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Interview With Rio Grande City, Texas, Mayor Joel Villarreal; Putin Announces Successful Test of Nuclear-Powered Missile; Blockbuster September Jobs Report; Trump Endorses House Speaker Candidate. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 06, 2023 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is a very sad thing for our country. It's poisoning the blood of our country. It's so bad. And people are coming in with disease. People are coming in with every possible thing that you can have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Here's what we heard from the Anti-Defamation League, which released a scathing statement, saying, in part: "Insinuating that immigrants are -- quote -- 'poisoning the blood of our country' echoes nativist talking points, and has the potential to cause real danger and violence."

We're going to have to leave it there. Thank you so much for joining INSIDE POLITICS.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Donald Trump trying to play kingmaker, as the House searches for a speaker, the former president now endorsing Jim Jordan, as some Republicans are furious with two of their own candidates planning a televised debate, one lawmaker calling it insanity.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Plus: Jobs soar. The September jobs report crushing expectations. The White House is celebrating, but will it help President Biden's poor approval ratings on the economy?

SANCHEZ: And back to Donald Trump. Did he share nuclear secrets with a member at Mar-a-Lago? Ahead, new details on an Australian- billionaire-turned-potential witness for the special counsel.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We start this afternoon with the race for speaker and a House divided, Representatives Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise courting fellow conference members behind closed doors right now, hoping to lock down enough support to win the speaker's gavel, even as emotions over Kevin McCarthy's ouster are still raw.

Now, neither candidate has a clear path yet, but one huge voice in the Republican Party has weighed in, Donald Trump. The 2024 Republican presidential front-runner and criminal defendant just endorsed Jim Jordan, and he's actually offered to step in as interim speaker until all of this is settled.

Let's get more now on today's closed-door maneuvering from CNN Capitol Hill reporter Melanie Zanona.

So, Melanie, bring us up to speed on what's happening.

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Yes, well, at this point, Boris, no candidate for speaker has the 218 votes that are going to be required to become speaker on the House floor.

Now, there is still time. Both men have been furiously working the phones, meeting with members, doing virtual meetings over the past few days trying to lock down their support. And both Scalise and Jordan have both really zeroed in on moderate members.

They are going to be a key constituency in this speaker's race. And those moderates, what they want to see is a clear plan to avoid the same chaos that they saw on the floor this week. They want to know that both men have a plan to govern. And they want to know how they are going to unite this bitterly divided House Republican Party.

Our Manu Raju did catch up with one of those candidates, Jim Jordan, this morning. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're saying you're a uniter. What is different between you and Steve Scalise?

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): I think it just -- this race comes down to two questions. I said this yesterday. Who can unite the conference? Who can also unite -- I guess maybe three questions. Who can unite the conference, who can unite conservative Republicans in our party around the country, and then who can go tell the country what we're doing and why it's important to them, to their family, to their business, to their community?

And, look, I like the job I got now. I never wanted to do this job, but someone has to who can bring the team together and can go communicate to the country. And that's why I'm running.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZANONA: Now, Jim Jordan is likely to have strong support within the conservative members in the conference.

And, of course, former President Donald Trump came out and supported him last night. So that's a big boost, at least on his standing on the right. But he's going to have to really work to win over those moderates, who are still very skeptical about a Jim Jordan for speaker. He was a co-founder of the Freedom Caucus. He's the face of the Biden impeachment inquiry, so still a long way to go.

But, next week, they will have their candidate forum on Tuesday. And then, Wednesday, they will meet behind closed doors for a secret ballot, where they will vote on who their next nominee for speaker is.

SANCHEZ: And, Melanie, literally, as you were speaking, I was handed some new information about a planned televised debate or forum that had been scheduled for Monday evening on FOX News between these two.

It seemed like a good idea to them when they presented it, but they got some feedback, didn't they, from congressional Republicans?

ZANONA: Yes.

