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Senior U.S. Official Says, No Slowdown in Russian Military Preparations; Queen Elizabeth Tests Positive for COVID, Has Mild Symptoms; Trump Launches His Own Social Media App After Twitter Ban. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 21, 2022 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:30:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: Right now, Russian President Vladimir Putin is maintaining that his priority, he says, is peace, even though U.S. intelligence indicates that Russian forces are, in fact, moving closer, not further away from the border, and could invade Ukraine any moment now.

Despite repeated diplomatic attempts to curb Russian aggression, a U.S. official tells me this morning there has been no slowdown in Russia's military preparations or readiness.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Congressman Adam Schiff, he joins us now live from London. He attended the Munich Security Conference with Vice President Harris, as well as a bipartisan group of lawmakers over the weekend. Congressman, thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: So, you, like we, are hearing this talk of diplomacy, this offer of a Biden/Putin, at the same time, U.S. intelligence indicating that preparations moving forward with invasion plans for Ukraine. Would it, in your view, be a mistake to meet with Putin before Russia deescalates in some way, moves some forces back from the border?

SCHIFF: Well, look, I think that any diplomatic effort is worthwhile if it can avoid war. And I think this demonstrates the president's willingness to go to any length in the hope of averting this catastrophe. So, I support that overture. I'm skeptical, frankly, because the Russians continue to move troops into a more forward position because they give every sign of their intention to invade, that a summit will go forward, but I think that the president wants to demonstrate, as do our allies, that we're not closing the door to diplomacy. If it's going to get closed, it's going to get closed by Vladimir Putin.

SCIUTTO: The thing is though that Putin seems to repeatedly reject any offer that goes along the diplomatic track. In the last hour, he says -- we don't know if this is true, he says that the U.S. offered some sort of moratorium on Ukraine's membership in NATO but then said immediately that's just a reaffirmation of U.S. positions. He's not interested. He continues to command no NATO for Ukraine ever, and, by the way, it seems no more NATO members regardless going forward. What's the path to diplomacy if that is the position if of the Russian leader?

SCHIFF: Well, if that's his position, then there isn't much of a path available, and he knows it. He knows that the United States and NATO are never going to accept those terms, that we feel that it is a value of ours that countries get to decide their own destiny, that larger, more powerful nations that are their neighbors don't get to decide who they associate with, how they enter collective security agreements. That's not for Vladimir Putin to decide.

So, you know, I have to say, Jim, I'm skeptical given the completely unreasonable, unrealistic demands, that Putin is making demands, he knows will be rejected and knew from the beginning would be rejected, that he has any intention other than going forward. But, nonetheless, we want to go to the last mile to try to avoid war. Because if it comes to war, it's going to be a humanitarian disaster, that casualties could be very significant. But I share the skepticism that you're expressing.

SCIUTTO: There is a step that's been discussed short of war, perhaps part of a broader war plan, but that is to recognize these eastern self-declared republics, I mean, really areas, as you know, that, for years, Russia has been doing its best to destabilize, but Putin said today he may very well consider that.

Would you see that as a Russian attempt, frankly, to take over those parts of the country, in other words, slice off another piece of Ukraine, as it did with Crimea? And would a step like that, do you believe, generate the kinds of sanctions and response that President Biden has been speaking about?

[10:35:01]

SCHIFF: I see that as an effort, to use the old Soviet practice, of freezing conflicts in place, creating these areas of controversy that nations on edge, that destabilized countries like Ukraine. This is Ukrainian territory we're talking about. It's not up to Putin to unilaterally declare them independent or declare them as part of Russian state or confederation of states. That's not for him to do. Those areas are Ukrainian. And we have pledged to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine, and that includes Crimea. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Putin employ that as yet another destabilizing tactic.

SCIUTTO: President Zelensky has said to the U.S., to NATO, sanction Russia now. Don't wait for the invasion. And we've heard that argument from fellow Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Washington. Is it a mistake to wait, in your view? Should President Biden, in effect, preempt given all the threats that Russia is making right now?

SCHIFF: Well, I think that once you've imposed sanctions, you lose whatever leverage you have by threatening, hey, if you go forward, this is what we're going to do. Once you've opposed sanctions, then Russia is in the position of saying, well, then, we might as well go forward. We're already suffering the penalties.

