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Trump Outraises Biden For Second Month In A Row; AI Replacing Human Tasks Faster Than You Think; NY Governor Clamps Down On Algorithms And Use Of Children's Data. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 21, 2024 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Coin toss and got to pick the right-side podium. Donald Trump's campaign chose to get the final word of the debate.

It comes as we get some new numbers on how much both sides raised last month. Trump took in a staggering $141 million. Biden and the Democratic Party fell well short of that even though they raised more than $85 million last month.

Joining me now, former Trump administration official, Matt Mowers. And former White House deputy assistant to President Bill Clinton, Matt Bennett. We've got double Matts today so I will try to keep you fellows straight.

First, you know, the latest polling here -- we talk about these hauls that both of the candidates have brought in, but the latest polling is the economy is the top spot for concerns for Americans.

Matt Bennett, to you. When people hear that each candidate is bringing in this huge amount of money, some of it or a good deal of it from billionaires while the American public is struggling with finances due to high prices, can this help a campaign? Obviously, the money will, but could it hurt them in the public eye?

MATT BENNETT, CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS, THIRD WAY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY ASSISTANT, CLINTON ADMINISTRATION: It's possible that it could.

I mean, look, the Trump campaign just brought in $50 million from Tim Mellon, a guy that, by the way, has also given $25 million to RFK Jr. in a very cynical attempt to use RFK to help Trump. And it is kind of gross when those kinds of numbers are tossed around. But look, both sides do it and Americans know that.

I think the important thing to keep in mind about these numbers though is that in modern presidential elections nobody loses because they didn't have as much money as the other guy. The people living in swing states will be ponded into submission by ads from both campaigns. There is a point of diminishing return.

So I never thought that this race would be decided by the money. It was always clear that it was going to be basically tied in the money race and that's what we're seeing.

SIDNER: Matt Mowers, what do you think it says that Donald Trump was able to get this huge boost after his conviction?

MATT MOWERS, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, look, it shows that the conviction served to energize his base and you certainly saw that not just from the folks who have been giving him $10.00, $20.00, $25.00 every month for years now, but even from a lot of folks who were really on the cusp of whether they were going to support Donald Trump or not earlier this year.

I mean, just anecdotally, I've heard from folks who are reluctant to support Donald Trump again who are kicking in donations in those 24-48 hours after the conviction because they felt that Alvin Bragg was in the search of the person, not in the search of a crime. They thought it was unfair and unjust in our system. So that did serve to energize many folks in the Republican Party. And you're seeing that Donald Trump's -- they would capitalize off of that.

You know, to your earlier point, I agree that it can be a challenge if you have the support of too many of the millionaire and billionaire class. And that's why I find it really confusing why President Biden continues to have these kind of glitzy fundraising appearances, whether it's with President Obama or the one they did with President Clinton and President Obama where they have media. Where they have a room full of celebrities.

It just shows how out of touch they can be with where folks feel like they are right now. If you ask folks about their perceptions of the economy, despite what the economic statistics say -- and I know I'm sure Matt and others will try to say well, you know, the number -- unemployment remains low and the rest of it -- it's all about inflation. And that directly corresponds to how people feel about the economy.

And right now, if you look at every poll, more Americans feel like they're falling behind in the economy than they're getting ahead. As long as that remains the case it's going to be a challenge for Joe Biden. And if he's out there doing continued glitzy fundraisers, I think it's going to continue to show him to be out of touch.

SIDNER: All right, Matt Mowers, I want to talk to you about another big issue for Americans, and that's immigration. We see -- we've seen that over and over in the polls as well.

Biden has made his latest move to give the undocumented spouses married to U.S. citizens the ability to become legal citizens. Now, Donald Trump has said this about his plans. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I want to do and what I will do is you graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country. And that includes junior colleges, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All right. So, Matt Bennett, this is a person who has consistently called undocumented immigrants invaders, criminals. Why do you think he's making this shift now?

BENNETT: Well, I think he's under pressure from his friends in the tech industry who really desperately need people with advanced degrees. And the unemployment rate is so low -- we're basically at full employment -- that it's very hard to fill a lot of jobs. So I think he's hearing that from some of his big donors.

But I don't think anyone should be fooled by this. This is a guy who has promised to set up deportation camps. He asked about whether we could shoot people coming across the border when he was the President of the United States. This is somebody who has separated families at the border and talked about people coming from countries that are non- white in just the most disgusting, vulgar terms.

