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FAA Criticizes Boeing's Safety Culture; Polls Open in Michigan; Nikki Haley is Interviewed about the Campaign; Biden Meets with Congressional Leaders; Becerra in Alabama Amid IVF Ruling. Aired 9- 9:30a ET

Aired February 27, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Not know how to report safety problems to their managers. Workers also said they were concerned about retaliation for reporting issues. This report also calls out quality issues that demonstrate poor safety culture. Remember, it was essentially a quality control problem that was detailed in the initial report from the NTSB on Alaska Flight 1282. That plane left the factory at Boeing in Renton, Washington, without the critical bolts that keep the door plug in place.

Here is the big takeaway from this report. Quote, "the expert panel observed a disconnect between Boeing's senior management and other members of the organization on safety culture."

This only confirms what critics have been saying, that Boeing has lost its way. For now, Boeing's statement is this. It says, "we've taken important steps to foster a safety culture that empowers and encourages all employees to share their voice. But there is more work to do."

This is only the first report on Boeing to come from the FAA since the door plug incident on January 5th. The FAA is currently auditing Boeing's production practices at its plant in Renton, Washington. That report due out any day now, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. And we will wait for that one.

Pete Muntean, as always, thank you very much.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: It is 9:00 a.m. and it is primary day in Michigan. And right now, as we speak, voters making their choices in this key battleground state. President Biden and Donald Trump expected to sail to victory for their respective parties, but they each do face a serious test today. President Biden's biggest challenge is a large block of Democratic voters in Michigan who are angry over his handling of Israels actions in Gaza. Protesters are vowing to mark uncommitted instead of putting Biden's name.

And while Donald Trump has just one major rival left in Nikki Haley, who gets the state's 55 delegates won't be settled tonight. Only 16 are up for grabs today. The rest will be allocated on Saturday at the state's party convention.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher is at a polling place right now in Waterford, Michigan.

Are you see -- I see it's pretty quiet right now. Are you seeing many voters? And have you been able to talk to some of them? What are they saying?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, to be very honest, Sara, we have not seen a ton of voters coming through here at Waterford Kettering High School. But those that we have spoken with have had very strong convictions about the ballots that they cast.

Now, I can't move around here and that's because I'm taped into this area to give the voters the privacy that they deserve as they come and cast their ballots. When they come through the door, they basically choose a Republican or a Democratic ballot. And then they make their choice in the presidential preference primary.

You mentioned those 140 Democratic delegates. The overwhelming majority of those will be cast -- will be allocated based on the results today. The 55 Republican delegates, a little more complicated due to some national party rules and some intra state party issues that are going on. So, it's the beginning of the process for them.

Now, of course, Democrats are watching that uncommitted vote. It's a three-week old campaign that is shepherded by Arab American voters, but also has young voters and progressives who have signed onto that, saying that it's basically a protest vote, telling President Joe Biden that they want him to call for a permanent and immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Now, on the Republican side, there are several names on the ballot, but it's really down, of course, to former President Donald Trump and to Nikki Haley. And I spoke with a voter today who explained to me why she made the choice that she did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGAN STEWART, VOTED FOR DONALD TRUMP: I'm definitely not pro-Trump. I had to kind of look into the two of them. I kind of think it would be funny to have a female president. That was something interesting when Hillary ran. But I just didn't really agree with -- I agreed more with what Trump has going on than her. And also I feel like out of the two of them, Trump has a better chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Now, before the polls even opened today, Sara, at 7:00 a.m., according to the secretary of state, more than a million Michiganders cast early and absentee ballots in this primary. So, there is high interest in making their voices heard here in Michigan.

SIDNER: Dianne Gallagher, we will be coming back to you, I'm sure, throughout the day, trying to figure out what is happening there in Michigan. Appreciate it. Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And joining us right now is Republican presidential candidate, Governor Nikki Haley.

Governor, thank you so much for joining us on this very important day in the primary calendar.

You just heard from one voter, one Republican voter in Michigan, who said that she looked into both you and Donald Trump.

[09:05:05]

She likes the idea of having a female president. She said in the end, "out of the two of them, Trump has a better chance." What does today mean for you and your campaign?

NIKKI HALEY (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, good morning.

You know, it's one of those things where I think you -- what I have told everybody is in a general election you're given a choice. In a primary, you make your choice. And so today the people of Michigan are going to make their choice.

