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Thousands of Truck Drivers Gather in Iowa Amid Sky-High Fuel Costs; Airlines Struggle to Keep up With Air Travel Surge; Biden Urged to Hold Crown Prince Accountable for Human Right Abuses; Migrants Arrive in Droves, Strain Southern Border Resources. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 15, 2022 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:01]

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[10:34:44]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Sky high fuel costs have hit our -- all of our wallets especially hard. I'm sure you're feeling it, but the nation's truck drivers they've got a front row seat, particularly. They got to fill up a lot.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: A lot. Right now, thousands of them are meeting at the nation's largest gathering of truck drivers in Ohio. CNN is all -- how can I say, Ohio -- Iowa, my father's from Iowa. I grew up every summer in Des Moines, how could I screw that up, sorry Ryan. Ryan Young is in Walcott, Iowa this morning. From a Minnesota girl. What are you hearing from these drivers?

[10:35:18]

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, we're hearing a lot from the drivers. You think about it, they have a lot of time to think about the economy and how it's impacting their lives, especially when they arrive with their loads of several different locations. And what they're experiencing is and when they arrived to certain places, that economic impact of the idea that there's not enough workers to unload their, what they're hauling, sometimes it has a direct impact on them. But when you think about it, I'm looking at a gas price right across the way here, 539 for diesel, that has really changed the way they see the world as we know it, because it's really having a real effect on the fact that how they fill up $999 is a lot of what they're seeing across the board, when they go to these fill ups. And they're saying they're finally starting to see a pullback, in terms of the economy. Orders are being cancelled. And the shipments that they're traveling across this country, taking from point A to point B are starting to be cut. And they want Washington to know they need help to make sure this economy keeps rolling. Take a listen to some of the drivers that we talked to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MATT SCHLEUGER, TRUCK DRIVER: They need to wake up out there and start, you know, you can't expect the people keep paying and paying and paying they're going to run out money eventually. And what are you going to do?

GAVIN DISNEY, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: I guess, guidance, the right person to lead us where we need to go. I mean, like he said that everybody in D.C. needs to wake up and just think of like us, the small town guys, like you said, trucking industry, at one point in time, everything in this tent was on a truck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Jim and Poppy, one thing that was made clear to us, they're not happy with Republicans or Democrats, a $12.7 trillion worth of goods was moved each year by these truckers. And on top of that 72% of all goods in this country are moved by truck. They say, if you really want to know what's going on in the economy, come talk to them. We wanted to give you a tour of this area, we obviously can tell Mother Nature is really having an impact with all this rain right now. But on top of that, they say they want to see more emphasis put on the supply chain issues that we're seeing across this country. Because in the next few months, they think that consumers are going to see that impact, especially when you talk about inflation.

Some of these guys are using their savings to make things go to work. Because COVID was a boon for them. They couldn't do remote work. They had to be in that truck every single day. But right now they're starting to see cutbacks, and they are concerned about what's that going to mean over the coming months, especially as we head toward the holidays, Jim and Poppy.

SCIUTTO: And if there's a hard landing. Ryan Young in Iowa, thanks so much.

HARLOW: Thanks, Ryan.

It is the summer of Armageddon, that's a unique name seen in this huge mess at London's Heathrow. Look at that, oh, I hope that's not one of your bags. Staffing shortages there have left a huge problem of baggage pile ups among other issues. The airport has even asked airlines to stop selling summer tickets because they're so overwhelmed.

SCIUTTO: Not good. I think Delta had to fly a whole plane back full of luggage. The slew of cancellations and delays there and in the U.S., is making the summer travel season seem nearly impossible for some. CNN's Pete Muntean looks at the airports where you're more likely to be impacted.

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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The summer of travel pain keeps growing with struggling airlines canceling 30,000 flights since Memorial Day. Now, new data shows where issues are the worst. A FlightAware analysis for CNN shows New York airports leading the nation for flight cancellations, 8% of all flights leaving Newark have been canceled since Memorial Day.

KATHLEE BANGS, FLIGHTAWARE.COM: The pain is not spread out evenly. Some airports have much bigger problems than others.

MUNTEAN: Florida airports take three of the top 10 spots for flight delays. A third of all flights from Orlando had been delayed this summer. This new breakdown comes as passengers are packing planes in levels not seen since before the pandemic but short staffed airlines say the federal government is also short staffed at air traffic control facilities.

SCOTT KIRBY, CEO, UNITED AIRLINES: New York, Newark and Florida really are air traffic control challenges. They're different issues at some other airlines but those two places are really struggling.

MUNTEAN: The FAA puts blame back on airline staffing issues as well as bad weather and heavy air traffic.

JOHN LUCIA, FAA NATIONAL TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT OFFICER: We may have to slow this stuff coming out of Florida.

MUNTEAN: And it's round the clock Command Center in Virginia, the FAA showed us how Florida airspace can become clogged with flights like a traffic jam on a highway.

LUCIA: If you have a couple of thunderstorms right over the center of the state, now you got limitations on where you can go especially in the summertime. If you want to get there on time, tried to get them for lunch.

MUNTEAN: Airlines argued $50 billion in pandemic aid would make them ready for this rebound.

BILL MCGEE, AMERICAN ECONOMIC LIBERTIES PROJECT: The airline industry is broken right now. And it's failing every taxpayer.

[10:40:01]

MUNTEAN: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tells CNN he is seeing improvements but still expects airlines to do better.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Look, we are counting on airlines to deliver for passengers and to be able to service the tickets that they sell.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Now, you know, we're not to fly.