And this is some of my reporting, Boris. So, as quickly as these plans were made, it seems like they fell apart. It was announced this morning that FOX News was going to do a televised interview with all of the speaker candidates on Monday from the Capitol.

[13:05:02]

And then I started hearing from a lot of members in the party, including some of those key moderates we were talking about, saying they thought this was a horrible idea, that they don't like the idea of the speaker drama being debated and broadcast for TV and saying this is something that they need to figure out and work out amongst themselves.

And then those candidates expressed those concerns to both Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise. And I am told that Steve Scalise and Jordan talked amongst each other, decided this was not a wise idea, and have decided to pull out. So now the forum appears to be off, Boris.

SANCHEZ: All right, we will look forward to seeing what exactly they do next.

Melanie Zanona from Capitol Hill, thanks so much for the report -- Pam.

BROWN: All right, Boris, now to a surprising jobs report that blew forecasts out of the water.

U.S. companies were on a hiring streak in September, creating 336,000 new jobs. That is nearly double what economists were expecting and the biggest gain since January. Unemployment stayed near a 50-year low coming in at 3.8 percent.

Just moments ago, President Biden spoke from the White House, crediting his so-called Bidenomics for the strong jobs report. When asked for his response on America's feeling about inflation, this is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that the American people are smart as hell and know what their interests are. I think they know they're better off financially than they were before. It's a fact.

And all that data, all that polling stuff shows they think they're more positive about the economy than they have been, more positive about their jobs, et cetera.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Joining us now to discuss this, deputy business editor at "The Washington Post" Damian Paletta.

It's really interesting hearing the president's response there. Obviously, the White House is celebrating this, crediting Bidenomics. But even with these hiring gains, you look at the polls, and Americans, the majority, still aren't feeling good, right, about where the economy is.

How do you square that with what's going on in reality?

DAMIAN PALETTA, DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Sure.

I mean, I think inflation really knocked the country off stride, and it really affected people's psychology about the economy. Prices were going up, and they were going up faster than wages. Now we're finally in a situation where wages are going up faster than inflation, and people should be feeling better; 336,000 jobs is unbelievable this far into the recovery.

And it's great at this point with just a quarter of the year left. We're heading into the holidays. With people having jobs, they're going to spend, and that's going to create more jobs. So that's a really good sign for the White House.

But I think the lag, the shadow of inflation is really going to continue to haunt a lot of voters heading into 2024, and that's something the White House is going to have to deal with.

BROWN: So what is driving this jobs growth, and why is it exceeding expectations by such a big amount?

PALETTA: I mean, consumer spending is just so strong, and Americans have just continued buying things, cars, refrigerators, whatever. They just can't get enough.

And I think we thought, when interest rates went up, that was going to really cool things off. And it didn't. Sure, the housing market has changed a bit. There's still a lot of cash offers on houses, but mortgages are very expensive.

But people continue to spend money. Now, that's good and bad. We're seeing credit card debt at very high levels. And you eventually have to pay that back. So, that's going to be something that's concerning heading into next year. But as long as consumers are spending money, there's going to be jobs out there.

And, right now, there's plenty of opportunity for people to get into the job market. BROWN: There was a lot of talk about a soft landing, and now there's

a lot of questions about, are we in a hotter economy for a longer amount of time, and will this mean that the Fed raises rates more?

Tell us about what your insight is on that and how that's impacting markets.

PALETTA: Well, great question.

I mean, going into this, the Fed has never really successfully been able to thread that needle of raising interest rates this much and getting through it without a recession. But it looks like they might pull it off, which would be great.

But I think the report today, when it came out this morning, we did see the stock market fell pretty sharply, because people assumed that the Fed was going to have to continue raising interest rates to get the economy to stay cool.

And so now the market's back up because I think people realize, well, companies are going to continue earning money. That's good. We're going to have to see how the next few months play out. If consumers continue spending money into the holidays and beyond, yes, we're going to possibly pull off this soft landing that many people thought the Fed could never achieve.