We had two great events there. I wish we could have spent more time in Michigan. But, you know, it's about letting people know. Do we want more of the same or do we want something different? More of the same is Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Something different is a new generational leader that puts all the negativity and baggage aside and starts focusing on the solutions of the future.

We've got to stop the wasteful spending and get our economy back on track. We've got to get our kids reading again and go back to the basics in education. We have got to secure our borders. No more excuses. We need to bring law and order back to our cities and we need a strong America that prevents wars that we can all be proud of. And that's what we're really trying to say is, look, we have seen a shift in what is happening on our political landscape.

And this is not about us, this is about our kids. This is about other people's grandkids. The fact that they need to know that they can buy a home, that they can get a job, that they can make ends meet, that they don't have to worry about wars breaking out. That's what this is focused on. And right now kids don't feel that. The younger generation doesn't feel that. They're worried. There's a reason there's a lot of anxiety, stress, and depression, and we need to start moving in a new direction to get that -- all of that moved in a good way.

BOLDUAN: You said you wish you'd spent more time in Michigan. Why didn't you?

HALEY: We've been in Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolinas. So, we had two great events in Michigan. We were in Minnesota -- I guess we're in Minnesota now. We're headed to Colorado next. So, you go and you hit as many places as you can. But look, the people of Michigan were fantastic. They are tired. They

want to see something now. They want to see people work for them. And they're also worried, when you look in this primary, they want someone that can serve eight years with no drama and no vendettas. And what they also see is a shift of what's happening. Donald Trump has made this entire election about him. And what they want to know is, what are you going to do to fix things? And the way he shifted the Republican Party, he put us $8 trillion in debt in just four years. He's not talking about fiscal discipline at all. He's not talking about shrinking the size of government. Then he's going in - and we've always been peace through strength. And now we see him walking away from our allies and instead holding hands with dictators. That's not who we are.

And then you're going to go so far as the RNC? You're going to have -- takeover the RNC and make it all about just Donald Trump? And now there's a resolution to stop him from using the RNC for his own personal legal fees, and he's pitching a fit over it. That's what's wrong with this is, this has become about one man when it should be about the American people. That's what we're fighting for is to get this back on the focus of the American people and stop it being on just one man.

BOLDUAN: And you often say that Donald Trump cannot win a general election, will not win a general election. You've not yet convinced a majority of Republican prime -- Republican voters in primary contests that he should not win. Why not?

HALEY: Well, I think you look at any of the early states, yes, he won those. I give him that. But he did not get 40 percent of the Republican primary vote. You can't win a general election without the 40 percent.

But look at the polls. The Marquette poll came out last week. I mean, in all the polls he's down by five, he's down by seven. Marquette had a margin of error. I defeat Joe Biden by 18 points. If we really want to turn the tide, if we really want to fix things, you go into D.C. with double-digits, that's a whole change. It's more than the presidency, it's about House, it's about Senate, it's about governorships. That's what we're trying to do.

BOLDUAN: But if it's as simple as that, Governor, why aren't a majority of Republican primary voters seeing it?

HALEY: Look, 70 percent of Americans have said they don't want Donald Trump or Joe Biden. I am giving them a choice. We don't anoint kings in America. We allow people to vote in elections. And that's what we've done. In the next ten days, 21 states and territories will vote. That's a great thing about America. And I think everybody deserves competition.

I am fighting for a new generational leader. I'm fighting for us to move on from the past and go forward with the future. I'm fighting for an America where families can sit down at the dinner table and not fight over politics. I'm fighting for an America where you can go to your job and say something and not worry about getting fired. I'm fighting for an American were our kids don't live in a country that's full of anger and hatred and division, and instead focused on the values that made our country so great. Thats what we're trying to do. That's the focus of where we're trying to go is to make this better for our kids.

[09:10:04]

And I think our kids deserve that. They don't deserve the tone and the attitude and the division that we have in our country right now.

BOLDUAN: The tone is something I wanted -- I actually wanted to ask you about.

There is one exit poll, one part of an exit poll, that made me scratch my head coming out of South Carolina. Donald Trump mocked your husband's military service. And I was listening to your campaign event last night and you brought that up. You said, we can take it, meaning your family, but you mock one member of the military, you're mocking every member of the military. And still the exit poll out of South Carolina showed that Donald Trump won nearly 70 percent of voters who were military utterance. How do you make sense of it?

HALEY: I mean it's not up for me to make sense of what people think, it's up for me to put out an option for people to see there's a better way. I mean that's the focus.

