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Soon: Biden To Talk About Economy While Visiting IBM Technology; GOP Senate Candidates In Pennsylvania, Georgia Fight Allegations; N. Korea Fires 2 More Missiles, U.S. Moves Strike Group To Area. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired October 06, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Victor Blackwell. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Alisyn Camerota.

President Biden is in Poughkeepsie, New York at this hour, touring an IBM facility and is expected to make comments at any moment about his administration's efforts to boost the U.S. economy. With 33 days until the midterm elections, the economy continues to be the number one issue for voters.

BLACKWELL: But as the president tries to promote his economic plan, OPEC's decision to reduce oil production will almost certainly increase gas prices. CNN's Phil Mattingly is traveling with the president. So, Phil, what is the president's plan? Do we know?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, Victor, this event itself this day is really a perfect encapsulation of the administration's struggles and balancing act when it comes to the economy over the course of the entire time in office. The president is here in Poughkeepsie to talk about a new $20 billion investment from IBM that had been committed to in large part because of the cornerstone legislative achievement, just the latest of a myriad of multibillion-dollar private sector commitments because of that legislation.

That's what the White House wants to talk about. They believe that underscores what they've delivered. Yet the President is dealing with a decision that was made out of his control, the significant dramatic cut that was made in output levels by OPEC. The president is very blunt, in his view of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your reaction to the OPEC Plus decision?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Disappointment. And we're looking at what alternatives we may have. Don't hurt a man. No, you're not going to see the war.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BIDEN: There's a lot of alternatives. We haven't made up our mind yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: There are so many different elements of this, whether it's the domestic economy, the global economy, the bilateral relationship with Saudi Arabia, geopolitics in the midst of the war in Ukraine, obviously, politics, just 30-plus days out from the election. White House officials say they are working through a series of potential options the president may pursue to try and block any major increases at the pump. But they are keenly aware this is a global market.

This was a decision made by some countries that the U.S. viewed as allies, or at least should have been allies leading up to it. The disappointment is real. Some rage to some degree is real when you talk to some officials and they acknowledge that they need to do more fast on this issue.

BLACKWELL: All right, let's turn back to the president's remarks. Phil Mattingly there in Poughkeepsie, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Meanwhile, we have new CNN polling in two key battleground states, Nevada and Arizona where Democratic Senator Mark Kelly has a narrow lead over his Republican challenger. But the political climate in both states favors GOP candidates, voters there are more likely to say the country would be better off with Republicans in control of Congress.

BLACKWELL: CNN's political director David Chalian is here to make sense of it. David, let's go through the Senate and Governor races in the states, what do -- what are we learning?

DAVE CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I hope I can make sense of it, Victor. We have a lot of close races in these two critical battleground states. Let's take through some of the high-profile races. First, up in Nevada, this is the Senate race between the Democrat incumbent Senator Catherine Cortez Masto at 46 percent of likely voters in our poll, Adam Laxalt her Republican challenger, 48 percent. This is well within the poll's margin of error. No clear leader. This is a total toss-up, can go either way. Similar story in the governor's race in Nevada, Joe Lombardo, the Republican challenger 48 percent of likely voters supporting him in our poll, Steve Sisolak, 46 percent of likely voters, again, no clear leader within the margin of error.

You noted at the top that Arizona Senate race. This is one of the polls we have where there is actually a slight edge for one candidate over the other. Mark Kelly, the Democratic incumbent, 51 percent, Blake Masters 45 percent. But that governor's race in Arizona between Katie Hobbs, the Secretary of State, and Kari Lake, again, no clear leader, it's a margin of error rates, 49 percent to 46 percent. These are razor-thin races that will have huge consequences. But we are learning here about the political environment as well, guys.

CAMEROTA: Well, David, why is that? I mean, why is it an uphill battle for Democrats in Nevada and Arizona?

CHALIAN: Yes. And as you see in the numbers here, Alisyn, perhaps a bit more uphill in Nevada right now according to these numbers, then Arizona, but let's take a look. First of all, the president's approval rating is not great in either state. Among likely voters in this poll, 41 percent approve, 58 percent disapprove in Arizona, same story in Nevada. This is a president whose numbers are just upside down. That's one point. But this is what the election is about, the top issue for voters, economy, and inflation by far. That was on the --

BLACKWELL: David --

CHALIAN: Yes.

BLACKWELL: I apologize I've got to interrupt here.

CHALIAN: No worries. Go ahead.

BLACKWELL: Because we're going to go back to the president in Poughkeepsie at this economic event.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIDEN: Here, shares his factory and the factories of other companies across America, where America's future is literally being built. Because of the groundbreaking CHIPS and Science Act that I signed into law with the help of the Majority Leader Schumer, and members of the Congress that are here today.

