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Kim Jong Un May Meet With Putin In Russia; Biden Mentions "The Last Guy" In Preview Of 2024 Race; TN 3rd Graders Struggling With Reading Could Be Held Back. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired September 05, 2023 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Question will this allow Republicans and Demo -- Republicans to move forward, move in and focus on other issues not McConnell's out. That's what they hope with this letter, to cool down the speculation and ease those concerns.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Yes. Manu, thank you so much for jumping on. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you as always.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: So, is North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, planning to sit down with a Russian leader Vladimir Putin. What U.S. officials are now saying about this possible meeting and when it could take place?

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BOLDUAN: Actively advancing, that is how U.S. officials are now describing the negotiations between Russia and North Korea surrounding a potential arms deal. And with that potential meeting between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin could happen very soon. CNN's Kylie Atwood is at the State Department. She's tracking all this for us. Kylie, what more are you hearing about this potential meeting and what this could mean for the war in Ukraine?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, Kate, what the NSC Spokesperson, Adrienne Watson is saying is that it's Kim Jong Un who is expecting to meet or to have an engagement with President Putin in Russia. And that is significant because it demonstrates that there have been a series of engagements between North Korea and Russia over the course of the last few months.

And those engagements might actually be leaded some -- leading somewhere, where there's a necessity for a leader level engagement. A leader level discussion over this potential new arms agreement that these two countries have been discussing.

[11:35:04]

So, we know that the Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, visited North Korea, that was back in July. According to the NSC, that was an effort to try and convince North Korea to sell artillery and ammunition to Russia. We also know that there was a follow-on meeting by additional Russian officials to North Korea after that Defense Minister's visit. And then, according to the NSC, there has actually been an exchange of letters between Kim Jong Un and President Putin. So, all of this appears to be building up to the possibility of this meeting. We don't know exactly when it'll take place. The New York Times is reporting it could be as soon as this month, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Kylie, thank you very much for your reporting. John?

BERMAN: All right. Here's a question. Do President Biden and Donald Trump need each other for a chance to win the 2024 election?

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BOLDUAN: Labor Day as you well know is the unofficial end of the summer season and the unofficial beginning of also the fall primary elections sprint. And while most of the Republican field is out there fighting to get out of the single digits still Donald Trump continues to dominate in the Republican field. And now, President Biden seems to be signaling that he is all too aware of the polls, notice this shift in his Labor Day remarks in Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When the last guy was here, you were shipping jobs to China. Now, we're bringing jobs home from China. When the last guy was here -- when the last guy was here, your pension were at risk. We help save millions of pensions with your help. When the last guy was here, he looked at the world from Park Avenue. I looked at it from Scranton, Pennsylvania. I looked at it from Claymont, Delaware.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:40:10]

BOLDUAN: Joining me now, CNN Political Commentator Spectrum News Political Anchor, Errol Louis. He's also the host of the You Decide Podcast and CNN Senior Political Analyst, Ron Brownstein and also, Senior Editor at The Atlantic.

Errol, that speech that Labor Day -- those Labor Day remarks from Biden caught my attention. He's not naming him by name, which I still never understand why a politician ever avoids naming the person they're talking about. But still, what do you think of that shift? What do you think?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, first of all, you never -- it's an old political (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: I don't believe in it.

LOUIS: You don't mention your opponent's name because you don't want to sort of put their name in the newspaper or in the search engines or anything like that. On the other hand, I think there's something deeper going on here, which is that President Biden's policies are popular, but he's not getting credit for those from their point of view.

And so, he wants to remind people, we've got investment in infrastructure, inflation is coming down, record low unemployment, and you should associate that with me instead of polarizing the nation around. Do you like my personality better than Donald Trump's? Because the polling suggests that he doesn't compare so favorably when you phrase the question that way.

BOLDUAN: It's an excellent point. And Ron, you lay out in a new piece for The Atlantic that there really are four factors, if you will, why it seems that Biden can't shake Donald Trump and really vice versa. But let's start with this proposition as you write. "In our polarized political era, far fewer voters than in the past are open to switching sides for any reason."