I'm a proud military spouse. I - you know, we're bonded with other military families who sacrifice every day. I mean the fact -- it says more about Donald Trump that he'll mock my husband's military service. It says more about Donald Trump that he'll call the last remaining candidate birdbrain or brain dead. It says more about Donald Trump that everybody thinks it's funny that he accessed way. I don't think the rest of the world thinks that's funny. I don't think that our kids need to see someone who acts like that. I don't think our kids need to see us going down this fiscal cliff that we're seeing where we're paying more money in interest then we are in our defense budget, or the fact that when we had a chance to secure the border last week, instead of Congress going in and strengthening that law, Donald Trump said, don't pass anything until the general election. We can't wait one more day to pass a strong border bill.

These are things that matter. These are things that affect American families. And what we're trying to do is say, look, you have a choice. And in a primary, you make your choice. That's what we hope to people of Michigan do today. That's what we're focused on the Super Tuesday states going forward.

I'm not going to stop when 70 percent of Americans say they don't want Donald Trump or Joe Biden. We're going to give them an option. That's what we do in America. That's the beautiful part of our country. And that's why we're going to keep on fighting.

BOLDUAN: You have remained disciplined in not defining -- really anyone in your campaign, defining what a win looks like in any particular contest in these early states. Will you define what a loss looks like for you in Michigan, how your team is measuring this? HALEY: I will continue to say our goal is to be competitive. It's

always been to be competitive. And if you're getting 40 percent in all the early states, that's making a point. That's making a point that, look, we are telling you, for all the Republican Party, we are in a ship with a hole in it. You can either ignore the hole and go down with the ship, or you can acknowledge that we've got to look for a life raft.

I am telling you, there will be a female president of the United States. It will either be me or it will be Kamala Harris. If Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, we will see a president Kamala Harris. There's a reason the Democrats are salivating at the thought of Donald Trump, because they look at it and they know anybody could beat Donald Trump. But I know the fact is, we've got to make sure not only do Republicans win, but it's about turning our country in a new direction.

It's a direction that's healthy. It's a direction that's exciting. It's a direction that goes and builds up our economy and secures our borders and makes sure that we're safe again. It's a direction that allows our kids to start reading and focus on the basics and education and a direction where they know they're going to have a job and be able to buy a home. Those things matter to every American family. And that's what I'm going to continue to fight for.

BOLDUAN: Your -- the fight continues. You definitely have -- make that clear and have.

Your pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee, what does that look like if the nominee is not you? Does it -- what does that support look like? Does it include campaigning for that person?

HALEY: Well, I mean, the difference is, when you are in the middle of a campaign, you don't think about anything beyond the campaign. You think about the state that you're in today. You think about what you're going to do tomorrow. So, I realize everybody else wants to fast forward. That's not what I do. I focus on the day. I focus on the time. I focused on being in the moment. And that's what we're doing right now.

What I will tell you is, I have long said, I have serious concerns about Donald Trump. I have even more concerns about Joe Biden. But I don't think either one should be president. And that's why I'm running.

And so, I'm going to continue to run as long as Americans say they want a choice. As long as Americans say they want someone to vote for, I am going to continue to do that. And what a blessing it is in America that we can. This is not Russia where you've got a dictator that goes and kills his political opponents. This is America, where people can have their voices heard. This is America, where you can go and be anything you want to be without anyone getting in the way. This is America, that was built on faith, family and country. That's what I'm trying to do is get us to remember our purpose.

[09:15:02] Get us to remember who we are as Americans in the first place, not a divided country, not a divided the party, not a country sitting in anger, but one sitting in hope and energy and saying that we're going to do this for our kids. That's what I'm going to keep fighting for. I'm not going to think about what's going to happen ten days, two months, three months from now.

BOLDUAN: Governor Nikki Haley, Republican presidential candidate, it's always good to have you on. Good luck today in Michigan. Thank you.

HALEY: Thanks so much. Go to nikkihaley.com.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: Good discussion.

A huge meeting at the White House this morning. President Biden with key congressional leaders. A shutdown looms just days away and there are growing fears this could be a big one.

The president is sending his team to Alabama amid the fallout over the state's controversial embryo ruling. Is this a political opening in the buildup to a general election?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:19]

BERMAN: A huge meeting at the White House shortly. The four leaders of Congress will head there this morning for critical talks with President Biden about Ukraine funding, border funding, and a potential government shutdown that really looks almost inevitable, and possibly very big.

