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Former President Trump May Soon Announce 2024 Bid; Online Health Apps Could Post Primary Risk After Reversal; Russia Takes Last Holdout City in Key Luhansk Region. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired July 04, 2022 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:33:45]
ROMANS: All right. Welcome back. We have new CNN reporting this morning that former President Donald Trump is anxiously weighing when he should announce his 2024 presidential bid. Complicating a possible Trump announcement, what former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told lawmakers during that January 6th hearing last week about Trump's behavior in office.
I want to discuss this with our CNN political analysts Jackie Kucinich and Toluse Olorunnipa.
Nice to see both of you this morning. This reporting is just so well done and so interesting, talking to sources close to the president about what his mood is right now here. And according to this reporting, the timeline keeps moving for the president. One source telling us, every day is different. We get told he's going to announce imminently and by the afternoon that has changed.
Jackie, does this gel with the president's decision-making we've seen in the past?
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean I think this sounds very on brand for the former president. But, you know, what he's doing is he's watching or hearing about these January 6th hearings. He doesn't think he's being adequately defended because there's no one on the hearing on his side. Excuse me, on the panel, that's on his side. And not to mention, you have other Republicans, donors, watching these hearings and starting to get a little bit of a wandering eye about maybe there are some other fish in the sea when it comes to 2024.
[09:35:08]
And perhaps casting that, you know, maybe they want a Republican that hasn't had to over -- tried to overthrow democracy, perhaps, for their nominee in 2024.
ROMANS: You know, Toluse, we know that the president likes a good show, right? And there was some concern among people close to him that he doesn't have the infrastructure yet to make a big announcement and to really, you know, like roll it out. What are you hearing?
TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if the president, if he decides to run, has multiple rollouts where he announces his candidacy on social media, that has multiple campaign stops where he's holding rallies.
ROMANS: Right.
OLORUNNIPA: He's done that in the past. And in the past election he announced his re-election multiple times. And he is someone, as you said, who likes a show. He wants to change the subject and not have everyone focused on the January 6th hearings, which included those bombshell testimonies last week. So he has been someone who has tried to change direction and change the focus by making a splashy announcement or grabbing everyone's headlines. And I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to do that in this case as well.
ROMANS: You know, yes, Jackie, I know you mentioned those big GOP donors watching these January 6th hearings and looking around at the field. I want you to listen to what Congresswoman Liz Cheney said on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): I think that he can't be the party nominee. And I don't think the party would survive that. Those of us who believe in Republican principles and ideals have a responsibility to try to lead the party back to what it can be and to reject -- and to reject so much of the toxin and vitriol.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Is her message breaking through to Republicans?
KUCINICH: To some Republicans, I think. And I don't know that it's just Liz Cheney's message. I think there some that are watching these hearings are making that determination for themselves. Now, we have to -- speaking of Republicans, they're going to be quite a few Republicans who would not be that pleased by an early entry into the presidential race by former President Trump.
Midterm elections are right around the corner. Right now they have their message focused solely on the economy, on inflation. And to have the former president step back into center, it's going to suck a lot of that oxygen out of the room. And it would be about him again, which is a risk among some voters who decided that they didn't want former President Trump in office last time. And perhaps, that could hurt some Republicans in some seats that aren't so red.
ROMANS: Can we talk about this new political ad? Ron DeSantis, this new ad makes its debut. It's running on FOX News. It's from California's Democratic governor attacking Florida's Republican politics. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: Freedom is under attack in your state. Your Republican leaders they're banning books, making it harder to vote, restricting speech in classrooms, even criminalizing women and doctors.
I urge all of you living in Florida to join the fight or join us in California, where we still believe in freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom to choose, freedom from hate and the freedom to love.
Don't let them take your freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Toluse, what do you make of this? Two rising stars in different parties, both big state governors. What does this mean?
OLORUNNIPA: Well, we talked about President Trump potentially making an announcement. This is almost a form of announcement for 2024 from the California governor, showing his interest, showing his national appeal, showing that he's willing to take the fight to Republicans. Right now Democrats feel like they've been on the ropes from the Supreme Court, from some of these very popular Republican governors on the right who have been doing a lot of legislating in Texas and Florida and elsewhere.
So Democrats are looking for someone who's willing to take the fight to the Republicans. And Gavin Newsom in California has the power, he has the super majority in California to push forward policies. And now he's not only focusing on California, but it seems like he's focusing nationally as well. I'd be watching him very closely as Democrats look for what's going to happen in 2024, whether Biden's going to run for re-election or whether a new crop of Democrats will vie for the nomination.
ROMANS: Toluse Olorunnipa, Jackie Kucinich, thanks, guys. Have a great holiday. Hope you get some rest, and some fun, and some barbecue today.
KUCINICH: Happy Fourth.
OLORUNNIPA: Thank you.
ROMANS: All right. Still ahead, new warnings this morning for women who use fertility apps as states across the country move to ban access to abortion. Could that data be used to surveil pregnant women? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:44:03]
ROMANS: The Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade stripped women of the right to have an abortion. Now legal experts say apps used to track women's fertility could pose serious risks to privacy rights.
CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has more on how some companies are scrambling to protect that sensitive data.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) INDIA MCKINNEY, DIRECTOR OF FEDERAL AFFAIRS, ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION: Any data related to reproduction is profitable.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Our data is everywhere and it's for sale. Now that Roe versus Wade is overturned, law enforcement could use a woman's personal data to bring criminal charges if they suspect she's received a legal abortion.
