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Biden Pledges $60M For Puerto Rico Hurricane Recovery; Ukrainian Forces Regain Territory Annexed By Russia; Supreme Court Opens New Term With Controversial Cases; Polls: Democrats Lagging Among Black Voters; Trump Says McConnell Has "Death Wish" In Stunning New Attack; Cheating Scandal Rocks Competitive Fishing World. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 03, 2022 - 15:30   ET

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

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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Particularly after Hurricane Maria -- Hurricane Fiona and an earthquake in between. Billions of dollars was just committed to help Puerto Rico rebuild there. Particularly after Hurricane Maria -- Hurricane Fiona and an earthquake in between. Billions of dollars he just committed to help Puerto Rico rebuild there.

Joining me now is CNN's Jeremy Diamond who's traveling with the president. Also back with us is former FEMA administrator Craig Fugate. Craig thanks for your patience but I do want to start with Jeremy.

Jeremy, you know, the president was just talking -- it's incredible to hear President Biden talk about how many billions of dollars Congress had allocated to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. But he says they never got those dollars. What happened?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alisyn, we were talking about this issue just last hour and it was interesting to see the president really addresses head on. Talking about the billions of dollars in aid that Congress allocated for Puerto Rico's recovery from hurricane Maria five years ago, in 2017. And noting the fact that many of -- much of that money still hasn't been dispersed.

Of course, the president was talking about that in part because he wanted to tout his administration's efforts to remove some of those onerous restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on some of that funding that released about $5 billion of that money last year.

But the president said very clearly, he said, quote, I want to make sure that every single -- I'm going to make sure that every single dollar that was promised you to gets to you.

And that was the president's commitment today. But as you said, the president there trying to show the people of Puerto Rico that he was with them in solidarity. That he came to show that he is with them. He also praised the resilience and determination of the people of Puerto Rico who have been through so much. Of course, you know, there still recovering from hurricane Maria from

five years ago. And two weeks ago, they were struck with hurricane Fiona which was a category one storm but led to record rainfall, flooding, mudslides across many parts of the island. And while much of the island has now gotten power back to their households, over 100,000 households are still without power -- many of them here in Ponce and in the Western region of Mayaguez.

So, the president is now going to go to a school where he is going to help with some of community service projects bagging food and essential supplies for those who may still need it.

And the president also noting that he will be in Florida on Wednesday, an area of course, that was devastated hurricane Ian. Where he'll survey the federal ongoing federal and state recovery efforts and of course, try and show support to the people over there as well.

CAMEROTA: So, Craig let's turn our attention back to Florida and what's happening now in the aftermath of Ian. Just while we been on the air the death toll in Florida has gone up from 88 to now 100 in Florida.

And so, you know, obviously it's all Americans' impulse to build back stronger and build back better. But the damage from hurricane Ian is just astronomical. I mean, obviously there is a human toll and then there's what we've been talking about the FEMA dollars and well as the local and state dollars. Is this the right impulse? It is time to rethink, you know, building back bigger on a long the Florida coastline because in this era of climate change, is this the right thing to do?

CRAIG FUGATE, FORMER FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: Is a good question. If you go to Mexico Beach that was devastated by hurricane Michael -- I drove through their couple of months ago -- I couldn't believe how much has been rebuilt. The question is when we're rebuilding, are we making sense in how we're building? And are we taking advantage of nature's ability to mitigate the effects of the storms? And so, this is -- these are questions that will be, you know, going to be asking. I don't think can you take the position do not build back.

But I think you have to look seriously at how and where we're rebuilding, how we take advantage of natural defenses against storm surge and are we building the structures strong enough to withstand these storms. So, yes, we'll get damages in future hurricanes, but it won't be catastrophic destruction.

CAMEROTA: Well, that would be really welcome change. Craig Fugate, again, thank you for your patience. Jeremy Diamond thank you for your reporting. We really appreciate this.

So, now CNN visited the key Ukrainian city that was retaken from Russian troops. And there's new concerns about how Vladimir Putin will react to yet another setback in this war. So, we're live in Ukraine.

Also, a new term is under way at the Supreme Court with many controversial cases on deck for the justices to take on. We explore. [15:35:00]

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CAMEROTA: Ukraine making significant advances in the easter Donetsk Region. Over the weekend soldiers liberated the key city of Lyman just hours after Russia illegally claimed it as theirs. Russian officials acknowledged the advances and say they are now consulting on the borders of those territories claimed by President Putin. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Ukraine for us. So, Nick, I know that you were in Lyman this weekend after the Russian troops left. What did you see?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: A startling way to see how significant that town had been because of the railway tracks that frankly dominate all of it. But also, the ghosting that the Russians had left behind. There are even quite few Ukrainian troops still in the towns on Sunday when we were there and nothing many locals. Many of them -- some are living under -- underground in a bomb shelter, others bewildered frankly by the swift changing of hands between who had been in control there.

