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Trump's Team Skips FBI Background Checks; Shoppers Projected to Spend Record Number Today; Respiratory Illness Season Ramps Up; Denis Villeneuve is Interviewed about "Dune: Part Two." Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 02, 2024 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL HAGGERTY (R-TN): I don't think the American public cares who does the background checks. What the American public cares about is to see the mandate that they voted in delivered upon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Gregg, what do you say?

GREGG NUNZLATA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SOCIETY FOR THE RULE OF LAW AND FORMER ADVISER TO SENATE REPUBLICANS: Well, look, I believe the president is entitled to have appointees who share his worldview, and he won the election. What he's not entitled to have is appointees who don't have the character and the judgment to wield the responsibilities of the office to which they have been appointed.

This is the whole purpose of the Senate confirmation process. The founders set it up to make sure that a president cannot install unqualified loyalists into positions at his pleasure, cannot put the trust and faith of the American people and the powers of this government in the hands of people who cannot be counted on to wield that power responsibly.

So, that's the point of this whole process. And the FBI review, it's not about FBI approval, it's about the Senate having an informed basis on which to render its judgment on confirmation.

BOLDUAN: And then, Noah, what do you say then when the response from the transition so far is, we're using a private vetting company?

NOAH BOOKBINDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON (CREW) AND FORMER ADVISER TO SENATE DEMOCRATS: Well, with a private vetting company, first of all, we don't know who that is. We don't know what their qualifications are. But, more importantly, we don't know if they are going to be consistent and thorough in the way that they review those nominees. And what that throws away too is this long established Senate process that Gregg and I were a part of in a bipartisan way where the Senate Judiciary Committee would receive these FBI background checks, would know what to look for, would follow up if there were gaps or things that required further investigation so that the Senate would have all the information it would need to make sure that these nominees were appropriate people to serve the American people.

With a private company, you just have no idea that that's going to happen and that the Senate is going to get the information that it needs. We have a bipartisan process that has worked for years and years. It just doesn't make sense to throw that away and bring in something unknown.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and, Greg, the question is, what's the harm in putting them through the FBI background check? Why not? Is there any good reason that anyone out there would have to say, no, let's throw out - let's throw out the system as it - as it's been in place, the system - the vetting that you guys have used for years when you guys were counsel to the committee? Is there any good reason not to?

NUNZLATA: There's no good reason I could see. This is, as Noah said, been in place for years and years, decades even. This has been how things have been done in Washington for a very long time. It's a system that works. It's a system that's also confidential, which I don't think people understand.

The Senate confirmation process has a public component. The hearings that everybody's familiar with. But the background investigation is done on a bipartisan basis, behind closed doors, and is taken very seriously. Noah and I worked together at a time when confirmation battles were maybe the most politically divisive issue in Washington, but that never extended to the background investigation, which we handled, again, confidentially and responsibly on a bipartisan basis. It was never weaponized or misused. It was just used in service of informing our bosses in the U.S. Senate and performing their constitutional duty.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And this is - and to your point, Greg, this is - when you say this is how things have been done for years and years and years, this is one of those situations, even if you want to - if you want change in Washington, this is one of those things you want to have happen for years and years and years. This isn't one of those throw it all out situations with regard to this.

Noah, I did want to ask you, in your capacity is heading up CREW, what's your reaction to President Biden pardoning his son Hunter Biden?

BOOKBINDER: Well, I think that - that - you know, look, the pardon power is a - is a constitutional power. It's a broad power. And so, you know, I think that presidents are entitled to pardon who they want to.

Obviously, there are questions that come up when pardons are used for people very close to a president. We saw that when Donald Trump was leaving office. We're seeing that now with President Biden. I think we'd ideally prefer that pardons be used when you have a vetting process and it's sort of a case that - that is objectively the type of case where there's been some kind of injustice.

We don't know what kind of review or vetting there was here. So, you know, I don't want to get too far into it. But I think that, you know, this is something that happens in Washington and, you know, it's not necessarily ideally how you'd see that power used.

[09:35:04]

BOLDUAN: Yes. Well, I will say, when it comes to the Senate confirmation process and the case you guys make together on a bipartisan basis, it's worth everyone taking a look at and reading.

Gentlemen, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.

So, coming up for us, shoppers are expected to spend a record breaking $13 billion today. What you may want to buy now before any potential Trump tariffs take effect.

And as respiratory viruses are starting to peak, the number of people getting vaccinated remains low. Why the CDC is concerned about that and says that is putting children at risk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:13]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, today is Cyber Monday. So, happy day to those who observe. Online shoppers are expected to spend a record $13.2 billion. If that projection holds, it could be the biggest online shopping day in U.S. history.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is here.

I'm two pairs of shoes and a pair of running tights into Cyber Monday myself, confession, all for me, not for anyone else.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, start with yourself first, then move on to the family.

