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Biden Announces Partnership with Ports, Retailers, and Freight Movers to Address Supply Chain Bottlenecks; Obama Hitting Campaign Trail in Democratic Governor's Races; Variety Reports, Netflix CO-CEO Doubles Down on Dave Chappelle Special. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 14, 2021 - 10:30   ET

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

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: This morning President Biden is facing more pressure from U.S. business leaders to take more steps to address the global supply chain crisis.

[10:30:01]

It affects all of us.

ERICA HILL, CNN NEWSROOM: The president announcing a partnership with multiple U.S. ports, retailers and freight movers, the port of Los Angeles along with major companies, like Walmart UPS, and FedEx, are going to be operating around the clock there to clear out that backlog.

CNN White House Correspondent John Harwood joins us now. So, John, the president also using this as an opportunity, this announcement, to push his infrastructure and spending bills, which are, of course, currently stalled in Congress. But, look, we need some action now with what's happening with the supply chain.

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. The president also needs some action now on his legislative agenda. It's getting to be crunch time. White House aides have tried to push negotiators on Capitol Hill to get a deal by the end of this week, at least a framework for a deal, no sign yet that that's going to happen.

But that's his long-term answer to the economic stresses that Americans face. It includes some investment in ports, a significant investment in ports in that infrastructure bill, but, of course, that's not going to help in the short-term. In the intermediate term, what the president is trying to do, as you indicated, is smooth out kinks in the supply chain by getting ports operating 24/7, by getting truck transmission of those goods to market and to factories accelerated, expanding the number of trucker and drivers' licenses, for example, maybe dropping the age of eligibility for truckers from 21 down to 18 if they can resolve safety concerns across the government, semiconductors, as well, trying to ease out kinks in the supply chain, because those are fueling inflation, which is an increasing problem for Americans, a problem for the president's political standing.

Now, one fascinating thing that is looming in the background, guys, is that more significant and immediate than anything the president can do on the supply chain front, that can have a marginal impact, would be if he lifts those tariffs on Chinese goods that President Trump imposed. The challenge though is that those tariffs were instituted by President Trump as a punishment against China. President Biden has said standing up to China is a major through line of his foreign policy. How do you weigh those two things, trying to cut costs to American consumers and American manufacturers by lifting those tariffs, or is that a favor to China?

That's a balancing test that's so far been resolved in favor of being tough against China, could change if the pressure keeps mounting on inflation.

Yes, folks can't get their Christmas toys, right? That's a pretty powerful motivator. John Harwood, thanks very much.

Well, that worsening supply chain crisis does mean that American consumers are paying more for a whole bunch of things, ranging from used cars to children's shoes. Perhaps more noticeably, every day at the gas pump.

HILL: On average, Americans are now paying $16 more every time they fill up the tank. That's $16 more than what they were paying last year at this time.

CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich takes a closer look at just how long this could last.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): From coast to coast, there's a consensus. What do you think of the price that you're seeing right there on the pump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's getting pretty high.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gas is bad. Prices are really high.

YURKEVICH: The price of gas per gallon the highest in seven years, topping $4 in some states. The price of crude oil, the largest driver of gas prices, went negative last year and now over $80 a barrel this week and it may only get worse.

ROBERT SINCLAIR JR., SENIOR MANAGER, AAA PUBLIC AFFAIRS: We haven't peaked this year yet. We're seeing the highest price of the year right now.

YURKEVICH: We're not at the peak. What does that mean for you?

GARY CHRISTENSEN, FILLING UP IN NEW JERSEY: Well, that means I might travel closer to home.

YURKEVICH: Gary Christensen stopping for gas in New Jersey while on a road trip to Maine.

CHRISTENSEN: This is another 50 cents higher than what I paid for in Virginia. YURKEVICH: He says it's only gotten more expensive as he makes his way north.

Do you remember a time in history when gas prices were this high?

CHRISTENSEN: I remember Jimmy carter. Jimmy carter, you were waiting even/odd days going in trying to get gas.

YURKEVICH: That was in the 1970s when an Arab oil embargo and conflict in Iran led to a shortage of oil, doubling the price of gas from under 50 cents a gallon to over $1 in just a few short years.

In 2008, global demand for gas and supply chain concerns sent prices to a record. And in 2014, more global unrest in the Middle East sparked another gas shortage, sending prices sky-high.

SINCLAIR: We're in a very different place. There's plenty of gasoline, plenty of product. You just can't get to it.

YURKEVICH: That's because OPEC, the biggest oil-producing nations, aren't increasing the amount of oil they release into the global economy, so as demand rebounds in the U.S., Americans are paying about $16 more to fill up their tanks than a year ago.

