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Biden Says, Xi and I were Candid and Clear Across the Board; Democrats Hold Senate, Control of House Still Up in the Air; Democrats Defy History in Impressive Midterm Performance. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired November 14, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A very good Monday morning, I'm Jim Sciutto. We are following several major stories this hour. First, President Biden at G20 summit in Bali this morning held a significant three-and- a-half hour meeting with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, their first face-to-face talks since Biden took office. They come at a crucial time. The U.S. president asked if the U.S. is now facing a new cold war with China as tensions at an all-time high over Taiwan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: And I absolutely believe there is need not be a new cold war. I have met many times with Xi Jinping and we were candid and clear with one another across the board and I don't think there is any imminent attempt on the part of China to invade to Taiwan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: And he also said the U.S. elections here prove that democracy is who we are as a country.

Plus, Democrats will keep the narrow Senate majority after winning two crucial races in Nevada and Arizona over the weekend. The face of the House, however, remains undecided.

So, let's begin there with the latest. CNN Anchor John Berman, he's been at the magic wall crunching the numbers. The wind seems to turn a bit in favor of Republicans overnight. Where do we stand?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: There is a lot going on in Arizona, Jim, a lot going on that might be good for the Republicans in terms of maintaining control of the House, but not so good for the Republicans in terms of the very competitive governor's race there.

So, first of all, we're going to talk about Arizona. And if you look at the House, the Republicans only need six more seats to take control. The Democrats would need 14. There are two crucial congressional races in Arizona right now that have yet to be called, down here in the southeastern part of the state, Arizona sixth congressional district, Juan Ciscomani leads by 1,700 votes. But as more votes are counted around here, his lead is actually has grown. He has expanded his lead.

I showed you Arizona's first congressional district a short time, Dave Schweikert, the Republican, leads there by 894 votes. But up until Saturday actually, the Democrats were leading in these seats. But more votes have been counted in Maricopa County and now the Republican has taken the lead there by 890 votes.

I want to look at the governor's race there because it is little bit of a different story. You have Katie Hobbs, the Democrat, ahead by 26,000 votes. We're getting more votes released from Arizona, different counties every day. I want to give you a sense of what Kari Lake would have to do in order to overtake Katie Hobbs at this point.

There are, we believe, at this point, 175,000 votes left, approximately left to count there Arizona. If Kari Lake were too win 58 percent of the remaining votes, 58 percent, and I'll make that a question mark, we don't know she'll get that, but if she were to get that 58 percent, that would net her a total of 27,200 votes. 58 percent would get her this much, which is more than 26,000. So, 58 percent would be enough.

Here is the problem, Jim, for her, and I'm going to write the 58 percent up here in Utah. Forgive me, Utah. I'm going to write this up here just so we remember it, 58 percent. In the latest, those batches we've seen from Maricopa County, Kari Lake got 55 percent. And down in Pima County, she got 40 percent. So, you can see, I'll pull out here, she's not getting what she needs. She needs 58 percent. In Maricopa, she was getting 55, in pima she's getting 40. We're expecting tens of thousands of more votes released tonight. But if the numbers are close to these 55 and 40 percent and not this, that means that Katie Hobs could hang on in Arizona, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And to all those people in Utah, that giant 58 that just appeared there, this is not alien invasion, it's just John doing the math. Thank you, John Berman. Thanks so much. We'll keep following those numbers.

Well, while Democrats will narrowly retain control of the Senate, Senate runoff in Georgia next month between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker, it's still very important. A win would give Democrats a meaningful majority, one vote more rather than what, in effect, is a power sharing current in place with the vice president, Kamala Harris, serving as the tie-breaker in a 50/50 chamber.

[10:05:07]

CNN National Correspondent Dianne Gallagher, she is live this morning in Atlanta, Diane, when this would decide control of the Senate, we were going to see millions and millions of dollars thrown there, a lot of attention, it no longer decides that but it is still important. Are we seeing a similar focus from both parties on this race?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, part of it is now adding into these campaigns, this education effort they're going to have to make to make sure that voters remain excited when they don't think that the control of the Senate comes down to Georgia once again. Senator Raphael Warnock, the Democrat, having to go out there and make sure that voters don't essentially rest easy and say, all right, Democrats already have it in the bag. Tell them, explain to voter why this race still remain so crucial for that party.

