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Biden-Putin Call Ends With Warnings, Little Progress; Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA) Discusses Democrat Plans For 2022, Midterms, Passing Biden Agenda; Tom Harris, Times Square Alliance President, Discusses Scaled-Back New Year's Eve Celebration Amid COVID Surge. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired December 31, 2021 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:32:40]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: If you were looking for a reset, you won't find one here or at least on the phone call in the second conversation between President Joe Biden and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

It produced no concrete progress. And in the 50-minute call, Biden outlined what American officials called dire economic consequences for Russia should Putin move troops into Ukraine.

Putin issued a warning of his own, that any sanctions would cause a, quote, "complete rupture" of the already frayed U.S.-Russia relationship.

Joining me now is CNN global affairs analyst and staff writer for the "New Yorker," Susan Glasser.

Susan, I was struck, heading into the call, U.S. officials weren't totally sure what the intent was.

It seemed in the wake of the call it was kind of laying the groundwork for the diplomatic talks to come in the second week of January.

What is kind of the shape of that landscape right now?

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, that is an excellent question. You know, in the Russian system, right, Putin is the one and only decider so he's all about the leader-to-leader interactions.

And that's part of this temper tantrum. Remember, this is a manufactured crisis by Vladimir Putin. There was no imminent decision by NATO to admit Ukraine. It's an absolute pretext.

If it wasn't NATO, it would be another pretext because Putin has made it clear in recent month that he's eager in revising basically the terms under which the Soviet Union broke up 30 years ago this week.

And so one question is really impossible to answer, which is, what is inside Putin's mind? But I was struck by the very belligerent tone of the Russian public messaging after the phone call. Their readout is very different than the Biden White House readout of the call.

And it says basically that Putin threatened Joe Biden and said, if you do anything in response to my military buildup or possible invasion, then there will be a rupture.

So not only is Putin essentially demanding the right to invade a neighboring country and saying, if you respond to that, you're the one to blame.

MATTINGLY: The question right now is, was this call at this moment a pretext to an invasion or is it a pretext to try and secure diplomatic -- something diplomatic from the U.S. and from NATO?

GLASSER: One of the big, I think, problems right now, Putin is saying what he wants, what he's demanding, is not within Joe Biden's power or the U.S. power to give.

[12:35:08]

There's really a mismatch of having an enormous invasion force on the border of Ukraine unless you negotiate this complicated long-term security treaty with me. Not the kind of thing that happens in a short period of time.

He's demanding concessions that are literally never going to happen, that NATO would never be operating in any country in the sphere of what Russia considers it influence.

And so, what worries me, and what makes a military threat seem possibly imminent here is the fact that it's hard to see how one could even accede to any of Putin's demands.

How do you get to yes when the demands are so unreasonable?

MATTINGLY: Yes. And they have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes the last couple of weeks. Nobody is totally sure if they can thread that needle, if they can.

Susan Glasser, I know your report will tell us if they can over the course of the next couple of weeks.

Thanks very much. And happy New Year.

GLASSER: Thank you. Happy New Year.

MATTINGLY: Lawmakers return next week with a lengthy to-do list as midterm elections loom. We'll talk to one Democrat about the plan for 2022 after the break.

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[12:40:51]

MATTINGLY: It has become a painfully familiar puzzle for Democrats. How do we win over Senator Joe Manchin's vote?

The West Virginia Senator dealt what looked, at least at the time, a death blow to the president's spending bill just a couple of weeks ago.

But there's hope among the caucus in the new year that they can revive negotiations over the $1.7 trillion package.

Here now to share her insights and perspective is Democratic Congresswoman from Georgia, Carolyn Bourdeaux.

Congresswoman, I want to start with the idea that you weren't rushing to get Build Back Better passed. You took your time with it. You made sure it lined up in terms of what they said it would spend and how it would be paid for.

There were a lot of Senator Manchin's concerns involved as well. He's not there yet.

What's your sense of how to get him there and get him across the finish line?

