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President Joe Biden And Donald Trump Preparing For First Presidential Debate On CNN; One Week Until Presidential Debate On CNN; New York Times: Judge Aileen Cannon In Donald Trump Classified Documents Case Rejected Suggestions From Two Fellow Federal Judges To Step Aside From Case; Columbia University Protesters Face Judge At Court Hearing; World Consumed Record Amounts Of Oil, Coal And Gas. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired June 20, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:29]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: A lot to prove, one week until CNN's presidential debate and both candidates are in prep mode. What their teams want is a breakout moment but a major fear ending up as a meme.

And a bizarre and alarming clash between China and the Philippines on the high seas, the Chinese Coast Guard launching a, "brutal assault." A Filipino general slamming Beijing over the attack, saying, "only pirates do this."

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And artificial intelligence may be coming for all our jobs and faster than thought possible. A new survey has a stark warning for Americans.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here in CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Just one week from today, President Biden and former President Trump will go head to head right here on CNN, the debate in Atlanta will be the first of this year's presidential race and we just learned that former President Trump will get the final word after a coin flip to determine the order of closing statements and podium placements.

But before they take the debate stage next week, both candidates are preparing in very different ways.

Today, President Biden heading to Camp David where he'll hunker down with close advisers for several days of intense debate prep. That includes mock debates with advisors, pretty standard.

While former President Trump is taking a less formal approach, holding "policy discussions" with some of his vice presidential contenders and other Republican allies.

Joining me now to look at some of the key numbers ahead of the debate is CNN's Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten. All right, where do things stand? HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Gosh, tight, tight, tight, tight. Tighter than my first New York City apartment with all this stuff in there. I think it was like 200 square feet.

All right, here we go. Biden versus Trump margin, no clear leader. Look, we had Fox News come out last night. In February, Trump was ahead by two. Look at this, Biden ahead by two.

But again, these are both within the margin of error. But I think the trend line here is interesting, right? Trending a little bit towards Joe Biden, we see that in the aggregate as well, right?

In February, it was Trump plus two, now we've got a tight race nationally.

So, the fact of the matter is, there is a lot on the line heading into next week in a race that's exceedingly exceedingly tight, tight, tight.

KEILAR: All right, so Trump has been lowering expectations, right? For Biden, four months, I wonder if that's a good idea. But I also wonder just what voters are expecting?

ENTEN: Yes. Is it a good idea? Isn't it a good idea? I don't tend to think it's a good idea necessarily.

But you know, one of the things that was so surprising given, you know, all the questions about Joe Biden's age and Donald Trump kind of lowering expectations for Joe Biden was how would voters sort of perceive things going into the debate?

So, Biden versus Trump, who will win the first debate? All right, in June of 2024, look at where we are, voters do think that Donald Trump's going to win but just by five points. I expected this margin to be significantly wider.

And indeed, compare this to where we were heading into the first debate back in September of 2020. Look, Donald Trump, they thought would win the debate but by just by a point.

So, yes, maybe a little bit more on the side of Donald Trump expecting to win the debate this time around than four years ago, but not significantly wider. That was a bit of a surprise to me.

Of course, remember that the post-debate polls last time around found that Joe Biden won the debate in the minds of the voters by a wide margin. So, it was Joe Biden exceeding expectations. Of course, this time around, we're just going to have to wait and see on that one.

KEILAR: Yes, we certainly are, one whole week now. OK. So, ultimately, this race is about the electoral college. Where are we right now?

ENTEN: Yes, all right. You know, we look at the national polls, but the fact of the matter is, there isn't no national vote. I learned that lesson back in 2000 when I was a wee little boy watching Al Gore win the popular vote, but of course, losing the state of Florida by 537 votes and losing the White House.

So, where are things right now in the electoral college? Well, the fact of the matter is, Joe Biden's best path to victory runs through the Great Lakes. You see these yellow states right here?

Basically, if you're looking at the electoral college at this particular point, it seems that Donald Trump has a head start on Joe Biden, but this is why these three states are going to be so important.

And I have heard that the Great Lake battlegrounds are awfully nice this time of year, so maybe I'll have to go and visit.

But the question is, where do things look in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin? It is once again, tight, tight, tight.

