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First Lady To Host Alabama IVF Patient At State Of The Union Address; President Joe Biden Shifting Away From Liberal Immigration Position He Had As 2020 Presidential Candidate; President Joe Biden To Give Final Address Before 2024 Election; Soon: Opening Statements In Trial Of Michigan School Shooter's Father; Speaker Mike Johnson Urges GOP To Show Respect At The State Of The Union. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired March 07, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:02]

DR. MAMIE MCLEAN, REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGIST AND FERTILITY SPECIALIST, ALABAMA FERTILITY: So, we think that there is a lot of support from a conservative Republican base to protect IVF access and ultimately that does mean addressing the Supreme Court ruling.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And look, this whole episode of kind of politics and law and medicine, getting mashed up into one has put -- has put you in a position that you really probably never would want to be in and really put a spotlight on this. We know -- I know the first lady is going to be joined tonight at the State of the Union by an IVF patient from Alabama, to put a spotlight once more on this. Is -- have you thought of -- is there something you'd like to hear from the president on this this evening?

MCLEAN: I -- you know, I'd like to hear from the president, just the overwhelming support that Americans have for this American right to decide whether to become pregnant, when to become pregnant, and then to decide with your physician how best to become pregnant.

You know, I'm a physician, I'm not a lawyer, I'm not a legislator. But what I can say very strongly is that people in my field, physicians in my field trained for 11 years after college, we take two rounds of board certifications to do what we do. And it's incredibly hard to legislate IVF and to make rules that apply to all patients, those decisions should be made between a physician and their patient.

BOLDUAN: Do you think there's -- even though there's steps to correct this being happening, do you think there's lasting damage from what your patients have had to go through?

MCLEAN: You know, I have to look at this from the positive perspective, which is the overwhelming support that our patients have had to protect their access to IVF.

So, I hope that while infertility used to be a very taboo subject, I hope that our patients feel very supported that the majority of Americans want them to have the access to the health care that they need. BOLDUAN: That's a good point and a great point to end on. It's good to see your, Doctor, once again, especially with this news. Thank you. Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, ahead, border security expected to be a major issue during President Biden's State of the Union Address tonight.

Ahead, our KFile has a look at how Biden's stance has changed over the past few years.

Also, they've lost their first choice for president. What we're hearing from Nikki Haley supporters on who they plan to vote for now. Biden saying they're welcomed with open arms. And after initially criticizing them, Trump is now calling for their support too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:37:01]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, President Biden will deliver his final State of the Union Address before the election. The border crisis is certain to be a topic discussed.

And this morning, new reporting from CNN's KFile highlights that the way the president talks about immigration now is different than how he did when he was running for office. This is what he said in 2019.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We could afford to take in a heartbeat another two million people. The idea that a country of 330 million people cannot absorb people who are in desperate need, and who are justifiably fleeing oppression is absolutely bizarre. Absolutely bizarre. I would also move to increase the total number of immigrants able to come to the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: CNN KFile Senior Editor Andrew Kaczynski is with us now. Interesting to hear him lay down that marker of two million in 2019.

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: Yes, that's right. Biden's own administration points to these numbers. More than three million migrants who entered since Biden took office are still in the country.

And as you know, mass migration at the border is significantly overwhelming U.S. immigration resources. And the president is grappling with now one of the worst immigration crisis in decades as he's campaigning for re-election.

Now, as we've all seen, Biden is reacting to this by toughening up his language and policies. Recently, the White House shifted its rhetoric on sanctuary cities. They're now urging cities to comply with law enforcement regarding migrants who've committed to -- who've committed a crime. And he traveled to the border last week, calling that bipartisan

Senate bill which was killed by Republicans, the toughest he's ever seen. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: They desperately need more resources. I'll say it again, they desperately need more resources. They need more agents, more officers, more judges, more equipment in order to secure our border. Folks, it's time for us to move on this. We can't wait any longer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Andrew, I guess what depends here is what timing, what timeframe you're looking at when it comes to President Biden? Because, it actually seems like his position now might be one from earlier in his career before he ran for president in 2020.

KACZYNSKI: Well, that's right. As a senator, he held significantly tougher views on immigration. He wants strongly supported building barriers at the borders, not allowing sanctuary cities to violate federal immigration law. And he wanted to crack down on employers who ha -- who hired undocumented immigrants.