[14:05:00]

Chuck stayed the course, stuck with me, and we got it done. And folks, by the way, just since we've been elected, we've created 678,000 new manufacturing jobs where -- we're just getting started. Where is it written that we can't leave manufacturing in the world? I don't know where that's written. And that's one of the things that the CHIPS Act is going to change, the law that's going to build a future and a proud, proud legacy, not only for IBM but for the country. The legacy of innovation and manufacturing that exists in this region of New York was here in Poughkeepsie, where the rifles for World War One were made. Where the first electric typewriters, calculators, even cough drops were made. I brought some with me.

And it's here now, for the Hudson Valley could become the epicenter of the future of quantum computing, the most advanced and fastest computing ever, ever seen in the world. Quantum Computing has the potential to transform everything from how we create new medicines to how we power artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. This technology that is vital to our economy and equally important to our national security -- our national security.

It's the technology that's made possible because of semiconductors, those tiny little computer chips everyone in this room knows better than anyone in any other room in a country, the size of a fingertip that power our everyday lives -- everything our lives, smartphones, cars, washing machines, hospital equipment, the internet, the electric grid, and so much more.

But here's the deal. America invented these chips -- Americans invented these chips. They powered NASA's first moon mission that President Kennedy inspired. Here in America, federal investment helped bring down the cost of making these chips, creating a market and an entire new industry. As a result, over 30 years ago, America had more than 30 percent of the global chip production.

But then something happened -- something happened. American manufacturing, the backbone of our economy got hollowed out because companies began to move jobs and production overseas. And as a result, today, we're down to barely 10 percent of the world's chips, despite leading in chip research and design. And as we saw during the pandemic, when factories -- when factories that make these chips shut -- chips shut down around the world, the global economy literally comes to a screeching halt. More Americans learn the phrase supply chain, and what it means. Well, guess what? The supply chain is going to start here and end here in the United States. I'm not joking.

For example, here in the United States, one-third of the core inflation last year -- the core inflation last year was due to higher prices of automobiles. Why? Because of its shortage of semiconductors that make these vehicles move. Folks, we need to make these chips here in America to bring down everyday costs and create good-paying American jobs.

Don't take my word for it. Listen to the leaders of IBM and across the country. They're making decisions right now about where to invest to produce these chips. And they're choosing America because they see we're coming back. We're leading the way. As I said, since I came to office, our economy has created 10 million jobs, 668 manufacturing jobs. Proof that made in America is no longer a slogan. It's a reality, and the CHIPS and Science Act makes historic investments in companies to build advanced manufacturing facilities here in America. Since I signed into law last summer, we've seen incredible progress.

This year in the Hudson Valley, IBM is investing 20 billion over the next 10 to design and manufacture semiconductors, mainframe technology, and quantum computers. In Syracuse, the company Micron announced is going to invest 100 billion over the next 20 years to build factories that make special memory chips. You'd have to explain to you all what a memory chip is, those chips that store information on your smartphone, among other things.

It's going to create 50,000 jobs and create an increase in America's share the memory chips, increase it by 500 percent. That would be the largest American investment of its kind, ever, ever, ever, ever. And folks, last month, I was outside Columbus, Ohio, where Intel is investing $20 billion to build a semiconductor factory and 100 acres of land that I dubbed as the Field of Dreams.

[14:10:06]

It's going to create 10,000 good-paying jobs, union jobs I might add. And a significant number of those jobs who do not need an advanced degree -- you do not need an advanced degree. So, you're going to have people who are usually wear blue collars are going to be making an average of $120,000 a year. And it's about time. I want to remind everybody I know I get criticized for being the most pro-labor president in history. There's a simple reason for that. They're the single -- no, they're this -- you're the single best trained, most competent workers in the world. That's the reason why.

And by the way, the middle class built this country, but unions built the middle class. That's a fact. Look. Global Foundries and Qualcomm -- and Qualcomm, they've announced a $4 billion project to produce chips in America, who otherwise have been made overseas. Qualcomm and -- Qualcomm is one of the largest chip designers in planning to boost production by up to 50 percent in the next five years. North -- in North Carolina, Wolfspeed is investing 5 billion to make chips and devices for electric vehicles. They'll create 1800 jobs by 2030 next state.

