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Supreme Court to Drop Decision; Presidential Election Polls; Biden on Trump Rematch. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired March 04, 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]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: One of them. There will be no bad blood from Swifties everywhere. You, my friend, did the work. You understood the assignment this morning.

Will Ripley, thank you so much, from Taipei, Taiwan.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are just moments away from what could be an historic ruling. Standing by the Supreme Court for a decision that will determine whether Donald Trump can be banned from state ballots for being an insurrectionist

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Tightening the belt in the Trump campaign. His team looking to pull back on spending as his legal expenses mount and they look toward what could be a long and costly general election.

SIDNER: And the Air National guardsman accused of posting a trove of classified documents online is expected to plead guilty today in federal court. We are live inside court.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Baldwin. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: Happening now, a highly unusual morning. We are standing by the Supreme Court. Why? Because in a rare move, the Supreme Court told us they were releasing a decision this morning. Why? Well, there is a belief that it is likely the decision on whether Donald Trump can be banned from state ballots for being an insurrectionist. There is a belief it is imminent. Why or why now? Well, Super Tuesday is tomorrow. And a lot of people are voting.

CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid is outside the Supreme Court this morning because that's where the justices, frankly, told us to be this morning, Paula, didn't they.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That is exactly right. And, of course, the least transparent branch of government doesn't tell us which opinions are coming down, but we widely expect that they may be issuing their ruling in the ballot eligibility case because, as you noted, tomorrows is Super Tuesday, so voters in over a dozen states will head to vote in their primaries. And the parties on both sides of this case had urged the Supreme Court to issue their decision before Super Tuesday so that voters would know if the person that they're voting for in the primary is or is not going to appear on the general election ballot.

Now, it was just about a month ago that we were here for oral arguments in this case where the state of Colorado argued to the justices that that state has the authority to remove former President Trump from the ballot based on the 14th Amendment's so-called insurrectionist ban. Now, I'll remind you that even the courts within the state of Colorado were split on this, but the Colorado Supreme Court, it did opt to remove Trump, arguing that he actually engaged in an insurrection based on his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

But the justices, during oral arguments, justices on both sides of the aisle, they appeared skeptical of that argument. And after the oral arguments, it really appeared that the Trump team did very well, not only because the former president had a very experienced and well- prepared attorney, but also because the justices did not appear willing to accept Colorado's arguments.

And what happens in this case, whatever they decide, we expect will apply to all the other states as well, because several other states have attempted the same thing. This longshot, legal theory to try to remove Trump from the ballot. Only Illinois and Maine have opted to remove him. But even in other states, where they didn't go that far, they left the door open to possibly trying this again. That's why this ruling is so critical, not only for Colorado, but for the entire country.

And what we're watching for is not only what did they decide, but how did they decided it. And this appeared to be an opportunity where you could get broad, bipartisan consensus. And there was a challenge for Chief Justice John Roberts to build a consensus, even if he could only get a narrow opinion, if he can get something with broad bipartisan support, even something that's 9-0, that would be significant for the court. That is increasingly under scrutiny, not only for concerns about ethics, but also for partisanship.

And I'll remind you, John, we'll be back here in a little over a month-and-a-half for another Trump related case that could impact the election on possible presidential immunity to shield him from the federal election subversion case.

BERMAN: All right, consider me reminded, fully reminded of that fact.

Paula Reid, thank you. We are watching very carefully today, not just for what they say, but how they say it.

Sara.

SIDNER: And to continue the conversation, joining us now, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams.

Elliot, so good to see you.

This is coming down to the wire. If SCOTUS rules Trump is eligible to appear on Colorado's presidential ballot -- we know he hasn't actually been taken off at this point in time awaiting in this decision -- but does this settle similar legal challenges that he is facing in a few other states right now?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: In all likelihood, and sort of as Paula had said a moment ago, it really, Sara depends on how the Supreme Court writes it. They could write the opinion to only apply to Colorado's ballot.

[09:05:01]

I think that would be highly unlikely because so many of the questions that were asked at the hearing by the justices seemed to indicate that they don't wish to have one state issue a rule that could apply to other states, right?

So, my guess is that they have some sort of nationwide ruling about this question of really who was allowed to decide whether a candidate is eligible for ballot -- access to the ballot as a presidential candidate.

SIDNER: We were talking to Joan Biskupic last hour, who is also watching this very closely. And she talked about sort of the signs that the court is going to not allow Colorado's ruling to stand. But let's just take a look at what happens if that doesn't come true. In other words, if they uphold what Colorado did, which was to say that Donald Trump does not -- is not allowed to be on the ballot because he was part of an insurrection. What might that mean for the election?