BROWN: I have to tell you, though, for a lot of people looking at their retirement funds, it's not a pretty sight.

So what is your advice to those folks who look at their funds and are concerned? What should they -- what steps should they be taking now?

PALETTA: Definitely don't overreact, but definitely want to keep a close eye on things. I mean, as you guys know really well, there's a lot of things that could happen in the next few months that could knock this country off stride.

A government shutdown could be very destabilizing. Maybe the credit card debt gets to be too much. If people start falling behind on their payments and they stop spending money, that will lead to layoffs. So there's a lot of things that could go wrong, could affect the stock market. So they should continue to pay attention, but don't overreact.

This is a good day, good news. We will see what happens next month.

BROWN: All right, Damian Paletta, thank you so much -- Boris.

[13:10:03]

SANCHEZ: Russia unleashing yet another deadly strike in Ukraine. This morning, they launched missiles at residential buildings in Kharkiv, killing a 10-year-old boy and his grandmother.

This comes after a massive drone attack overnight in the port city of Odesa. Ukraine says that several trucks caught fire when a grain storage facility was hit. And the death toll is rising in Hroza, where more than 50 people were killed in a missile strike that targeted a cafe.

People had gathered there to mourn the death of a local soldier when the building was attacked and, as you can see on your screen, reduced to rubble.

CNN's former Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty joins us now for some perspective.

Jill, let's start with that attack in Hroza, not a military target. It appears that it was a memorial for someone. And yet Russia used a very large missile to attack the area. What message are they sending?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think they're continuing to do what they have been doing, which is just relentless bombing.

And a lot of this really, Boris, is meant to make people, make the Ukrainians simply give up, that it is too much. There is enormous psychological pressure right now. And that's precisely what Putin wants to do.

So it's really merciless. And I don't see any sign that he's going to change that, unfortunately.

SANCHEZ: Jill, Putin is putting pressure on Ukraine and the West in a different way as well. He just announced the successful test of a new nuclear-powered missile, no indication of when or where it might be used.

But he's laying out clearly that he has very powerful weapons he's willing to use.

DOUGHERTY: Oh, yes.

I mean, this is classic Putin right now, a lot of nuclear threatening comments. He's talking about this Burevestnik missile. It's a nuclear propulsion cruise missile. And, by the way, they have had a lot of trouble with this missile over the years going back to like 2017. It was blowing up. It had problems.

So we would have to see whether actually this is correct. But, that said, this is another way that Putin simply ups the ante, and he immediately turns to nuclear weapons, which is one thing that -- it's about the last thing that Russia has that has any strength to it. The economy is not in good shape. Military is not performing well.

So it's another threatening situation. Just as he was saying today, well, we could pull out of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. That's another, I think, way of just constantly trying to threaten the world.

SANCHEZ: I'm also eager to get your read on some statements that he made.

And you have obviously learned Kremlin dialogue very well in your years working at the Moscow bureau for CNN. He described Russia's war in Ukraine not as a conflict over territory, but as a conflict over principles. How should we interpret that?

DOUGHERTY: Well, it's -- again, this is really -- everything that you're talking about for us is what Vladimir Putin does.

This is his game card. And I actually have been to that conference, the Valdai forum, where Putin talks for like three hours. And I heard this a long time ago, the very same thing. What he does is he says, it's all the West's fault. We want to have a new world, a new world that is not under the thumb of the West and the United States, but nobody would listen to us.

He has used that phrase many, many times. And then he criticizes the arrogance of the West, and then goes on to say, I will do something, which is a nuclear part of it, because they're doing it.

So this is again -- we have to understand that Putin has his approach. This is really the show that he puts on to try to threaten the world. And it's kind of an old playbook at this point. But, that said, it is dangerous and threatening.

