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G20 Leaders Arriving In Rome; Biden Goes To G20 Without Domestic Agenda Deal; Former New York Governor Facing Sex Crime Charge; FDA Authorizes Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine For Children 5-11; Chauvin Trial Jurors Speak Out. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired October 30, 2021 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, it is Saturday, October 30th. Welcome to your NEW DAY. I'm Boris Sanchez.
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, I'm Amara Walker in for Christi Paul.
When a pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol January 6th, just how far the former president's legal team went in the effort to overturn his election loss.
"The Washington Post" is now reporting that, in the middle of the Capitol invasion, as rioters were overrunning the building and chanting, "Hang Mike Pence," one of the former president's attorneys emailed a top aide for the then vice president, blaming Pence for the violence because he refused to block the election certification.
SANCHEZ: When that aide described the attack as a siege in an email, Trump attorney John Eastman wrote back, quote, "The siege is because you and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so that the American people can see for themselves what happened."
Eastman essentially blaming Pence for what happened on January 6th. Eastman confirmed the emails. But he is denying he was actually blaming Pence for the violence. He tells "The Post" that Trump's team was right to exhaust, quote, "every legal means to challenge the election results."
Once again, it's important to point out, there is not now nor has there ever been any credible proof of widespread election fraud or irregularities. Of course, we will continue following the story and bring you the latest throughout the morning.
The other big story we are following today, President Biden meeting with world leaders at the G20 summit in Rome.
WALKER: That is happening now. CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer is in Rome. He is joining us live this morning.
Wolf, good morning to you. Obviously, a busy day ahead for President Biden.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: A very busy day for you guys, a beautiful day in Rome as well. The president takes to the world stage to address global economic and security issues, even as his domestic agenda clearly hangs in the balance back in Washington.
He was hoping to come here to Rome with a deal in place to move his climate and social spending agenda forward. But Democrats have yet to sign off on the framework of his proposal.
The stakes are clearly enormous. The president, himself, has acknowledged the credibility of the United States and the future of his presidency are on the line. But the Biden administration is also downplaying any impact on the president's ability to rally world leaders here at the G20.
One senior administration official said, I'm quoting now, "These world leaders really are sophisticated. They understand there is a complicated process in any democracy to do anything as ambitious as we are pursuing in our domestic agenda."
Here at the summit, President Biden and world leaders will focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chain problems, a global minimum tax rate, high energy prices and combating the climate crisis, among other major issues.
Kaitlan Collins, our chief White House correspondent, is with us in Rome, watching this unfold.
What do we expect to see today from the president?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So today is the kickoff of this G20 summit. It's the first time they've met since 2019, obviously, disrupted by the pandemic. That will still be a main topic as they sit down today because this first session that President Biden has with world leaders is going to be focused on energy supply and the crisis happening there and a global minimum tax.
That is something that was maybe one of the only concrete takeaways the White House is talking about when it comes to what they will see on the outcome of this summit. That's what they want to use to prevent the race to the bottom of corporations, going to other nations throughout the world.
So that will be a concrete measure the president is taking. But also, in a bigger sense, he will be tested in the sense of what he said a few months ago at the G7 summit, where he came with the message, he is president now, America is back; meaning he will restore alliances.
They were often disrupted by his predecessor but the events that have happened over the last several months have changed that.
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COLLINS: So the question of how that message is successful and whether or not it is, is a big one for the president today. BLITZER: And Jim Sciutto is with us.
Jim, there are two notable, several notable absences from this G20 summit, the leaders of Russia and China decided to stay home.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: They are phoning it in for this conference based on pandemic concerns. The White House sees that as an opportunity. They believe that Biden, being physically present, might be able to cajole, push, negotiate with U.S. allies here on all of these priorities, including climate and economic issues today.
But on the flipside, of course, it's a missed opportunity, because there had been hope leading up to the G20, particularly for Xi and Biden to meet face-to-face because the U.S. and China are in the midst of a genuinely, deeply tense period right now, particularly over Taiwan.
You saw this bubble up last week with the acknowledgement by the Taiwanese president that the U.S. does have uniformed forces on the ground there in a training role but on the ground in Taiwan.
That is a deeply, deeply controversial issue for China. But it shows the depth of U.S. concern about China's threat to Taiwan. So to miss an opportunity for Xi and Biden to speak, perhaps, find a way forward on this, is a loss. The White House is trying to look at this as a positive because then Biden has something of an advantage.
