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President Biden Expected to Speak with European, NATO Leaders Friday; President Biden Meets with Senate Judiciary Dems on Supreme Court Vacancy; GOP Candidates Attack Fauci in Campaign Ads Ahead of Midterms; NFL Commissioner Says NFL Fell Short in Hiring Black Head Coaches. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 10, 2022 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:39]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: This just in to CNN. President Biden is expected to speak on Friday with European and NATO leaders about Russia's buildup -- continuing buildup of troops near Ukraine. This according to a person familiar with those plans. This is a key conversation with U.S. allies as the situation grows more tense.

CNN has new reporting as well on how the U.S. and European allies are closely watching for possible signals that Russia is moving forward with an invasion.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: And let's get right to Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr with more on this.

Barbara, this is your reporting. What are these signs that Moscow might shift from threatening an invasion to actually launching one?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to both of you. You know, it's all about getting that intelligence right now. And part of this, let me just say the latest information we have is that eight U.S. Air Force F-15s have now today landed in Poland and they become part of a NATO air mission to patrol the skies and keep an eye on where aircraft may be moving around.

So the intelligence as well as the reassurance and deterrent effort go on. They hope diplomacy will work but in case it does not, there is a good deal of intelligence gathering going on trying to determine what those factors might be. How do you recognize an invasion if it is about to happen? So there's a couple of key signals. One of them may be the positioning and maneuvering of the Russian troops.

Those troops moving into more forward positions within firing range of their potential targets inside Ukraine. Of course, if it comes to that, that's one thing we're told they're looking for. It could be cyberattacks against Ukraine. There have been them in the past. They could start -- the Russians could start with an attack on the electric grid, if you will, trying to isolate the country, break the fabric of society apart, make people nervous and afraid.

And, you know, it could be something from further away. Long range artillery, missile strikes, that sort of thing. That would all be fairly dire, and again, the U.S. allies as you say are talking around the clock, hoping to find a way out of this but in the meantime, the Russians and Belarus just to the north have announced they have begun significant military exercises.

Belarus, of course, that Belarus border just a short driving distance to the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, so that is something that the U.S. is watching very carefully. Those exercises will wrap up February 20th. Just perhaps by coincidence, the last day of the Olympic Games in China, a close Russia ally.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. Barbara and Jim, this coming as Ukraine is accusing Russia of blocking off parts of the Black Sea as well. So the aggression there and the buildup does continues. Very ominous sign.

Barbara Starr, thank you.

STARR: Sure.

GOLODRYGA: Well, hours from now, President Biden will meet with Senate Judiciary Democrats at the White House to get their input on his search for a Supreme Court nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.

SCIUTTO: CNN's Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, he's been following.

So, Manu, Biden courting Democratic senators, of course, but also some conversations with Republican senators. I wonder in the midst of this and we've heard some public comments on who various lawmakers' favorites are, is a front-runner emerging?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's still unclear because of course only one man makes that decision, that's Joe Biden.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

RAJU: We do know that there are a number of judges on Joe Biden's short list. Some of them who have been confirmed by the United States Senate. Someone like Ketanji Brown Jackson who was confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals with D.C. last summer. Had three Republicans vote in favor of her nomination to that lower court. Also, someone like a Michelle Childs, who is a district judge from South Carolina.

She has been pushed very hard by Democratic House member Jim Clyburn but also seems to have support from some Republicans, Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator, has been pushing for her nomination. Tim Scott, also South Carolina Republican, sounds open to her if is nominated but it's still unclear if that's exactly where Joe Biden will go but what we do know is that we are getting closer to crunch time.

He's expected to make an announcement before the end of the month, which is why the consultation process is important here because Dick Durbin who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee has indicated that the process could take about 40 days from the time that the nomination is made up until getting the final confirmation vote.

[10:35:05]

And potentially a few weeks from when the confirmation -- when the nomination is made to getting an actual hearing, getting that nominee before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is why today's meeting is important to talk about the process forward and talk about any candidates, any of these Democrats are pushing, we'll have to wait and see if the president makes clear where he's leaning -- guys.

SCIUTTO: Lots to follow. Manu Raju on the Hill. Thanks so much.

Still coming up this hour, a Democratic candidate who went viral for smoking marijuana in a campaign ad last month. Has just released a new one burning the Confederate flag. Taking political ads to the extreme, that's s coming up.