WILLIAMS: Yes, I think a fair amount of confusion, and that's not weighing in one way or the other on it. But you would simply have a patchwork of procedures and practices across the country as to, number one, who can decide whether someone engaged in insurrection. And more importantly, who can decide for the country whether a candidate ought to be on the ballot or not.

And I think, you know, reading the tea leaves, why they're issuing this ruling today, prior to Super Tuesday, is to clear up any ambiguity as to the legitimacy of each states' ballot. People have already voted in Colorado under a cloud of not knowing whether one of the candidates they voted for is a legitimate candidate for the presidency or not. And I think the Supreme Court sort of, at least here, I would think, trying to be in the business of clearing up ambiguity for the whole country, rather than just one state.

SIDNER: Clearing up confusion is important, especially when it comes to elections.

I do want to talk to you about the 14th Amendment, and we'll - we'll pop it up here.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

SIDNER: Just a very brief look at what the 14th Amendment says. Basically that no person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, and it goes on and on and on -

WILLIAMS: Yes. SIDNER: Naming all of these different groups that cannot do this. But it gets to hold any office, shall be engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies.

Let me ask you about this.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

SIDNER: If the court decides that Colorado cannot do this, does this have a real weakening of the 14th Amendment here?

WILLIAMS: It might. But -- but again, the 14th Amendment is -- like so much of the Constitution, is silent on how we actually implement these provisions. And the question is, OK, so, imagine they were to rule against former President Trump, who then decides what an insurrectionist is. Is it a secretary of state? Is it, you know, a non-partisan elected panel in a state? Is it a state legislature. And I think it would leave more confusion than anything else.

And again, I think the courts goal here is clearing up any of that ambiguity. But it really is an open question. And, frankly, one of the things that came up at oral argument was the question of even who does this apply to? Does it apply to quote/unquote officers of the United States? And is the president of the United States one?

Now, as a matter of common sense, it seems like the president's an officer. The language of the Constitution isn't entirely clear on that. And that may not be a question the court touches today, but - but it's an important one.

SIDNER: Elliot Williams, it is true, the president isn't named in the 14th Amendment. Literally everything else and everyone else seems to be. We will see what this court says. All eyes on the Supreme Court at this hour.

Elliot Williams, thank you so much.

Kate.

WILLIAMS: Thanks, Sara.

BOLDUAN: Tightening the belt, raining in expenses, watching the wallet, call it whatever you want, but the Donald Trump campaign is worried about expenses and there's new reporting about why and what they're doing about it.

Vice President Kamala Harris calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and she's about to meet with an Israeli war cabinet member who is also Netanyahu's rival.

And the former chief financial officer for the Trump Organization is about to plead guilty to perjury today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:13:40] BERMAN: "Losers who are losers are never graceful." That is how President Biden is describing Donald Trump this morning in a wide ranging sit down interview. The president says that if he wins -- he actually says when he wins in November, he does not expect that Trump will concede. And he told "The New Yorker," quote, "I think he will contest it. I think he'll contest it no matter what the result is."

CNN's senior data reporter Harry Enten is with me now.

Harry, I want to start with the quote that I gave you before where President Biden says, when he wins in November he thinks Trump will contest it no matter what. There are a bunch of polls out this weekend. Maybe more of an if than a when.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes, a little presumptuous of the incumbent president at this particular point.

All right, we had four polls come out this weekend. There's a lot of red on this board, folks. "New York Times," Sienna College, CBS News, YouGov, Fox News, "Wall Street Journal," Trump ahead in all of them. Four, four, two within the margin of error, two within the margin of error.

Here's the key nugget though, Trump led in zero, count them, zero polls that were CNN approved during the entire '20 campaign. And there were four that were released this weekend, all of which had Trump ahead, even if within the margin of error.

BERMAN: Yes, and they all basically say the same thing, this is not one of those weeks where you can contest the methodology in one poll because they're all in one agreement here.

[09:15:00]

All right, Harry, we are on Super Tuesday eve.

Happy Super Tuesday eve, by the way.

ENTEN: Happy Super Tuesday eve to you.

BERMAN: What is at stake in the next 24 hours or so?

ENTEN: What is at stake in the next 24 hours? All right, Tuesday is a super day for the GOP. Thirty-six percent - 36 percent of all delegates in the GOP contest are at stake tomorrow, 14 percent of which, a large share, 14 percent of all delegates that are at stake in the entire Republican contests are in California and in Texas. And so it is a very big Super Tuesday indeed, in a very big one, particularly because of California and Texas.

BERMAN: What about California and Texas, since you brought them up?

ENTEN: Since I brought them up. What a wonderful question, John. You got me right to the next slide. Big Super Tuesday GOOP primary polling. In California, what do we see here? We see Donald Trump, 69 percent, Nikki Haley, 29 percent. That's a 40-point advantage. Texas, it's 80 percent to 19 percent. And here's the key nugget to keep in mind, John. Unlike the Democratic side, where it's mostly proportional, on the Republican side it's either winner-take-all in the case of California, or winner take most in the case of Texas. So, if these polls are anywhere close to being right, Donald Trump is going to win the vast, vast majority of delegates in these two states, which make up a large share of the overall content for delegates going forward.