Look at this. In Pennsylvania, on average. Donald Trump's ahead but by just two points. Look in Michigan, it's tied. Look in Wisconsin, it's tied.

[14:05:07]

So, the fact is, yes, Donald Trump has a head start on the electoral college compared to Joe Biden. But Joe Biden has a path, it may be a narrow path.

But if he wins in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and given everything else, you know what he gets to? He gets to exactly 270 electoral votes.

And I have never seen any race quite as tight as that when you have to go all the way back to 1876, Brianna.

KEILAR: My lord, you do some of your best work from the Great Lakes. I will say, Harry, so we'll see which one of these candidates does their best work from that region. Thank you so much.

ENTEN: We wills -- we will -- we shall see.

KEILAR: All right, Boris?

SANCHEZ: From Ronald Reagan's there you go again line against Jimmy Carter to George H. W. Bush checking his wristwatch back in 1992, presidential debates often produce those what we now call viral moments.

The big question is which candidate is going to capitalize more on those moments at next week's CNN debate?

Joining us now to discuss is Brian Stelter, he's a special correspondent for Vanity Fair. Brian, great to see you. How do you see this debate potentially altering the race?

BRIAN STELTER, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, VANITY FAIR: Normally, these debates are political junkie's dreams, but this year feels more like a nightmare, right? This is a rematch. We've seen both these candidates debate before, we know how out of control was the last time, so there are some nightmarish qualities to this.

But I think you're keying on to the most important detail, Boris, what will the moments be? Yes, tens of millions will watch this live, it'll be replayed. But it's also going to be sliced up, chopped up like never before.

And I would argue right now Trump is winning the so called meme war, he is out there pushing out of context, distorted clips about Biden. The Biden campaign is trying to figure out ways to fight back.

And this debate is going to be a chance for both of those parties, both of those teams to figure out how to compete in this oversaturated information landscape.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the meme war is an aspect of a campaign that obviously, few presidential campaigns in history have had to even ponder. So, if you're in either camp, what's the approach to seeking out a moment at the debate for virality (ph)?

STELTER: Well, you know, number one, I think these candidates, especially Biden, are going to come into this assuming that people have not been paying attention.

Because yes, there are probably 10 or 20 million Americans who are news junkies, CNN fans who are up to speed on all the latest developments. They know about all of Trump's temper tantrums. They know about all of his claims, his talk about being a dictator.

But Biden is also aware and his aides are aware that many Americans have not heard about all of this, they've not been tuned in.

So, for Biden, especially, it's a chance to raise the salience of Trump controversies and scandals and bring those home to Americans. Those are the moments I think Biden is going to want to create, to try to clip.

For Trump, you know, it's anyone's guess, right? He's claiming he's not going to be prepping the way Biden is. So, it's anyone's guess.

But I've been interviewing some former debate moderators for Vanity Fair. They say they want to always focus on policy. That was the goal in the past, policy questions, substance questions.

I think the danger or the fear with this debate is that Donald Trump's going to try to make it much more about personality and personal issues.

Just to boil it down, how cruel is Trump going to be, right? How cruel will he be to Biden? Those mo -- those actually those moments might really become viral in ways that could be positive or negative, and no one knows for sure.

SANCHEZ: So, Brian, there was a coin flip earlier today, and CNN determined that Donald Trump is going to get the last word on the debate stage, how does he take advantage and deliver a closing message that resonates? STELTER: Look, he's going to be able to point to Joe Biden the entire time and argue that Biden is the older candidate, even though both of these men are elderly, and we're experiencing this American gerontocracy that most Americans want to be rid of.

But you know, Trump is going to be able to point over to Biden time and time again and reiterate that point. I also think Trump's going to talk extreme -- you know, extremely about affordability, right? About those basic price issues.

I'm just happy this debate is still going on. We're going to -- we're a week out. Neither candidate has threatened to back out.

You know, remember how much speculation there was back in May about whether this would actually happen? And here we are with the details now being finalized. Other networks coming out and announcing they're going to simulcast the debate. So, this is going to be seen by the entire country, honestly, by the entire world. And I'm just glad neither candidates backed out yet.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And hopefully that stays true. And we see this go down next Thursday.

STELTER: One more week.