Now, you have to go back all the way to 2006 and 2007. But listen to what he said at two separate campaign events.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: And some of you won't like it, I voted for 700 miles of fence. But, let me tell you, we can build a fence 40 stories high, unless you change the dynamic in Mexico and you will not like this, and punish American employers who knowingly violate the law when, in fact, they hire illegals. Unless you do those two things, all the rest is window dressing.

[08:40:30]

No great country can say it is secure without being able to control its borders. I would radically ramp up the number of border security guards we have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: So, in a statement to us, the White House told CNN, on the first day of his administration, President Biden has called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform, we need Congress to make significant policy reforms and to provide additional funding to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system.

So, John, it's going to be interesting to see what Biden said in 2019, what he said as a senator, and what he's saying today, and to see how this all plays out during this campaign.

BERMAN: A really interesting timeline laid out there. Andrew Kaczynski, thank you very much for that. Sara? SIDNER: All right, let's bring in Republican strategist Joseph Pinion and CNN Political Analyst Natasha Alford, for their perspectives on what is going to happen in the next few hours, we're going to hear a big State of the Union, that's an important speech.

So, let's talk about the border specifically right now. I will start with you, Natasha. What must Biden do after seeing sort of a back and forth there, an evolution, if you will, on his stance on the border? What must he do in this speech, because it is the number one issue in polling for Americans?

NATASHA ALFORD, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: President Biden has to take back the narrative that he has been inactive around this issue. It is a really complex issue. And when Donald Trump says things like mass deportation, that's very clear and easy to understand, that may resonate with certain people who are afraid about what the broken immigration system represents in terms of scarcity of resources, what their opportunities will be in America.

That's a little bit different than saying, hey, I need more judges. I need more resources at the border. That's something that doesn't resonate emotionally.

So, he has to make it clear that he understands this is a problem. He's not sticking his head in the sand on it, and that he has solutions. But the reason those solutions haven't moved forward is because Donald Trump is encouraging people to play politics rather than do something immediately about the border.

SIDNER: Joseph, I want to ask you that, because one of the line of attack says from Democrats is that, look, we had this bipartisan bill, the Senate came up with, the House trashed it, the speaker of the House of Republican wouldn't even consider it. What do you think that line of attack will do? And would it work for President Biden?

JOSEPH PINION, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: No, I don't think it is a credible argument for Democrats you make at this point, that Republicans are the reason why we have one of the most insecure borders you've seen in modern history.

I would make the argument, the easiest thing for President Biden to do is to tell the truth, to acknowledge that he did pass policies meant to actually have an increase in immigration, that those policies have resulted in the country in many ways, having budgets busted by the migrant crisis, they told us was a figment of our imagination.

At some point, if you continue to deny reality, you're going to have a large swath of Americans who are simply saying, I cannot continue to place my trust in this man in his mission when he won't even be truthful about what they're trying to do.

SIDNER: I want to ask you about Trump, Donald Trump promising to do a real time rebuttal of the State of the Union. I think he's going to do it on his social media platform, a live sort of play-by-play on Biden's speech, saying he's going to fact check it. Now, Donald Trump is not been the keeper of facts. He has said a lot

of things that are untrue. But do you think is that something he has learned and something that might work to draw people away from President Biden as he is making this really important speech?

PINION: Look, it's certainly going to be the most important speech of Joe Biden's presidency. I think -- I think most candidates tried to find ways to get oxygen. Particularly, I think President Trump making the firm decision that the primary is clearly over. There's an all left to do is just kind of triage the cash necessary to move forward.

So, I think that's what he's going to be focused on, how do I get my message out and necessarily talking about whatever Joe Biden is going to be trying to tell the American people.

SIDNER: All right, Natasha, Democratic governors, there are some reporting, recently challenged Biden to become a fighter. Donald Trump is known as sort of the "WWE Smackdown!" type of guy. But here's one of the reasons why, they're asking him to come out strong, hard, basically punching as he addresses the public.

And I want to take a look at this poll that had come out. It says 48 percent of Republican voters are enthusiastic about Donald Trump. But just 23 percent of Democrats are enthusiastic. It doesn't mean they're not going to vote for him, but it means they are not so enthusiastic about President Biden.

What should he do about this? And will this be the moment where we see a shift here?

[08:45:11]

ALFORD: Sara, you remember that last State of the Union, where he got into a bit of a tussle with the -- with the GOP, right?

SIDNER: Yes.

