Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Kemp Vouches For Herschel walker's Values As A Senator; Cyber Monday Shatters Record Despite Inflation; Two of Worlds Notable Volcanoes Erupting Simultaneously. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired November 29, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: They're watching and sitting down with honey-soaked pastries.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Oh.

CAMEROTA: What's happening?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Almost a goal.

BLACKWELL: OK, nothing. All right. I heard -- I heard a commotion. I'm listening. Go ahead. Yes. OK. Yes.

CAMEROTA: Honey-soaked pastries. Andy, you should introduce that in the bar where you are. Now, what's the move?

SCHOLES: What was that, Alisyn? I'm sorry.

CAMEROTA: Don't worry. Just tell what's happening in the bar.

SCHOLES: I can't hear what you're saying, Alisyn, but I'll tell you what --

BLACKWELL: All right. Yes. See, this is -- this is what we had with Andy last week. He's like -- yes. He's -- I can't hear you. I got to get back to the -- to the match. Yes. All right.

CAMEROTA: To the match.

BLACKWELL: Andy Scholes, Nick Watt, thank you. See, he's not.

CAMEROTA: A lot happening, but we're -- they're not telling us what it is.

Early voting in Georgia continues to break records with a week left until the runoff votes are counted. You're going to hear from Governor Brian Kemp about Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker.

BLACKWELL: And mixed signals on the state of the economy. A new report shows consumer confidence is down again, but Cyber Monday sales smashed records.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:35:46]

BLACKWELL: Short time ago, House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, weighed in on president Trump's decision to dine with white supremacist and Holocaust denier, Nick Fuentes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): The president have meetings with who he wants. I don't think anybody should have a meeting with Nick Fuentes. And his views shouldn't -- are nowhere within the Republican Party or within this country itself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kanye West is--

MCCARTHY: I think Kanye West should and I don't -- I don't think those are right. Comments, I don't think he should have associated with them as well. That -- I'm very clear in my position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: McCarthy joined a small but growing list of Republicans who are speaking out about Trump's meeting with Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Trump was wrong to give a white nationalist, an anti-Semite and a Holocaust denier, a seat at the table.

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): I think it's disgusting to invite people like that to meet with a former president of the United States.

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): He should condemn those kinds of things that anybody would stand for it no matter who they are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Joining us now to discuss this and so much more, we have former Massachusetts Senator, Scott Brown, and former adviser to Mike Pence, Olivia Troye. Great to see both of you.

Olivia, I want to take a slightly different tack to start, then the political one. Because obviously, you should denounce this. I don't understand what's so hard or what takes people so many days to come around to that.

But I want to take with you your wheelhouse a National Security tap. How can the former president of the United States not know who he's dining with at Mar-a-Lago? What is the process by which somebody gets in and he doesn't know who he's going to have dinner with?

OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER ADVISER TO MIKE PENCE: Yes. I'm so glad that you're asking me about this, because this has been bothering me for days now. There's just no way. It's not possible that the staff didn't know who it was. It's not possible that he wasn't briefed on who it was.

And also, I'm sure that the Secret Service was tracking exactly who Nick Fuentes is. But here's the thing, what I think about that, I think back to January 6, and the fact that Trump wasn't afraid of the people that showed up there because they weren't after him. And so this is a bedfellow for him. This is someone in his camp. And so he knows exactly who this -- who this person is.

He knows that the message that he sent to these groups, which is also something that really bothers me from a national security perspective, is the fact that by meeting with him, he's legitimizing. He's legitimizing people like Nick Fuentes. He's legitimizing everything that they stand for, including a meeting with Kanye West, who's been, you know -- has espoused anti-Semitism before. I mean, these are two very repulsive people who espouse horrible rhetoric that emboldened these types of extremes across our country.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Well, of course, former president Trump has played the, I don't know who this person is game before. See Donald Trump and David Duke, the 2016 candidacy comments.

Let me come to you, former ambassador. Let me play more of what Kevin McCarthy said today outside the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCARTHY: I don't think anybody should be spending any time with Nick Fuentes. He has no place in this Republican Party. I think President Trump came out four times and condemned him and didn't know who he was.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, he just said he didn't know who he was. He didn't condemn him or his ideology.

MCCARTHY: Well, I condemn his ideology. It has no place in society.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what about the former all of a sudden have that dinner?

MCCARTHY: The president didn't know who he was. And the President has --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But he knew Kanye West. He knew --

MCCARTHY: -- You know what, he's been -- so he knew who Kanye West but he didn't know who Fuentes is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: It's been a week since this dinner. Are you now satisfied that so many days later Kevin McCarthy has now with this comment crossed the threshold of leadership? Has he said enough? What he should say in this position? SCOTT BROWN, FORMER SENATOR OF MASSACHUSETTS: Well, he should have come out the first -- the first hour. I mean, it's a no brainer. And I agree with Olivia, being a former U.S. Senator or U.S. ambassador, it's like getting through Fort Knox everybody knew or should have known, but more importantly, the buck stops with the president. He should know better.

