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Russian Officials Confirm Prigozhin's Death; John Bolton Is Interviewed About Prigozhin's Death; Rob Herrin Is Interviewed About Florida's Storm Preparation; U.S. COVID Cases Rise. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 28, 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]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: Just announced this morning, we heard this from Isabel Rosales, that the state of Florida will be giving $1 million to Edward Waters University. As you know he was booed while at a vigil Sunday. What more would you like to see from Governor DeSantis?

ISAIAH RUMLIN, PRESIDENT, NAACP JACKSONVILLE CHAPTER: Well, further support for the university. A million dollars, it's OK, but that's still not going to prevent what has happened in this community. We have to have more resources, more counseling, stop the rhetoric and take care of these families that's been hurt by the senseless acts of this racist white conservative.

SOLOMON: Isaiah, let me just ask you finally, over the weekend I spoke with my colleague Juliette Kayyem. She used to be an official with the Department of Homeland Security. And she told me that Jacksonville specifically is a breeding ground of neo-Nazism. That they have been tracking this and seeing this. I mean what can you tell me and tell us about the climate there in Jacksonville with these hate groups?

RUMLIN: I think the federal government and the Justice Department are going to have to do a better job in exercising exactly where these hate groups exist. I mean we see these confederate signs, we see the Trump signs constantly on our street -- on our streets. And we know from that standpoint that there's hatred and we're just going to have to deal with it in some kind of way. And the Justice Department needs to be right here today looking into it.

SOLOMON: Isaiah Rumlin, we so appreciate the time and we're so sorry for the loss in Jacksonville and the community is experiencing in the days to come moving forward.

Isaiah Rumlin, thank you.

Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: So, the Kremlin has confirmed that Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash. We're going to take you live to Moscow to find out what this means for the future of his Wagner mercenary group and for Vladimir Putin.

And how is former President Donald Trump's upcoming criminal trials going to impact his political future? We're going to pose that question to one of his former top advisers in just a few minutes.

Stay with us.

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[09:36:51]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

After days of speculation officials in Russia are confirming that Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was among the ten people killed in a plane crash last week. The private jet fell out of the sky, crashing in a field near Moscow. Investigators said that DNA tests established all of the victims' identities.

I want to now bring in CNN's Matthew Chance. He is live for us in Moscow.

So, Matthew, what more are you learning about this?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, merely that, you know, the authorities have reached that first -- answered that first question in the investigation, which is, was Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner leader, actually on board that aircraft. In the past there have been plane crashes in which he's been on the passenger manifest and then he's emerged a few days later saying, you know, I'm not dead.

So now we have confirmation from the authorities that genetic testing has revealed that everybody on that passenger manifest, including Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been confirmed as killed. So, that's something.

But what we don't know is why that plane, which was flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg on Wednesday, plunged in a - in a fireball into the earth. The Kremlin have categorically denied any - any link with it, saying that allegation that they were involved are absolute lies. But that denial hasn't done much to quell speculation both in Russia and outside of Russia this could have been some kind of state involvement and revenge to the uprising that Yevgeny Prigozhin staged back in June with Wagner fighters, with them - him at the head, sort of marching towards the Russian capital and demanding the overflow or the departure of Russia's senior military leadership.

Again, the Kremlin categorically denied that but, you know, and they say that an investigation is underway now to get to the bottom of what exactly happened. And when those results are ready, they say, they'll make them public. But, yes, no one's holding their breath for that, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Fair enough. Matthew Chance, live for us there in Moscow.

Matthew, thank you.

Boris.

SANCHEZ: Let's dig deeper now on these developments with John Bolton. He's a former national security adviser in the Trump White House and a former ambassador to the United Nations.

Ambassador, thanks so much for being with us.

Now that the Kremlin has confirmed that Prigozhin is dead, how does this change the dynamic not only on the battlefield in Ukraine but also internally in Russian domestic politics?

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER U.N. AMBASSADOR: Well, I don't think there's any question that blowing away Prigozhin, his top deputy and several other Wagner group officials puts Putin in a stronger hand. I've heard some people say, oh, he's still at risk. I mean, look, Shakespeare said uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. That's always true. I think the lesson that Russia's elites around the world learned is that Putin is deadly serious and if you go after him you'd better succeed, which Prigozhin didn't.

And I think Putin's attention now will turn to trying to make up for the - for the abysmal performance of the Russian military in Ukraine. And I'm very worried that if the gridlock in - in the Ukrainian spring offensive continues that Putin will try something diplomatically in September/October to try and freeze the battle lines, create a new de facto boundary for Russia and try to turn the page on the military side so he can recover and regroup.