ALFORD: That was an authentic moment. That was a moment that connected because President Biden was saying, I'm an advocate for all Americans, right? We were talking about Social Security.

And he was off script. And I think that's what people want to see, not a President Biden who's reading the teleprompter, we know that speaking is not necessarily a strength of his always. But when he is authentic, when he is seen as somebody who cares more about America rather than party politics. That is, I think, what people want to see from him.

And so, he does have some really enthusiastic supporters, they may not always be in the news cycle, you know, they don't make the headlines. But for those who are on the fence, who are reluctantly voting for him, this is a moment for him to really make a strong stance.

And I -- and one final thing I have to say, you know, he's going to talk -- we're expecting him to talk about aid for Israel, with this whole situation that's happening in Gaza. He is going to have to address those who voted uncommitted, right?

SIDNER: Right.

ALFORD: He's going to have to explain that, you know, the apparent hypocrisy of funding the military action that's happening, and then sending aid to the very people who are suffering this humanitarian crisis.

And so, it's going to be a very tough needle to thread. But it has to be something he does in order to let those voters know that he hears them.

SIDNER: And it's one of the questions I had for you, how -- so, how does he do that?

Joseph, if I want to ask you about some of the things that have been happening sort of in Congress, you've got Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell endorsing Donald Trump, there is no love loss there. You've also got John Thune, who has come forward and endorsed Donald Trump.

What does this tell you about the party and whose party this is? A lot of people argue this is not Donald Trump's party, but it is Donald Trump's party when you have people who have been really against him joining the fray now.

PINION: Well, look, I think the reality is the nominee shapes the party, that's on both sides of the aisle, and certainly, even more so in a presidential cycle.

Yes, President Trump is in control. And what I think it tells you about the party is that Republicans united around the idea that Joe Biden must be a one term president, that the border issue has become catastrophic, that even the policies they pass as it relates to the environment have been disastrous.

And/that we have real issues all across this country that I think most Americans realize, the cake is pretty much fully baked for both of these candidates because they've been in this public space for so long. It's the rematch 70 percent of Americans don't want, and yet, we're going to get anyway.

So, in the end, it comes down to that tiny sliver of persuadable voters. How do you get President Trump to shrink that gap with women? How does President Trump perhaps pick up some of those votes with of those younger voters? And I think also all this attends to being played on black voters. It's not because President Trump is going to get 20 percent nationwide. It's because if you listen to Jesse Jackson 1984, the margin of despair, the margin of our fractured coalition, the Democratic coalition is very much fragmented. And the only thing holding together this Obama coalition is the Democrat's actual visceral distaste for Donald J. Trump.

(CROSSTALK)

ALFORD: What you said that we do agree about is that the public knows these candidates or thinks they know these candidates already but it's the external factors. And for women in this election? I mean, we're talking about not just abortion now, but IVF, right? What these attacks on abortion rights represent in terms of the other doors that they open to restrict what life looks like for women, for their families, for their family planning.

And so, Kate Cox is going to be there tonight at the State of the Union. He has strategically selected guests who represent the very emotional and human side of these decisions.

And so, again, even if people are not inspired by a Biden or a Trump, some of these human stories tonight can really hit home that point.

SIDNER: Yes, the issue of abortion is something that is looming, especially with what happened in Alabama and now the change for the Supreme Court there. Thank you both and Natasha Alford and Mr. Pinion, appreciate it. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So, minutes from now, opening statements will begin in the trial of the father of the Michigan school shooter. His son carried out the deadliest school shooting in the state's history and now James Crumbley who just entered the courtroom. James Crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each student his son shot and killed at Oxford High School back in 2021.

And just last month, a jury found his wife Jennifer Crumbley, guilty on the same charges. Let's get over to CNN's Jean Casarez, she has been following all of this for us.

So, Jean, what should people expect when this gets underway which will be happening in just moments?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, well, first of all, I don't think we've ever seen James Crumbley in a suit. He is in street clothes this morning. We have always seen him in his jailhouse oranges because he's never made bail.

[08:50:01]

But this is so important because he has a right to a fair trial and a jury could be tainted if they did not see him in street wear. So, there's a very different look for James Crumbley.

And opening statements are minutes away in this case, and this is the involuntary manslaughter, it is a homicide case against James Crumbley, because prosecutors are saying that he alone is responsible for the shooting of those four students that lost their lives in Oxford, maybe his son pulled the trigger, but he bought the gun. And that is I think one of the most important things that the prosecution is going to focus in on.