BERMAN: That's right.

YURKEVICH: But listen, this year people are spending. They're looking for deals. And they really did wait till this weekend and today. We're going to see the biggest shopping day in history, $13.2 billion expected to be spent this year compared to last year, which is up about 6 percent.

The key shopping times today, 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. where we're going to see about $15.2 million spent every minute during those two hours. So, people are going to be online shopping at that point.

Black Friday was also really big. We saw numbers, about $10.8 billion this year compared to last year. That's up about $1 billion. And the trends that we're seeing this year are more people are shopping directly from their phones, not cozying up with their laptops anymore, directly from the phones, and buy now, pay later. This is like the modern day layaway. So, you pay in installments. You don't have to pay everything up front. $7.6 billion to date. And today alone, on Cyber Monday, $1 billion expected to be buy now, pay later.

Experts are concerned about this because that's when you start racking up debt. We're $1.1 trillion in U.S. credit card debt right now. So, just keep an eye on how much you're doing buy now, pay later today.

BERMAN: Yes, that seems like it could be a problem.

Any sense of like what products are hot or cheap or we should be looking for, besides the running shoes that I found great deals on.

YURKEVICH: Good for you for getting the running shoes because if President-elect Trump goes through with his tariffs, shoes are going to be impacted. So, this - these are how people are shopping. But let's go to the list.

Yes, so, major household appliances, kitchen items. You want to get those to beat the tariffs. There you go. There's your shoes, John. Beat the tariffs. A lot of sneakers made in China. Gaming accessories, obviously smartphones. Almost all of our smartphones are made in China except for Apple, which has moved some of their production to India to beat the tariffs. And then portable electronics, which are laptops and tablets. So, these are the items that if you want to get a deal this holiday season, but also beat these tariffs that may be coming into play, especially that 10 percent on China, these are the items that you want to pick up this holiday season.

BERMAN: Time to plan.

All right, Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you very much for that.

YURKEVICH: Thanks.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: With the cold weather setting in, so begins the season of respiratory illnesses, of course, across the country. And it is beginning to ramp up now. Covid, flu, RSV, all major concerns. And an additional concern now, low vaccination rates putting children at greater risk.

CNN Meg Tirrell tracking this one for us. She's back with us now.

What are you hearing about this and seeing?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first the good news. If you look at the overall respiratory illness activity level in the United States, right now it is still low. Although the latest data we have from the CDC, and we expect they will be updated today, are from about two weeks ago, mid-November. But as of that point, you can see across the country really low levels, a little bit elevated in certain states, but still not at the really high levels we expect to potentially get into later this fall and into the winter.

Also, though, we all just got together for Thanksgiving with family and friends. And so what doctors are telling us is that about a week after Thanksgiving often you can start to see an increase in levels of these respiratory viruses. So, Covid, right now, is actually at pretty low levels and declining after a bump we saw in the summer. That's a pattern we often see and then we have seen every year since Covid joined us that we get a bigger bump during the winter. And so we're sort of bracing ourselves to see what happens there.

Right now flu is pretty low, but is starting to increase, especially among younger children. The same with RSV, especially in the south. And that's a pattern we often see. It starts there first. So, these levels are starting to rise.

But, Kate, there's another thing that's been afflicting children basically since late summer called mycoplasma pneumoniae. That's sort of a walking pneumonia. It's a bacterial infection that has been affecting kids. You can see here, we're showing you the flu vaccine rates for children. And this is something that's really concerning public health officials right now. The rates in that blue line right there are underneath the orange line. That is the vaccination rate for kids for flu before Covid. So, we're tracking quite a bit lower in terms of pediatric flu vaccination rates. And that's something that's worrying folks because they do find that kids who are hospitalized for flu are typically ones who have not received the updated flu vaccine, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, vaccination rates impact all of these trends for sure.

[09:45:01]

It's great to see you, Meg. Thank you so much for tracking this for us.

One Hollywood star now threatening maybe - maybe going for a flare for the dramatic here, threatening to quit acting if the director of "Dune: Part Two" does not get an Oscar nod nomination. That film's director joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But my father's always been guided by the calculus of power. This would not be the first time the Harkonnens have done his dirty work.

[09:50:04]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the shadows of Arrakis lie many secrets, but the darkest of them all may remain, the end of House Atreides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That's a clip from the science fiction blockbuster "Dune: Part Two." Director Denis Villeneuve, his film adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic novel, one of the world's best-selling science fiction books of all time.

And now there is a brand-new series out on Max, "Dune Prophecy," which expands the world of the Dune universe even further. The Dune films are produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, part of the CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.

And I'm really excited because we have the director here of both Dune films here with me today.

It's great to meet you, Denis. Thank you for being here.