"The two men are pinioned so close together also, though, because they are caught between the four forces that have most powerfully reshaped the electoral landscape since they first met in the -- in the November 2020 Presidential election." Enlighten us, Ron, what are those four?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. The way I would phrase it is in the short version, its age and inflation, versus abortion and insurrection. There's enormous concern among voters about whether Biden is too old for another term. We consistently see three- quarters of Americans say they worry that he can't handle another term. And there's enormous anxiety about inflation.

You know, even though inflation is slowing, it doesn't mean prices are going down. And there's a broad sense in the electorate that life is more expensive than it was when Trump was President. And that is a big cloud that is blocking a lot of the other good news that Biden can point to in the job market and the effect is Errol was noting of the trio of big -- three big bills that have generated 500 billion in private sector investment.

On the other side, the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe last year, was not a silver bullet for Democrats everywhere. But in the key Swing States that are likely to decide 24 places like Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It was an extremely powerful weapon for Democrats and then insurrection.

There are a lot of Americans outside of the Republican coalition who view Trump's actions after 2020 as illegal unconstitutional and viewed as a threat to democracy. When you add all of this up, it kind of adds up the stalemate. The way I would say Kate, real quick, is Biden is underperforming, where a Democrat should be given Trump's vulnerabilities? And Trump is underperforming, or Republicans should be given Biden's vulnerabilities.

BOLDUAN: Which is a really interesting concept of like these two men in a very twisted way, then need each other in order to get to a general in a strange way, possibly.

LOUIS: Well, that's right. And look, believe me, their teams are both itching for a rematch. If you remember, it was about 44,000 votes spread across three States -- BOLDUAN: Yes.

LOUIS: -- that made Joe Biden the President. And, you know, I don't think there's a day when Trump's people don't think, gee, if we had only done a little bit more in Wisconsin or Georgia, you know, or Arizona, we would have turned this thing around and they're itching for a rematch. You throw in Nevada, which was decided by less than three percent.

They're all ready to go. They're all lined up and ready to fight this all over again. It's just that there are different terms very much as Ron says, you've got the abolition of abortion, which has inflamed and really energized a lot of Democrats. You got the insurrection issue that for a certain percentage of Independence really brings them to the polls.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

LOUIS: On the other hand, the Republicans have got their issues as well when they continue to push the sort of the Hunter Biden narrative and they're all ready to go. I mean, it's not going to be dull, although it is going to be contained, it'll be a different battlefield than four years ago.

BOLDUAN: Dull though contained. Not dull, though contained. Errol, talking a little bit about some of the map that's very important in looking ahead. And Ron, in terms of the map that matters after the Republican field is winnowed, if you will.

The modern Presidential Day -- the modern Presidential election is, as we well know, is decided by a handful of States. And you point out that for the first time in modern times, neither Ohio nor Florida start-off as a competitive state. Why do you think -- what do you think that does to this race?

[11:45:06]

BROWNSTEIN: You know, it's extraordinary, right? I mean, you look at recently as 2016, those where the States were winning to an advertising for Hillary Clinton. Obviously, Florida was key to George W. Bush's win in 2000, Ohio, the Pivotal State of his win in 2004. It is a reflection of how narrow the battlefield is, it's everyone was alluding too.

We have 40 States that have voted the same way in each of the past four elections. That's the highest level of consistency since at least the turn of the 20th century. And there may be as few somewhere between four and seven Swing States, a truly up for grabs for both sides.

Certainly, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin and inner circle competitive States. Maybe Michigan and Pennsylvania, although the 22 results suggest both are going to be very difficult for Republicans so long as abortion rights are front and center. And then, Democrats are hoping to extend in North Carolina. And so, even Wisconsin, Kate, could be tough for Republicans judging by the results of the State. Where in part of election, tiny handful of voters and a tiny handful of States will decide the direction of a nation of 330 million people.

BOLDUAN: First and foremost, for Republicans, they need to win or down that field that we're looking at right there on the wall. Ron, it's great to see you. Errol, thank you so much. Great to see you. John?

BERMAN: All right. Several States begin to implement so-called Retention Laws, aimed that helping improve literacy rates among children who fell behind during the pandemic.

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[11:50:55]

BERMAN: So, it's back to school day for many across the country, were wearing our special outfits. So, it's the beginning of a trend in education, Tennessee is the latest State to start holding back third graders who fallen behind in their reading scores. So, what are the implications here? CNN's Athena Jones has been looking into this. And this is a new policy like mandatory required holding back depending on testing.