BLITZER: I take it President Biden was pretty pleased with his 90- minute meeting with Pope Francis yesterday. It was a very emotional opportunity for the second Catholic President of the United States to meet with the pontiff.
He was rather blunt in describing his meeting with president Emmanuel Macron of France, saying the U.S. basically screwed up in the leadup to the rift that developed.
COLLINS: I think French officials were surprised by just how candid the president was. In front of cameras, while the press was still in the room, he was asked if the relationship had been repaired.
He acknowledged they had made missteps and how that was communicated with that scuttled submarine deal that cost France a multibillion dollar deal, where the president said it was clumsy.
He said it could have been handled better and he genuinely thought that the French knew, which raises questions about why that communication was lost among the president's top aides and how that happened.
But he also had that deeply symbolic meeting with Pope Francis, probably the most symbolic meeting he will have while here, which officials described as a deeply personal one.
The meeting we'll look to today is the one he has later on this evening with the leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom and France and the topic there will be Iran. What is interesting is how candid the White House has been about what's on the table in this meeting.
It is not some pre-planned meeting where they already know their talking points and what they want to say. They genuinely want to sit down to discuss how aggressively Iran is moving ahead with its nuclear program and what that will look like.
BLITZER: This will be a big issue at this summit with Iran and it's nuclear --
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SCIUTTO: -- and I haven't spoken to anybody on the U.S. side or the European side who is positive about the progress of the Iran talks. They note that negotiators assigned by the new hardline or even harder line -- we have a series of hard line governments in Iran; this one a particularly hard line.
But the negotiators assigned are opposed to the deal. Those are quite a set of individuals to have across from the E.U. and the U.S. as they discuss the Iran deal. So the U.S. position right now is they need to see some progress from Iran if there is really any hope of resurrecting this deal.
In fact, it's likely that the next step is ramping up sanctions against Iran as opposed to tamping them down. Last week, the U.S. imposed more sanctions on their drone program so the possibility of additional sanctions based on its nuclear program, that might be the more likely outcome from this.
BLITZER: Did the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, based on your conversations with administration officials, Kaitlan, did -- has that undermined to a certain degree the president's ability to deal on a sensitive issue like Iran with these allies?
COLLINS: What is so interesting, an official who was briefing reporters last night, talking about the meeting with the French president, said they didn't think Afghanistan came up during that meeting, which is fascinating to me.
Obviously, it raises a lot of concerns or has raised concerns among European allies. Essentially, they had no choice, they thought, than to follow suit with the American withdrawal. They felt they could not stay there, if the American forces were gone. They thought it happened quickly.
Of course, it was chaotic and deadly and no one was happy with how that went down. So it raises questions of other policies. If American troops leave other places, what does that mean.
I think it was notable in the language of the joint statement that came after talking about the president supporting European defense, separate of NATO. Of course, that is something that has been a big concern for them. It seemed to be a concession to a degree in light of the spat he had with France.
SCIUTTO: It would be surprising if Afghanistan doesn't come up here. The depth of upset among European allies with how that withdrawal went was real.
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SCIUTTO: They felt abandoned. They felt they didn't have an opportunity to get their own people out. So that would be remarkable if the G20 has already moved on from events there just a few weeks ago.
BLITZER: Yes, it's true. We will be here for the next several hours, the three of us. We are getting ready for some photo opportunities at this G20 summit. We will have live coverage obviously throughout the morning and the day here in Rome, as President Biden meets with these world leaders here in Rome.
Democrats back in the United States are still working to reach a deal on the president's budget. For all of that, let's go back to Boris and Amara.
Guys, it's a big deal here in Rome today and tomorrow. Then we are all off for Scotland for the COP26 climate summit. That will be a big deal as well.
SANCHEZ: Yes, the White House is looking for good press from this trip by President Biden. We'll see how it goes. As you noted, we will be checking in. Wolf, thank you so much.
Here in the nation's capital, President Biden left behind some major challenges for his own party after Democratic lawmakers again delayed voting on the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
WALKER: CNN congressional reporter Daniella Diaz is live now from Capitol Hill.
Good morning to you.
Is Democratic leadership any closer to reaching a deal with progressives?
DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are, Amara, good morning, Boris. As long as this economic, massive bill that would expand the nation's social safety net that is holding this all up, as long as that goes to the House floor for a vote at the same time as the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which I should emphasize has already passed the Senate, had bipartisan support, Democrats and Republican support in this.