SANCHEZ: Yes, right. Brian Stelter, appreciate the analysis, as always.

STELTER: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Of course, Brianna?

KEILAR: We are following some breaking news. The New York Times reporting that two federal judges in South Florida privately urged Judge Aileen Cannon to decline the classified documents case involving former President Trump when it was assigned to her last year. But Judge Cannon who was appointed by Trump wanted to keep the case and refused the judge's recommendations.

[14:10:17]

Joining us now is Charlie Savage, one of The New York Times reporters who broke this story. Pretty big scoop here, Charlie, walk us through your reporting and what these more senior judges told Cannon.

CHARLIE SAVAGE, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Absolutely. So, of course, Judge Cannon's handling of the documents case has been highly controversial. She had earlier intervened in the investigation that led to the indictment in a way that shocked experts across legal lines, and was later reduced for that and reversed by a conservative appeals court that included two other Trump appointees.

So, that was the backdrop of what happened last summer when the random wheel assignment system in the Southern District of Florida popped out her name as the judge who would handle the case itself after a grand jury indicted the former president. And it turns out that we didn't know until now is that two senior

judges, that is to say, more experienced judges, not the term of art senior which means semi-retired. Two more experienced judges in the -- in the Southern District of Florida, including its chief judge Cecilia Altonaga, who is also a Republican appointee, separately went to her or called her up and urged her to step aside, essentially to recuse and let some other judge take over the case through the -- through the assignment system again. And both times she turned them down.

The first argument put to her was she was just too far away from Miami. She's way up in Fort Pierce. That's a two hour drive away. Her little courthouse up there didn't have a facility that can hold classified documents. There is one in Miami, that's where the grand jury was. So, some judge who sits past chambers much closer to that courthouse in Miami should take it, so very face saving neutral reason for her to decline it. And she the -- we don't know the name of the first judge who went to her, but she rejected that rationale.

And then, the Chief Judge Altonaga went to her, called her and said offered a very more pointed, let's say, rationale for her to step aside, which was what had happened during the investigation when she had intervened to help Trump and then was rebuked for it by conservative Republican appointees on the appeals court.

That, because of that, just the optics of her handling this case were suboptimal. And it would just be better if someone else handled it.

Again, what we're told is Judge Cannon insisted that she wanted to keep the case.

And of course, since then, she's had a very testy relationship with prosecutors. It's moved extremely slowly. She has essentially ensured that President Trump -- former President Trump is going to succeed in his strategy of trying to prevent there from being a trial before the election. And of course, if he wins the election, Justice Department will get rid of the case.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly. And we should note that one of the judges -- Charlie, we should note one of the judges, Altonaga is the chief judge you mentioned there, declined to comment to CNN, the other judge as you said is not named.

But can you just talk to what would normally be characteristic behavior here? Can you speak to that? I mean, how unusual is it that a more junior judge like Cannon would not once but twice disregard what the senior judges are suggesting she'd do in a case like this?

SAVAGE: Well, it's extremely rare for judges to tell other judges that they ought to step aside. So, there's not like there's a roadmap here that makes anything about this normal.

However, one room over is it is quite normal for novice judges newly appointed to the bench, like Judge Cannon to look to her colleagues or their colleagues, who had many, many more years of experience being judges for advice and mentorship about how to do the job. And you know, that is -- there's a sort of informal culture in federal

courts, probably state courts to -- of mentoring and helping young judges sort of get their feet under them.

And so, this is certainly her rejecting that culture, and going her own way.

KEILAR: Yes, really interesting reporting. Charlie, thank you so much to you and to your colleagues for bringing that to us. We appreciate it.

SAVAGE: Thank you.

KEILAR: Boris?

SANCHEZ: Right now, dozens of demonstrators arrested at Columbia University protest are facing a judge in New York City for the first time in April. Pro-Palestinian protesters and New York police officers clashed on campus when students barricaded themselves in Hamilton Hall sparking similar protests at colleges across America.

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More than a hundred people were arrested at Columbia that night, about 46 of them were charged with at least one count of trespassing. That's the group that is in court today.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is live outside the courtroom with more details. Shimon, you are soon to head in for this hearing. What are you seeing now?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so we were just upstairs, Boris, many of them are starting to show up now. About 46 of them were told, are expected to appear before the judge here for the first time.