REP. CAROLYN BOURDEAUX (D-GA): Good to be on with you.

I just think we'll have to go back in January. We have to dust ourselves off, get back up and just go back to the negotiating table.

There's plenty of room to negotiate. And I just think that this is a real priority for everybody.

We can call it something different. We can reframe it and change some of the policies.

But really the things like health care, childcare and climate change, those are all real priorities for all of us. And we need to find a way to get those done.

MATTINGLY: One of the things that we've been trying to figure out, all in our amateur kind of frame to try to put together, how do you find a bill that works to some degree?

And what you mentioned, the expansion of the Affordable Care Act, the Medicare expansion gap, or things that I think the Senator supports, climb. He's got climate provisions in there and universal pre-K.

One thing he doesn't have, at least in the proposal he put to the White House, is an expansion of the child tax credit, for a year or longer.

Is that something that you'd be willing to be OK with dropping in order to move this forward?

BOURDEAUX: Well, health care really is a top priority. I would not be happy about dropping the child tax cut. But, you know, I want to get some stuff done and we have a lot of really important things in this bill. One of the main things I ran on and really important to people in this

district is affordable quality health care.

And what we've got in that bill right now would really deliver on that promise, and so I'm very committed to that.

I do think that there are ways that we can reframe the child tax credit to really target it more at people who are in need. It's done an incredible job at reducing child poverty.

I think we can cut the price tag but still meet the same goals.

MATTINGLY: More broadly, I think one of the concerns when I talk to your colleagues is, if you're still negotiating and haggling in January or February or further.

And you're not talking about what you've done in the first year in Congress. And obviously, that brings up concerns heading into a midterm year.

You know, a lot of people are saying Democrats face a very challenging midterm landscape.

Do you see a possibility that the Democrats maintain control of the House after the midterms?

BOURDEAUX: Absolutely I do. And I think one of the things we've seen is redistricting has not been as bad as we thought.

But we do need to get our messaging straightened out and make sure that we're really focusing on delivering on these needs that we've been talking about for a long, long time.

And would I like to see this bill get done in pretty short order. Ideally, in the first quarter of this year.

But the things that are in that bill are things that we have run on. Again, that's an affordable, quality health care, universal pre-K.

Wouldn't it be amazing had we had that in this country? And then making a significant down payment on climate change.

I think those are resonant messages. And we can get them done and get it out in front of the American people.

MATTINGLY: Yes, it's been the big thing that everyone wants to do. Just need to get it over the finish line.

I want to ask you before you go because this has been one of the hot political issues.

You're now facing a primary challenge from Congresswoman Lucy McBath. It's redistricting and the lines have been rewritten.

But it's fascinating because you two both flip districts. And 60 percent of the voters in your new district will be your current voters. So you have a majority of constituents in this new district.

However, Jim Clyburn hosted a fundraiser for Lucy McBath and is splitting the caucus a little bit.

Does it worry you right now how this kind of plays out and where national Democrats end up siding in the next couple of months?

[12:45:05]

BOURDEAUX: You know, this is one of these things where you can't get bogged down in the punditry and talking about it.

I've focused, ever since I've run for office, ever since I've been elected, on what people in the seventh district need.

And we need things like infrastructure, congestion relief. We need health care and we need childcare.

And so my goal going forward is just to focus on those issues and talk to them about how we're connecting the things that the Democrats have delivered on, with what is going to affect them in their daily lives.

So I'm just focusing on that right now.

MATTINGLY: And there will be plenty to focus on in the next couple of weeks, no doubt about it.

Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux, from Georgia, thank you so much for your time.

BOURDEAUX: Great to be here.

MATTINGLY: All right. A scaled-back celebration is happening in Times Square tonight. Anyone who wants to be there will have to wear a mask and show that they are fully vaccinated.

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[12:50:24]

MATTINGLY: Countries around the world ringing in the new year this hour, including Hong Kong. There was a dazzling fireworks display. Live orchestra at Victoria Harbor. You can see it right there.