It's another question and it seemed like Zelensky was looking for a middle way in which the sanctions would be announced so that it would be very clear to Russia what they have to expect. But I have to think Russia knows very much what it's going to get in terms of sanctions and they're going to be the most powerful and punitive Russia has ever experienced.

It is really a tribute, I think, both to the president and to our NATO allies that we have come together with such unity on this, I think, what will be a devastating package of sanctions. I also think that if we were to impose them in advance and potentially even announce them in advance that we'd give the Russians more time to prepare. And so there are downsides to even the announcements of specific sanctions.

But I think it's clear from the United States, from Germany, regarding Nord Stream, but also sectoral sanctions, financial sector sanctions, sanctions on the Ukrainian oligarchs -- sorry, Russian oligarchs that penalties are going to be enormous. And I don't think, frankly, Putin was expecting the NATO allies be so unified with such harsh (ph) repercussions.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Sometimes we tend to think of Putin as a flawless strategist and there are times he can miscalculate as well. Congressman Adam Schiff, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

SCHIFF: Thank you, Jim.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN NEWSROOM: Still ahead, don't be surprised that the FDA recommends a fourth dose of the COVID vaccine. When you might be ready for your next booster shot, that's straight up ahead after the break.

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[10:40:00]

GOLODRYGA: Britain's Queen Elizabeth has tested positive for COVID. The 95-year-old mild cold-like symptoms, thankfully, nothing worse, and she's expected to continue light duties in Windsor over the coming week. British media have reported she is fully vaccinated but there is still a lot of concern about the queen considering her age and some of her recent health issues.

Here with me now is Dr. Megan Ranney, Associate Dean of Public Health and Professor of Emergency Medicine at Brown University. Great to see you, Dr. Ranney. So, first things first, it is wonderful to hear that Queen Elizabeth is feeling nothing worse than perhaps some mild cold symptoms, she's still going about her work and some of her duties there, very fitting of her character, I should note. But given her age, I'm just curious, I'm sure there are many viewers out there who have elderly loved ones who are also -- they have the vaccine, they've been boosted but they're concerned given how old they are and previous health issues.

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, ASSOCIATE DEAN OF PUBLIC HEALTH, BROWN UNIVERSITY: So, poor Queen Elizabeth, poor England, to be facing her getting an infection after so many months staying healthy. It shows just how transmissible omicron is. The good news is that the vaccination and the booster do seem to be protecting her.

Now, obviously, I am not caring for her personally but if I were her doctor, she would be exactly the kind of person that I would look into giving Paxlovid, that new Pfizer pill that you can take at home to help stave off severe side effects, or the monoclonal antibodies. There's one kind out and one kind that just got approved that do work against omicron.

For these older adults who are fragile in their health, it is extra important for us to get them quick care after a diagnosis and to do everything we can to protect them from COVID.

GOLODRYGA: What's the most crucial window to watch them, to make sure that things don't deteriorate, right? I believe that she tested positive or at least she was announced over the weekend. She said she's feeling now, but we know this is a very a tricky virus that can have implications for days and weeks ahead.

RANNEY: So, those first few days are really important because that's the window when you're eligible for Paxlovid but for monoclonal antibodies. But then it's really between 5 and 14 days that we watch for a lot of those severe side effects of COVID.

[10:45:01]

Things like pneumonia, blood clots, kidney injury, strokes and so on, show up about one to two weeks into the disease course. But, again, I am imagining Queen Elizabeth is receiving the very best care, which, of course, is what all of our older adults deserve.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And it's coming as the country as a whole and the prime minister, Boris Johnson, announcing that all COVID restrictions will be lifted. Do you think now is a safe time for the United Kingdom to be lifting their restrictions and do you think other countries should be following suit now including the U.S.?

RANNEY: It's critically important for us to titrate restrictions up and down according to case counts. Case counts are dropping quickly but another one or two weeks before removing mask mandates or what Boris Johnson has said, which concerns me more, removing the need to isolate after a positive test, we should be waiting longer, if ever, before putting that new policy in effect. Here in the U.S., it certainly makes sense to start to pull back on some of these non-pharmaceutical measures, things like mask mandates, social distancing and so on, as our case counts drop. But we need to match it with a data system so that we can be ready to put masks back in place if there are new surges, if this new BA.2 variant turns out to be worse or if there are other variants on the horizon.