On the other hand, Republicans attempting to still maintain some kind of clout there in the Senate, that is why we've seen so many of these surrogates already here in Georgia with Republican Herschel Walker, Ted Cruz, and Senator Rick Scott is here today in the Augusta area.

But one of the big questions, Jim, is whether or not they're going to bring in, well, bigger star power even and the talk of who that might be, specifically coming down to, of course former, president Donald Trump. There are many here in Georgia and around the Republican Party who would like to see the former president stay away from Georgia, as to not potentially turn off, in the words of some suburban voters, women voters, and independents, those voters that they would need in this area. And there is also the educational campaign, of course, on making sure that voters know what goes into this runoff, because so much has changed since last year when they did this because of that controversial new voting law here in Georgia.

SCIUTTO: And all of this as the former president might announce another run for office tomorrow. Dianne Gallagher, thanks very much.

All right, this morning, newly elected members of Congress, they are on Capitol hill getting their first look at their new place. Sitting members back in work for a lame duck session. That session may be dominated by infighting over leadership in the next Congress.

CNN Chief Congressional Manu Raju joins me now. So, Manu, you have got these leadership races underway, potentially on both sides of the aisle, you also have questions about what they might try to push through during the lame duck session. What is the latest?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is going to be a week of soul searching, venting and tense meetings behind closed doors mainly on the Republican side, in the House and the Senate, after those disappointing election results. The House Republicans will gather this afternoon for a candidate forum before they elect their next slate of leaders tomorrow.

And at that meeting, we expect to hear some back and forth, some pushback, some criticism about the Republican strategy. The person behind that strategy, Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader, who is trying to lockdown enough supports to become the next speaker of the House, even the majority has not yet been called for House Republicans. We expect likely a narrow majority that they will have, which means that when they come time in January for him to get votes of the full House, 218 votes, he can only afford to lose likely a handful of defectors in order to get the majority of the full house. Tomorrow's vote is just a majority of the Republican conference to nominate him for that position.

And then on the Senate Republican side, Mitch McConnell is facing some dissension within the ranks among some Republicans who are asking to delay the Wednesday's leadership election even though McConnell is very likely, almost certainly going to be the next Republican leader. He'll be the longest serving party leader in history when he achieves that.

In the Democratic side, a lot of questions still about what Nancy Pelosi will do. The House speaker, someone who has dominated her caucus for the better part of the past two decades, there are a lot of questions at whether this will be her last time atop the Democratic caucus. But when she was asked about this yesterday, she made clear that her decision, her announcement will wait.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): -- will, again, be rooted in what the wishes of my family and the wishes of my caucus. But none of it will be very much considered until we see what the outcome of all of this is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Jim, it is also important to note that Pelosi, when she assumed the speakership to lockdown the votes a few years ago, promised that 2022 would be her last time as speaker. There are no rules written about that, so we'll see what she decides. But if she steps aside, it will cause quite the scramble on the Democratic side. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Lots of potential openings. Manu Raju on the Hill, thank you so much.

Let's speak now to CNN Senior Political Analyst John Avlon and CNN Political Commentator Margaret Hoover. Good to have you both on.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to see you, Jim.

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SCIUTTO: Let's talk about the future even though the election just a few days away, there are still some open questions there. You did hear two Republicans, Maryland's Republican Governor Larry Hogan, Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks both say it's time to move for Donald Trump. They have one thing in common. They are both leaving. They're both no longer going to be serving in office. We saw a similar moment like this fade after January 6. Margaret, I wonder if I could begin with you. Is the dissent stronger now against Donald Trump?

HOOVER: You know, I spent a lot of time this weekend talking to members of Congress, talking to folks on the Republican firmament, trying to discern how different this is. And I will tell you, there is a unifying theme that somehow this time is different.

I got to tell you, Jim, I'm quite skeptical of that. I'm quite skeptical because what we have seen over and over again is Trump be able to come back from the lowest he's ever fallen and be able to constitute and bring back power, and he does it through chaos and through making cunning decisions in the moment. I think what we're seeing right now is even though there are many Republicans who say it is time to move on, you know what, a lot of people said that after January 6. My concern is you're already seeing there is a letter now that has been written by the Trump faction in the Republican base of the party who are saying delay leadership elections.

That is the last thing that Kevin McCarthy wants and this will actually be the very first test of whether Kevin McCarthy will stand up to the Donald Trump faction. That is going to determine whether we're able to move on or not. If he rushes to elections and wins leadership, then maybe he will stand up. If not, Trump gets the kind of chaos he needs to be able to begin to reconstitute his power base in the party.