It only needs to pass the House before it goes to President Biden's desk. As long as both of these bill go on the floor together, progressives will support it. That was the problem this week.
That is why President Biden visited the Capitol Thursday morning to try to unite the House Democratic Caucus to get behind the bipartisan infrastructure bill, to take that to his trip to Europe. He wanted that win. Unfortunately for Democratic leaders, that did not happen. They were
pushing for it. But progressives held firm. They emphasized they want both of these bills in tandem voted together on the House floor.
They are willing to do that as soon as possible. Another thing that progressives wanted was both these moderate Democratic senators, Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, to endorse the White House framework they came out with Thursday morning for the economic bill that expands the social safety net, this $1.75 trillion bill.
Neither of them endorsed it on Thursday. Sources are saying it seems that Kyrsten Sinema is going to endorse it. The real question mark is Joe Manchin.
Is he going to support this legislation?
And progressives want his endorsement before they move forward on voting on this.
The other thing is they bought themselves time to pass this bipartisan infrastructure bill, because Thursday night, Congress voted for a highway funding, surface transportation funding included in the bipartisan bill.
They extended it from October 31st to December 3rd. Now remember that date, December 3rd. This is going to be the major date we will hear over and over again. That's when this funding ends. That is also when the government runs out of funding.
It's also when the nation will hit its debt ceiling. So Democratic leaders have a lot on their plates in trying to do all of these things, emphasizing passing the economic bill and the bipartisan infrastructure bill -- Amara, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Daniella Diaz, two deadlines have come and gone. We'll see how they handle that third one. Thank you so much.
Let's bring in Natasha Lindstaedt and dive deeper into what's at stake for President Biden on the world stage. She is a professor of government at the University of Essex.
Good morning, thank you so much for being with us. So President Biden is dealing with a stalled agenda, slumping approval ratings at home. This White House could obviously use some good press, especially on a global stage.
So what does a successful G20 look like for President Biden?
What will you be watching for?
NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Well, I'm just looking to see that he is able to establish or sort of reset his relationship with France and come out of it with other leaders, looking to the U.S. as the noble leader again, a country that the world can trust.
I think that's been a part of the problem. Biden came in very strong, saying that diplomacy is back and the U.S. is committed to multilateral cooperation. And there have been missteps.
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LINDSTAEDT: Most notably, the chaotic departure from Afghanistan and then, of course, this rift with France recently. I think the first signs are looking pretty good because the meeting that Biden had with Macron seemed to go really well as reported.
I think the candor helped, that Biden just admitted the U.S. made a mistake. These are really only words, according to Macron. He is possibly looking for more support for France's military and more counterterror support.
But this was definitely a good first step toward many missed (ph) relationship, which in the big picture, of course, I do think is very solid.
SANCHEZ: Natasha, let's play a sound bite from that meeting with President Biden and French president Emmanuel Macron.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that what happened was, to use an English phrase, What we did was clumsy. It was not done with a lot of grace. I was under the impression that certain things had happened that hadn't happened.
I was under the impression that France had been informed long before that the deal was not going through. Honest to God, I did not know you had not been.
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SANCHEZ: The audio a bit difficult to hear there but President Biden acknowledging, as you said, the U.S. was clumsy in its handling of this submarine deal with Australia.
I'm curious how much you think the United States is going to have to lean on France and Germany and the U.K. when it comes to discussions over the JCPOA and the Iran nuclear deal?
What are you looking for in regard to that conversation?
And how negotiations might go?
LINDSTAEDT: Well, these relationships with Europe are absolutely vital, because the U.S. does not have a very good relationship with Iran at all. It is absolutely rock bottom. In particular with hardliners in charge of Iran, this is going to make things that much more difficult.
France has been able to have some sort of relationship with Iran. So they are key to somehow trying to return to the deal. But I would agree with what had already been said.
I think before we get to any type of cooperation, we're actually going to see more sanctions being employed. That's because the hardliners in Iran seem not open at all to having any kind of deal. So it may be that things get worse before they get better.
SANCHEZ: My colleague, Jim Sciutto, pointed out, there are two key figures that are quote-unquote "phoning it in." They're not going to be in Rome in person, China's Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in Russia will be attending virtually.
How do you think that might affect the effectiveness of the summit?