MCKINNEY: There is no difference in the data from your reproductive choices than the pair of shoes you looked at online. It's treated exactly the same in the law right now and that's what the problem is.
YURKEVICH: As states tighten their abortion laws, prosecutors could go after people seeking an abortion or those helping them by subpoenaing data linked on fertility apps, period trackers and on Internet searches.
[09:45:05]
Companies currently sell that kind of data mainly to advertisers because it's profitable.
DANIELLE CITRON, LAW PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Data brokers, law enforcement buy information from them all of the time. It could be used to incriminate us for women and girls who obtain abortions in violation of state laws and it can be used to land people in jail.
YURKEVICH: Fertility and period tracking apps have some of the most sensitive reproductive information but since Roe versus Wade was overturned, Flow, a period tracking app which says they have 240 million users announced an anonymous mode where users will be able to limit their personal information. And members are encouraged to reach out to the company if they want their historical data removed.
(On-camera): How can you fully protect against a member's data not being revealed?
ELINA BERGLUND SCHERWITZL, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, NATURAL CYCLES: We are making sure that our anonymous mode of menstrual cycles will be impossible for us to connect the personal data and the sensitive data.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): Elina Berglund Scherwitzl is the co-founder of Natural Cycles.
(On-camera): Who has access to that key that could only connect the data?
SCHERWITZL: Only the user.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): Natural Cycles is a subscription FDA-approved birth control app that also helps those who want to get pregnant.
SCHERWITZL: We have very sensitive data on unintended pregnancies, but we are very much in control of that analysis and of that data. YURKEVICH: CNN reached out to nearly a dozen big tech companies about
how they would handle data requests through subpoenas and warrants from law enforcement targeting abortion seekers. Some did not respond at all or directly to the question. Apple responded saying health data is encrypted when two-factor authentication is enabled.
While Meta says, quote, "We comply with government requests for user information only where we have a good faith belief that the law requires us to do so."
CITRON: They could fight warrants in court, but if the warrants are upheld they're going to be ordered to comply.
YURKEVICH: Some legal experts don't believe even anonymous mode data is fully protected and say the only way to fully protect privacy is through federal law limiting the data companies can collect, store and sell.
CITRON: There is a lot of panic right now and I think rightfully so about the feeling and the ability to trust and expect that the information about -- well, sensitive information about our bodies and our relationships and our health is ours.
YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Thanks to Vanessa for that report.
Still ahead, Ukrainian forces make a difficult decision, with drawing from a key city in the east. They're warning about Russia's next move, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)=
[09:52:18]
ROMANS: All right. This morning rush has taken control of the last holdout city in a key region eastern Ukraine. Ukraine forces had to retreat from Lysychansk in the Luhansk region. Vladimir Putin congratulated his troops for taking the city. Ukraine Ukraine's military now says Russian forces are preparing to push tard toward the Donetsk region. CNN correspondent Scott McLean joins us from Kyiv.
Scott, what's the latest?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christine. Look, the Luhansk region is one that the Russians have had their eye on for a long time since 2014 when they managed to capture about a third of it then. Now they've captured the rest of it. Both sides say the fighting around Lysychansk has been extremely bloody, extremely deadly. For the Ukrainians it also illustrated a fundamental flaw, and that is that they say that they simply were out gunned. They did not have the artillery fire power to keep up with the Russians, which really helped them make their decision to withdraw. The local governor in that area said that they could have stayed the
fight maybe for another two weeks or so but they would have sustained heavy losses. They also would have risked being encircled by the Russians or worse, so instead they decided to pull back.
Now Vladmir Putin says that the brave soldiers, in his words, who took part in this ought to deserve a rest but for everyone else they ought to keep marching toward the west, toward the Donetsk region. We have already seen shelling in Sloviansk, one of the major cities in that area. We've seen missile strikes in Kramatorsk nearby. And now the expectation is that Russian troops will move from the north in order to start taking the Donetsk region.
We are also seeing a missile strike in Kharkiv, in the northern part of the country on a high school there. Pictures show an absolutely massive crater. If there's good news is that that strike took place at 4:00 in the morning and obviously school is not in in the summer so there have been no casualties reported.
Aside from the human cost, one of the big casualties of this war, Christine, has been global food security. The Ukrainians have accused the Russians of stealing grain multiple times. And now this all seems to coming to ahead in the form of one Russian flagship that just arrived in Turkey. That ship is being held just off short by the Turkish Customs Authority. It's not allowed to come into port. It's also not allowed to leave either.
The Ukrainians haven't explicitly accused that ship of carrying stolen grain but they want the Turks to look into it. They want them to investigation to make sure before they allow it to come into port. The company that owns the ship says that everything is above board. They haven't done anything illegal at all and of course the Russians have disputed over and over again any accusations that they have stolen any Ukrainian grain -- Christine.
[10:55:03]
ROMANS: All right. Scott McLean, for us, in Kyiv. Thank you so much.
As America celebrates Independence Day, Congress has announced a special honor for veteran Hershel Woody Williams who was the last Medal of Honor recipient from World War II. Williams died last week at the age of 98. He will lie in honor at the Capitol rotunda once Congress returns.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying Williams, quote, "embodied the best of America and the greatest generation." Williams was awarded the military's highest decoration for combat service during the Battle of Iwo Jim. President Harry Truman presented the medal to him at the White House in 1945.
All right. Still ahead, this July 4th was forecast to be one of the busiest holidays, what to expect as you hit the roads and head to the airport. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: All right. Top of the hour. I'm Christine Romans. Jim and Poppy are off for this special.