GOLODRYGA: And just to reminder to our viewers that many of these countries have higher rates of people being boosted than in the United States. I believe we're a little below 30 percent now in the U.S., but the FDA, in the meantime, is looking towards a fourth dose perhaps for the fall when they're expecting another spike in COVID in the country.

What do you make of that and do you think that that is just something that we will inevitably see, a fourth booster, a fourth shot for Americans in the months ahead?

RANNEY: Yes. Many of us expect that in the years to come, we will have yearly doses of COVID vaccine the same way that we do for the flu vaccine in order to protect us against new variants that rear their head as we go into cold weather months.

For today, there's no reason to rush out and get a fourth booster unless you are immunosuppressed. People who are immunosuppressed should be going and getting a fourth shot because their bodies are less able to produce that protection that the rest of us have.

For the rest of us, we need to get the third of Americans who haven't even gotten their first two shots, we need to get them vaccinated. And then of those who receive the first two shots, older folks, people who are age 50-plus should be going to get a booster today.

GOLODRYGA: Some good advice, as always. Dr. Megan Ranney, thank you, we appreciate it.

RANNEY: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Coming up next, former President Trump launches his new social media app after being suspended from Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. But Truth Social has already hit some snags. We'll tell you about that, up next.

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[10:50:00]

GOLODRYGA: Well, earlier this morning, former President Trump launched his new social media platform. It's a response to sites, like Facebook and Twitter, which suspended Trump after the January 6th insurrection.

Here with me now is CNN Senior Media Correspondent Brian Stelter. Brian, we're already hearing about some issues that users having downloading this app. Tell us about that.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I think this is another chapter in the war on truth, so we're seeing Truth Social but there's something Orwellian about the language around this, where a post on the site is called a truth and it's coming from a brand, Donald Trump, that is known for dishonesty.

Now, the app did officially launch this morning. It has been in development for months. They have already missed some deadlines. So, now, it's actually up in the app store, people can try to download it try to sign up. But already users are saying they have a hard time actually getting a lot, now, there's a wait list.

And Devin Nunes, you remember, left Congress in order to run this social media company for Trump, he says the site will be fully operational by the end of March. So, this is going to be a slow rollout by Trump and his allies trying to create maybe a conservative version of Twitter. And I think it's a real test for Trump about how much market power he has, how much influence he still has and whether his voice will be as loud when he's on his own site and not someone else's.

GOLODRYGA: Well, remember, he would brag to anyone who would listen. It's how many millions of Twitter followers he had. Now, that's not something that he can do anymore. Who is his target audience? I'm just curious. Who is it they're reaching out to?

STELTER: That's really an interesting question. How many supporters of Donald Trump or MAGA-aligned figures are going to sign up for this and how many are going to populate this with content? Because, ultimately, social networking sites are about content, whether on Facebook or TikTok or Twitter or some of the conservative clones that have already popped up trying to appeal to the Trump base.

I see this going one or two ways. This may end up being another example of two Americas splintering away from one another. There's a liberal Twitter and a conservative Truth Social. And it may just be another example of this country being pulled further apart.

Then, again, what made Trump work on Twitter? Why was he electric on Twitter? Because he was trolling, he will get raucous, liberals will be yelling at him and conservatives would be dunking on the liberals. And he had this ability to kind of fight among everyone.

And if you take away the other sides of this, if you're only speaking in one tribe, if you're in a conservative bubble of like-minded posts, I'm not so sure if that still works or that still applies. It's a different dynamic when you're just talking to people who agree with you. There's no trolling anymore. There's no so-called owning the libs. So, I'm really curious to see if this actually works for Trump or if it's going to fall flat.

[10:55:03]

GOLODRYGA: Yes. Because people who oppose him or disagree with him would really have to do an extra bit of leg work here, to go find it, sign up --

STELTER: I don't see them signing up and that's going to be the test. GOLODRYGA: Brian Stelter, thanks as always.

And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto in Lviv, Ukraine. CNN will continue covering the latest developments in the Russia/Ukraine crisis throughout the day.

At This Hour starts right after a quick break.

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KRISTIN FISHER, CNN AT THIS HOUR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kristin Fisher in for Kate Bolduan.

[11:00:01]

Dire warnings, top U.S. officials say, Russia could invade Ukraine in just hours. Is the time for a diplomatic solution running out?