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Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) is Interviewed about the Presidential Election, Ukraine and North Korea; Awaiting Supreme Court Decisions; Water Rising on Texas Coast; George Ducker is Interviewed about Fires in New Mexico. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired June 20, 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]

OLIVER DARCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Platform as the most followed person on that site to launch ugly attacks on his critics. He smears the news media. On and on it goes. And so I think that's the problem he's going to have when he's trying to convince these advertisers to come back to the site. How own behavior is that toxic behavior that they don't really want their brands, that they carefully curate to be associated with.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oliver Darcy, great to see you this morning. Thank you so much for being with us.

Our biggest hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

All right, "New York Times" Maggie Haberman says Donald Trump is prepared to go after President Biden on Hunter Biden. CNN's historic debate now just a week away. New details on the final preparations. That's ahead.

Plus, we're standing by for a possible huge Supreme Court decision. Many decisions. Major questions involving Trump's immunity and, of course, abortion rights could be on the line.

And repeatedly reckless with guns. How prosecutor are planning to go after Alec Baldwin.

Kate Bolduan, out today. I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: Just one week to go until the first presidential debate here on CNN. No general election debate has ever been this early, or potentially this important. And we are getting details on how the candidates are getting ready. President Biden is headed to Camp David. We are told that Donald Trump is talking to his vice presidential hopefuls, outside allies and lawmakers to fine tune what he will say on the big issues, including how he wants to frame his criminal conviction here in New York.

And there is a brand-new poll from Fox News showing President Biden with a two point lead, which is really well within the margin of error, basically tied. It is, though, a slight shift toward Biden since their last poll in May. With us now is Florida Congressman Mike Waltz, a Trump campaign surrogate.

Congressman, I saw you on Hannity last time. You got all of one answer in six minutes. We're going to try to do better this morning.

Let me first ask you, Donald Trump -

REP. MIKE WALTZ (R-FL): It's good to see you, John.

BERMAN: Donald Trump has said, quote, if I'm president -

WALTZ: It's good to see you too. And we missed you - we missed you at Normandy. Next time you'll have to come jump with us to celebrate our veterans.

BERMAN: I saw you jumping from a plane right there. I'm glad it was you and not me.

Donald Trump has said, if I'm president, I will have the war in Ukraine settled in one day, 24 hours. I know you speak with the former president on issues surrounding foreign policy. What has he told you his exact plan is?

WALTZ: Well, first, it's just worth remembering that after President Obama refused to give Ukraine lethal aid, President Trump was the first to give them lethal aid. And that's the aid that they used to defend themselves in the early days, on top of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and a number of other measures that I'm utterly convinced would have prevented the war in the first place. We can't lose sight of that.

But, secondarily, look, he's focused on, how do we end this war. How do we get Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table in a way that protects Ukraine's sovereignty, protects our NATO allies, but stops the death and destruction that right now, I mean, arguably, there - there is no end in sight.

And then, thirdly, he talked a lot about energy. John, if we dropped the price of oil and gas globally down to around $55 a barrel, Putin's done. His war machine is done. His economy is on life support mode and Iran as well for that matter. So, unleashing American cheaper, cleaner oil and gas onto the global market takes care of two adversaries in terms of their ability to prosecute war and, oh, by the way, it helps Americans at the gas pump and helps the inflation problem. So, those are the things that he talks about. I think those are the exact right answers.

BERMAN: How has he told you he feels about the idea of territorial concessions by Ukraine?

Congressman, can you hear me? Congressman, it's - it's John -

WALTZ: I'm not sure if I lost you there.

BERMAN: That's - Congressman, can you hear me now? Oh, Hannity, who was apparently upset that I bragged about getting more than one question to Congressman Michael Waltz in this interview. A gremlin - I'm going to keep vamping for a second on the outside hope - on the outside hope that we're going to get that communication with Congressmen Mike Waltz up again. Guys, any - any chance? Any chance whatsoever? Not yet.

I should note, Congressman Mike Waltz, Green Beret, very big on military issues. Someone who has spoken extensively on the military.

Congressman, I was just joking, Hannity was mad that I bragged I get more than one question to you, so pulled the plug to make sure I couldn't.

But here's question number two on this issue.

[09:05:00]

WALTZ: Sure.

BERMAN: What has Donald Trump told you about his willingness for Ukraine to make territorial concessions as part of peace there?