SCIUTTO: Okay. John Avlon, the other question relates to Joe Biden, Democrats outperformed and Joe Biden arguably outperformed here, right, in terms of leading the party. Does this make a Biden run more likely in 2024?

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it strengthens the argument because he can convincingly say he's in pretty rarified company with regard to first term presidents whose party doesn't get blown out in the midterms, particularly on the Democratic side. But, I don't think it changes, I think, the fundamental issues around the second Biden term.

Look, he has got a strong record to look to legislatively in the first term, bipartisan record in some cases, his reputation on foreign policy has rebounded with Ukraine, with the solidification of NATO but he's still turning 80. And I think there is the question of whether he will fulfill his campaign commitment to sort be a candidate who passes the torch to a new generation. In some ways, that is the best way to secure his legacy but it is also means Democrats give away the advantage of incumbency.

So, I think you'll see a lot of debates probably too much, but he's going to have to decide in the next few months whether he's going to hope the door to a contest or move forward himself, real risks in that.

SCIUTTO: In the last hour, I spoke with Politico's Rachel Bade, who described the finger-pointing at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in effect, shifting the blame from Trump to him. Although we should note for the record, it was McConnell who opposed the extreme Trump-endorsed candidates that ended up losing. You know better than me, Margaret Hoover, that those who underestimate Mitch McConnell usually lose. Is this a serious threat to his leadership in the Senate?

HOOVER: I don't think so. I would put money on it right now that it is not a serious side, of course. And, frankly, just look at the constitution of this Senate Republicans versus the makeup of the House Republicans, right? The people who signed that letter challenging Kevin McCarthy's leadership, these are the same kind of people who signed the letter in December of 2020 to urge alternate Trump electors, okay? It is the most fringy extreme part of the Republican Party. That's now who makes the Republican conference.

You do have a Josh Hawley, you have a Ted Cruz who is all over the place, but the thrust of the members in the Senate who are Republicans are pretty loyal to Mitch McConnell and for good reason.

SCIUTTO: Margaret Hoover gets the last word. Sorry, John Avlon. Always good to have you both on.

HOOVER: It always happens that way, Jim, let me tell you.

SCIUTTO: I'm sure it is not the first time.

AVLON: It is not the first time. It is okay. Be well.

SCIUTTO: Coming up, a reminder that former Vice President Mike Pence will join Jake Tapper for a live town hall this Wednesday night at 9:00 Eastern Time.

And coming up next this hour, President Biden meets Xi Jinping face- to-face for the first time since Biden took office. He admitted it is not all kumbaya but he did say they had a frank exchange. What he said to the Chinese leader exactly.

Also ahead, police say a University of Virginia honor student remains on the run after allegedly shooting five people. He killed three of them. We're going to bring you latest on the manhunt.

Plus FTX, one of the most reputable platforms for trading cryptocurrency, is now under investigation for potential criminal misconduct, this after a collapse and file for bankruptcy, millions in missing cryptocurrency dollars there. We'll discuss what it means for the crypto market.

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SCIUTTO: This morning, a key meeting, President Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, this on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. There they are shaking hands. Biden says that he raised concerns on a host of issues during what turned out to be a three-and-a-half hour meeting from human rights, also to the standoff over Taiwan.

CNN's M.J. Lee, she is in Bali with the president. M.J., Biden says that he and Xi were candid and clear across the board. Biden projecting strength on the issues that are core to America's interest here, particularly safeguarding Taiwan's independence. Do we have any sense at this point as to how China received those messages?

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M.J. LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim. Open and candid is how President Biden described his conversation with Xi Jinping that lasted over three hours where the two leaders he said talked about their own priorities and intentions, and President Biden saying that in the big picture, he conveyed that the U.S. is going to continue competing with China but that he doesn't want that competition to turn into conflict.

Now, the two men, as you can imagine, discussed a number of issues and one of the most important ones was Taiwan. It was particularly important, of course, because that is the issue that has led to U.S./Chinese relations in recent months deteriorating so much particularly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided to visit the island.