DENIS VILLENEUVE, DIRECTOR, "DUNE: PART ONE" AND "DUNE: PART TWO": Good morning.

BOLDUAN: I guess I should admit to everyone at home, I'm a huge Dune fan. So, I've been - I was so excited to see part one and part two - part two as soon as it came out.

As an adaptation, I can't imagine the undertaking of doing that, just given how complex Dune is and Frank Herbert's work.

Was part one as an adaptation harder or easier than part -

VILLENEUVE: I would say that in part one the most difficult thing was to establish, to introduce the world to the people who have not read the book yet. That was the tough part.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

VILLENEUVE: It's a very complex world. Very dense, very rich. So, to make sure that people would understand who is who and who is coming from where, anyway, that was the big task. The part -

BOLDUAN: That almost seems easier than part two, though. Because part two seems like you really are starting to get into a lot of the complexities.

VILLENEUVE: Yes, but the ground has been laid. And let's say that part one was like a massive rehearsal for me and my team - and my team and I to do part two, which is a much more ambitious film. Yes.

BOLDUAN: One - I heard you say in an interview around the initial release of Dune two - "Dune: Part Two," that the book is your bible, and then it was your task to kind of fill in some of the gaps on all along the way. And is - it's - you just have to even watch part one and part two to understand just how complex the world is. The Dune universe is.

What were some of the gaps that you found you really needed to fill in, or were most challenging to fill in when - when you -

VILLENEUVE: That one - one important thing is that when Frank Herbert, the author of the novel, I know that he was, like, disappointed the way the book was received because some people saw the book as a celebration of the main character, Paul Atreides, as he wanted to do a cautionary tale. And in order to make - to correct that perception, he wrote a second book called "Dune Messiah." And the screenwriter, Jon Spaihts and I knew that. So we, in a way, we tried to make this adaptation more faithful to Frank Herbert than to the book, meaning that we transform one of the character, Chani, into a character that will give you - give us a distance with the main character, so people will understand that the movie, in fact, it's a warning against charismatic figures.

BOLDUAN: Because she was almost - not to dive too deep into it, but she's almost more skeptical in offering more - more questioning that character than it comes across in the book.

VILLENEUVE: Absolutely. And in the book she is in the shadow of Paul. She's in love with him. She believes in him. We - I gave her an agenda. I gave her a - her own view of the world. And there's a gap - political gap between both of them. The whole movie is structured on their love story and, sadly, there's a break at the end. And from that moment, we embrace her perspective on things.

BOLDUAN: She's so badass, just like - that's definitely a technical review term, but she's so - that character is so, so strong.

VILLENEUVE: Zendaya, yes, did an amazing job. She's a fantastic actress. And in the third act, we - she delivers all the nuances, mostly without words. It's really - she's a very - she's a true cinematic actress, if I can say.

BOLDUAN: So, what does part one and part two you've described as almost one movie - it's one movie broken into two parts. And then the third installment will be "Dune Messiah." And what - what does that all mean for - for - for the third installment?

VILLENEUVE: Well, the thing is that I'm always shy or reluctant to talk about things that don't exist yet.

BOLDUAN: I - I respect that.

VILLENEUVE: Because it's like still in the womb, you know, it's not born yet. And - but I will say that it's just that the both Dune movies for me was a diptych, an adaptation of the first book was in two parts because the world was too rich to approach it in one movie. And so the third one will be like a comment on the two other movies. But it's not really a trilogy.

BOLDUAN: Right.

VILLENEUVE: It's - that's why I will - I don't feel - it's not right for me to say it will be a trilogy.

BOLDUAN: I cannot wait.

So, finally, I saw this from - from Josh Brolin and I had to ask you about it. He told "Variety" recently - I'm sure you saw it - "if he doesn't" - you - "if he doesn't get nominated this year, I'll quit acting."

[09:55:06]

And he's talking about getting a best director nomination.

What do you say?

VILLENEUVE: That I adore, love Josh Brolin. He has a strong sense of humor. And, of course, that would be a loss if he was quitting acting.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

VILLENEUVE: It puts pressure on my shoulder. It means I will have to find him a new job. So, yes.

BOLDUAN: It's great to meet you. A huge fan of your work. And very much looking forward to what comes next.

Thanks for coming in.

VILLENEUVE: Thank you, madame. Thank you for the invitation. (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: Thank you very much.

John, did you hear, I was - he called me madame.

BERMAN: You deserve it.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: You definitely do.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

BERMAN: And I think we all share your love of "Dune."

CNN NEWS CENTRAL is the official morning show of worms. Big giant, big giant worms (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: Exactly. Don't listen to anything he says.

BERMAN: So very nice to have you here.

Thank you all for joining us. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "CNN NEWSROOM" is up next.

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