.

CNN's Alayna Treene is following all this for us. Now, I am no political director like David Chalian. But why should Donald Trump bother when he is clearing away the Republican favorite at this point? Now, he's concentrating on the general.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: That is exactly right, Sara. And I will say that I know from my conversations with Donald Trump's team, and we know as well that Donald Trump, himself even, is privately and publicly boasting about his commanding lead in the polls, exactly what David just laid out there. And he also feels emboldened by his current status as a frontrunner.

But of course, we are very far away from the 2024 election, and also far away from the primaries. And there's a lot that could change between now and then. But this ad, it's released by MAGA, Inc., one of the outside Donald Trump super PACs. And it really is focusing on drawing that contrast between Donald Trump and President Biden.

And I know from my conversations as well with Trump's team that they really want both the former president but also Republican voters to think about the big themes and his key agenda items as he heads into election season. And these themes like the economy, the border, crime, and China. All things that they want voters to be focused on more than his current legal battles which are, of course, hovering over all of this.

And again, Sara, as you mentioned, this ad comes just two days before the first presidential primary debate in Milwaukee where Trump won't be there. And so, I think this is them getting ahead of this. Showing what Donald Trump wants voters to be focused on ahead of, you know, his surrender in Georgia this week.

SIDNER: Attack ads are nothing new, but you can see it tells you a little something about where Donald Trump's mind is. Thank you so much. Appreciate it, Alayna Treene.

Kate. BOLDUAN: Coming up, millions of people in Southern California are waking up to a mess, truly, after a rare tropical system blew through. Historic rainfall, even triggering mudslides. We'll have an -- live update, that's next.

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[10:50:00]

BOLDUAN: The mayor of Palm Springs, California, says this morning, access in and out of town, blocked. 9-1-1 service is even down as they begin to start to survey the damage and the mess left behind from the storm Hilary. This -- we're going to show you, this is brand new video out of San Diego. The city facing such an inundation of water. It was shooting out of manholes at one point.

CNN's Mike Valerio is in San Diego with the latest. Mike, that's wild to see the -- how much water was shooting out of the manholes there. But what have you been seeing and hearing this morning as the sun is coming up?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, Kate, that picture, those images, certainly are crazy. But I think that we are all feeling, Kate, a sense of shared relief in San Diego and the coastal communities up and down the Pacific Coast, that we seem to have been spared from the brunt of the disaster, the brunt of the damage that is really belonging to the desert communities about 90 miles to our north and east. Palm Springs, the Coachella Valley, even farther north towards Death Valley and the Nevada border.

I think also, what civic (ph) authorities are telling us, they are saying that they have that sense of relief because of A, the capricious whims of the track that the storm took. And B, the sense of preparation. The muscle memory from the atmospheric rivers that we had earlier this year and that is due to all of the extra personnel.

[10:55:00]

There were not one but 10 water rescue teams positioned up and down the San Diego River, from Mission Bay, close to Sea World, all the way up to Interstate 5 -- the 5, making sure that everybody was OK. Rescuing nine people overnight, Kate.

So, I think that just San Diego County, for example, getting a whopping 30,000 people to sign up for their emergency alert systems, texting people when something would go wrong, when roads would be flooded. There is a shared sense that this is the new normal. We got to get used to this kind of the weather. And people are certainly rising to the occasion here, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Mike Valerio in San Diego for us. Thank you, Mike.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Ahead, watching and waiting. This is a live look at the Fulton County jail, the road to the jail there where you see that van pulling away. That's where any day now Donald Trump or anyone of his 18 accused co-conspirators could surrender on criminal charges in Georgia. They have until Friday. What we're learning about the timing of all this.

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