LINDSTAEDT: This is actually a really big problem. Though it gives Biden an opportunity to in person make a big impact and showcase that the U.S. is back, ready to support other countries in achieving some of these big goals that they have, the biggest goal, of course, is fighting climate change.
And some of the biggest polluters, of course, are the U.S. and China and Russia and, without China and Russia there, with some kind of commitment to fighting climate change, whatever they decide to do seems to be -- it won't really be that effective without the two biggest countries, two of the biggest countries there.
So it would be much better if they were able attend in person to tackle some of these challenges.
I think what we will see are really big statements on climate change and the commitment and reducing methane. But in terms of the big issue, which is reducing our reliance on coal, it's going to be problematic to not have Xi and Putin in Rome and then, of course, to talk about this later at the COP26 in Scotland.
SANCHEZ: One final question, the global minimum tax is likely to come out. You pointed out that Biden wants to champion that.
Why is it such a key component at the G20?
LINDSTAEDT: It is important, because some sort of global minimum tax is key to fighting inequality. That's a part of his big domestic agenda, that would transcend to an international agenda. We know 40 percent of profits go to tax havens.
Why we are fighting that is to have a global minimum tax. Critics would charge this isn't going far enough. But this is a part of the bigger agenda for Biden. It coincides with his domestic agenda to try to reduce poverty, fight corporate greed and tackle these big problems on a global level.
SANCHEZ: Natasha Lindstaedt, we have to leave the conversation there. We appreciate you getting up bright and early with us.
LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.
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SANCHEZ: Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo is now named in a new criminal complaint accusing him of sexual misconduct. We'll share the details of his legal battle ahead.
WALKER: Also, tens of millions of children could soon be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine after a major decision by the FDA.
SANCHEZ: And we are standing by to see all the world leaders together for that family photo before they head into those working meetings. We will bring you all the live events as they unfold.
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WALKER: Pfizer now say they will begin immediately shipping out its COVID vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. It comes after the FDA granted emergency use authorization, a EUA, for that age group, which is a major step toward protecting one of the last unvaccinated populations in the country.
The CDC's vaccine advisers meet on Tuesday and if the CDC director greenlights the FDA's recommendation, 28 million kids could start getting the shots as early as Wednesday. Here to discuss is primary care physician and public health specialist Dr. Saju Mathew.
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WALKER: Good to see you this morning. Let me get your reaction to this and what benefits there are to being able to possibly vaccinate school-age children as young as 5 years old.
Does this mean, as most parents move to vaccinate their kids 5-11 years old, we will see less outbreaks in school, less quarantining, which as a parent, you know, any time my kid has to quarantine, I am scrambling to find child care?
DR. SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN AND PUBLIC HEALTH SPECIALIST: Good morning, listen, this is exciting news for anxious parents, waiting for the first COVID vaccine in this age group between 5 and 11. Listen, since the beginning of this pandemic, 2 million cases of COVID have been diagnosed in this age group.
And over 140 young kids have died. I just tweeted the cover of "Newsweek" magazine, showing a young, healthy kid.
Guess what? They can also fall sick and suffer consequences like long COVID. Remember, also we protected kids at the beginning of this pandemic. They were not going to school. Now the schools have opened at the beginning of September. Over 250,000 cases a week were diagnosed in children.
So, yes, I hope that parents will take this seriously and realize that, yes, young kids even can get ill effects from COVID-19.
WALKER: You know but it looks like, according to one poll, the Kaiser Family Foundation poll, most parents will take a wait-and-see approach. So you have the numbers there, 27 percent of parents are saying that they will vaccinate their children in this age group right away; 33 percent said they will wait; 30 percent will not be doing that.
What is your message to those, the majority of parents, who will not, are not planning to vaccinate their kids right away?
MATHEW: You know, I would reassure them. I don't think it is unusual or unexpected for parents of young children to say, listen, I'm going to wait and see what happens. This actually happened also when the rollout began for adults.
A lot of adults played that wait-and-see approach as well. I think what will happen is, as other families start to vaccinate kids; more important, will become confident -- and young kids want to be role models.
As they start spreading the news, listen, I got vaccinated, I'm fine, my parents wanted me to get the vaccine, I think other kids also will get vaccinated. That number will begin to creep up. I am actually optimistic about that.
WALKER: Let me ask you about your outlook on the pandemic in general, right, if you have been following the trends. I mean, COVID deaths and hospitalizations and cases, yes, in general, they have been trending down.