Hong Kong celebrates right behind Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Australia. Of course, we'll be celebrating in a couple of hours.

Tonight's ball drop in Times Square will be a vaccinated and masked affair.

The New Year's Eve celebration will go on with some new safety measures in place despite in a nationwide surge in COVID cases.

The scaled-back party will be limited to about 15,000 revelers, about one-fourth. And city officials say everyone will be required to show proof of vaccination and wear a mark. I'm joined by the president of the Times Square Alliance, Tom Harris.

Tom, I'm interested in the calculation here because there were some calling for the event to be cancelled. What made you guys to decide, with the mitigation efforts in place, you could move forward here?

TOM HARRIS, PRESIDENT, TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE: Well, first, thank you very much for having me.

We felt that it was important to show the world that we have moved a little bit forward in our recovery from this pandemic.

Last year, we had very few people. Some honored guests in Times Square. That was before vaccinations. That was before the expanded testing that we have now.

In New York City, our schools are open, our restaurants are open, our bars are open and our hotels are open. This is an outdoor event, and our public spaces are also open.

So at the beginning, we thought having a fully vaccinated event was the way to proceed. With the uptick in cases, we reduced density of the crowd. And we're also mandating that people wear masks.

We've spoken with medical experts. And we have some heard from some medical experts that this is a safer way to proceed.

MATTINGLY: One of the questions I think a lot of us have had is, how do you enforce for 15,000 people the mitigation measures that I think you've put in place and that are critical here?

HARRIS: So, the New York City Police Department has perfected a plan over the years of screening revelers as they enter Times Square.

We've added one layer slightly upstream where just before they get screened by the police department we have vaccination checkers that are going to look at their vaccination status and confirm their I.D.

And ensure that they have a mask on. If they don't have a mask, we have masks for them.

While they are in the spectator viewing areas, we have signage reminding people to mask up. And if someone is seen without a mask, we have masks available. And we're going to be encouraging them to put masks on.

MATTINGLY: And one of the things I want to ask, the ball drop, that's not the only thing happening in Times Square. Eric Adams will soon be sworn in as mayor after the clock strikes midnight, as if you didn't have enough on your plate.

Tell us a little bit about what that is going to look like.

HARRIS: That's exciting. So after the ball drops at midnight and the blizzard of confetti fills Times Square, we will be swearing in the next mayor of the city of New York, Eric Adams. And we couldn't be happier.

It all begins in Times Square. All of our New Year's begin with watching that ball drop. And we're excited that he's chosen Times Square to start his -- his four, hopefully, eight years in office.

MATTINGLY: And one of the critical questions, no matter the year, pandemic aside, what's the weather looking like tonight?

Is there going to be clear skies? Will everybody be able to see the party that's going to be in place?

HARRIS: Yes, clear skies. It's going to be warm. It's going to be a great night for those who are able to be in Times Square.

But it's all a matter of giving people a choice. Those who can't be in Times Square and don't want to be in Times Square can watch it on our Web site.

And they can watch Anderson and Andy or any of the other networks.

It's going to be a great night in Times Square.

MATTINGLY: That was like the perfect segue to the tease that I have coming up.

Tom Harris, a professional in every sense of the word. Thanks so much for your time, sir.

HARRIS: Thanks for having me.

MATTINGLY: And as mentioned, you can join Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen for "CNN NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE." The party starts at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

[12:54:36]

More news though coming up after this quick break.

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MATTINGLY: Hello. Welcome to the New Year's Eve edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Phil Mattingly sitting in for Ana Cabrera.

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MATTINGLY: That's the city of Sydney, Australia, one of the first country's to bid adieu and, my goodness, good riddance to the year 2021, another year of pandemic fatigue and, of course, frustration.

[12:59:53]

In New York, the iconic Times Square celebration is scaled back this year with only about a fourth of the usual crowd being allowed to attend.

Across the country, cities have limited their festivities or cancelled them all together.

And the U.S. ends 2021 like it entered it, with surging COVID infections.