Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Biden Condemns "Sickening" Attacks On FBI After Mar-a-Lago Search; Biden Says U.S. Need To "Fund The Police" For Public Safety; CNN: Texas Has Spent More Than $12m To Bus Migrants To D.C. And NYC; Goldman Sachs Ends COVID Rules For Many Workers In Back-To-Office. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 31, 2022 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Don't tell me. You're either on the side of a mob or the side of the police. You can't be pro-law enforcement and pro-insurrection. You can't be a part of law and order and call the people who attack the police on January 6, patriots. You can't do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about all of this with Tara Palmeri, Senior Political Correspondent at Puck and Zolan Kanno- Youngs, CNN Political Analyst and White House Correspondent for The New York Times. Thanks both for being here.

And Zolan, let me just start with you. I was fascinated by your piece in The Times on all of this yesterday. And here's part of what you write. "Mr. Biden took what had been political vulnerabilities for the White House -- policing and rising crime -- and cast them as strengths ahead of the congressional elections in November."

The White House knows right that they pull Biden administration, Democrats pull way behind Republicans on these two issues. But by taking this on so forcefully, and really making it a centerpiece of his argument, does that indicate they think they can make up that ground in this moment?

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: By also specifically taking on recent comments by Republicans when it comes to law enforcement in the past week. That's really the strategy here. For months, we saw a defensive posture by the White House when it came to this issue. Whenever you heard Republicans tried to attach the label of defunding the police to President Biden, who has never espoused that view, you saw them immediately be on the defensive and point to the fact that they had made money in both budget requests and stimulus funds available for localities to invest in police departments.

But this speech was different. This was now taking recent comments by members of Congress, Republicans on the Hill who have been criticizing the FBI in the wake of the search at Mar-a-Lago. And now flipping the script and saying actual criticizing the party, the Republican Party, for now criticizing federal law enforcement.

It was a way of taking the words and credit in attacks from Republicans in the wake of that search, turning it and saying actually, you guys are the ones that are criticizing law enforcement. So that is -- that right there was the President taking that vulnerability and actually --

HARLOW: Yes.

KANNO-YOUNGS: -- turning the script.

HARLOW: And, you know, Tara, what I think is so interesting how this ties on to the last time we had you on the program is we talked about that NBC poll.

TARA PALMERI, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, PUCK: Right.

HARLOW: That shows that threats to democracy is the number one concern for voters. In that poll, the CBS poll recently showed something slightly different, but it's up there across the board. And that was for Republicans and Democrats.

PALMERI: Right.

HARLOW: Do you think that that helps give the White House confidence that this is sort of the right messaging from the president politically, heading into the midterms? And then do you expect to see more of it in this big soul of the nation speech tomorrow night?

PALMERI: Absolutely, we will see more of it. I think they're trying out a lot of new material right now. Biden has really not been on the road in this capacity. Campaigning out there. Three times a week is what aides say they want him out, therefore so they're able to say -- to look at the polling and see what resonates with voters.

And it, like you said, it looks like threats to democracy, crime, all of these issues are are actually creeping up as high as inflation, the economy. And so why not try out this new material and flip the script because it was served up to him by the Mar-a-Lago raid that was so broadly denounced by Republicans, as an, you know, an overreach by law enforcement.

And also, the threat to democracy goes both ways. Some Republicans think the election was stolen. And some Democrats think that, you know, our elections are being, you know, are becoming banana republics, basically, because we're -- that we have too much questioning about elections and the integrity of it. But, yes, I think they're both using it both ways.

HARLOW: It's interesting. And let's just talk about tomorrow night, Zolan. And what you expect to hear from the President, in terms of talking about the soul of our nation.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes, I've been talking to some people around the White House about this as well. You can expect a familiar message from the President. Let's remember that the soul of the nation kind of mantra and that messaging line, that's not particularly new. We heard that from the President, when he was campaigning for president as well.

We heard that when he talked about his motivation for running for president and site in Charlottesville and the threat to democracy here. You can expect him to talk about that what's at stake in the current moment is the United States reputation on the global stage, but also about the divisions within the United States. One comparison that I can say is, earlier this year, he gave that speech on the anniversary of the attack on the Capitol on January 6.

And you saw even then the start of a more aggressive tone, kind of leaving behind the almost commitment and attachment for by -- for unity and sticking with unity. And going a bit more aggressive and calling out maybe not by name but still reading between the lines those that were threatening the democratic process. I would expect that --

HARLOW: Yes.

KANNO-YOUNGS: -- tomorrow.

[09:35:09]

HARLOW: And Tara, I mean, look it -- the White House, the administration is responding to a real issue in American cities across the board, and that is rising crime. It is just going up from New York, from here to Chicago, on and on and on. I just think it's fascinating that now he's presenting this safe America plan that includes 100,000 more officers on the streets in the next five years or so.

