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Politics Heading into Super Tuesday; Biden to Fight Corporate Rip-Offs; Mark Green is Interviewed about Supplies for Ukraine; Pollution Monitor Launches into Orbit. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired March 05, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: January 6th attack.

What do you make of all of this? I mean this is sort of giving you a birds-eye view of all the things that were going on. And one of those text messages, according to, you know, all of the texts going back and forth, one person says, hey, I'm going to let the White House know about this. And then we, lo and behold, see this fake elector plan happening in person on video.

JESSICA ROTH, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Yes. So, these -- this new evidence is really astounding and it supports the theory set forth in both the January 6th indictment brought by Jack Smith, the special counsel, and also by Fani Willis in the Georgia RICO case, which really put forth in those indictments that this was a scheme to overturn the election through, in part, the use of fake electors.

Ken Chesebro had been saying to prosecutors, investigators, who he said he was cooperating with, that he was really just an attorney providing legal theories and that the theory about using alternate slates of electors was, in his view, just there in case some of the litigation challenging the election results in certain states went Trump's way. This new information really puts the lie to that argument and shows that there was a plan to use these alternate electors, even if there was no litigation pending challenging the election results, in an effort to overturn the legitimate results of the election.

SIDNER: It's really stark seeing the evidence in front of you. Talking about it is one thing. Seeing the evidence, a whole different story.

ROTH: Yes.

SIDNER: Jessica Roth, thank you so much for coming on. Appreciate it.

ROTH: My pleasure.

SIDNER: All right, Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Today is a huge day for voters. Sixteen states, one territory holding contests. A game-changing number of delegates at stake for Republicans for sure. What we could know by the end of this wild night. And, the Cookie Monster getting some backup from the White House

today. We will explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:36:16]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back. I'm John Berman. I am at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle Rock, Colorado. And this is an in-person polling location here in Colorado. You can see, vote here, voter service polling center. At the top of the hour, if you are a resident in this county, you can show up and vote here in person. There won't be that many people doing it because most people in this state vote by mail or put their ballots in a drop box. That's where we've been all morning, but now we've moved here just in case we see actual people walking in to cast their ballots in a little bit.

Colorado is one of the Super Tuesday states. Fifteen of them voting today. American Samoa votes as well. This is a huge day in the nominating process.

But moments ago we heard from Donald Trump, who very well may be the Republican nominee, the semi-official Republican nominee shortly. He's saying he's not even focused on the primaries anymore. He's fully looking at President Biden now.

With me now is CNN political commentator and from Spectrum News, Errol Louis.

Mr. Louis, always great to see you.

Donald Trump says he's focused exclusively on President Biden. What does that mean, do you think?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, what it means is that he wants this primary process to be over. What he doesn't want to hear about is the 40 percent of Republican voters who pretty consistently across all of these different caucuses and primaries are voting for Nikki Haley. And Nikki Haley says that 40 percent can't just be ignored. She's talking a lot like somebody who wants to maybe even bring that 40 percent into the convention and make some demands, whether it's for personnel, maybe for resources, maybe for a change in policy.

But Donald Trump, it would be premature to assume that because he's going to win the nomination that he's got the full backing of the party. And that's something to keep in mind as we watch the results tonight, John.

BERMAN: One of the issues is the 40 percent for Nikki Haley is 40 percent of voters. It's not 40 percent of delegates. And when you're talking about going to the convention, you're going with delegates, you're not going with voters, Errol. So, I do wonder, for Nikki Haley, how much longer she feels like she wants to continue this?

LOUIS: Well, that's right. And fact, Nikki Haley apparently has not scheduled any campaign events for after tonight. That alone will tell you that -- and could be near for her. She might just kind of throw in her cards and that could be the end of it.

On the other hand, we should keep in mind, when candidates leave a campaign, they normally say that they have suspended it, not that they have ended it. And what that could in fact mean is that she's going to sort of hold onto that political lottery ticket, if you want to call it that. On the off chance that something should happen to Donald Trump, legally or otherwise that would make it impossible for him to continue, she would be the last person standing. So, I think she's going to at least maybe preserve that level of viability.

But also again, you know, you never know. She may have a reason to go forward and say, look, I represent a movement, a tendency, an objection, if nothing else to Donald Trump. And that voice needs to be heard.