Remember, it was back in April, around April 30th when the large presence of officers, some couple of hundred officers have moved in onto the Columbia campus after dozens of students and some outside people got on campus, and then took over one of the buildings on the campus Hamilton Hall.

And so, the police that night moved in with such force, they went through windows, they searched through that entire area, and they arrested over a hundred people in total on the campus that night.

Now, 46 of them are in court today to see what happens to their case. Many of them are expecting their cases to be dismissed because of just the low level nature of the charges, the trespassing charges.

So, we'll see what the D.A. here does. It's ultimately up to the district attorney's office and the judge on what the outcome will be.

But given the penalty here, given the crime here, none of them are expected to face any sort of significant charges or sentence or anything like that. So, just about an hour or so, we should know what the D.A. here and

what the judge are going to do, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Shimon Prokupecz, please keep us updated. Thank you so much.

Still ahead, the use of fossil fuels and emissions hit record highs as the world struggles with deadly heat, storms and fires. What we're learning in a new report about the climate.

And it may be one of the biggest rescue operations ever executed. Ahead, an incredible effort to move a pair of beluga whales from war battered Ukraine all the way to the Spanish coast.

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KEILAR: Despite serious concerns about climate change, and a big push towards clean and renewable energy, the world consumed record amounts of oil, coal and gas last year.

A new report from the Energy Institute shows the use of fossil fuels led to a two percent increase in energy related emissions.

CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers is in the CNN weather center. And Chad, the report is coming amid dangerous heat waves, deadly wildfires, brutal storms, help us understand the bigger picture here.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The bigger picture is even though you drive by millions of solar panels and thousands, if not tens of thousands of these wind turbines out there, the world is still using more fossil fuels than it ever has, and so are CO2 concentrations are still going up, over 428 at Mauna Loa back in April.

After we were back in the 60s, we were 315 or so, we have now broken 425 there in the CO2 concentrations in parts per million.

If you look at the global heat, I know we have a heatwave going here in the U.S. There's a heatwave in Europe. There's another one in Asia and all the way across the globe. This is not just the, oh, you're cold, we're hot. Yes, OK, we'll get over it.

This summer so far, that's already been what, not even four hours yet. Before we get to summer, it has been hot just about everywhere.

For us, on the East Coast, it has been the heat dome, the bubble, the heat, just staying here at the surface, things not cooling off at night. 83 percent of the U.S. will see temperatures above 90 degrees.

Look at this, in Manchester, New Hampshire. I mean, we're not talking like Tucson, 98 degrees yesterday, an all-time high there and even here for Caribou, 96. The heat index was 103.

In Maine, temperatures feeling like 103. I think that's pretty outrageous. So, you -- for you Nova Scotia, we have not lost track of you and even Ontario, Quebec and on up, even this is going to be a heatwave all the way up toward Newfoundland.

So, yes, this continues to be hot all across the eastern half of the U.S. for today, tomorrow and even in to Saturday.

And for D.C., Saturday is 97, Sunday 99 and it's going to feel more like 107. And those numbers, Brianna, are always as I say in the shade. If you are outside in the sun or if your pet is outside in the sun, it is going to feel warmer than that.

Lots of water for kids, pets, people. Try to stay cool this weekend.

KEILAR: Think we are indoor and pop sickling it. It is what we're going to do this weekend. Chad, thank you so much live for us from the weather center. We appreciate it.

And still ahead, the Philippines accusing China's Coast Guard of launching a brutal assault on sailors. Video shows bladed weapons, shows boats being boarded. Filipino officials say, "only pirates do this."

Plus, a U.S. Russian dual citizen and amateur ballerina could face up to 20 years in a Russian prison after she was accused of committing treason. Her trial is underway right now, we are live from Moscow with an update.

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SANCHEZ: The Philippines is accusing China's Coast Guard of launching a brutal assault in the South China Sea. Footage released by the Philippines shows Chinese Coast Guard officers brandishing an axe and other bladed weapons at Filipino sailors and then slashing their rubber boat.

This is just the latest in a series of confrontations in that highly contested waterway. And as CNN's Ivan Watson reports, the United States could soon find itself in the middle a high seas confrontation that could --

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