The loss of Lyman though having an enormous impact strategically on Russia's presence in the east. There are already knock on effects it seems in areas behind them and closer towards Russia's borders also being taken by Ukrainian troops in just the last days or so after that pressure on new defense lines Russia tried to put together. But it's also taking on outside political impact.

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Because it's very rare, frankly, that Russia and Russia's Kremlin ever acknowledged mistakes. But there's been public bickering frankly about how badly this has been handled. There is even been the head of one of Russia's internal republics, the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov calling for the use of low yield nuclear weapons in response and naming and shaming the general who's in charge of that particular operation. He doesn't set policy but the fact he is criticizing policy is in itself quite extraordinary.

And also, today we've learned that the commander of Russia's western military district does apparently seemed to have been replaced. Possibly because of the string of failures we've seen inside of Ukraine for which you have some partial responsibility.

So, a lot of serious problems here for the Kremlin. One, too of their own making today. They accepted that they didn't actually know quite whether their occupied territory and two of the regions that now claim that Russia begins and ends. A lot is unraveling for Russia in this war of choice -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: It sounds like it. Nick Paton Walsh in Ukraine for us, thank you.

Well, the new term of the Supreme Court is officially under way. It's Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's first day hearing oral arguments. So far today the Court let a ban on bump stops stand. And declined to hear an appeal over vaccine mandates for health care workers. Ariane de Vogue is CNN's Supreme Court reporter. So, Ariane, catch us up on all of this today.

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Right, well this was the first time we saw Justice Jackson from the bench. And she actually was a super aggressive questioner. She jumped right in. Had lots of follow up. The case before the court had to do with the authority of the EPA. There is a couple of things you could tell that were new to her. She messed up with the microphone a little bit. But in general, she was really at ease. And that's because she has a lot of experience on multimember courts.

At one point she seemed to sort of joke with her bench mate Justice Kavanaugh over something. And interestingly enough, she chose to wear today one of those lace collars, sort of reminiscent of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who was known for her jabots. But she really hit the ground running to day in the first case.

And so, the case is -- this term she's looking at a lot of big cases. Cases having to do with race and affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act. Those are all still to come. So, all eyes are going to be on Justice Jackson in this first case -- in this first term with really significant cases.

CAMEROTA: You're right. I mean, the court is certainly not shying away from controversial cases in this term. Ariane de Vogue thank you very much.

DE VOGUE: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: So, the midterm elections are now just five weeks away. There's new polling that suggests the Democrats may be having trouble turning out a very crucial demographic. That's coming up.

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CAMEROTA: Potential warning signs for Democrats and of the midterms. New polling suggests that black voters who are considered reliably Democratic are less so going into November. According to CNN's Harry Enten, 74 percent of black voters say they support Democrats in Congressional races. In 2020 that number was 84 percent of black voters. And in 2018, it was 85 percent. Let's bring in Ron Brownstein, our CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for the Atlantic. Ron, great to see you. Why are black voters less supportive of Democrats now than they have been in the past?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm going to share a found piece of political insight with you, Alisyn. The when it rains, everybody gets wet. The highest inflation in 40 years, it's not surprising that Democratic support is likely to erode among virtually every constituency, particularly constituencies like black families -- many black families that are operating without much of an economic cushion or margin. There are more directly affected by inflation. There isn't signs of a profound values divide or movement toward

Republican on values, abortion, guns, democracy. Three quarters of the black voters still say they believe the. Republican Party has been taken over by racists. But when the party in power doesn't deliver and economic performance that most voters support, this is what you see pretty much across the board.

CAMEROTA: So, are those numbers enough to send shivers down the spines of Democrats right now?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think they have to be worried about it. I don't think it's at the top of the list of concerns. I mean, I think that the bigger -- first of all, it is possible for individual Democratic candidates in key states where black voters are most important including places like Georgia -- probably most important of all -- and Pennsylvania to do better. And there is polling that, you know, that has been back into the 80 percent range.

But what you got essentially is when you have so many voters saying they're dissatisfied with the economy. In fact, there was polling done for the NAACP by a Democratic strategist that came out last week, in which 75 percent of black voters said their lives have not improved since Biden took office. I mean that's the kind of thing that gives downward pressure essentially across the board. A turnout may also be an issue as well.