[07:35:00]

So this is maybe one little twist. It's a thing he adopted from Hillary Clinton, ironically enough, but it is not enough to change what his fundamental policies have been on immigration all along.

SIDNER: All right, Matt Mowers. Trump is going to get the last word due to the coin toss here as we wait for this presidential debate this -- coming up Thursday. There is an obvious advantage, but is there a disadvantage as well?

MOWERS: Well look, anyone who knows Donald Trump knows he's always looking to get the last word, so I can't say I'm too surprised that they chose to take that.

And look, I think as long as he keeps a focus on the issues -- and I'll tell you, talking about giving green cards to those who have gotten degrees here in our education system is an example of policies he's now putting out. We're often asked is Trump all rhetoric and not enough policy? He's actually continued to lean in to putting in new policies.

As long as he focuses on that next week -- as long as he keeps the focus about the record under Joe Biden versus the record under Donald Trump -- how Americans are feeling about the economy and safety and security -- he has a great chance next week. So as long as he doesn't deviate in anything that has to do with personal grievance, I think he's going to do quite well next week.

SIDNER: I just want to remind people that this time the mics will be muted when the person that is not being asked the question isn't allowed to speak

I want to show you what happened in one of the presidential debates that probably pushed this forward -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Vote now.

TRUMP: Are going to pack the court?

BIDEN: Make sure you, in fact, let people know --

TRUMP: He doesn't want to answer the question.

BIDEN: -- you senators -- I'm not going to answer the question because --

TRUMP: Why wouldn't you answer that question? You want to put --

BIDEN: Because the question is --

TRUMP: -- a lot of --

BIDEN: The question is --

TRUMP: -- Supreme Court justices --

BIDEN: The question --

TRUMP: radical left --

BIDEN: Will you shut up, man?

TRUMP: Who is your -- listen, who is --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: We all remember the "Will you shut up, man?"

This debate will be different. Who do you think is going to benefit the most, Matt Bennett, from the new rules?

BENNETT: Well, I think probably Biden because he won't be having to contend with what we just saw from Trump. And remember, in 2016, Trump stalked around the stage behind Hillary Clinton. He does not behave himself at these debates. And so, I think it was vital that CNN make them agree that they could cut off the mics because otherwise, you're just going to have the cacophony that we saw in that first debate last time.

I do think, though, that this debate will be very important because it will be an opportunity for Americans to look at both of these guys who they know very well -- it's a current and former president -- and size them up. I think Matt is dreaming if he thinks that Donald Trump is going to keep this on the issues and not make this about personal grievance. That has never happened before in the history of Trump's political career and it ain't gonna happen this time either.

SIDNER: Matt Bennett, Matt Mowers -- I'm giving you the last word, Matt Bennett. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

BENNETT: Thank you. SIDNER: All right. You can join CNN as President Biden and former President Trump meet for their first debate. Jake Tapper and Dana Bash moderating the CNN presidential debate next Thursday from Atlanta, beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Both real humans running that debate, and I say that because this next topic, we're going to talk about AI. Basically, is your job at risk? Because corporate America is quickly adopting AI even faster than you might think. A new survey shows that more than 60 percent of large U.S. firms plan to use AI within the next year to do certain tasks, which have been previously done by human employees. So, what does that mean for you?

CNN's Matt Egan is with us now. All right, Matt, obviously, we've been hearing about the rise of AI for a long time now. Where are we right now in relation to our jobs?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Omar, sometimes AI feels like this futuristic thing happening many years in the future. In reality, it's really happening right now.

This survey finds that 61 percent of large firms say they plan to use AI to automate tasks that were once done by humans. And they're not saying they're going to do this a decade from now. They're saying in the next year. It's moving very, very quickly.

And companies are using this for a variety of reasons, right? This survey was from Duke University and Atlanta Fed and Richmond Fed, and they found that companies say they are adopting AI to increase the product quality, improve their output, reduce labor costs. And yes, sometimes to substitute workers.

Now, researchers say AI is being used to substitute workers for a variety of tasks -- everything from financial reporting and doing invoices to other tasks, like paying suppliers. And that's on top of some creative tasks where AI is being used to write press releases or even craft job postings.

So we thought it would be fun to demonstrate for viewers at home exactly what we're talking about. We're going to have the control room help us out here.

JIMENEZ: Let's do it.

EGAN: I preloaded some instructions into ChatGTP.

JIMENEZ: OK.