[10:35:08]

LEAH LAUBACH, LOS ANGELES DRIVER: It's getting kind of ridiculous because people are trying to get back to work and now all of a sudden I have to pay more for gas just to get to work.

YURKEVICH: California leads the way with the highest gas in the country with rates in Washington, D.C., Kentucky, and Indiana up as high as 17 cents a gallon in just the last week. The pain at the pump is very real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: IT'S like do you want to eat steak or you want to fill up your tank?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH (on camera): And that simple decision for buying food or spending more money on gas is what has prompted President Biden to make addressing these higher gas prices a priority. But the president doesn't have much power. He can only release more from our nation's oil reserves, but the administration says that they're not going to be doing that.

And Jim and Erica, really now, we're at the mercy of the market, so Americans are just going to have to ride this wave out until prices drop again. Jim, Erica?

HILL: All right. Vanessa Yurkevich, I appreciate, as always, thank you.

Still to come, Democrats bring out the big guns of two upcoming campaign rallies, not Joe Biden though. Why Democrats are calling on Barack Obama to step in and help, next.

Plus, there is a lot happening today. Here's a closer look at what to watch.

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[10:40:00]

SCIUTTO: A couple weeks from now, former President Barack Obama expected to hit the campaign trail for Democrats ahead of key November elections. Obama is expected to visit Virginia on October 23rd, campaigning there for Terry McAuliffe for governor, as well as other Virginia Democrats down ballot, and New Jersey for Governor Phil Murphy's re-election bid.

HILL: Joining us now is Francesca Chambers, White House Correspondent for McClatchy. Francesca, good to see you this morning.

Look, there's a lot being made of the fact that it is former President Obama who is being heralded and being put out there to help drum up the vote. It is not President Joe Biden.

FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, MCCLATCHY D.C.: Well, it's still possible that President Joe Biden will return to Virginia. The White House has indicated that's still possible. And terry McAuliffe has said that he expects Joe Biden to come back. But it is significant that former President Obama will be heading to both of these states. There is a close race in Virginia, about three points in the latest polling. In New Jersey, however, the much wider spread the last time we saw, polling nearly in the double digits ahead for the Democrats.

SCIUTTO: How much of this is about Biden's low approval ratings as opposed to about Democratic strategy targeting in particular voters of color? Because earlier this year, for instance, Vice President Kamala Harris, she was in Virginia to campaign for McAuliffe as part of a Democratic strategy to target areas where Black and Hispanic voters are concentrated.

CHAMBERS: And that's still expected to be case if the vice president goes back. And you look at the areas where President Obama will be campaigning. He's going to Richmond. That's an area where Democrats believe that they need to turn out black voters in order to be victorious in this election. Another area you were mentioning before, Vice President Harris went, was the Hampton Roads area near the Norfolk area in Virginia. So, that's another area they see as important.

But they also see a need to turn out Democrats outside of the Washington, D.C. area in Northern Virginia, and that would be an easy place for either the vice president or President Joe Biden to head back to in the state.

HILL: There's going to be a lot of focus on what happens in these races, but specifically on what happens in Virginia and what it could say about 2022 and beyond. How well-placed is that laser focus? CHAMBERS: It's a testing ground for the message that the White House could use in 2022 for some of these close races that they expect to see how that messaging works out in Virginia. And you mentioned before, President Joe Biden's polling numbers, that's absolutely something that's on the mind of Democrats considering that in addition to Democratic voters, of course, they would want independents to turn out. But, again, they see this is a turnout election and need the core base of Democrats to turn out to win.

SCIUTTO: Big bellwether for Democrats, no question Francesca Chambers, thanks so much.

CHAMBERS: Thanks.

SCIUTTO: Still ahead, there are some Netflix employees planning a walkout, this in the wake of Dave Chappelle's new comedy special that criticized the trans community. Hear how the CEO of Netflix is defending him.

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[10:45:00]

SCIUTTO: New overnight, the CEO of Netflix is holding firm in his defense of Dave Chappelle's comedy special, The Closer, this despite jokes about the trans community that have caused a major backlash. Variety reporting that Ted Sarandos sent staff a letter Monday saying, quote, while some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn't directly translate to real-world harm. He went on to say, adults can watch violence, assault and abuse, or enjoy shocking stand-up comedy without it causing them harm to others.

HILL: CNN's Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter joining us now to discuss.

Brian, I know you've been trying to get in touch with Netflix on this. What does Netflix say?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, nothing publicly, and that's really striking. Netflix is trying to defend the special internally, trying to tell employees that it stands by the content, it wants a diversity of content on the platform.

[10:50:01]

But Netflix is not saying anything publicly. In fact, this new email from Ted Sarandos actually was sent out internally on Monday but it didn't leak to the press until overnight, so we're learning about it this morning.