[09:40:16]

SANCHEZ: Ambassador, Russia, as you noted, has had very little success on the battlefield. Most of it recently has actually come from the Wagner mercenary group. How does their dynamic change with Prigozhin out of the picture?

BOLTON: Well, I think a lot of people were asking, why did it take Putin two months to assassinate Prigozhin after the failed June mutiny.

SANCHEZ: Right.

BOLTON: And I think one reason for that is that Putin and his team do value the Wagner group. They created it. They asked Prigozhin and others to put it together. They funded it through Russian government funds to give them basically a deniable military capability in the Middle East and across Africa. And more recently used in Ukraine, as you point out. So, it's a valuable asset. I don't think they want to destroy it. They may rebrand it.

But I think Putin wanted to be sure, as sure as he could be, that he would have control over key parts of the Wagner group if Prigozhin suddenly met his maker. And I suspect he believes he has that now and he wants to focus everybody's attention, regular military and Wagner group, on not losing any more ground in Ukraine.

SANCHEZ: What about on the other side of the conflict. Kyiv has asked for patience as the counteroffensive has produced little results, but it doesn't appear that we're going to see a breakthrough in gridlock.

BOLTON: You know, the military experts disagree on it. Certainly progress has been slower than we wanted. But that's what gives Putin the opportunity here for a diplomatic ploy, look to split France, possibly Germany, possibly significant chunks of the United States electorate away from continuing to aid Ukraine. If Putin said, look, this war has gone on long enough, let's have a ceasefire in place, let's negotiate immediately, what would Emmanuel Macron of France do? He might well jump in to be the peacemaker. Germany's position here is shaky. And, let's face it, the White House has not aided the Ukrainians in the most effective way. They're about to go into a very shaky general election for President Biden. Maybe he wants to be a peacemaker.

SANCHEZ: Ambassador, while we have you, you mentioned the upcoming election. Your former boss, Donald Trump, after being processed in a Georgia jail on Thursday, managed to have the single biggest day of fundraising for his entire campaign. In a day he raised over $4 million, $7 million in total since Thursday. Do you believe there's still a lane for another Republican to take the primary?

BOLTON: Yes, I do. And I think it's difficult but I think this could all turn, both for the primary, but particularly for the general election, on whether any of the four pending criminal indictments actually come to trial and get a jury verdict before the election because I think if a jury convicts Trump, I think that could be fatal, either to getting the nomination or certainly in November.

The -- all of the other legal proceedings have either had no effect or, as you point out in this fundraising news, have benefited Trump. But I think a jury verdict of guilty is something very different. I think even a lot of MAGA Trumpers really don't want to elect a convicted felon president.

The difficulty for Republicans is that the convention is in August, but many of the primaries and caucuses begin quite early next year. So, it's -

SANCHEZ: Sure.

BOLTON: The argument has to be made to Republican voters, don't vote for somebody who may be a felon by the time we get to our convention.

SANCHEZ: Yes, during the Republican debate last week we saw so many of Trump's rivals raise their hands saying that they would support him even if he was convicted.

BOLTON: I think that's a big mistake. I tell you, the greatest risk for the Republican Party is to nominate Trump and have the Democrats nominate somebody other than Joe Biden, who rivals Trump in unpopularity. The American people, in several polls, have said they do not want a rematch of Biden and Trump as in 2020. I think if the Democrats nominated somebody else, they would have a much better chance against Trump.

SANCHEZ: Former Ambassador John Bolton, we appreciate the time and the perspective, sir, thanks.

SOLOMON: And coming up for us, hurricane watches are in effect along Florida's Gulf Coast as Tropical Storm Idalia gathers strength. Idalia expected to become a category three hurricane before slamming into Florida in less than 48 hours. We will speak to a Florida first responder who's preparing for the worst.

We'll be right back.

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[09:47:17]

SANCHEZ: Right now Tropical Storm Idalia is churning toward Florida, gaining strength in the Gulf, and it's expected to intensify to a category three hurricane by the time it makes landfall on Wednesday. More than 10 million Floridians are under hurricane watches, including in the Tampa and St. Petersburg metro area.

SOLOMON: Yes. A number of Florida counties have already declared states of emergency. That including Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located.

And joining us now is the public information officer for Hillsborough County's fire and rescue, Rob Herrin.

Rob, good morning. We appreciate you being with us today.

So, tell us, what is your first priority right now?