EGAN: This is just for fun. Write me a job post for a CNN NEWS CENTRAL anchor based out of New York. Must love early mornings, breaking news, and having fun. And sorry, Sara, Florida fans need not apply.

[07:40:05]

JIMENEZ: Yeah, that seems fair. That feels right. EGAN: We're going to hit enter and see what this comes up with. This is all live so I don't see what could possibly go wrong here. Look at that -- instantly populating a response --

JIMENEZ: Woo.

EGAN: -- a lengthy one -- something that would take all of us humans considerably more time.

We can scroll up to the top and see exactly what they came up with. But this looks pretty compelling here. They talk about qualifications, instructions. Must have proof and experience as a news anchor. And key responsibilities.

Look at this. I mean, this all looks very legit. This is something that you would actually see on LinkedIn or another job posting site.

And again, this came up right away. And Omar, the craziest thing is --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

EGAN: -- this is just regular ChatGPT. This is actually kind of older software. There's a lot --

JIMENEZ: ChatGPT 4, right?

EGAN: -- more -- it's not.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

EGAN: There's more sophisticated software out there. This is just the base model.

JIMENEZ: OK. So -- I mean, look -- obviously, this is pretty unbelievable just to see how quickly it populates in real time. There is -- there is a note in there that says, "thrives off of early mornings." I don't know if we're thriving. But you know what? I feel decent. I feel decent.

Matt, I've got to leave it there but that was super awesome. Thanks for doing that live.

EGAN: Absolutely. Thank you, Omar.

JIMENEZ: I think it really nails down the point -- Sara.

SIDNER: Matt Egan, Florida Gators everywhere are coming for you now. Like, just letting you know. You put that little extra thing in there -- they're coming for you.

All right, a new CNN investigation. Some religious schools in Arizona are being funded in part by the American taxpayer. We will discuss coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:46:18]

SIDNER: Turks and Caicos revising part of its firearms law that recently caused a big scare for five American tourists. The tourists said they inadvertently had ammunition in their luggage when traveling to the island last month. They were arrested but released after U.S. lawmakers pleaded for the charges and the threat of jail time to be dropped. Now, instead of a mandatory 12-year jail sentence, the courts being allowed to impose a fine, some jail time, or both.

This morning, thousands of car dealerships in the United States and Canada still experiencing computer outages after another cyber incident. The issue is affecting not only car sales, but also service operations. The data provider CDK Global says that the outage could last for several more days. A spokesman for the company told CNN they're investigating the incident and are working to get everything back up and running as soon as possible.

All right, Hollywood lost a legend. Tributes pouring in for legendary actor Donald Trump Sutherland who died at 88 years old with a career spanning more than 60 years. Sutherland starred in nearly 200 movies and TV shows, including unforgettable roles in films like "Mash," "The Hunger Games."

His son -- you know him, too -- said in a statement, "With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed way. I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad, or ugly. He loved what he did and he did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived."

His agent said he died after a long illness, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, really losing a legend.

A legend was also remembered and a league got some long overdue recognition last night as Major League Baseball honored the Negro Leagues and the late Willie Mays at the oldest professional ballpark in America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MAYS, WILLIE MAYS' SON: Birmingham, I've been telling you all that if there's any way on Earth my father could come down here that he would. Well, he's found another way. So you already stand to your feet and let him hear you -- he's listening. Make all the noise you can.

FANS: Willie! Willie! Willie! Willie! Willie! Willie!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: About 60 Negro Leagues players were at Alabama's historic Rickwood Field marking the largest official gathering of the League's players in nearly three decades, according to the MLB.

The Cardinals ultimately beat the Giants 6-5, but much of the focus was on Mays and the brilliant careers of the Negro Leagues players.

Now, for more on their incredible legacy, I'm joined by Vanessa Ivy Rose, granddaughter of Negro Leagues centerfielder Norman "Turkey" Stearnes, who is also a baseball Hall of Famer. Vanessa is the host of the podcast "Reclaimed: The Forgotten League." Vanessa, thanks for being here.

Look, there was a lot of pageantry with the game last night -- a lot of honoring, as there should have been. But it also is harkening back to a time, which was really a dark time in American history, especially in the treatment of Black people and Black players. And I'll play off the name of your podcast and ask what are we forgetting about this league?

VANESSA IVY ROSE, GRANDDAUGHTER OF TURKEY STEARNES, PODCAST HOST, "RECLAIMED: THE FORGOTTEN LEAGUE" (via Skype): Yeah, this league was incredible and honestly, all of the players who were showcased last night, it was a masterclass.