WALTZ: Well, look, I think it's a fair question we all should be asking. Is it in the U.S. critical strategic interest to drive every Russian off of every inch of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, which Putin has said is a nuclear red lines. So, is that even viable at this point from a military standpoint? I - the people that I talk too at home are just asking how long, how much, to what end. And I have yet to see a strategy of what victory looks like, particulated (ph) from this president. And we've asked repeatedly, in private, in a SCIF, in public, and it's just more blank checks or somehow your pro- Putin. And I think that is, frankly, sophomore.

I go back to the energy piece. If we flood the world with clean, American energy, oil -- and oil and gas, you dry up Putin's war machine and Iran's too. That's the broader strategic thinking we need.

BERMAN: At the beginning of the war, at least, you were very in favor of letting Ukraine or giving Ukraine the weapons they need to defend themselves against Russia. And very recently, only very recently, President Biden approved of the use of U.S. weapons to attack inside Russia in retaliation directly for Russian action inside Ukraine.

Donald Trump Junior apparently is against this. He says, quote, "Apparently Biden wants to start World War III. I guess the Dems could play even more election games in the fallout."

Are you against what apparently the Trump family is against, which is letting Ukraine strike back inside Russia to Russian attacks?

WALTZ: Well, I think that's a - John, that's a broad swath to say anything, anyone in a family says that - that that would be the president's policy going forward.

But, look, my frustration has been, either help Ukraine win, define what winning looks like, if you're going to give them weapons, don't handcuff them, or try to drive some diplomatic or economic solution to this. But I mean, I think it's undeniable that we have had none of the above from the Biden administration. There is no articulated strategy. There is no goal except to say, as long as it takes. That's a tagline. That's not - that's not a strategic end state. And that has been a lot of people's frustration.

BERMAN: What they would say is they say they're trying to get Ukraine the weapons it needs in the money it needs to defend itself. One of the problems is they face Russia now getting support from China - let me finish - and North Korea.

WALTZ: Yes.

BERMAN: You were very critical of the Biden administration for this new agreement between Putin and Kim Jong-un that was apparently signed yesterday in North Korea. My question to you is, what would Donald Trump do differently with Kim Jong-un, a man who he just said last month, he said, my relationship with Kim was very beautiful. Beautiful. We got along very well. He's going to be tougher on Kim then President Biden.

WALTZ: Well - well, look, I mean this - this relationship, this unholy alliance. I mean you have Xi of China telling Putin, we have a once- in-a-generation opportunity right now to rollback America and to rollback the West.

And now with Kim Jong-un, you're going to have 70 years of ammunition that he's been stockpiling provided to Russia in exchange for advanced missile, space and nuclear technology. And what has been the response from the Biden administration? A shoulder shrug. Are they trying to intercept these -

BERMAN: But what's been the response - what's been the response from Donald Trump?

WALTZ: But are they trying to intercept -

BERMAN: What will Donald Trump do to his beautiful friend?

WALTZ: But are they - well, you can intercept those shipments. Those - you could intercept those shipments. You could see diplomatic pressure on the international stage. You could see secondary sanctions in terms of both Chinese and Russian energy firms that are providing support to North Korea. There's a whole measure of things. And we can debate what they could be. But I think it's debatable that you're getting zero, nothing from the Biden administration except once again sign more checks, more blank checks into Ukraine.

BERMAN: Has Donald Trump - has Donald Trump, in your discussions - has Donald Trump, in your - in your discussions with Donald Trump - I understand. You've actually - you've thought -

WALTZ: And the other - my other point, just very quickly, John -

BERMAN: No, just hang on - hang on - Congressman - Congressman, no, because we've got to here, but very quickly, and I know you've thought about this and have a lot of views on this. All that stuff you just laid out that you think could be done with North Korea, has Donald Trump mentioned any of them to you in your discussions about policy toward North Korea?

WALTZ: We haven't talked specifically about North Korea, but what we have talked a lot about as Iran and Iran - with Iran selling 90 percent of its illicit oil to China, that's getting it for pennies on the dollar, then taking that money and providing drones to Russia and the money to terrorism.

Look it's - at the end of the today, under President Trump, ISIS was defeated, Iran was broken, you have the Abraham Accords. And now you have the Middle East absolutely on fire. And, John, that is undeniable, and that's the things you're going to see coming out in this debate.

[09:10:04]

What was the world like under Trump? And what's it like now with the chaos under Joe Biden?