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CAMEROTA: And Ron, I want to ask you about this social media post that Donald Trump put out on Friday about Senator Mitch McConnell and his wife. And so, he basically said that Mitch McConnell a -- all caps -- death wish. And then he made what sounded to many ears like a racist slur against Mitch McConnell's he doesn't like some decisions, political decisions, that Mitch McConnell wife. And as far as I know, Senator McConnell hasn't responded to this yet. Does that surprise you?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, there is no other way to interpret it. In only in many year, I think it's any year that was racist slur at Mitch McConnell's wife. And Mitch McConnell is following the path of others. I mean, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, there seems to be no limit to how directly Donald Trump can insult members of the Republican Party or their spouses or openly use racist and conspiratorial and violent rhetoric.

I mean, the same basic fact that the Republican skeptical of Trump had made from the beginning is ongoing believe, which is that they believe that they can benefit from is capacity to turn out his supporters and avoid direct confrontation with him and somehow eventually by osmosis his influence in the party will wane.

Well, how is that going for them? I mean the fact is the refusal of folks like McConnell on these kinds of occasions reinforces his power in the party and gives more leverage over them in the future. They are choosing to live under his thumb. And I think this is just the latest example of it. Some people say maybe after the election McConnell would speak out, but they've been saying that for a while now.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I mean it doesn't seem to have worked that well for the people who just try to ignore it --

BROWNSTEIN: It doesn't seem to work that way.

CAMEROTA: when he went after their spouses. OK. Ron Brownstein, thank you very much for the analysis. Great to talk you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

CAMEROTA: OK, something fishy is going on at a competitive fishing tournament this weekend. We have details on this scandal next.

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CAMEROTA: An investigation is under way in Indonesia after at least 125 people including dozens of children were killed in a soccer stadium stampede. More than 300 others were injured. Officials say chaos erupted after angry fans ran on to the field following a loss by the home team. Police fired tear gas into the crowd which one official said triggered the stampede. At least nine officers so far have been suspended.

Now to this, the Dolphins just announcing that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will miss Sunday's game against the Jets. He hit his head on the turf during a Sunday game against the Buffalo Bills. That was a little more than a week ago. But then was allowed to take the field four days later. And it was during a game against Cincinnati that he was sacked and suffered a concussion and then carted off the field. This incident set off an investigation into NFL concussion protocols. The dolphins say it's too early to say when he'll return, but he's inside the team's facility and has, quote, has had a couple of good days.

OK meanwhile, there's something fishy going on in the world of competitive fishing. The would-be winners of a tournament in Ohio on the hook for cheating.

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We got (BLEEP), (BLEEP).

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CAMEROTA: OK, what they just said was, we've got weights in the fish. CNN's Martin Savidge joins us now. Martin, why are weights in a fish?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is a slogan is going to go down in infamy in the fishing world. You've heard of the story of the one that got away. This is the story of two that almost got away with it -- as into fishermen. Having grown up on Lake Erie, I know how seriously they take they take their walleye fishing. So, there was a tournament over the weekend and what makes this scandal particularly shocking, is that the two accused anglers here are almost legendary in the walleye fishing world. They've won a lot of tournaments. Which now this opens up a whole new can of worms.

The idea is that teams working in pairs go out and catch fish. They bring back the top five walleye that they collected and they weigh them and best catch wins. Up take $25,000 was as stake here. So, the problem was, these guys fish weighed a lot more than the typical walleye did, in fact pounds more, almost record-breaking. People began to think that was a bit fishing.

So, they investigated, the director of the tournament cut open one of the fish and hence that now remarkable phrase, we've got weights in the fish. The two men were quickly escorted away. In fact, they were lucky to get away with their tackle boxes still intact. One of the men had to actually lock himself inside of his own pickup truck from that angry mob of anglers.

The State Department of Natural Resources is actually investigating. They may come up with charges that'll be put on the Cuyahoga County prosecutor. So, these two men could be caught up in a net of their own doing. They're also outcasts in the fishing business. And definitely their pro careers are sunk. I think that is about every pun I could come up with.

CAMEROTA: I feel like you're just won the competitive pun competition that obviously we didn't know we were part of, but we were. But Martin, here is the curious thing.

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The fish were the same -- I don't know how they thought that they were going to get away with it since the fish weren't bigger, they were just heavier.

SAVIDGE: Right, that's exactly right. These looked like four pound fish but put them on a scale and they come in at seven pounds. So, they did themselves in with their own doing.

CAMEROTA: Fishy indeed. Martin Savidge, thank you very much for all of that.

And thanks for joining us today. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.