But Netflix is trying to I think, in some ways, have it both ways here. They are trying to stand up for free expression and say, we're going to provide lots of content and some people aren't going to like it and that's the deal with Netflix, however, they are not coming and issuing statements and expressing this in public view. What they're really trying is tamp down employee uproar. Bloomberg is saying this is the biggest uproar of employees in the company's history. And as you mentioned, a walkout is planned for next week.

HILL: Go ahead, Jim. Sorry.

SCIUTTO: No. I'm just curious how extensive it is among employees within Netflix.

STELTER: And that's the great unknown because you're talking about a company with tens of thousands people, a global entertainment company one of the biggest in the world. We do know that one employee group that supports trans employees and staffers is organizing this.

And here is what one of the staffers who spoke out last week said on her Twitter, Tera Field, saying, this. I said it before. I'll say it again. You can't by carbon offsets for bigotry. There is now cap and trade for hatred. You cannot trash our community one moment and then complain when we don't say thank you for the scraps you give us. Terra field was suspended on Monday because she allegedly attended -- tried to crash a virtual leadership meeting, but then her suspension was turned around back and forth, and it seems like things are back to normal.

But what you see here is at least hundreds of staffers that are speaking out and complaining to company management, and company management essentially saying, we want to provide lots of different kinds of programming to lots of different kinds of people. And, really, what Ted Sarandos is doing is making a statement that will matter in the future even if he's only saying it to employees. It's that the kind of stand-up comedy that might offend lots of people but might be enjoyed by lots of others is something Netflix will continue to include and defend.

HILL: It will be interesting to see moving forward, and just the response from, you know, the C-suite versus employees, certainly something to take note of. Brian, I appreciate it, thank you.

SCIUTTO: Still ahead this hour, how prosecutors say a million dollars from a Russian tycoon made its way into U.S. election campaigns.

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[10:55:00]

HILL: New details this morning in the trial against Rudy Giuliani's Ukrainian-born Associate Lev Parnas. A federal prosecutor telling jurors on Wednesday that a, quote, Russian tycoon wired a million dollars to Parnas him to infiltrate American elections.

SCIUTTO: It's illegal. Federal prosecutors call it a blatant conspiracy to violate law banning foreign donations to U.S. campaigns.

CNN"s Kara Scannell joins us now. Kara, I mean, do we know who knew about this?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Well, Jim, I mean, this is the question here that's under way in the trial in its second day. And this is almost two years to the day that Lev Parnas was arrested at that Washington airport on a one-way ticket out of the country. Yesterday, the prosecutors had their opening statements, and that's where they've really leaned in on this foreign donor allegation.

Parnas has been charged with six counts, one part of them relates to a straw donor scheme, another that he made false statements to the federal election commission about those donations, and then this foreign donor scheme about $1 million that prosecutors say they have gotten from a Russian tycoon.

The way that the prosecutor said this to the jury, this is assistant U.S. Attorney Aline Flodr, she told jurors that their crimes were blatant, these men shoveled thousands and thousands of dollars of foreign money to U.S. politicians, laughing about how they were breaking the law along the way. That is what secret foreign money infiltrating in American election looks like. So, they were hitting hard this notion of Russian money coming into the U.S. elections.

Now, Parnas and his co-defendant, Andrey Kukushkin, have both denied that these were foreign donations. In fact, Kukushkin has alleged that Parnas and his business partner stole this money outright and used it to pay their credit card debt.

We are now in the second day of this trial, five witnesses, so far, has testified. And right now, an FBI agent is on the stand telling jurors about different text messages that they had exchanged, including the forwarding of a photo with Igor Fruman, that was Parnas' business partner, alongside former President Donald Trump.

And yesterday, also heard testimony from a Nevada politician, Wes Duncan, he testified that he had met Parnas at a rally in Nevada where he was running for attorney general, he solicited donations from Parnas. But when they learned that there was something questionable about a $10,000 donation, they returned the money. He was asked if foreign donations are illegal, he said, absolutely, they were illegal.

Today, we are expecting to hear from another Nevada politician, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Adam Laxalt. He is also received a donation from Parnas and his business partner. He is expected to take the stand a little later today. Jim, Erica?

HILL: All right, we'll be watching. Real quickly, Kara, it's day two. How long is this expected to last?

SCANNELL: Well, so this is moving at a pretty quick clip. I mean, we're already -- they did four witnesses yesterday. The cross- examination on a lot of these witnesses has been very brief. The prosecutors expect to get through four or five witnesses today, including possibly Parnas' personal assistant. This woman had helped Parnas fill out some of these forms and communications, which is another serious charge in this case.

[11:00:02]

Prosecutors say they may rest by the end of next week.

HILL: Moving fairly quickly. Kara Scannell, thank you.