We are also hearing from the CDC director, look, we still have to remain vigilant. You know -- and there are people you talk to saying I'm sick of wearing masks. I am not only vaccinated but I got my booster shot. When is it time?
Is it ever the time to start lifting mask mandates?
MATHEW: I don't think it is the time right now to lift mask mandates. I think as more and more people get vaccinated, we are going to get to a point where, if you are around other people vaccinated, even in close spaces, yes, there will be a time that you can take the masks off.
I think the biggest mistake we make is the moment that we see some bright light at the end of the tunnel, we're ready to pull back and take masks off. This is the time to be even more careful. Holidays are around the corner, Thanksgiving, Halloween, you know, Christmas.
And a lot of kids will be hanging around other elderly people, another reason why children must get vaccinated. We need to continue to be vigilant.
WALKER: I still wish my daughter was 5 years old. She's not there yet. She is 3.5 but it's great news when they greenlight this EUA. Dr. Saju Mathew, good to have you. Thank you so much.
MATHEW: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: We are still standing by to see President Biden and other world leaders come together for that family photo at the G20 before they head into those working meetings. We are following all the live pictures. We will take you out to Rome as soon as it happens. Stay with us.
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BLITZER: Welcome back. I'm Wolf Blitzer here in Rome, along with Jim Sciutto and Kaitlan Collins. We're standing by for the official start of this G20 summit. At any moment now, President Biden and other world leaders will gather for what's called the G20 family photo. Let's set the scene.
The Italian prime minister Mario Draghi will receive the president. Then they'll have a photo opportunity.
COLLINS: Yes, this is always the start where you get these pictures. There is the Beast pulling up with President Biden.
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BLITZER: When you say the Beast, you better explain that.
COLLINS: The Beast, of course, is the presidential motorcade. You see other world leaders arriving in similar cars and, of course, the U.S. President brings his own car. We will see President Biden hop out momentarily.
He will greet the Italian prime minister, hosting this, the first G20 since 2019 in person, with all of these world leaders coming together. You saw a little bit of it at the G7 about four, five months ago, where it was their first time meeting in person. Of course President Biden's first time on the world stage since taking office.
Here he is, exiting the Beast.
SCIUTTO: There are few cars in the world as up-armored as the U.S. President's limo. They fly it in for security wherever he travels.
BLITZER: Mario Draghi, the prime minister of Italy, the host of this G20 in Rome, will receive the president there. That is happening as we speak right there. I don't know if they will be able to hear anything. But it's a traditional moment. They'll stand and do a little photo op.
SCIUTTO: I think it's worth noting, Wolf, the difference in rapport between this and the last in-person G20 meeting when Trump was in office. There were genuine public tension between the U.S. and its allies.
[05:35:00] SCIUTTO: There is a different feel here for Joe Biden, seen as a more traditional American president, more respectful of alliances like NATO and the E.U. and the G20.
BLITZER: That was certainly underscored when we were all, back in June at the summit, the G7 summit in the U.K. and then the Putin-Biden summit in Geneva. There seemed to be a sense of relief that maybe the U.S. was moving in a new direction.
COLLINS: Yes, and now that's the question of does that sense of relief still remain?
So many things have happened since then, from the exit from Afghanistan, which was deadly; the diplomatic feud with France over the submarine deal. Often these moments, where it's just being greetings among world leaders, the family photo we will see, which is all the world leaders together are often revealing.
They were when Trump was in office, when you saw how he would sometimes push past?
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: He bullied his way, elbowed his way literally to the front.
COLLINS: Would talk to Putin on the sidelines or he would ignore certain people, they're always revealing in the moments like that, even though they're not very scripted. These can be similar, when President Biden was at the G7.
He and the French president were kind of back slapping. They each had their arm around each other, they were talking to each other, laughing.
We saw a little bit of that yesterday, watching their meeting on the sidelines of the G20, waiting to see how it is here today.
What is the reaction President Biden gets?
Obviously, it's a lot warmer than it was for Trump. When it was Trump, a lot of world leaders had a sense of trepidation. He was often someone that would come to these kinds of events, summits and not follow the script.
So that's a big question, of course, that's a different tone and a different expectation, now that it's Biden.
BLITZER: He loves these kind of meetings, the President of the United States. He spent 36 years in the U.S. Senate. He was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Then he was Vice President of the United States under President Obama for eight years, loved all the international gatherings that he attended.