But what's fascinating is sort of how they're doing it and trying to also balance it delicately with progressive Democrats, some of whom, in office, called for defunding the police. Listen to what Keisha Lance Bottoms said this morning on New Day senior adviser to Biden. Here she was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: To try and get bipartisan support to make sure that we have funding in our cities, not just to put officers on the streets, but to make sure that they are properly trained, to make sure that we had mental health services available. That we can expand drug courts in our cities after school programs. That we can make sure that kids have summer jobs and the president is spot on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: That's the walk in the line, right?

PALMERI: Absolutely. And I think this is actually a natural position for Biden to be a centrist Democrat. And in some ways, yes, he's bucking the far left of his party. He's saying let's fund the police. They're saying well, how do we know this money is going in the direction of training them to be better, you know, police officers, or to make sure that certain minorities are being protected, or that there's at least more stability in the police court.

But I think ultimately, Biden, this is where he naturally feels most comfortable is taking the middle line and sometimes annoying progressives. But he's already -- he just passed this massive legislation for climate change, prescription drug pricing, a lot of major democratic big-ticket items. So I think he feels like there's some freedom right now.

And a lot of these swing states that he's going to, like Pennsylvania, these topics resonate with these voters. This is his natural constituency. This is labor pro-union crowd. He's a son of Scranton, why not use his best lines there.

HARLOW: Thank you. Tara --

PALMERI: Thanks.

HARLOW: -- good to have you. Zolan, great to have you as well. Thanks very much.

Coming up next hour, as President Biden vows to ban assault weapons across the country CNN reports on a device that can turn a semi- automatic weapon into a machine gun. You're going to see how this works, how these modified weapons are so deadly and how quickly they can kill in a CNN exclusive ahead.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: It's alarming story. Still ahead, this hour CNN has uncovered the high cost of Texas Governor Greg Abbott's plan to bus migrants out of the state mandated the Northeast, just how much. It is now costing Texas taxpayers. That new reporting is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:26]

HARLOW: So CNN has uncovered just how much the Texas governor's mission to move migrants out of the state is costing taxpayers. Since the end of April, the Texas Division of Emergency Management has spent more than $12 million of taxpayer money to bus migrants from there to Washington, D.C. in New York. It works out to roughly $1,400 per person.

SCIUTTO: CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now. Polo, you were the one who foiled these numbers to get them and be able to report them. Tell us the scale of this. And also what would have happened otherwise, right? Had these migrants not been busted to New York and D.C.?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's a really important question, Jim. And just to be clear, for viewers initially, sort of weeks ago, when I turned to the state of Texas and asking how much they have been paying, it's actually bus migrants from the southern border to cities like Washington, D.C. and most recently to New York. Since the governor when he announced his plan back in April, he said, you know, in a political jab to the Biden administration that it would take taxpayer money to do what he said was supposed to be the Biden administration's job And in response, the state gave us this number, just over $12 million. And to be clear, for viewers, this is from when this was announced up until early August. For the last few weeks, that buses have continued to come. So that 12.7 million is likely much higher by now.

And so it certainly leads to some important questions that Governor Abbott will hopefully answer. We've reached out to his office for an explanation in terms of why the state is spending this much money. Because we need to be clear for viewers as well here and to answer your other question about what would happen if the state would not be shuttling these migrants to cities like New York and to Washington, D.C.

Historically, these migrants after they're released from federal custody, it is up to them occasionally with the assistance of nonprofits to pay their way to travel throughout the state of Texas, potentially to cities in the northeast, in the northwest, et cetera. But that, again, is usually up to them to pay.

However, for the last four months, that's when Governor Abbott has been offering on a voluntary basis, these migrants and opportunity to ride to the northeast. And that's why critics are saying that this is all part of a political stunt, political theater, and the ticket to that show is roughly costing $12.7 million and rising.

Lastly, we should mention the state of Arizona also undertaking similar efforts. We've turned to them to try to get a better idea of their spending. El Paso has also spent some money though. They are very clear in saying that their busing efforts completely separate from what Governor Abbott has been doing for four months now. Poppy, Jim?

HARLOW: Polo Sandoval, thank you for --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: -- working hard to get those numbers Thank you.

[09:45:03]

Coming up, so Goldman Sachs announcing overnight it's rolling back COVID mandates for most of its workers. What does that mean for employees still working at home?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Well Goldman Sachs is lifting its COVID vaccine, testing and mask mandates for employees outside of New York. Meaning all those workers can return to the office full time. Our Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans is here. With more Goldman certainly leading the way making big headlines on this, what is this about?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is about Goldman wanting people back the office. And it's about two things. After Labor Day, a lot of companies want people in more often. In Goldman's case, they want them there five days a week. [09:50:07]

Other companies are saying, look, at least two days a week. But it also I think, is a nod to the changing environment that we're in. Dropping these requirements means that if you work at Goldman, you can't use COVID, or your fear of COVID as an excuse for not being in the office with your colleagues.

I should note investment banking is kind of a different animal than the rest of the economy. You know, most companies outside of investment banking are considering, you know, should this be two days, should this be three days? Well, Goldman Sachs is saying, effective September 6, this will be around the country except for New York, which has its own stricter guidelines, right?