BERMAN: So, Errol, I covered the George W. Bush campaign in 2000, and he basically wrapped up the Republican nomination by the end of March. And then it seemed like an eternity, several eternities until the convention. And during those intervening months, not a lot happened in the presidential campaign. I wonder if this time it's going to feel different, if these candidates, if it is President Biden and Donald Trump, what they will do to fill that void.

[08:40:01]

Let's talk about President Biden because it all starts with him Thursday night at the State of the Union. What does he need to do there? And then how does he continue to fill that void until the conventions?

LOUIS: Well, look, President Biden and the Democrats know that they have to call the base home. They've got to make sure that they can make a case and that the base voters are in place. You do that first and then you start reaching across the aisle, you start reaching out for independence.

So, I would expect, in the State of the Union speech, to hear a rip- roaring call to what Democrats always talk about, which is preserving Social Security, making sure the economy works for the working class and the middle class, making sure that a woman's right to choose is preserved and safeguarded. And that right there will hit a lot of their base constituencies.

And then they've got to hit them again and again and again and get it organized and get those union households in place. I think they've got a lot of work ahead of them. Fortunately, they've got a lot of time. So, from the Democratic point of view, it's going to be, I think, a base strategy of the kind that we've seen for the last four or five cycles, John.

BERMAN: You used the phrase "rip-roaring," and that's interesting to me because I was reading "Axios" on the way here and "Axios" notes that there are Democrats who are excited to see President Biden in a more fighting mood it seems from that Evan Osnos profile in "The New Yorker" and other places.

Do you think that is what Democrats want to see? They want to see a defiant President Biden who is directly taking on Donald Trump, throwing around terms like loser, which he's -- what he's been doing?

LOUIS: Well, no question about it. I mean the particulars of fighting with Donald Trump, that's a different kind of category. But what I'm expecting to see is what we saw when Bill Clinton ran for re-election in 1996, and when Obama ran with -- with Joe Biden, by the way, for re-election in 2012, which is to say, we are going to focus on the economy first and foremost, we're going to make the case that we are the best stewards of the economy compared with the other party, and that were are going to fight for the middle class and for the working man and woman.

We're going to fight for working families, as Bill Clinton used to say, till the last dog dies. And that's a way of letting people know that that's what the priority is, even if things aren't perfect, you know. So, you don't want to paint a rosy picture that's at odds with people's reality. But you say like, look, inflation is coming down, unemployment is coming down, jobs are expanding, we're going into new areas of technology that are going to create major prosperity for working families, and we're going to try and make the tax system and every other part of the economy shore up that progress.

You've got to make the case. I mean those who don't make the case end up going home losers. And, you know, again, it doesn't get every last family, but it is the basic Democratic message. And I think that's what people are expecting to hear from the president.

BERMAN: Errol Louis, great to see you. Thank you so much for being with us.

And, Sara, when you next see me, I may be inside for the first time today, which I will say, without complaining, will be a welcome change because it's not 30 degrees here yet.

SIDNER: You know what I'm hoping is that you have a rip-roaring good time there in Castle Rock, Colorado. Maybe they'll let you in. Maybe they won't, John.

All right, thank you for teeing up our next story.

Happening today, President Biden is set to announce a new strike force tasked with cracking down on what they call corporate rip-offs in everything from groceries to prescription drugs. This coming ahead of the president's State of the Union Address on Thursday night.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is joining us now.

This announcement is coming amid a really big conversation about so- called shrinkflation and the shrinkflation effect. It's fun to say, and apparently Cookie Monster is jumping into this. What's going on?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: He's leading the charge. Bottom line is, do not mess with Cookie Monster's cookies. But a lot of Americans agree, he's talking about something called shrinkflation. And this is what we see when corporations shrink the product size to avoid raising prices further. Research has indicated that consumers are actually more OK with smaller products than higher prices.

But essentially, if you look at cookie prices over the past two years or so, for about a pound of cookies you see that the price started about $3.70 for a pound. It's all the way up to $5.02 a pound. And in the last year, according to a study by Senator Bob Casey, in just the last year we've seen cookie products shrink by 6 percent.

And so you have everyone now jumping on this conversation with Cookie Monster who said, me hate shrinkflation, me cookies are getting smaller. You have President Biden, who actually -- the White House retweeting about this, chiming in, saying c is for consumers getting ripped off. You have everyone from Sherrod Brown from Ohio saying that his constituents are absolutely sick of shrinkflation.