And folks, folks, the future chips industry is going to be made in America. That's not hyperbole. That's a fact. It's going to be made in America. And making these chips in America is going to create new businesses for countless small manufacturers and suppliers into the supply chain is going to thrive all because of this law. And many of these different jobs --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: OK, we've been listening there to President Biden. He's at an IBM facility in Poughkeepsie, New York, and talking about all of the jobs. He's touting the jobs that have been created on his watch. And talking about the future manufacturing and technology jobs that his administration says that they will create, and he talked about how those will be blue-collar jobs. And he talked about how he's been a huge supporter of the Union and, of course -- the unions, and of course, this is all against the backdrop of gas prices ticking up in the country and general feeling about the economy.

BLACKWELL: Yes, certainly, this event focused on his signing the CHIPS bill, but as he talks about the 10 million jobs created during his administration, 600,000 plus manufacturing jobs, we know that the job creation will cool. That's a feature, not a bug. The Fed rate hikes and that will happen over time as they try to get inflation under control. The President again, speaking in Poughkeepsie.

CAMEROTA: OK, let's talk about politics because the October surprises keep adding drama to the midterms. In Pennsylvania, Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz is denying allegations that he abused animals during medical research.

BLACKWELL: And there's another twist in the Georgia Senate race, the anonymous woman who claims Herschel Walker paid for her abortion in 2009 says she is the mother of one of his four children. And we learned that from a follow-up report from The Daily Beast. He addressed all this just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you reached out to any of the mothers of your children to ask what?

HERSCHEL WALKER, REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE, GEORGIA: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why not?

WALKER: Why do I need to?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, because according to the article, one -- the woman who says that you paid for her to have an abortion is also the mother of one of your children. It seems like that's an easy way to --

WALKER: It goes on the article. I had more kids. That's why I hadn't reached out to anyone because I said no. And that's what I mean. When I said no, I said he's not correct. That's a lie. And that's what I mean. That's a lie.

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: Let me go to her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. You said that if this did happen, there's nothing to be ashamed of. How do you support that?

WALKER: Wait, I never said -- I never said --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said this morning on "HUGH HEWITT SHOW."

WALKER: No, what I said -- I was talking about something totally different than what did happen as that with my -- with my ex-wife and in my past, nothing to do with this woman said. I'd say this --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you're saying --

WALKER: This here, the abortion thing is false. It's a lie. And that's what I said. I said anything happened, my ex-wife of what Christian was talking about, I don't know. But as I said, if anything happened, I wouldn't be ashamed of. Look, my ex-wife and I have been best of a friend with her husband and my wife. So that's the thing that I've said. And I said nothing about if it did happen because I said that's a lie, and goes to some ideas.

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right, CNN's Gabby Orr and Jessica Dean are with us now. Gabby, you up first, and you've learned about what some of Herschel Walker's allies within the GOP are saying to him as he's facing these allegations?

GABBY ORR, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Victor. He's been hearing from Republicans on the sidelines over the past few days since this story first broke, who really want him to dial up his denial of this story. He's been out there on Fox News. He did an interview this morning with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt once again denying the allegation that he paid for a then girlfriend's abortion in 2009.

[14:15:02]

But that hasn't satisfied some of his Republican allies. One of whom told me they want more of a "Trumpian response" from Walker. Now, I've also heard from sources close to the Walker campaign that they've been telling allies they have evidence to refute this allegation and they're looking for a time to release that that they think will be beneficial to them, possibly the debate next Friday between him and Democratic incumbent senator Raphael Warnock. We don't know what that evidence is.

Herschel Walker has not mentioned that he might have evidence to refute these allegations in any of his appearances recently. Including just moments ago in Georgia, but his campaign is at least telling Republican allies that that's something they're looking into and something that they might release at some point, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Usually, if people have evidence that proves something is better than it looks, they release it immediately. I wonder why they would hold that until the debate.

CAMEROTA: OK, let's talk now about Dr. Oz's campaign. So Mehmet Oz is denying any of those animal abuse allegations, Jessica. Who's making those claims?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Oh, Alisyn and Victor, this is not a storyline we typically see in campaigns. Let's break down what we actually know about this. Based on public documents and records. We know that Dr. Oz was the chief investigator. He was overseeing this research at Columbia University. And in doing so, they used a number of animals, including dogs in this research. And in his position, over all of this research, he was in charge of compliance and safety and things like that. That's what we know.

Now there's also a report from the website, Jezebel, that came out this week. They reported that between 1989 and 2010, that upwards of 300 dogs were killed -- died because of this research, as a result of this research. That was the report that we had earlier this week from Jezebel. And that also that Columbia University had to pay this $2,000 fine to the USDA.

So this led to Oz's rival, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman jumping on this, putting allegations out there that he was abusing animals, that he was responsible for the death of these dogs, and of course, that prompted the Oz campaign to then have to respond to all of this. So, I'll read you what they put out. They said "Dr. Oz never abused any animals and suggesting otherwise is ridiculous. Dr. Oz was not in the operating room when the operations were done. He wasn't present during the post-op treatments, no one alerted him of the problem until after the cases were finished and he does not condone the mistreatment of animals."