CNN's Lauren Fox is in Washington, Arlette Saenz at the White House.

Lauren, first to you.

These congressional leaders headed to The Hill. Negotiations all but broke down over the weekend. Where do things stand?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is really going to be a reality check for these congressional leaders, specifically Speaker Mike Johnson, because yesterday when senator got back to Washington, one thing that you heard repeatedly was, let's just get this done. There's only five years -- five months left in this fiscal year, and there's the sense that it is time to end what Senator Shelley Moore Capito said was the misery march of these continual short-term government funding bills that they have to pass in order to avoid these government shutdowns.

The argument right now is over some of these policy riders. Some of these far-right extreme members are pushing for as part of this negotiation. But the argument from Senate Democrats is the members that are pushing Speaker Johnson to agree to some of those policy riders are the same members who are never going to vote for a spending deal to begin with.

So, one of the things I expect you may see after this meeting is sort of a question mark of whether or not Speaker Johnson sees the writing on the wall inside that room, given the fact that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has sent warning shots saying that it is time to close this out, given the fact that Senate Democrats, House Democrats are on the same page, it feels like this isn't really the fight now between Republicans and Democrats, this is a fight between the House of Representatives and the Republican leader there and everyone else.

John.

BERMAN: Yes, they are not just questions about whether Mike Johnson can lead, but who he can even lead at this point,

Arlette, let's go to you at the White House. What do White House official say about these talks today?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, it's clear that this meeting is shaping up to be a consequential sit down with President Biden and the top four congressional leaders over a host of issues. As Lauren noted, the most pressing issue is that partial government shutdown that is now looming on Friday.

Look, White House officials say that they feel these types of meetings have been productive in the past. That they have been able to move for -- the ball forward on a host of different issues when the president is able to sit down in the room with congressional leadership. But it's entirely unclear whether they actually will be able to come together to reach an agreement by Friday to prevent a government shutdown two key agencies, like the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Food and Drug Administration.

But it's not just the government shutdown that the president is concerned with today. He is also significantly concerned with getting additional aid to Ukraine. For months now, President Biden has warned that not providing this assistance to Ukraine would severely limit Ukrainian soldiers' abilities on the battlefield as they are now in this third year of this war against Russia. We saw that a bill passed out of the Senate with bipartisan support that would get this aid to Israel, to Ukraine, and also to Taiwan. But so far it has been scuttled over in the House as House Speaker Mike Johnson has not brought it up for a vote before his House number. So, part of the president's goal in today is really trying to press Johnson to bring this up for a vote. The White House feels that there is bipartisan support when it comes to this Ukraine aid.

But then also there's that issue of border security. The president made some concessions in those bipartisan border talks that were playing out in the Senate. The House refuse to bring that up as well. And we know that the president is about to head down to Texas, Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday for a visit to the U.S./Mexico border, trying to flip the script once again on Republicans over this issue.

So, while the most pressing issue is that government shutdown, the president also has Ukraine, also has borders security at the top of his agenda today when he sits down with leaders in about two hours.

BERMAN: All right, Arlette Saenz at the White House, you're watching that very carefully. Lauren Fox, on Capitol Hill, our thanks to you as well.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, I know you know this, but it is primary day in Michigan today, and Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib wants Michigan voters to vote uncommitted in protest of President Biden's Israel policy as the war in Gaza rages on. What that might mean, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:29:01]

SIDNER: Right now, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is in Alabama to meet with patients and healthcare workers in the wake of the state supreme court's ruling declaring that frozen embryos are children, and that someone who destroys them could be liable for wrongful death. This morning, Secretary Becerra told our John Berman that confusion and fear from this ruling go far beyond the state of Alabama.

CNN's Meg Tirrell is in Birmingham for us this morning.

The HSS secretary being very clear that this could have far-reaching impacts. What are you hearing?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara, I mean that's something that we have heard from fertility doctors and patients really across the country, that they're worried that Alabama has set a precedent that we might see in terms of restricting access to treatments like IVF in other states.

But here in Alabama, hopes of families are really resting on state lawmakers. They're hoping that this week they can come together and craft a bill that would protect IVF. That is really what we're hearing from patients and doctors in terms of next steps and potentially allowing IVF treatments to go forward once again.

[09:30:04]

You know, this clinic right here, Alabama Fertility, as well as two others in the state, have paused IVF.