[08:45:05]

And you have Elizabeth Warren and you have Bob Casey saying that they actually have a bill for this. They want the FTC to crack down on corporations that are shrinking their products while keeping prices the same, if not higher.

Surprising fact that paper goods has actually seen the biggest shrinkflation in the last few years. And you also have the worry about something called greedflation. This is essentially when corporations may see prices softening on some of their products, but still keep the product smaller. And that is what we do not want to see. We want to see corporations keeping up with changing prices. That's probably a tweet best left for Oscar the Grouch instead of Cookie Monster.

SIDNER: I was wondering when he was going to weigh in.

YURKEVICH: He might weigh in soon. But you clearly have, even though he's a "Sesame Street" character, Cookie Monster really tapping into something that many Americans are seeing and feeling right now.

SIDNER: The politicians are responding.

YURKEVICH: They are.

SIDNER: Cookie Monster has the floor.

Thank you so much, Vanessa Yurkevich.

YURKEVICH: Thanks.

SIDNER: Appreciate you.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: CNN on the front lines with Ukrainian soldiers who are now rationing ammunition as they are running low. Asked what happens if the U.S. doesn't send more aid, one soldier tells CNN, I think we are all going to die. We will be no more. We've got more on this.

And there's a new eye in the sky to track pollution around the world. The satellite that's looking to call out some of the world's worst offenders.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:04]

BOLDUAN: New this morning, Ukraine says that it sank a Russian patrol ship in the Black Sea overnight. The new images coming in show an unmanned drone approaching a ship just before a large explosion.

Now, this attack comes as Ukrainian forces are running low on everything from tanks to ammunition, they say, and now essentially begging U.S. lawmakers to send over help in the form of the multi- billion-dollar aid package that now seems almost permanently stalled.

Now, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, he saw the strain on Ukraine's soldiers firsthand when he got this exclusive look at the front lines.

(BEGIN VIDETAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's a lonely path ahead. The Russians have never been louder or closer. Occupied Bakhmut is just up the road. But now some Ukrainian tank guns are silent, just when they're needed most. Here they don't have enough shells.

WALSH: Sometimes they just won't fire at all for a whole day. Other days they'll be shooting constantly. And I'll tell you, it is loud on the other side of that hill. And it's sort of surreal to hear that sort of noise over there and see this tank unit having a ration their ammo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in foreign language).

WALSH (voice over): We learned they didn't fire at all that day, or the day before, or the next day.

The silence here is what losing sounds like. So, too, is what these soldiers had to say.

WALSH: (Speaking in foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in foreign language).

WALSH: Is this the worst you've seen it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Y es, definitely. I think - I think this year is going to be he worst year in the war.

Well, I do know that there is certain units that their - they're running out of tanks.

WALSH: How angry does it make you? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, I'm pissed. I am absolutely pissed off.

There's no point in trying to paint this in any sort of light where it's good for us that Russia takes Ukraine. That's going to be very, very, very bad for us geopolitically.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: And joining me now for more on this is Ambassador Mark Green. He's the president and CEO of the Wilson Center, former Republican congressman from Wisconsin, and the former head of USAID.

Ambassador, thank you so much for your time.

MARK GREEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, WILSON CENTER: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: What is your reaction to hearing that, Nick Paton Walsh's reporting, what he's hearing from soldiers on the frontlines that they're now rationing ammunition?

GREEN: Well, you really do get the sense that we're at a crossroads moment. So, the Ukrainians are remarkably courageous, remarkably resilient and innovative, but they need the tools to succeed. There's no question about their character or their willingness to confront Russian forces. But they have to have the tools to do it, to push back.

BOLDUAN: You know, Nick Paton Walsh, he -- he says that -- he said today that his -- he says there's a sense on the ground that the thing -- that things are shifting in Russia's favor in Ukraine, the sense that he's getting. You're two years in. Vladimir Putin sure appears embolden. You had said during your recent visit in Ukraine, I was watching, that your money is on the Ukrainians. Where does your confidence come from on that?

GREEN: Well, again, I think it's the resilience of the Ukrainians. We traveled -- my recent trip, 1,300 miles all around the country, including to areas that Russians once occupied. And the Russians move -- or the Ukrainians move immediately whenever there's an attack to repair and rebuild. And they've found ways to keep children's lives as normal as possible. So, their character is not in doubt.