Now, all this is happening and unfolding, Alisyn and Victor, as we get into the closing days of this primary season. And there is no more important race right now for both Democrats and Republicans than Pennsylvania. It's an open seat. Both parties really want that seat. They want their candidate to win there. And many people believe that it will dictate who takes over the Senate if the Democrats maintain their control or if it flips to Republicans.

So you can imagine how much money, how much time, how much attention is being paid, and it is ever tightening. That is our current poll of polls. That's taking all of the polling and averaging it out. And that is where we stand right now, Alisyn and Victor.

CAMEROTA: OK, that's a lot.

DEAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Jessica Dean and Gabby Orr, thank you for the reporting. Really appreciate it.

So North Korea fires a pair of missile launches overnight, the U.S., South Korea, and Japan responding now with new defense exercises, the latest on the tension next.

BLACKWELL: And Vladimir Putin now claims that Europe's largest nuclear plant is a Russian asset, what this signals for the future of the war? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:23:01]

CAMEROTA: Tensions are high on the Korean peninsula today. North Korea fired two more short-range ballistic missiles and conducted military exercises just in the last 24 hours.

BLACKWELL: And in response, the U.S. Navy moved two warships to take part in naval Ballistic Missile Defense exercises with South Korea and Japan. CNN's military analyst Major General Spider Marks is with us now. Good to see you, General. First, these 12 North Korean aircraft that flew south of what's called the special surveillance line, place that on the scale of aggression. Is that a nudge? Is that a slap? How provocative is that?

JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: That's a slap in your terminology. Anything that North Koreans do to push the boundaries and establish international boundaries is more than a nudge. It's a slap. It's a defiance to acknowledge International Rules of Engagement, international laws.

However, it is a slap but it's a routine slap. I mean, South Korea and the alliance with the United States and certainly our alliance with Japan have learned to live with this. And more than respond, we're categorizing the deployment of the Reagan off the east coast of Korea as a response. In reality, these are normal routine deployment procedures that take place.

It wasn't necessarily just because North Korea's shot the missile on Tuesday. It wasn't actually a planned exercise and it might have been accelerated. But I think it's important that we categorize these things as routine activities. North Koreans know about it. We declare these activities. There's not -- there's everything transparent about what the U.S. does. But I liked the way you put this in that North Korea will routinely slap at anybody who bothers to engage with them in a way that doesn't meet their expectations.

CAMEROTA: Spider, what are the options for the U.S. to respond militarily to that slap?

[14:25:00]

MARKS: Well, they certainly have. They can respond. I mean as I indicated, these are routine activities that take place. The United States could push harder against North Korea. But let me tell you, we've done that for years -- for decades. And our relationship with North Korea has not moved an inch over the course of those 70-plus years. So the United States understands, absolutely explicitly that our related -- the ball is in our court to establish a relationship with North Korea.

It's a nuclear nation. It's trying to marry up this missile technology with its nuclear technology. They haven't done that yet. And as a result of both of those, that makes them an international threat. They didn't have that capability. It would be the, you know, the two J type of arrangement, which is self-reliance. And they would continue to march down this path. But they can influence activities over and across the rural borders. The United States needs to be open up in some way. And we've indicated on multiple occasions that we're prepared to have talks with North Korea with no conditions, our priority zero conditions.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Let's turn to Russia and Ukraine now. And Vladimir Putin has now claimed that Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest search facility in Europe, to be a Russian asset now. Now, they've had control of it since early in the war but does this assertion change the landscape significantly?

MARKS: It does -- it does not. Look, Russia has been doing that in multiple locations, as this network has been identified and following very, very closely, very professionally. The fact that they have declared Zaporizhzhia theirs, they've been there, they've been occupying it by force early on in the war, this is just more for Putin's narrative for domestic consumption. He understands -- he must understand that internationally, he's a pariah but he survives because he has a following and is incredibly supported within his own boundaries.

The fact -- the fact that they have declared Zaporizhzhia now in his mind makes that Russian territory. So in his mind, again, his narrative, anything that goes against that, anything that crosses that line is now a violation of international law. I mean, that's all lunacy, right? He's making up his own rules. But it doesn't change the landscape in terms of what the Ukrainians can do, what they have been doing, and what NATO has been doing to support that.

CAMEROTA: OK. Major General Spider Marks, thank you. BLACKWELL: We are looking into claims of racial disparities to Hurricane Ian relief efforts in Florida. People living in two majority black neighborhoods say that they are seeing a slower response from rescue teams. We have new details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)