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[10:40:18]

SCIUTTO: Dr. Anthony Fauci is not on any ballots for polls coming in November. That is not, however, stopping Republican midterm candidates from making him the focus of their campaign ad. Some of them angry. Here are just a few examples.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): I'm Rand Paul. I know Mike Gibbons will join me in demanding that Fauci is immediately fired and removed from office.

DR. MEHMET OZ (R), PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: The big government medical establishment came after me because I dared to challenge Fauci.

JANE TIMKEN (R), OHIO SENATE CANDIDATE: No mask mandates, no vaccine mandates. Let's fire Fauci and take back our freedoms.

JIM PILLEN (R), NEBRASKA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Biden is as lost as last year's Easter egg. And Fauci, don't get me started.

I'm Jim Pillen. As governor, I'll keep Nebraska safe.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: With a gun. Joining us now to discuss Jackie Kucinich, a CNN political analyst and Washington bureau chief of the "Daily Beast." Also Chris Cillizza, CNN politics reporter and author of "The Point" newsletter.

Good to have you both on. There's a background here that I think is worth mentioning in the midst of this and that is that Dr. Fauci has been under personal threat for a number of months now requiring police protection. And his family as well. His two daughters. Do these ads, Chris Cillizza, potentially contribute to that?

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER AND EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Sure. I mean, when you have things like #firefauci in the guy's gun, I know he's going hunting but the, yes, of course, people make that connection and the thing that's so unfortunate, Jim, is it's the latest example of how this pandemic has been brutally politicized in ways that affect people's lives. Anthony Fauci is not a Joe Biden appointee. He's not a Barack Obama appointee.

He's been serving presidents since Ronald Reagan, right? This was never a political position before. Unfortunately, Republicans do this, Republican candidates do this because they have polling that tells them that the Republican base of the party is very anti-Fauci. Why are they very anti-Fauci? Well, I'll just throw one idea out there. Maybe it's because Donald Trump spent, you know, the majority of the second half of his presidency vilifying a doctor who has run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for decades. I don't think we can think that that's not linked.

GOLODRYGA: So, Jackie, below the belt, most likely, right. Dangerous, most definitely. But one could argue that these ads would be more effective if the midterms were a month or two away. As we are starting to see states, both red and blue, lifting their mask restrictions and opening up in ways that we didn't expect even just a few weeks ago, do you think these ads are even effective at this point given that the midterms are months away?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I do because this isn't about November. This is about primaries that are much, much closer. Particularly when you're talking about candidates in Ohio and Pennsylvania where there has been a race among many of these candidates to become the closest to former President Trump and that means a pull to the right. And with Dr. Fauci, he really has become an avatar of sorts for the right of lockdowns and government limitations that happened during COVID.

And when you're talking about these states, again like Ohio which is a red state, that is something that really activates the base which all of these candidates are trying to attract to their side in these crowded fields to replace retiring senators.

SCIUTTO: All right. So you have a Republican message there, targeting Fauci but as well as masks and some other COVID regulations. There's been some criticism on the Democratic side, Chris Cillizza, from within their own party over a lack of a comprehensive and winning Democratic message.

I want to quote here Democratic Senator Jon Tester, these comments to David Axelrod on his podcast. He says, "I honestly don't think the Democratic Party can be a majority party unless we start appealing to middle America a lot more."

I spoke with Representative Cooper from Nashville last hour who made this same point. Is that criticism getting through to Democratic candidates in the fall?

CILLIZZA: Well, here's the problem. Jackie pointed out that there are primaries coming up, primaries for Democrats, too, and primaries have since time immemorium, rewarded candidates who run to their party bases. I also think, Jim, that you have a lot of the most prominent Democrats in the country down from Joe Biden -- Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren, these are people on the far left of the Democratic Party. That's not where races are typically won.

[10:45:01]

Look, in Montana, that's a hard state to hold if Jon Tester isn't in that seat. In West Virginia, whatever Democrats think of Joe Manchin, no other Democrat can get elected statewide in West Virginia to the Senate other than Joe Manchin. Same thing, Arizona. Very tough place for Democrats to win. I know they have two Democratic senators right now but it's no luck Joe Biden won by less than 11,000 votes in 2020.

So the problem is, a lot of the most prominent voices are people who never have to worry about winning a general election. They have to worry maybe about winning a primary. And I think Tester, Jim Cooper, some of the things that Joe Manchin have said all speak to that. These are people who have to win in the middle.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

CILLIZZA: And it's hard to do when most of your prominent voices are on the left.