BERMAN: Yes, yes, people say, California, it's a blue state. It's got a lot of Republican delegates for the convention.

ENTEN: Oh, you know it, baby.

BERMAN: All right, let's talk about the overall Republican race in general. Where do things stand there?

ENTEN: Yes. So, if we look at the overall Republican race, this is "The New York Times"/Sienna College poll. Among likely Republican voters came out this, and, look here, it looks a lot like that Texas and California polling, right? Donald Trump at 76 percent, Nikki Haley, all the way back at 21 percent. That's a 55 point advantage.

She does have one base within the Republican Party though, it's 2020 Biden voters. Not a very large base, but a base nonetheless. She leads among these voters 64 percent to 28 percent. The fact is, if you're going to contest the Republican nomination, you can't really have your base of voters being folks who voted for the Democratic nominee last time around.

BERMAN: No, not where you want to be in a Republican primary contests, although it does argue what she's been saying all along, in a general election she can't win over some of those Biden voters.

ENTEN: Yes, but she most likely ain't going to get there.

BERMAN: Good point. Harry Enten, great to see you. Thank you.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: As Harry would say, oh, you know it, baby.

All right, let's talk about it. Joining us now, CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp and Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator Paul Begala.

S.E., let's go back - let's go back to this Biden interview, this rare Oval Office sit down he did with Evan Osnos. We're getting some - it's a along, very interesting piece. John and Harry talked about a couple of the quotes. Here's another one. "I'm the only one who has ever beat him," Donald Trump, "and I will beat him again."

This is in response to continued question and doubts and concerns over his age, even among some in his own party.

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Put it all together. What do you hear from Joe Biden in this interview?

CUPP: Defiance. And defiance is great. That he feels strong going into this election, he's not doubting it, that's good. But there's a fine line between defiance and denial. And the Democrats I've been talking to have been in denial. This weekend was a perfect example. Harry and John just went through a bunch of polls that were not good for Joe Biden. What did Democrats and liberals do all weekend on Twitter? Slammed the polls and slam the media for covering them. I mean that sounds very Trumpian to me.

We could deal with facts, which are that a lot of Democrats are not interested in showing up for Joe Biden. A lot of regular voters are concerned about crime, the economy, and immigration, issues at which some point Democrats have said are fake or not as bad as people feel. There are facts here that I hope Democrats are figuring out before we get to the end of this election, you know, that's sort of a reality check on Joe Biden's defiance.

BOLDUAN: And on - and on this interview and plus some, Paul, S.E.'s talking about the polls this weekend. One takeaway from it is a lot of Americans think that Joe Biden's age is too old to be an effective president.

Peter Baker had an analysis in "The New York Times" this weekend that Biden's age is the biggest liability, but Biden has no one around him that -- thinking it's a major issue or a real problem. Here's a - here's a quote from Peter, "surrounded by a loyal and devoted inner circle, Mr. Biden has given no indication that he would consider stepping aside to let someone else lead the party. Indeed, he and the people close to him bristle at the notion." Going on to say, "the Biden team views the very question as absurd."

Talk to me about the inner circle around any president. The bubble. Is it helping or hurting Joe Biden right now, do you think?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, if its keeping him from attacking Donald Trump it's hurting, right? We've had, you know, a strategy, the Biden campaign has had, of bragging. If only people knew about my precious accomplishments I would get 100 percent of vote. I'd carry all 50 states. It hasn't worked. And I like seeing in this interview angry Joe.

The most important thing is the dog didn't bark. Evan Osnos, a respected journalist, he wrote a whole book about Biden four years ago. He spends time alone with him in the Oval Office and comes away saying he's perfectly sharp.

[09:20:05]

In fact, he's PO'ed, he's defiant, he's angry. I don't know anybody who's spent a lot of time with Trump who comes away saying he's perfectly sharp. So, I think the answer to age is two things. It's wisdom, right? Nobody believes Donald Trump has gotten wiser with age, and he's just as old as Biden nearly. But it's also energy. Biden needs to show that fight that he showed Evan Osnos. He needs to be defiant. He needs to be angry. He needs to be negative. He only has to do seven things to win. And, remember, (INAUDIBLE) alphabetical order, Kate, attack, attack, attack, attack, attack, attack, attack.

BOLDUAN: I totally fell for that. I was like, wow, you're going to (INAUDIBLE) all seven on live TV. I'm here for it. I totally fell for it. Okey-dokey.

CUPP: (INAUDIBLE) like seven things.

BOLDUAN: Keep going, Paul.