ROB HERRIN, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FIRE AND RESCUE: Right now our message to our residents and visitors is to start executing your plans. Start preparing your homes for any kind of wind event, securing any kind of anything that could become a projectile. Get any important documentation in order, birth certificates, insurance information, Social Security cards. Prepare for, you know, an electrical power interruption post storm. Get cash out in case ATMs are down, card processing machines are inoperable and even download your kid's favorite movie in case they need it throughout the storm.

SANCHEZ: That is good advice to parents, Rob.

Listen, I grew up in Florida and I know so many of my neighbors growing up, unless it was a category four or five storm they would not get up from the couch. They wouldn't leave their homes. What's your message to folks that don't really take a category three like this seriously?

HERRIN: The message is, you know, there is some complacency with Floridians, as you mentioned. And, you know, these storms are unpredictable. That cone of uncertainty is just that, it's uncertain. It's up to mother nature to where this - where this storm is going to hit and to what intensity it's going to hit. So, we need to prepare for a major category three hurricane to hit the bay area. And, you know, execute those plans and reach out to the resources that we have available locally.

SOLOMON: And, Rob, for those who have not grown up in Florida or who are not as familiar with hurricanes, paint a picture for us. I mean what happens when a category three hurricane makes landfall and hits Florida?

HERRIN: So, the biggest life threat in a - in a hurricane event is those storm surge. So, our county administration, along with emergency management, is working diligently to decide next steps, and we're going to protect our residents against that storm surge.

The wind event is something that you shelter for and you prepare for an electrical interruption if that's the case afterwards. So, if you are, you know, new to the area, go to our local resources, hdflgov.net/staysafe and see where you are in the evacuation, if that's ordered. There has not been an order for anything yet.

[09:50:02]

But, you know, just use the resources we have and start executing your plan.

SANCHEZ: Yes, so important to point out, as you did, Rob, about the cone of uncertainty. Last year in the same area they were expecting Hurricane Ian. It wound up hitting further south and causing all sorts of devastation.

Rob Herrin, please keep us posted. We'll be in contact. Thanks so much.

HERRIN: Thank you.

SOLOMON: And coming up for us, Covid cases in the U.S. are rising, but should you worry about catching the virus? Why experts say that there are still good reasons not to treat it casually. We'll explain when we come back.

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SANCHEZ: Covid cases in the United States are once more creeping up. But now, thanks to vaccines and acquired immunity, people are less likely to be hospitalized or die from the virus than they were back in 2020. But has the danger passed?

Let's find out with CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell.

So, Meg, should people worry about catching Covid?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, the good news is that the risk has declined a lot because of that existing immunity across the U.S. The CDC estimates that 97 percent of people in the United States have either been infected with Covid or vaccinated against Covid or some combination thereof. So that existing immunity provides us a lot of protection against the most severe effects from Covid.

But we are in an uptick right now. According to the CDC's latest data, both hospitalizations and deaths are up about 21 percent in the most recent week of data. It's important to note that's off a low base so it's still not as high as we've seen previously in the pandemic, but there is more Covid going around right now.

Now, in terms of the risks people look at beyond hospitalizations and deaths, of course there are things like long Covid, the risks of reinfection.

[09:55:06]

And then, of course, if we remember early on in the pandemic there was something that affected kids specifically called MIS-C. It was a sort of inflammatory response that could happens about two to six weeks after infection. The good news is that with vaccination and the built- up immunity, the risks of most of these things have declined. But there is still a risk of long Covid, perhaps less than 10 percent with vaccination according to one doctor's estimate.

In terms of reinfection, though, there are some studies suggesting that getting infected with Covid a second time can actually have a slightly higher risk of being more severe. So that is on reason that doctors say it's still not a good idea to be casual about catching Covid right now.

SANCHEZ: And, Meg, there's a new vaccine coming out. What can you tell us about that?

TIRRELL: There is. We actually have a pretty solid date for when to expect it. The CDC's outside group of advisers is expected to meet September 12th to discuss recommending that vaccine. And that always happens after the FDA has already signed off. So, if all goes according to expectations, we should be seeing the updated vaccines perhaps in pharmacies by the end of that week. And this targets one of the more recent circulating strains. So it is expected to provide better protection, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Meg Tirrell, thanks so much for the update.

Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right, Boris, thank you.

And in just a few minutes, two key hearings in two separate cases centering around the indictments of Donald Trump. We are live in D.C. and Fulton County, Georgia, where we could learn significant new details about the cases against the former president.

We'll be right back.

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[10:00:09]

SANCHEZ: This hour, two