SANCHEZ: And it comes as there is increased opposition in Congress to sending more aid to Ukraine, the United States one of the biggest suppliers of military aid in the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. What ultimately happens if Congress delays sending aid or ultimately chooses to wait longer before they do?

DOUGHERTY: Well, there's no question that that would be a disaster for Ukraine.

Ukraine needs the weapons that the United States and other countries are providing. And I think this is -- we have been speaking about Vladimir Putin. This is his objective, to wait it out, to wait for the West to fall apart, to wait for political dissension to take a toll on support for helping Ukraine, divide the allies, divide Europe from the United States.

[13:15:17]

And he, I think, is banking on something like that happening. And it really would be a terrible situation. I think, if you look at the polls, though, if you look at the polling, the majority of Americans still do support aid to Ukraine.

SANCHEZ: Jill Dougherty, very much appreciate getting your perspective. Thanks so much.

Still plenty more news to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

Was it a change in policy, or was he backed into a corner? How the Biden administration is explaining its move to build a border wall, even though the president says walls do not work. We're going to be speaking to the mayor of a border city in just moments.

Plus, a new report from ABC News revealing a troubling allegation, that Trump shared potentially sensitive government secrets with a member of Mar-a-Lago. And, later, it's just how the cookie crumbles. Why the Girl Scouts are

discontinuing a popular treat just a year after its debut.

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[13:20:22]

SANCHEZ: As a surge in migrant crossings hits the Southern border, the White House is shifting its approach on immigration. They're just not calling it a shift.

The latest move, President Biden reviving a program to swiftly deport Venezuelans who enter illegally. It comes after he contradicted a key campaign promise, clearing the way for new border wall construction. A DHS bulletin stressed the acute and immediate need for a physical barrier at the border, something Biden has said is ineffective.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas addressed the apparent discrepancy in Mexico yesterday, but he may have further muddied the picture. Listen.

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ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: There is no new administration policy for the border wall. From day one, this administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer.

That remains our position, and our position has never wavered. The language in the federal register notice is being taken out of context, and it does not signify any change in policy whatsoever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's talk to someone in the Rio Grande Valley, that stretch of Texas border that's getting new barriers.

Joining us now is mayor Joel Villarreal of Rio Grande City.

Mayor, thank you so much for being with us.

We have heard President Biden yesterday and again today say that a border barrier is ineffective. Do you agree?

JOEL VILLARREAL (D), MAYOR OF RIO GRANDE CITY, TEXAS: Yes, absolutely.

By the way, thank you for having me (AUDIO GAP) America.

(LAUGHTER)

VILLARREAL: Look, it is hypocrisy at its finest. And let me tell you why.

Bottom line is, President Biden lied to the American people. And if memory serves me well, he was not going to build another foot of border wall. But fast-forward to today. He is building the wall. Now, again, it is hypocrisy.

I mean, at this point, for example, we are suing Governor Abbott for erecting a barrier, but President Biden is doing the same thing, which is nonsense. I mean, at this point, is the wall going to be effective? And the answer is no. No, it's not.

But, by the way, there are sections along the 2,000-mile Southern border where a wall would be effective. I don't believe this is one of them. But, again, there are sections that -- along the 2,000-mile Southern border that would benefit by a border wall.

Now, the current influxes are not going to be -- this wall is not going to impact the current influxes, because these individuals are turning themselves in, again, self-surrender. You're talking about thousands of people.

Now, at this point, expedited removal works and also remain-in-Mexico. During an influx, it is imperative that we exercise caution against our global enemies exploiting our broken immigration system to inflict pain on America. And we must exercise caution.

Now, the same token is, this catch-and-release is not sustainable. There's a reason why we don't have sanctuary cities along the border. And that's simply because it is not feasible to house thousands of people at the expense and on the backs of the local taxpayers, which, by the way, New York City cannot handle and Chicago cannot handle it.

No city in America can handle it. And, by the way, no mayor or governor in America should have to bear the burden for a broken immigration system without the federal financial resources that are necessary to better manage these flows.