BEGALA: No, but that's - that's going to be the - for me the takeaway is, I liked reading Evan's piece. I liked seeing that President Biden is angry, because he can't -- look Clinton, they thought Clinton was too liberal, so he could pivot to the center. Joe can't pivot to being 45 again, but he can show that he's got energy, that he's able - that - and he's able to take the fight to the other guy. That's what Democrats want to see.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

Their - S.E., there's also new CNN reporting that the Trump campaign is -- is essentially looking to tighten the belt. I mean including some really interesting and funny anecdotes about aides need volunteers and kid - and staffers needed to take cheaper Ubers -

CUPP: Right.

BOLDUAN: And they're talking about mismatched furniture at campaign headquarters.

CUPP: Right.

BOLDUAN: And reason -- you know, some of the driving force behind this is Trump's mounting legal bills.

CUPP: Yes.

BOLDUAN: And the view that they could be looking at a very long and very expensive general election if he, you know, clinches the nomination. It just really highlights how money matters in every election, in every presidential election. But what do you see kind of in and around this when you look at the numbers?

CUPP: Well, a couple of things. Trump is going to have to do what he has no problem doing and has done before, which is kind of grift off of his own supporters, right? Trying to get them to pay in to help stop the steal, when really he used a lot of that to line his own pockets. He's using the RNC as a personal piggybank. He's going to rely on the existing infrastructure and his own fans to help pull him out of this financial morass.

But the thing that worries me that I don't see a lot of people talking about is the legal and financial jeopardy that this would be president is in now would seem to me a national security issue. And I mean I think it's more dangerous than, just isn't it funny Trump could be bankrupted. Isn't it funny he's having to maybe use mismatched furniture. Someone with that much to lose and who has to fork up that much cash, who has that many legal battles looming ahead I think is a really vulnerable, vulnerable person for our national security issues.

BOLDUAN: And, Paul, jumping off of that. I mean for all the concerns around Biden, even among some Democrats, and Biden campaign is doing far better in the money game than Donald Trump's team right now.

BEGALA: They are. The Biden campaign is raising extraordinary amounts of money. The Democratic Party, by the way, raised $120 million last year. The Republicans only raised 82. Democrats have $21 million cash on hand. Republicans only have 21 - I'm sorry, they only have eight.

This is where, and I hate to do this, Kate, because I know you love him, this is where Biggie (ph) was wrong, I t's no money mo (ph) problems.

When you're in a campaign -- first off, the notion of Donald Trump tightening its belt, what's he going to go down to about a 64 triple XL? Thats not a belt you want to tighten too much. It's also terrible news for (INAUDIBLE) community. Come on, like --

BOLDUAN: I don't know what to do. I come here to just - I come here to help inform America -

CUPP: I'm sorry.

BOLDUAN: And I am just getting attacked and don't know what to do with my face half the time.

BEGALA: This is what I do.

CUPP: What just happened?

BOLDUAN: Yes, what happened is we've got a - we've got a - we've got Paul Begala's seven plans for - for taking me down. It is attack, attack, attack, attack, attack, attack and we love you, Paul.

CUPP: We love you, Paul. We love you, Paul. We didn't plan that. We love you, Paul.

BEGALA: Love you guys.

BOLDUAN: I don't - I'm ending it. I'm just going to --

CUPP: End it.

BOLDUAN: I'm going to end it.

CUPP: End it.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

CUPP: Yes. BOLDUAN: Good to see you, Paul.

BOLDUAN: S.E., thank you for being here.

CUPP: Sure. My pleasure.

BEGALA: I - I - I - I appreciate that. That's a good call. Wise call.

BOLDUAN: We'll - we'll always get through it together. Thank you.

CUPP: Yes. My pleasure.

BOLDUAN: Sara, please take it.

SIDNER: Kate, maybe he just liked Biggie Smalls. I mean, did you ever think about that?

BOLDUAN: Well, who doesn't, but, you know.

SIDNER: Love Biggie.

BOLDUAN: You know, I - just, please take it.

SIDNER: All right. All right.

All right, coming up, Jack Teixeira, the Air National guardsman accused of posting a trove of classified documents online, is set to plead guilty in federal court in Boston. We are live there.

Plus, parts of northern California still buried in snow after a powerful blizzard slammed the region. We'll have more coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:29:24]

SIDNER: This is just into CNN. The Israeli ambassador to the U.S. has been instructed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office not to participate in a meeting in D.C. today. Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz. He is a Netanyahu rival, but he has taken part in his war cabinet. This after she called specifically for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza over the weekend. The vice president also called on Israel to do more amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza after the U.S. carried out its first airdrop of aid into Gaza.

CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz joining me now.

[09:30:02]

We've got this new information that the prime minister's office is telling the ambassador not to show up to meetings today.