This was probably a lot of people's first introduction to the Negro Leagues players and so many names, like my grandfather. You know, I call him the greatest batter you've never heard of because so many people who loved the game of baseball have actually never heard of my grandfather. They only know Jackie Robinson.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. Honestly, seeing Turkey Stearnes up there -- which I should mention he is now, based on the integration of new Major League Baseball statistics with Negro Leagues statistics -- in the top 10 batting average all-time.

[07:50:07]

And I want to ask you about that because there were some folks who said you know what, why are their stats in MLB stats? They shouldn't be there. Yet, many people saw them as the best in the game at the time no matter what league you're in. And I'm curious what you feel about the incorporation of these stats.

ROSE: It's amazing. It's one of the best things to ever happen to baseball. And honestly, it's a life lesson for us all because it's American history.

Derek Jeter, yesterday, before the game -- before the Rickwood game he actually talked about the stats and why they should be included, and how hard that committee worked for years and years and years even before there was a committee. The historians who gathered all of the lost artifacts. That gathered the box scores that were buried and hidden.

And so, you know, he said look, if we look at the MLB players who after integration won the MVP, the Negro Leaguers were dominating that. Like, 11 years after the integration, nine of them played in the Negro Leagues. So he said --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

ROSE: -- case closed. There shouldn't be any argument about it. And Derek Jeter is the captain. We have to listen to him, right?

JIMENEZ: Yeah -- no. You've always got to listen to Derek Jeter.

I want -- I want to talk -- before we go, though, I want to talk Willie Mays.

One, because one of the members of our team here -- I believe we can get a closeup on it -- brought in a ball that his family got in 1973 -- the 1973 Mets. You see the signature of Willie Mays right here. It's been in his family since then. He's usually behind the camera so he's not out here with me.

But it just is a reminder of so much -- how much history Willie Mays has brought to the game. And obviously, he passed this week at 93 years old.

And I'm just wondering from your perspective, Vanessa, what do you think his impact was on the game as not just a Negro Leagues player but also was able to make that transition over and be a successful Major League Baseball player as well?

ROSE: You know, so many people talked about it last night and that was the beauty of honoring him. It was devastating to hear that he passed away with just two more days -- I kept thinking wow -- two more days and he would have seen it. He would have been there to be honored in person.

But people, like, outside of baseball even -- like, President Obama actually said hey, when I was growing up I watched Willie Mays, and because of him I knew that I could be president someday.

So his legacy extends far beyond just baseball. He was a champion on the field, of course, and made sensational catches -- one of the greatest of all time -- but off the field he did even more.

JIMENEZ: I mean, honestly, it's incredible. I think that's a great way to put it. But also, I -- we didn't even get to talk about it, and we've got to go. But obviously, hearing Reggie Jackson talk about the realities of having to play baseball on the field and that's what you know and that's what you try to love. But having so much pressure on you and hate -- literal hate -- not just you played badly but literal hate over who you are and that's what you're facing off the field and trying to compete at the highest level.

I think we're quick to forget how close we are to that part of American history.

Vanessa Ivy Rose, I've got to leave it there but thank you so much for being here.

ROSE: Thank you for having me. It's an honor.

JIMENEZ: Of course. All right, Sara.

SIDNER: That was really cool, Omar. Great interview. The landscape surrounding kids and social media beginning to change. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed two bills into law yesterday clamping down on digital platform algorithms and the use of teens' data. The move makes New York the first state to pass a law regulating school social -- I'm sorry, social media algorithms amid nationwide allegations that apps like Instagram and TikTok have hooked young users with addictive features.

CNN's Brian Fung is joining me now. What do these new laws do? How will they be implemented?

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: Yes, Sara, two hugely significant pieces of legislation here. One is the Safe for Kids Act. That one forces social media companies to display content in chronological order by default for kids under 18. And that's big because apps like Instagram and TikTok are engineered to show you things they think you'll like. Now they'll have to offer a less tailored or critics might say less addictive experience.

And the law would also impose limits on app notifications during nighttime hours when policymakers say kids should be asleep and not on their phones.

Now the second bill is a kids privacy bill. This one, the New York Child Data Protection Act, forbids websites from collecting or using the personal data of kids under 18 without consent. And that's significant because federal law currently applies those protections only to kids under 13. So this basically expands coverage to more young people.