Now, which is unfortunate, we cannot bridge the political divide. And, by the way, and I have to say this, to be fair to the president, to our democracy, Congress has failed to deliver consequential long-term solutions for a broken immigration system, which, consequently, places the onus on the president, causing border policies to flow directionally with the change of White House administrations.

Now, when, if ever are we going to get to that point? I don't know. But, I mean, at this point, you're talking about both political parties amassing political capital by simply engaging in the debate on immigration and border security, but not delivering consequential long-term solutions.

And, by the way, the last five presidential administrations, the American people initially delivered a unified government to each of those administrations, and yet we still failed to prioritize a broken immigration system.

And I have said this before. If we continue in the same trajectory, 10 years from today, we're going to be having the same conversation, because we failed to address it at its core. And, anyway, I can go on and on with this, but...

(CROSSTALK) SANCHEZ: Well, I can tell you're very passionate about the issue, and I hope what you're saying about another decade of this continuing to be a problem is not the case.

But let me ask you about a potential solution, because this has been floated many times out there. And perhaps, accurately, you describe a cynicism about both parties using this issue to their political advantage. But what's been laid out is for Republicans who want border security and more enhanced equipment and barriers at the border, they will get that.

[13:25:13]

And then, on the other side, Democrats will see what they want, which is a more accessible asylum system, a pathway to citizenship for folks that are undocumented like dreamers. Do you think that that solution that's been floated before would be effective? And, if so, why hasn't it been taken up?

VILLARREAL: Would it be effective? Absolutely.

Because the reality is that we do -- immigration and border security are not mutually exclusive. They can coexist. But we have not been able to bridge that political divide for X-number of reasons.

But to all Democrats, I would say this. We must exercise caution against our global enemies exploiting our broken immigration system to inflict pain on America. And to all Republicans, I say this. We are a country of immigrants, of the people, by the people, for the people.

And, in fact, President Ronald Reagan said it best. One of the most important sources of America's greatness, where we lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people, our strength from every country and every corner of the world.

Now, the center is where the majority of problems are solved. Can we get to the center? That's yet to be determined? For the last several decades, we have not been able to do that. And, at some point, we're going to have to, because this is an American issue. It is not a Democrat issue. It is not a Republican issue. It is an American issue.

And I can -- there are solutions ad nauseam. You're talking about there's, what -- every -- should I say, a dime a dozen, ad nauseam solutions that have been written about and written for many articles about this. But, unfortunately, we still come to the same thing.

We have not been able to bridge the political divide. And until we do so, we're going to continue to see this problem. It's not going to go away. It's not going to go away. And, by the way, we do mean -- at this point, we have to make it work if we want at some point to address this issue of having this influx.

It's not going to go away, because people the world over still believe in the American dream, this idea that individuals can rise above their circumstances in life. And as long as people still believe in that dream, then we're going to continue to see these influxes. It's not going to go away.

So at what point are we finally going to address it? And we haven't. Again, it's yet to be determined at some point where Democrats and Republicans are going to get together, instead of this political mudslinging, which accomplishes absolutely zero.

SANCHEZ: Right.

VILLARREAL: On the contrary, it is counterproductive to the cumbersome and complex task of managing the border and, again, immigration and border security.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes.

Mayor Joel Villarreal, very much appreciate how passionate you are about this issue and how important it is to you. We have to leave the conversation there, but I hope you will come back sometime to discuss further.

VILLARREAL: Thank you. Appreciate your time. God bless.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Mayor. And enjoy the weekend. Happy Friday to you as well.

Still plenty more to come on NEWS CENTRAL. Coming up: Revealing sensitive information nuclear subs? A new report alleges that's what President Trump did at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Could that spell more legal trouble for the former president?

And, later, as more books are being banned, there's a growing call to stop what opponents are calling a suppression of ideas. We're going to dig into this debate when we come back.

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