SCIUTTO: You can see it in his demeanor, as he walked up, big smiles from Mario Draghi, certainly saw it in his meeting with Pope Francis yesterday, deep rapport. The thing is, it is more about tone as well, in that there were deep, genuine differences between a president Trump and European allies.
There was a discussion, had Trump been reelected, of U.S. pulling out of the NATO alliance, for instance, a genuine fear. Biden is welcomed but you do have open questions.
And diplomats will talk to you about this privately, about his influence at home, about deep disappointment with the withdrawal from Afghanistan, relations with France and also this sort of overarching question, which is, how long does America's word last on anything?
Whether it be a climate agreement or an Iran nuclear deal, does it last through the next administration?
U.S. foreign policy is on something of a partisan pendulum swing. That raises questions about any commitments made here.
Do they last?
Are they lasting?
BLITZER: Did the failure to reach an agreement on the infrastructure bill and the broader economic development bill before he left?
Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker, she was saying, this is going to undermine the president's credibility as he heads into this important international gathering.
COLLINS: Yes, she said -- the way she made her appeal to Democrats was we want to send the president in a strong position. Of course, we know they did not ultimately come to an agreement. Nothing was passed or changed beside frameworks of an agreement.
According to standards that Democrats set, that is not the position he is entering this with. The president, himself, when it came to the climate provisions, says the prestige of the United States is on the line. And he really wanted to get something done.
And he did not. Since then, officials have downplayed what the meaning of that will be. You heard earlier, a senior official saying these world leaders are sophisticated. They understand domestic politics.
But the argument that the president was making at the G7 was that democracy works. That is something he, of course, has been trying to push. In Europe, there have been concerns about a back slide of democracy.
And so seeing the chaos at home among his own party, these deep divisions over his agenda, the White House says it is going to take time to enact something this big. But others may question how the president messages that.
SCIUTTO: It's remarkable how quickly the talking point changed from the White House because 48 hours ago, it was he needs this deal before he comes. Pelosi said, don't embarrass the president. The president himself acknowledged this goes to U.S. credibility and his leadership but also the American system. Can the democratic system solve problems, too?
Listen, these people understand, politics is a messy business. It's all going to be fine. To be fair, the framework deal does have the approvement (sic) of the progressives. It does look like on a lot of these big picture issues, including the largest U.S. investment in climate measures in its history, right, assuming that comes through in the next couple of weeks, he did make progress there.
But he didn't make it when he said he wanted to make it by, which is by his arrival here.
BLITZER: There are a couple deadlines they wanted to meet. And they clearly were not met. We are standing by momentarily, Kaitlan; what's called the G20 family photo will take place. All the world leaders will gather for that.
[05:40:00]
COLLINS: One really interesting thing we are expecting to come out of this summit, where it's often these meet and greets, Putin and China are not going to be here, how the U.S. tries to take advantage of that.
One concrete thing we do know coming out of this is they are expecting them to endorse a global minimum tax. Officials describe it as way to prevent a race to the bottom of corporations, maybe they do most of their business in the United States.
But they go and set up in another country that has more favorable taxes. They're trying to endorse this, they say 80 percent of the world's GDP formally come out of this G20 summit, signing onto that.
But there are some provisions that will be really interesting. One is, of course, part of this, it's just not a global minimum tax. They also want to tax companies that are doing business in certain nations, even if they have no physical presence there.
Of course, that is what a lot of leaders have pushed back on. It has raised concerns and how this is actually implemented will be something fascinating to watch.
SCIUTTO: And that's an international policy, consistent with the president's own plan at home, to have a minimum tax for U.S. corporations, because many U.S. multinationals are in that category. They ship their profits overseas to avoid taxes at home.
BLITZER: The other big issue they will discuss is health, specifically COVID, the pandemic that still rages around the world. There is a sense among these leaders that there is one standard for the developed, the wealthy nations, and the poorer nations are suffering.
SCIUTTO: By the way, that is a message that we knew very close to Pope Francis' heart and we know that Biden and Pope Francis discussed that yesterday. And the position of the pope but also developing nations is, your vaccination rates are fantastic. Help us now. There had been a goal by the end of this year to get them
up in developing countries to 40 percent. They're not going to meet that goal. So a big priority here is to see if they can make progress in terms of sharing the wealth as it were with vaccines to get vaccination rates up in developing countries.
They're nowhere near where have you the rates in the U.S. and in Europe.