BERMAN: Congressmen Mike Waltz, we do appreciate you joining us, sticking with us for this cornucopia of questions, like five or six there. I know that's got to be a treat for you. Thanks very much for being with us, Congressman.

WALTZ: I'll let Sean know. I'll let Sean know.

BERMAN: Please. Please. I'm a big fan.

WALTZ: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Later this hour we are going to speak to DNC Chair Jamie Harrison.

Sara.

SIDNER: You got your questions in, John.

All right, we are waiting to hear whether the Supreme Court will announce a number of new opinions on several very high-profile cases. That's going to happen in the next 45 minutes or so, including one that the White House is watching very closely, emergency abortion access in states where the procedure is banned. On the other side, the Trump campaign, of course, eagerly awaiting a decision on perhaps the biggest case in the mix, the former president's claim that he has absolute immunity.

CNN's Joan Biskupic is with us and she's going to be in court shortly.

What can we anticipate today? Do we - do we - are we for sure that something is going to come down that is a big decision?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Certainly at this time of year - Sara, first of all, it's great to see you - and no matter what, we're going to get something big. We just don't know which of the biggies. We've got about 20 cases left and they've got only about two more weeks to issue all their opinions. So, you know, really high anticipation, high anxiety in the courtroom this morning.

After the nine justices take the bench, they will announce majority decisions. And, Sara, this is the season of oral descends from the bench, when because of the magnitude of the cases, when someone is on the losing side, they usually will read excerpts from their dissenting opinions. That's not the norm. Usually it's just excerpts from the majority opinion. So, a lot of drama expected this morning. But we just don't know which cases.

As you said earlier, we've got two that could even affect the election. One will test whether former President Donald Trump will go to trial on election subversion charges arising from the 2020 presidential contest, whether he will go to trial before the 2024 election.

And then another one that will test all defendants from the January 6th attack on the Capitol who've been charged with corruptly - corruptly obstructing an official proceeding. And that's a charge that Donald Trump faces also. The justices will look at whether that charge was properly applied. It could mean 20-year sentences for some of the defendants who were convicted under that charge.

And then we have - we have a major gun case that will test the range of Second Amendment rights in America and when government can enact regulations. Some very - several social media cases testing governments regulation of, you know, Facebook and Instagram.

So, Sara, no matter what, we'll get something that will really affect the law of the land. It's just that we don't know which cases. And they're going to run through at least the end of June. And at this point, Sara, given the number that are remaining, we could actually go into July 1st or 2nd, which the justices do not like to do.

So, bottom line, watch for what happens. You can actually even listen to - not listen, you can get the opinions online or I'll be there in the courtroom and tell you what happens.

Sara.

SIDNER: We know you'll be there watching all the machinations with your great reporting. It is good to see you. Thank you so much, Joan Biskupic. We are waiting for those decisions. They shall be coming shortly.

All right, just ahead, deadly wildfires, dangerous flash flooding now. New Mexico facing both of those at the same time. We'll talk more about that coming up.

Also, water levels rising again this morning along the Texas coast from the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. We're live in Corpus Christi, next.

Plus, a new poll finding that a growing number of Americans feel like both President Biden and former President Donald Trump are not at all concerned about their economic well-being. Can they change minds at next week's CNN debate?

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[09:18:52]

SIDNER: This morning we're seeing more flooding in Texas as heavy rain and storm surge from Tropical Storm Alberto swap - swamps the coastline. Millions of people are fleeing the impacts of the season's first named storm. Fifty-one Texas counties under a disaster declaration.

CNN's Rosa Flores live in Corpus Christi.

Rosa, you've been showing us how the water levels have changed since yesterday. What are you seeing now?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're much higher.

Let me show you around. Take a look at this hotel that's behind me. Now, this hotel is on pilings. A very typical design for the coastal areas. And you can see that the water is running underneath. You can see that the cars are under there as well. The people in this hotel are safe. We've seen them walk out.

But you can tell, all of the water that is around this hotel, all of the streets are completely inundated. And from our understanding, the meteorologists were expecting about one to three feet of surge here in this area, but it actually materialized to 3.5 feet.

Now, let me show you where the water is coming from, because this is Corpus Christi Bay.

[09:20:03]

Normally it's a beautiful beach. People come out here and enjoy. But today the bay has eaten the road. It has eaten the parking lot. You can tell that the water is completely moved inland.