The president telling reporters after this meeting that he doesn't think that there is a need for a new cold war. He also said that he has seen no indication that Beijing is about to massively escalate things when it comes to Taiwan. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: And I do not think there is any attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan and I made it clear that our policy in Taiwan has not changed at all. It is the same exact position we've had. I made it clear that we want to see issues peacefully resolved and so it never has to come to that. And I'm convinced that he understood exactly what I was saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Now, another key topic of discussion, of course, was the ongoing war in Ukraine. President Biden said that the two leaders agreed that there is absolutely no room for the use of nuclear weapons. The president also said a number of times just in terms of the two leaders' communication that he wanted to convey to Xi that there should not be any misunderstanding and he said several times something to the effect of, and I think he understood what I was saying.

He also said that as a result of this summit, they decided and agreed that his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, would visit China in the near future to continue all of the conversations that took place at this summit.

Just to remind you, U.S. officials before this summit said they would see it as a success if they could agree upon some areas of agreement and commonplace, and also if they could open lines of communication going forward so at least on those two fronts you could imagine U.S. officials saying that the summit was a success. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Yes, with those managed expectations. M.J. Lee, thanks very much.

Joining me now to discuss, CNN Global Affairs Analyst Susan Glasser. Susan, always good to have you on.

The president, as M.J. noted there, said the U.S. does not believe that China intends, at least imminently, to invade Taiwan. He also says that there need not be a new cold war between the U.S. and China. Does that match with the facts of this relationship as we know them, where there are so many substantive disagreements? SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, that is right. Of course, you're looking in a situation where the United States and the Biden administration has reaffirmed this very recently in its own national security strategy views, China as a long-term competitor and adversary, views of preparing for the possibility of military conflict breaking out over Taiwan to be a very realistic challenge, sees it as a really the generational threat to the United States and its continued dominance, especially given Xi's increasingly not only nationalistic but revisionist efforts to change China's position in the world.

I don't think any of that has changed. I did hear Biden use the words red line beforehand, giving a hint of what he had to get out of the meeting, which is a clear understanding on both sides what the risks are right now in this relationship.

SCIUTTO: And it is a good point, because he did say, I know -- I say what I mean, right? It seems that he wanted to communicate very clearly where the U.S. stood so there was no misunderstanding on these issues.

The president seemed to lead and finish really with his comments on China on the election. He said that the American people proved once again democracy is who we are, clearly believing there is a message not just to the U.S. but to the Chinese leaders, perhaps other leaders there in Bali, that U.S. elections are still working. And I wonder, do you believe that message would be received?

GLASSER: Well I think it is an important message at the G20 right not just for China but for other world leaders who have not been sure the last now years what to make of the U.S. Is the U.S.'s word still worth anything internationally? If we are so consumed by our own domestic troubles and polarization that you can't be sure that in two years or four years the president you make a deal with basically is tossed out in favor of a completely different approach to foreign policy. And I think that was the undercutting of the U.S. in the world stage, withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord. And Biden needs to speak to that right now, so I'm not surprised.

[10:25:02]

But Ukraine, of course, is the other topic hanging over Xi and Biden, and what lessons is Xi taking away from Vladimir Putin's kind of stepping in it in Ukraine. And I do think that that was probably a big topic of discussion among the two of them.

SCIUTTO: And there are two reads of that, right? One is that the U.S. response in terms of arming Ukraine and the world's response in terms of isolating Russia, punishing it economically, should make Beijing think twice about invading Taiwan, but then you have a devil's advocate role or argument that the lesson China receives here is actually go hard, right, you know, go fast and hard as opposed to, you know, think twice about it. And I wonder where you land on that. Where do you think xi lands on that? GLASSER: Well, it is a good question. I think that xi has proven to be a more disciplined player in many ways than Putin. Remember, the Chinese have actually not gone to war since 1979, a big contrast with Vladimir Putin who continually resorted to the use of military source to achieve political ends throughout his 20 years in power. So, it is an incredibly high-stakes thing and I certainly think China isn't about to do it right away.

I thought it was very notable that President Biden said that he did not believe any kind of invasion of Taiwan was, quote, imminent. In recent months, you've seen different opinions coming out of U.S. national security officials, some of whom believe that China had actually speeded up its timetable with regards to Taiwan. So, I thought that was notable.

SCIUTTO: No question, yes, to do it now with perhaps the concern that Taiwan will be more ready for something more in a few years' time.

Susan Glasser, thanks so much, always good to have you on.

GLASSER: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Other story we're following this morning, an active search still underway right now on the University of Virginia campus where police are searching for a former college football player, honor student suspected of shooting and killing three people, injuring two others. We're going there live for an update, next.

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