And this is what they said to their employees in a memo. "With many tools, including vaccination, improved treatments and testing now available, there is significantly less risk of severe illness. And it's really joining kind of a parade of companies who've already been moving in this direction.

A JPMorgan Chase & Company earlier this spring, quietly started hiring people who were not vaccinating and dropping its mask mandates. Other companies as well. Morgan Stanley, just last week announced something similar. So what you see here is these are CEOs who want their folks in the office.

Again, New York offices are a little bit different because of the mandates from the city. But those offices have been full. I mean, I can remember in the summer of 2020, walking into the JPMorgan lobby, and they had temperature sensors, and I mean, they were they were ready to go so they could get as many people in as they wanted.

I think next week, it could be interesting, Poppy, to see what kind of pushback there is in other industries.

HARLOW: Yes.

ROMANS: As many companies are saying two days a week, three days a week, starting after Labor Day.

HARLOW: And what does it mean for the war for talent?

ROMANS: Well, this point --

HARLOW: Right.

ROMANS: -- I, you know, the talent is winning that war. So I think that companies are going to get pushed back --

HARLOW: Yes, they are.

ROMANS: -- to people who don't want to come in.

HARLOW: Thank you --

ROMANS: You're Welcome.

HARLOW: -- very much. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Story we've been following for some time and some encouraging news. This on the monkeypox front. Health experts say the pace of new cases reported in some major cities and in the U.S. overall has begun to slow. The number of cases reported per day across the country has dropped some 24 percent. Over the past two weeks, experts do warn too early to know if the trend will last.

So joining me now to discuss the significance of this, Dr. Jason Bowling, he's an associate professor and infectious disease specialist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Bowling, good to have you on this morning. Thank you.

DR. JASON BOWLING, U.T. HEALTH SAN ANTONIO, UNIVERSITY HEALTH: Thank you for having me.

SCIUTTO: So first, as you look at this data here, the CDC saying cases are trending downward. Does it indicate to you that the worst is over here?

BOWLING: Well, I think it's obviously good news if cases are going down. It shows that people are aware now better, will have better awareness and monkeypox infections. There's modifications of behaviors, and we're starting to see maybe some benefits of vaccine distribution. It's a little early for vaccine. But I think we're seeing some benefits there.

SCIUTTO: There had, you know, been criticism in the early stages of the administration's response here. The White House did update its outbreak response plan several weeks ago. In your view, have any of those changes made a difference here?

BOWLING: Well, I think they've made great efforts in kind of transitioning how the vaccine is being administered to stretch the existing supply while they're working to provide more supply by moving to intradermal, or in the skin as opposed to subcutaneous. They've been able to extend the vaccine supply by about five, which is helpful to try and get people covered initially, while more vaccines product is produced and then distributed.

SCIUTTO: Unlike COVID, of course, monkeypox was not new, and there'd been an existing vaccine. But the spread, which began in Europe, moved here to the U.S. and has been seen elsewhere did seem to take health officials around the world by surprise. Have we learned something new about this virus during this current outbreak here? Is it more dangerous?

BOWLING: Yes, we've learned a lot. It's not more dangerous. Unfortunately, the strain that's circulating this global outbreak is less virulent. It's not like COVID, it doesn't transmit as easily.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BOWLING: But what we're seeing different this time is that it's spreading from person to person. And before our only other outbreak in United States back in 2003, was contact with infected prairie dogs. So a much different transmission than what we saw in the past.

SCIUTTO: So, does that mean the virus has changed in some way?

BOWLING: So they haven't seen significant changes in that. So they're still ongoing investigation to see there may be a third strain that's being identified. And so they're still ongoing look to see if this virus is different. But overall, it still seems to be the same.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BOWLING: It's just different transmission.

SCIUTTO: OK, in the midst of this downward trend right now, for folks watching at home, if they're in a high-risk group, should they or anyone else change how they're responding to this or no?

BOWLING: Well, I think it's good to talk with your doctor, your clinic to see if you're hitting the high-risk group to get vaccinated. This is not a vaccine that's needed for everyone in the population. But for people that are at high risk, they should get vaccinated and get both doses as well. People are getting the first dose but it's a two-dose series and --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BOWLING: -- both doses to get protected.

[09:55:03]

SCIUTTO: Dr Jason Bowling, thanks so much for clearing it up for us.

BOWLING: Thank you. Have a good day.

HARLOW: All right still to come, the Justice Department is laying out its case for searching Mar-a-Lago a few weeks ago. We are digging deeper into this stunning court filing and what it could mean for former President Trump's request for a special master to review the documents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Very Good Wednesday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

HARLOW: And I'm Poppy Harlow. We're glad you're with us. We'll overnight some of the most damning evidence revealed as the Justice Department investigates former President Trump's potential mishandling of classified materials. The DOJ releasing a 36-page response to former President Trump's request for a special master to oversee documents, seized during that search of Mar-a-Lago.