And these laws -- as you said, New York is now the first state in the country to regulate social media algorithms. State officials say these laws will help protect teens and may even save their lives.

[07:55:00]

And this comes days after the U.S. Surgeon General called for warning labels to be applied to social media. But it's important to point out though the scientific literature on all this -- it's kind of mixed. Researchers say there are studies showing correlations between negative health outcomes and certain specific social media activities, but proving a causal link is much trickier, Sara.

SIDNER: Brian Fung, thank you so much. And noted that New York and California doing big things when it comes to social media and children.

All right. A new CNN investigation has found that some religious schools in Arizona, including a school that has partnered with a Trump-aligned advocacy group, are being partially funded by taxpayer dollars. Some of those funds are going to unregulated private schools that don't face the same standards as public schools or have the same antidiscrimination protections. And this move has, in part, contributed to the closure of public schools in the state.

CNN's Rene Marsh has this interesting story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Hello, Phoenix.

RENE MARSH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Phoenix megachurch, the setting for a recent Donald Trump campaign rally.

TRUMP: You have to have a choice also in education. You've got to have a choice in education.

MARSH (voice-over): The same megachurch has partnered with the Trump- aligned political group Turning Point USA to educate students at this private school, Dream City Christian.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Green City Christian School, a Turning Point Academy.

MARSH (voice-over): Its website underscores a far-right Christian viewpoint, promising to combat morally bankrupt and liberal ideology, including critical race theory, evolutionism, and gender identification. And it's partially funded by taxpayer dollars. Like many private schools in the U.S., students at Dream City can use state money to pay for private education.

A CNN investigation found Dream City Christian received more taxpayer money than 95 percent of the private schools in the state voucher program -- a total of $1.3 million last year, according to data CNN obtained. That's despite anti-LGBTQ mandates in the parent handbook stating faculty must believe and parents must agree to their children being taught that homosexual behavior is sinful and offensive to God, and rejection of one's biological sex is a rejection of the image of God.

SAMUEL ABRAMS, STUDIES SCHOOL PRIVATIZATION: It's a civil right issue.

MARSH (voice-over): Professor Samuel Abrams studies school privatization.

ABRAMS: This is no way for any school system to operate whereby public money is funding such discrimination, and that's reprehensible.

MARSH (voice-over): Two years ago, Arizona was the first of nearly a dozen states to go to a universal voucher system where families can use public funds regardless of income. Red states are leading the charge fueled by a backlash over COVID closures at public schools and a major campaign funded in part by a handful of conservative billionaires pushing for more public dollars for private education.

TOMMY SCHULTZ, CEO, AMERICAN FEDERATION FOR CHILDREN: There have been more gains made in the last few years of the School Choice movement than there were in the prior 30 years.

MARSH (voice-over): The American Federation for Children, founded by former Trump Education Sec. Betsy Devos, has led the way by opposing anti-voucher candidates. Tommy Schultz is CEO.

SCHULTZ: We've been involved in more than 2,000 state legislative races and overall, we've had a 75 percent successful win rate. We've utterly changed the narrative. And this issue of School Choice has been a deciding factor in so many elections across the country.

MARSH (voice-over): This school year, vouchers cost taxpayers in Arizona hundreds of millions of dollars more than anticipated, funneling public money to unregulated private schools that don't face the same educational standards as public schools.

SCHULTZ: I would submit that School Choice is the best government- funded, anti-poverty program that's out there.

MARSH (voice-over): But although vouchers have long been pitched this way as a means to help disadvantaged students in public schools, a CNN analysis found that Arizona's program is disproportionately benefiting students in richer communities.

As the state's private schools, like Dream City, get a windfall in tax dollars, public schools are seeing declining enrollment and shrinking budgets.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It hurts the neighborhood. People bought into this area with the fact that we had a school and now we don't have a school.

MARSH (voice-over): Families and teachers said goodbye at Sunset Canyon Elementary, one of three schools shutting down in its district after hundreds of kids moved to vouchers. Those school officials say lack of affordable housing and lower birth rates are also to blame.

FELICIA WHITE, PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENT: Get in my car with us. Is that OK?

MARSH (voice-over): Felicia White's 11-year-old daughter Riley attends another area school that's closing.

WHITE: Riley has a really hard time with change. She has a lot of anxiety along with having special needs. So for her now to start trusting other people and allowing them into her circle at 12 years old is going to be hard -- really hard.

MARSH (voice-over): Advocates are sounding the alarm that the future of public schools is.