And this scene is being replicated in other coastal towns here in the state of Texas. We have pictures from Surfside Beach, Texas. I talked to the EMS team there and they tell me that they rescued a woman yesterday. They had storm surge of about four feet. Today they're expecting six feet there. So, they're on high alert.

We also have photos of Matagorda, Texas, which is between Surfside Beach and Corpus Christi, here where I am. And you can also see that the water is going underneath those homes. Again, that piling design where the homes are raised. Some of those homes have something called breakaway garages. In other words, anything that's underneath those homes, when there's water it breaks away. That's by design so that the - that the home can be safe

Back here in Corpus Christi, Sara, I can tell you, I talked to officials and they're counting their blessings today because they say, look, there's no deaths, there's no injuries here in Corpus and there's some damage but it's not major damage.

And the other big sign, Sara, and you'll know this from working in the field, that the storm is gone, all the birds are out. I don't know where they go during a storm, but you probably hear them around me. We're seeing all the birds this morning coming back. They're smarter than humans.

Back to you.

SIDNER: It is a really good indicator. You - that is absolutely true. But this is a really - a coastal story. And it shows just how powerful this tropical storm is because it's really the center nowhere near where you are. It is heading into Mexico as we speak.

Rosa Flores, thank you so much. I appreciate all your reporting on this, this morning.

John.

BERMAN: Corpus Christi is actually a bird watching destination. One of the most fabulous places to see certain migrations, in case you didn't know.

Happening now, a new flash flood threat creating even more danger in New Mexico as crews battle multiple wildfires. We have new images that show the destruction. Look at that. And while rain obviously can help fighting a fire, it also can become just as life-threatening in areas like this. Overnight, several people had to be rescued as fast moving water rushed through the charred debris. You can see the muddy mess that's created there.

With me now is George Ducker, communications coordinator for the New Mexico State Forestry Division.

George, thanks so much for being with us.

Can you just give us a sense of the latest from the ground there? What's happening?

GEORGE DUCKER, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, NEW MEXICO STATE FORESTRY DIVISION: What's happening this morning is that, yes, we are getting precipitation. It looks like we're going to continue getting precipitation on and around the fire. And I believe, like you said, it is a good thing and it is a bad thing also.

BERMAN: In terms of containment, let's talk the good first. Yesterday I know the fires were zero percent contained. Is that still the case this morning?

DUCKER: That is still the case as of this morning. Again, the teams are briefing right now and we might have some higher numbers, some more hopeful numbers in a couple of hours on that containment. But as of now, 0 percent contained. And both fighters combined are approximately 23,000 acres burned.

BERMAN: Twenty-three thousand. That's more than I had heard before. I'm sorry, my eyes keep glancing down because I'm seeing images of these fires, and it just is - its frightening and devastating. And our Ed Lavandera was walking through a town covered by smoke the other day.

We have heard two fatalities so far. Is that still the count?

DUCKER: Yes, sir. Two fatalities.

BERMAN: And in terms of the risk now of the rain and the mud because some of those images are just as glaring as the fire pictures that we're looking at right now. How widespread is that flood and mud threat?

DUCKER: The threat is present for pretty much anywhere where we're getting more than moderate rain or flash rain.

Yes, the conditions are not good for responders. The conditions are obviously not good for humans in the area. And by that I mean that Ruidoso has been evacuated and has been evacuated for two days now. But what we're asking is that folks just try and steer clear of the area, stay out of the area. Keep yourself safe because on the one hand we have fire threats. On the other now we have rain and flood threats as well.

BERMAN: You know, and I think more storms are expected to come in. What's your current area of greatest concern?

DUCKER: Our area of greatest concern is with - is with the responders, honestly. Like, when you have storms, when you have lightning, when you have floods that are going down the hill, when you have lots of rain, you can't suppress fire under those conditions.

[09:25:04]

And so the crews have to be pulled back. And the only good side of this is that obviously rain is good for putting out fire. But like as we've spoken about, the rain is not good for pretty much everything else.

BERMAN: George Ducker, thanks so much for coming on. We're thinking about you. Keep us posted as to what happens there. Good luck.

DUCKER: Thank you very much. Thank you.

BERMAN: We are just one week away from the presidential debate. The earliest ever general collection presidential debate. It is right here on CNN. We have new insight on how the campaigns are preparing.

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[09:30:00]