ATHENA JONES: Right. Some States allow third graders to be held back but Tennessee, this is a first year they're saying that if you don't meet certain benchmarks, you're required to repeat third grade. But, you know, research shows that children who can't read proficiently by the end of third grade are four times less likely to finish high school on time and that's just for starters.

We know that just one in 3/4 graders was proficient in reading last year according to the Nation's Report Card. So, we're seeing States turning to these Retention laws or Test-based promotion laws is also what they're called. But it's controversial in Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, appealed or repealed a law that was -- that retained third graders because of a backlash. And so, we went to Tennessee to speak with parents about this approach and whether they think it'll work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (voiceover): Ralph Rolen says reading is his favorite subject.

RALPH ROLEN, THIRD GRADER STUDENT: I like Dog Man books, they're probably my favorite books.

JONES (voiceover): But he sometimes struggles. The Knoxville, Tennessee 9-year-old was in first grade when the COVID pandemic shut down schools.

CRYSTAL ROLEN, KNOXVILLE PARENT: Student for first grade is crucial for them to be able to read. So, for them to not be there and not have -- and the parents not know what to do. I don't want him to be behind on reading which will influence everything for the rest of his life. JONES (voiceover): He scored below proficient on the reading or

English language arts portion of Tennessee State Assessment Test, last Spring. Under a new State law aimed at improving literacy. Children like Ralph must repeat third grade unless they meet other conditions. He was promoted after attending summer school and signing up to be tutored throughout fourth grade. The problem, tutoring in third grade, wasn't enough to help Ralph pass the test. And as for summer school.

C. ROLEN: They went for three to four weeks. And as far as I can tell, summer school was not targeted or intensive towards the third graders that were needing the English language arts help. So, I am lacking confidence that the tutoring in third, fourth, or that the summer school is effective enough. And we're in the same position again for this coming year.

JONES: What do you mean in the same position?

C. ROLEN: Fourth graders are going to be held to the same testing and the same Retention law.

JONES (voiceover): Tennessee is the latest State to enact a third- grade Retention law amid growing concerns about learning loss from the pandemic. But does retention work?

GREGORY CIZEK, EDUCATION PROFESSOR, UNIV. OF NORTH CAROLINA: Repeating a grade works for some kids, not all kids. We are grasping at straws, we are grasping at every possible thing we can throw at it, to address what was a massive issue, you know, caused by schools closing for a year.

JONES (voiceover): Some studies suggest academic gains are short- lived, and the practice increases dropout rates and bullying. But a similar law adopted in Mississippi a decade ago has shown some promise. Boston University Researchers finding students who repeated third grade and got extra support, saw substantial gains in their English language arts scores by sixth grade, compared to students narrowly promoted to fourth grade.

CIZEK: 16 days of summer school or a few hours a week of tutoring. That's not going to be effective at remediating a full year of learning loss for a struggling kid. So, to have them repeat a grade, like third grade, for example, might be very effective for some kids. And it depends on the quality of the intervention that they're getting.

JONES (voiceover): In Nashville, Martia Sides (PH) shows daughter Echo, an avid reader was flagged as not proficient during the school year.

JONES: What is your teacher say about your reading skills?

ECHO, THIRD GRADER STUDENT: That they aren't really good.

[11:55:01]

JONES (voiceover): Despite getting straight A's. She passed the test in May. Her mother says Echo wasn't used to timed exams. And that basing promotion on one test, rather than considering children's grades and speaking to their teachers, is the wrong approach.

MARTIA, NASHVILLE PARENT: And they should be going to fourth grade because they're ready to go to fourth grade.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (on camera): And so, parents I spoke to like that mother, they were concerned about too many exceptions, allowing kids who were lagging to go ahead and promote to fourth grade. They were also concerned about the kind of help kids get. And so, there's a lot of questions about whether this approach is going to work to boost reading skills and improve literacy.

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean, a lot of questions but it couldn't be more important finding the answer to it though. Thanks, Athena. Thank you so much. Yes. Thank you all so much for joining us today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "INSIDE POLITICS" is up next.

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