It was Black Friday, Ethan had wanted a nine millimeter gun for a long time. And he and his dad had been texting about it, talking about it. And the family said, it's really expensive.

But then, came Black Friday, father said, you know what, let's go see if they have any sales. So, they went to the gun store, there was a sale, and he bought him a nine millimeter but it was Ethan's money. Ethan gave him the cash and it was a cash sale because Ethan worked tables at a local restaurant after school every day.

But it -- he was the registered owner. And I think prosecutors in their opening statement are going to focus in on that gun receipt. There's your name registered owner, you have the care controlling custody of that gun.

But the defense has things working for it too. Because as this trial progresses, he made the 911 call and he turned him -- his son in as soon as he realized that gun was missing. And that's something that defense can work with. But we're going to hear both sides opening statements just minutes away.

BOLDUAN: One thing I don't -- I don't know and maybe we'll find out a little bit more, Jean, is in this --what we see from, you know, this video is James currently putting a kind of a headset on where no one else in the courtroom has a headset on as they're just getting underway. I mean, we can see what that means and how that's relevant (CROSSTALK) .

CASAREZ: No, I can tell --

BOLDUAN: Oh, tell me. Please.

CASAREZ: I can tell you what it means. On the record early on, he has severe hearing loss. He has to wear that to hear what's happening in court.

BOLDUAN: Got you. Important to know that as we get this underway as well. It's good to see you, Jean. Thank you. Jean is going to be following all this.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Shall we bring us what we need to know.

BERMAN: Glad you asked that, Katie. I was wondering the very same thing, bleeding at that video.

The National Guard protecting the morning commute in New York, the new safety measures hitting the subway in response to a recent uptick in crime.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:56:50]

BERMAN: This just in, House Speaker Mike Johnson is asking for respect for the president tonight.

In a closed door meeting, the speaker urged Republicans to have some, "decorum" during the State of the Union Address.

With us now is Congressman Ralph Norman, a Republican from South Carolina. Congressman, thank you so much for being with us. The speaker is asking you all to behave yourselves. How did that go over? How do you feel about that?

REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-SC): Well, I think -- I think my dry (ph), I think we should. As much as we disagree with the policies of Joe Biden in this administration, he has a right to speak and not be interrupted. And I would say that regardless of who's speaking.

There is a frustration level though. Particularly when he starts I would imagine the blame game and he starts talking about things that directly he is responsible for, but he deserves to be heard and he deserves no one to get shout him out.

BERMAN: You have received a lot of press lately because you are the one Republican member of the South Carolina congressional delegation who endorsed Nikki Haley and her presidential run, not Donald Trump.

Our mutual friend Manu Raju had reported that you were planning on speaking with Donald Trump, I believe maybe even last night. Did that conversation happened?

NORMAN: I called him, left it on his voicemail that I was supporting him 100 percent. And I look forward to working with him to do whatever I can do in Congress and outside Congress to help him get elected.

BERMAN: Voicemail, no callback yet?

NORMAN: No callback yet.

BERMAN: Let us know if he does call. In the meantime, former President Trump's said of Nikki Haley supporters. He said, they're all going to vote for me again, I'm not sure we need too many. How many Nikki Haley supporters do you think the former president needs?

NORMAN: Look, this is a game of addition, you need everyone. This election is not going to be easy, as bad as this record is for the administration. He needs everyone.

And I hope everyone will support him. Because, you know, the simple question, were Americans better off under his leadership, the four years he was in office versus the last 3-1/2 years under the Biden administration? There's no -- there's no argument on that.

So, he needs everybody. And this is a very important election. If we lose this election, this country will -- our constitutional republic will no longer exist.

BERMAN: He did call former Governor Haley a birdbrain and said that anyone contributing to the campaign would be permanently banned from the MAGA camp. I mean, how do you think those people feel now about potentially supporting President Trump?

NORMAN: Look, this is more than name calling. This is more about hurt feelings. This is about saving the country. We've got to save America.

And so, if you hate to be called names and if your feelings get hurt, I would suggest you probably not -- might not want to go into the political arena. That's not how it is. But I think Americans realize that.

Look, you say things on the -- on the political trail to different people, have different approaches. Donald Trump's -- you know, with his -- with the names he's given people, it's really been funny. And he can get by with that, but no, it's time to support him and it's time to --