What I think's missing back here is understanding the nature of this conflict.

[08:55:00]

I think we too often characterize this as a bilateral, almost family squabble across the border between Ukraine and Russia. And it's far from that. Everybody's watching. Ukrainians are watching to see whether or not the U.S. will stand with them. The region's watching. I was in Moldova. They're worried about the disinformation tools they are seeing coming this way and Putin's efforts to target civilian infrastructure and to displace people, to cause burdens and pain and costs in the region. So, I think this is very much a moment where deterrence is in doubt. People are looking and trying to see whether or not the U.S. will continue to be the leader, the deterrent force that has really, you know, given the modern world order that we all count on.

BOLDUAN: And, Ambassador, that's where - that's what leads people's attention to go directly back to Capitol Hill and where that aid package is or isn't going. There's no concrete forward movement right now on passing Ukraine aid in Congress. Look -- and you know Congress well. You were there for many years in the House. Do you think, from your perspective now, that ensuring Ukraine aid gets a vote on the House floor is worth Speaker Johnson putting his speakership at risk?

GREEN: Well, and I'm not going to provide political council to anyone, but what I will say is, from the perspective of America's presence around the world and what people have come to count on and our leadership in the world, this is that key moment. And so actually voting on and passing the aid, which I think eventually they will do, is crucial for sending the right signal around the world.

You know, again, we're seeing from Vladimir Putin that dictators are on the march. It's not just what he's doing, it's the company he keeps. Remember where he's getting his weapons from, Iran, North Korea. He's getting his economic support from China. He's getting support from Venezuela and Nicaragua. Hardly the characteristics of a bilateral small squabble.

This is essential for American leadership in the world. And this is essential for pushing back on dictatorship, which seems emboldened by our inaction.

BOLDUAN: Ambassador Mark Green, thanks so much for your time.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, it's being called the eye in the sky. A brand new satellite that could give unprecedented data on one of the most critical greenhouse gases that is at play in global warning, methane.

Or Bill Weir explaining how this is going to hold fossil fuel companies accountable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, ignition and liftoff of Delta (ph) 9 (ph).

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Paid for by the likes of billionaire Jeff Bezos and other donors, the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund just launched a new kind of eye in the sky. MethaneSAT is designed to circle the Earth every 95 minutes or so.

And with cutting-edge detail, spot plumes and leaks of planet cooking pollution long associated with the production of natural gas. If carbon dioxide is a blanket of average thickness overheating the earth for centuries, methane is like a blanket seven feet thick, with over 80 times the heat trapping power of CO2 for about two decades after its release. Sometimes it leaks from old equipment or orphan wells, and sometimes when there's no one to buy it, companies just burn it and a practice known as flaring. KELSEY ROBINSON, PROGRAM MANAGER, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: What we

found here in the Permian Basin is that operators are wasting enough gas to heat about 2 million homes a year.

WEIR (voice over): In 2021, EDF took us up over the oil and gas fields of Texas to sniff out methane leakers with a specially equipped airplane.

WEIR: So, this is carbon dioxide down here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WEIR: And this is methane.

WEIR (voice over): But now they can fly over every oil and gas basin in the world, where 80 percent of global supplies are fracked and -

STEVEN HAMBURG, CHIEF SCIENTIST, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: We can basically create a movie of what's going on with respect to methane emissions. Before we could just take snapshots when we had a plane in the air and we could get permission to fly. This is a whole new game. It really creates an enormous leap forward in our ability to really understand greenhouse gas emissions.

WEIR (voice over): While other satellites can spot methane, what they find is often kept private. But EDF says that, in about 18 months, their data will be open and free on Google Earth engine for anyone to see

HAMBURG: You just have a real clarity now. A clarity we've never had before. And I think people realize you don't have to accept what somebody says, whether that's a government or a company, you can actually directly look at it, see what it is, and that is completely different than anything we've ever had for greenhouse gases. What I referred to as we're going to have radical transparency.

WEIR: And what has been the response from big oil and gas companies that you're doing this.

HAMBURG: Well, I think many of the companies see this as a real opportunity because they - they really do believe, and I suspected (INAUDIBLE), that they're doing a good job, but many of them aren't.

[09:00:06]