BLITZER: The Biden administration made a billion doses available to developing nations?
COLLINS: They often say we have donated more than anyone else but they are being called on to do more. It comes up in almost every single meeting the president has with other world leaders.
Look at all of them come together; you see the outgoing German chancellor, Angela Merkel there. This is expected to be her final G20 summit.
SCIUTTO: Fist pump there.
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COLLINS: The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.
We talk about what is the president's message going to be here?
What does he walk away with, with these world leaders?
This is the first time these world leaders have met since the COVID-19 pandemic. They are all coming into this room. They all have a completely new slate of challenges on their hands. Some of them like Merkel have been in charge for so long.
But still a pandemic affected every single one of them. And their nations and concerns about not just vaccinations but their economies and what that looks like going forward. So it would be fascinating to be a fly on the wall and listen to the conversations, because they all have that similar issue.
BLITZER: President Xi hasn't left China since the start of the pandemic. They all wanted him and Putin here. He's not here, either.
SCIUTTO: Notable absences, Putin and Xi. what you can do face-to-face is different than you can do remotely with meetings like this. As I said earlier, the missed opportunity for Biden and Xi to meet together is one that is consequential, given the depth of the tensions between the U.S. and China now.
It's interesting, you see Merkel in the middle there. This is her last hurrah.
COLLINS: Also President Biden was there, standing next to Turkish president Erdogan. We believe they'll be meeting on the sidelines of the climate summit, which will be a very interesting meeting. The White House confirmed that in recent days. Of course, there have been high tensions between those two.
So we'll see how that meeting goes, what the readout of that is.
BLITZER: President Macron of France, they had a meeting yesterday, a rather blunt meeting. The French not very happy, as all of our viewers remember, the submarine deal with Australia.
SCIUTTO: I spoke to French diplomats in the wake of that. They were genuinely upset. They felt they were blindsided by a close ally. So to hear those public comments of the president copping to it, in effect, saying it was clumsy.
Also as Kaitlan was saying earlier, directing a little fire at his own staff there, to say, I thought this had been handled.
BLITZER: I think Boris Johnson arrived there, the British prime minister. You can tell when he's there. He is a lively character.
SCIUTTO: Yes, you can spot his hair as well.
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BLITZER: That's what I was suggesting.
Jim, it's very, very carefully choreographed, this photo, where they each stand, right?
SCIUTTO: It is, no question. And a little distance, right, that part of the -- you see the fist pump before their casual moment.
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SCIUTTO: But perhaps, instead of a handshake, given we are still in a pandemic here, there have been a whole host of measures put in place for the whole conference. In fact, there was the first positive COVID test at the G20 revealed this morning, a member of the media.
BLITZER: It looks like they're bringing in some doctors to try to, I guess, underscore the importance of dealing with these issues.
These are all symbolically important moments.
COLLINS: Yes, they look like first responders, potentially and medical officials, who have been the backbone of the response to the pandemic. We are in Rome, in Italy, where they were incredibly hard-hit by the pandemic. Often people pay attention to see what was happening here to expect what would happen in their own nation and what to prepare for.
It is fascinating to look at this group, together, in person, for the first time since 2019 because of the pandemic. And, obviously, a lot of them have chosen to deal with it differently than others.
BLITZER: These health care professionals and the first responders, Jim, they are the heroes of what we have been seeing over the past two years. SCIUTTO: They are. They've saved lives and risked their own lives in
doing so. They were on the front lines of this before vaccines, of course, exposed to the sick. Many of them paid for it with their own health. So this is an important acknowledgement of their service and their dedication throughout.
BLITZER: And don't forget, after this wraps up here tomorrow, Kaitlan, so many of these world leaders are headed to Scotland for the climate summit, what is called the COP26 climate summit. They will spend a couple days there, dealing with what so many of them see as an existential threat to the globe.
COLLINS: And what we will be watching for is really, what are the tangible outcomes?
You hear from so many of these world leaders, especially in Europe, saying this is a crisis that we have to face now. We don't have time to stall. We don't have several years to argue about the best way to proceed. This is something we need to talk about now.
The question is who is making changes by 2030, 2050, often years you hear as a goal from these officials?
I think that's one of the reasons the White House wanted to have a concrete step of those climate provisions from the president's plan. They wanted him to say, here's what the United States is doing. You need to get in line and do something similar.