HARLOW: After 6 a.m.

SCIUTTO: Yeah. Well, exactly air traffic.

HARLOW: Warning flights. All right, Pete, thanks very much for the reporting.

SCIUTTO: Soon, President Biden said to arrive in Saudi Arabia for that highly anticipated meeting with Saudi leaders. How will the initial greeting go and what each side hopes to get out of this sit down? All that live, coming up.

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[10:45:16]

HARLOW: Minutes from now, President Biden lands in Saudi Arabia for what is a very -- going to be a very closely watched meeting with Saudis' King Salman and also his son, Prince, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

SCIUTTO: Joining us now is someone who knows the area well, Gary Grappo, former Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. He's also a former U.S. Ambassador to Oman. Ambassador, thank you for joining us this morning. These visits often discussed in terms of deliverables, what are the deliverables? What do the two parties come away with at the end? What does Joe Biden leave Saudi Arabia with?

GARY GRAPPO, FORMER DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION, U.S. EMBASSY IN SAUDI ARABIA: Well, good morning, and thank you very much for including me on the program this morning. This is a very, very important meeting for both the United States and of course, Saudi Arabia. It's certainly no secret that the relations the ties that extend back to 1945, which had been very, very close, had been strained over the years. And there's no exception in the case of the administration of Mr. Biden.

So I think what Mr. Biden wants to see is a return to a better relationship. This is a relationship based on shared interest, not shared values, that's pretty evident to folks on both sides. And so -- but he will want to come back, being able to demonstrate that the relationship with this key ally in the Middle East, is on a more level playing.

In the case of Saudi Arabia, and in particular, the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, he knows that he's been in the doghouse for quite some time in this administration. Mr. Biden has made no secret of that. And this visit to his country, I think will help sort of rehabilitate, to a certain extent, his image, certainly in the United States, but around the world, in the region, and even within his own country, this is the man who's going to be by all indications, the future king and given the longevity of Saudi kings, he could be around for 30, 40 years, perhaps even longer, and he needs this.

HARLOW: Well, you bring up interests versus values. So I suppose the indication is that McCain's, you know, philosophy of our interests, our values and our values, our interest is out of -- out the window on this one. So I wonder your reaction to Saudi activist, Lina al- Hathloul, who had a really interesting interview with our colleague, Jake Tapper yesterday. And here's what she said, given that this meeting is happening. Here's what she thinks President Biden should do. Watch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINA AL-HATHLOUL, SAUDI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: The important thing is how MBS perceives it. For him, it's a big win. Biden is coming to Saudi Arabia, and Biden is saying that he is going to mention or talk about human rights. But concretely, what does that mean? I mean, we need to have real concessions after Biden leaves Saudi Arabia, we have to see releases of political prisoners. We have to see, you know, the travel bans lifted. We have to see -- and another thing is to see that, you know, President Biden is meeting with MBS. But why is he meeting with the oppressor and not meeting with the oppressed?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: She's asking why isn't he meeting with Saudi dissidents, right? Should Biden be doing some of those things that she listed, if not all?

GRAPPO: My strong suspicion is, that Mr. Biden will not be meeting with these opposition figures. There's no question of the sympathy that all Americans have for the Saudis who have been persecuted in one way or another oppressed by the Saudi government.

But the purpose of this visit, as I indicated earlier, was to shore up what had been a flagging relationship and a vital relationship to both sides. Be that as it may, however, I have no doubt that Mr. Biden will mention human rights in his interactions with both the king and most especially with Mohammed bin Salman.

And I -- and in previous meetings at his meetings that preceded his visit to Saudi Arabia, I also have no doubt that there was extensive conversations about where this relationship is going to go on various levels, including on human rights. So we may not see any immediate action on the part of the Saudi government during or after Mr. Biden's visit. But I suspect that we will see some baby steps as the Saudis begin to move forward and repair this relationship as well as address some real issues they have within their own country.

HARLOW: OK. Well, Ambassador Gary Grappo, thanks very much as we wait and just minutes of President landing in Saudi Arabia.

[10:50:03]

SCIUTTO: Still ahead, CNN is at the southern border in Yuma, Arizona where migrants are arriving and droves lining up for processing.

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HARLOW: Today, more migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. They are confronting the strain resources of Customs and Border Protection officers there.

[10:55:03]

SCIUTTO: CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is on the scene in Yuma, Arizona. PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN REPORTER: Jim and Poppy, this is the ongoing challenge for the Biden administration mass migration around the world arriving here at the U.S.-Mexico border. As you can see behind me, there are hundreds of migrants who are lined up along the U.S.-Mexico border wall. And they are all waiting to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol.

I've spoken with some of them, they tell me they're from Cuba, Colombia, Peru, and they're fleeing insecurity in their countries as well as political instability.

Now, the sector chief tells me that they can arrest up to 1000 people a day and they can encounter more than 100 nationalities. That is a drastic shift from previous years when it was largely Mexicans and Central Americans.

Now, that public health authority known as Title 42, that allows officials to turn migrants away at the U.S.-Mexico border is still in effect, but it has its limits, and it doesn't apply to everyone. And that is the reality that the Biden administration is contending with here in Yuma, Arizona. Jim and Poppy.

HARLOW: Priscilla Alvarez for us, thank you very much for reporting from Yuma. Thanks to all of you for joining us today. We'll see you back here, Monday morning. Have a good weekend. I'm Poppy Harlow.

SCIUTTO: I'm Jim Sciutto. Nice to be in New York. CNN's live coverage of President Biden's arrival in Saudi Arabia will begin right after a short break.

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