GOLODRYGA: And to be fair, this is a message that we've heard from moderate Democrats for well over a year now, right, in needing to shift messaging here.

Let me ask you, Jackie, about a Democratic ad from Gary Chambers. He's a U.S. Senate candidate in Louisiana. And this ad went viral in which he's smoking marijuana and he burns a Confederate flag. Let's play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY CHAMBERS (D), LOUISIANA SENATE CANDIDATE: Our system isn't broken. It's designed to do exactly what it's doing which is producing measurable inequity. One in 13 black Americans are deprived of the right to vote. One in nine black Americans do not have health insurance. One in three black children live in poverty. It's time to burn what remains of the Confederacy down. I do believe the south will rise but this time it will be on our terms.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: So clearly he's focusing more on voting rights and equality but is that the type of messaging that you think will resonate with many voters?

KUCINICH: You know, ads are made to be noticed and whoever are his ad maker certainly know that, but the issue that he's pointing to is certainly something Democrats across the country want people paying attention to, particularly when you're talking about voting rights. The Voting Rights Lab points out that 558 bills in state legislatures right now are going through that could limit or restrict voting rights. So this is something that I think Democrats, national Democrats, are

really trying to get a handle on. Whether or not we'll see that ad reproduced across the country, I don't know about that but certainly he's pointing to some issues that, you know, a lot of Democrats really want discussed going into the midterms.

GOLODRYGA: Well, it definitely caught our attention.

Jackie Kucinich and Chris Cillizza, thank you as always.

CILLIZZA: Thanks, Bianna.

KUCINICH: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: We have more news. This just in to CNN. According to a royal source, Prince Charles met with Queen Elizabeth, quote, "recently." This is notable because it comes after news this morning that the prince tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time in just under two years.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, he was one of the most prominent names who has said that they had come public and tested positive with COVID two years ago. Now once again he's infected. He's also self-isolating according to an announcement from Clarence House this morning. And according to the source, the Queen is not displaying symptoms and the situation will continue to be monitored. A live update coming up.

And still ahead, the NFL commissioner says the league won't tolerate racism but admits it's fallen short when giving black coaches opportunities. So what does the commissioner plan to do about it all?

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[10:53:02]

GOLODRYGA: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admits that the league has fallen short in its hiring practices for black and minority candidates.

SCIUTTO: The issues of diversity and discrimination took center stage on Wednesday overshadowing to some degree the buildup to Sunday's Super Bowl.

CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes is in Englewood, California, the site of the big game. Tell us what you're learning.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, guys, you know, diversity among head coaches in the NFL, it's been a topic at Roger Goodell's State of the League Address every year and again this year, it was the topic again. Goodell says unfortunately the league is having to discuss and Goodell admitted that he along with the other league owners have fallen short when it comes to hiring minority coaches.

And, you know, a lot of talk again about this but there weren't really many solutions offered. Goodell says he's not sure if the interview process for head coaches is flawed but he did say they need to find out. One solution that was offered to us that Goodell said that they are going to get independent experts to take a look at this entire process and they are not going to rest until they come up with a solution. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: I think that's the core of the message that we've been talking about here is, OK, we're not having this success we want with head coaches. How do we evolve that rule? Or do we need to have a new rule? Do we need to figure out some other way of being able to achieve that outcome? And I think we're not going to rest until we find that and we get those kind of outcomes that I think are -- they're mandatory for us. There just has to be the way we're going to move forward to have an inclusive league.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES; Yes. When it comes to the Rooney Rule, which is the rule that requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coach openings, Goodell said that they may keep the rule, change the rule, replace it altogether. Every option is going to be on the table.

And Goodell was also asked about the allegations made by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores that he was offered money to lose.

[10:55:03]

Guys, Goodell called those allegations very disturbing. They're going to investigate and if violations occur, they're going to be dealt with seriously.

SCIUTTO: It's a remarkable allegation for a former head coach to make, saying he was directly involved in getting that sort of pressure.

Andy Scholes, good to have you there at the game. Thanks so much.

And thanks so much to all of you for joining us today. It's almost the end of week. I'm Jim Sciutto.

GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. "AT THIS HOUR" with Kate Bolduan starts after a quick break.

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