SCIUTTO: It's an open question here whether they make a statement or commitment for emissions reductions prior to the climate summit, that is the desire.
Do they get there?
To your point, assuming the framework becomes a reality in the U.S., $550 billion, which the administration believes could cut emissions in half by the year 2030, that's a real commitment if you get that going.
The question is, can the U.S. bring other allies along?
BLITZER: These world leaders now go behind doors. They'll be discussing global health issues, specifically COVID, economic issues, a minimum tax for the world. We'll continue our special coverage from right here in Rome. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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SANCHEZ: New this morning, the Albany County sheriff in New York is defending his decision to file a criminal complaint alleging sexual misconduct against former governor Andrew Cuomo. The comments come after a day of back and forth between the sheriff and a county district attorney, who says the new filing caught him off guard.
WALKER: Lawyers for Cuomo have denied the allegation, which stems from an incident at the governor's mansion last December. CNN correspondent Brynn Gingras has more on this.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amara, Boris, Albany County sheriff Craig Apple says he has a solid case when it comes to that criminal complaint that was filed against former governor Andrew Cuomo.
He says he's gone through a lot of evidence and he really hopes this case moves forward. Remember, this is in a complaint that was filed on Thursday, alleging the former governor of forcible touching in an incident that happened back in December of last year.
There was some confusion when this complaint was filed; it was done by the county sheriff's office. We learned that the district attorney's office had no idea that it was coming. Well, in a news conference on Friday, the sheriff tried to clear up that confusion.
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SHERIFF CRAIG APPLE, ALBANY COUNTY, NEW YORK: Our investigators have sifted through hundreds if not thousands of documents executed several search warrants and interviewed numerous witnesses, including our victim.
As a result of all that information, a packet was sent down to Albany City Court for review. As a result of that review, a criminal summons was issued.
I will back up and talk about the review; that's standard in police work, drop the information off. They'll review it. They are sending questions. They can call. Normally it takes a little bit of time.
This was -- this came back at a relatively accelerated rate, kind of caught us by surprise as well. Needless to say the document was then released to the media and posted online.
So sometimes, in police work with investigations, things don't go how you want them. You got to be ready to pivot. And that's exactly what we did. So a criminal summons was issued. I would have liked to, at that point, had a deeper conversation with the district attorney.
I would have liked to have reached out to Ms. Glavin, Cuomo's attorney, and explain what was going on. But needless to say, the document was signed, it was leaked. So again, things don't always work out as planned. So that's where we are today.
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GINGRAS: Cuomo's personal attorney released a statement after the complaint was filed, saying "Governor Cuomo has never assaulted anyone and Sheriff Apple's motives are patently improper."
The sheriff saying in that news conference that this was not politically motivated. We know former governor Cuomo will have to appear in court on that summons on November 17th -- Amara and Boris.
WALKER: Brynn Gingras, thank you for that.
For the first time since convicting former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, members of the jury are speaking out. Next, hear their exclusive interview with CNN.
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SANCHEZ: For the first time since convicting former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, seven members of the jury are speaking out about the trial.
WALKER: In the exclusive interview with CNN's Don Lemon, the jurors described the more than 10 hours of deliberation and the moment when some of them realized Chauvin was guilty.
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NICOLE DETERS, CHAUVIN TRIAL JUROR: At some point, I think it was Jodi, said, wait a minute, does the intended act of harm have to be the death of George Floyd?
Or can it be him not providing the life support?
And it was like all of a sudden the light bulbs went on for those of people that I think were undecided or on the not guilty side.
JODI DOUD, CHAUVIN TRIAL JUROR: I brought up to the fact that this is not what he did but more or less what he didn't do. He did not provide lifesaving measures for George Floyd, when he knew that the guy was in pain or needed medical attention.
Even the firefighter said, "Check his pulse, check his pulse."
Well, then they checked his pulse and they said, "Well, do you want to do anything?"
"No, we're leaving him here."
He had ample time to roll him over and start CPR. And he didn't. He didn't move one bit.
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WALKER: Fascinating to hear from those jurors and their mindset and what went into the decision-making. And many of them said the trial was a life-altering experience for them. And they said they're still haunted by the video of George Floyd's death after having to watch it over and over again during the trial. Just imagine; some have even sought counseling or therapy.
SANCHEZ: We're still following a lot of developments on the G20 summit in Rome. We will be following them throughout the day here on CNN. We will take you to Rome after a quick break.