And the fact that Kanye West -- listen, he's an amazing artist, really amazingly accomplished, but he's obviously having some very serious issues. And I wish him well. I hope he gets help. But the president knew or should have known that there were red flags all over the place and he should have immediately, once he found out, number one, kicked him out, but more importantly, denounced it, denounced him and everything he stands for.

[14:40:14]

So, yes, listen, I was disappointed that everything takes so long. It's surprising to me because it's from people like me and others who, I guess, are listening, it's really a no-brainer. You know, just do a mad couple. Listen, I screwed up, do something, but don't say I didn't know the guy. You're the president of the United States.

And Olivia is right, the Secret Service would not let anybody in who hasn't been fully vetted. You have their Social Security number, you have their photos, they do a quick check. They see if they're popping up on any screens. Listen, we can do better.

CAMEROTA: Senator, just to follow up on that, do you think that this hurts Donald Trump's chances of gaining the GOP nomination for the presidency?

BROWN: Yes. Listen, I think that, you know, all of his warts and faults and strengths are out there for everyone to make a determination just like it is with Herschel and Warnock, you know, they have all -- everything out is out there and people are going to weigh and measure each and every one of them. It certainly doesn't help.

I mean, it would have been better if he was meeting with, you know, prime ministers and presidents and business leaders and forming a broad based coalition. But, yes, it makes no sense to me why he would have dinner with him. I'm sorry, I can't offer any type of excuse nor will I even try.

BLACKWELL: Olivia. We heard from Ambassador Brown there mentioned the Georgia Senate race. Let's turn to that now. The final days of the general election, the argument from a lot of Republicans was, listen, we need control of the Senate. That is off the table now. And we wondered why then we didn't see the Governor Brian Kemp campaigning with him. Well, let's listen to what Kemp told Kaitlan Collins on CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Does Herschel Walker share your values?

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): Well, listen, when I'm talking about going to Washington, D.C. and fighting for what Jordan's [ph] need. I'm talking about the border, 40-year high inflation, astronomical gas prices since Joe Biden took office in the agenda that Raphael Warnock has supported up there. I mean, to me, it's that simple in this race. And that's why I'm voting for Herschel Walker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Of course, Senator, we'll come to you after we hear from Olivia. But is that endorsement enough if the -- we need control of the Senate argument, was it enough to get him crossed the line in November?

TROYE: Well, you know, I think it's embarrassing that the Republican Party has put this candidate forward for Senate and now they all have to defend it and they have to tout the party line. And this is what they're dealing with, right?

I mean, I wish that they had picked up more responsible, more fit for office type of individual. I would love to hear Herschel Walker's explanations and proposals for the border security policies that he's going to propose. I can't wait for him to eloquently explain to us what he's going to do.

If he does get elected to the Senate, I think that will be very interesting to hear. But like I mean, this is where we are, they put forward a bad candidate. And now they it's a game of hot potato on how they -- how they manage this, because either way, they're going to double down or they're going to follow the party line. Look, I'm a lifelong Republican voter, but I also believe that we should have people that can actually responsibly govern, get elected to office. And so stop pushing these people. Find better candidates to run.

CAMEROTA: Senator, we're almost out of time, but very quickly, there's been a huge voter turnout already, record breaking. Do you think that bodes well for Herschel Walker?

BROWN: I think it bodes well for the process for democracy. I encourage anybody to get out, pro or con. That's what we expect. We need people to come out and be part of the process. And with regard to the candidates, they both have flaws.

And I agree with Governor Kemp. I mean, bottom line is you want someone who's going to go down and secure the border, deal with our energy independence, a deal with obviously what's happening overseas. You don't want to have somebody who is not doing what, respectfully, Senator Warnock is doing which is basically rubberstamping everything that President Biden's doing and it's not going in the right direction.

So to have that balance, have Kamala come down. Every time there's a vote is part of the process. Republicans have the House and I'm presuming that McCarthy will finally do his job and put bills in front of President Biden to deal with energy independence and deal with the border, instead of just focusing on the Biden laptop and encourage people and tell people why we put them in charge of the House and move forward and actually come up with solutions because this country is hurting right now. We have some very, very serious problems. Winter is coming. Oil is -- I just paid $613 for 100 gallons. You kidding me? We have to do better. We deserve to be and do better.

BLACKWELL: All right. Scott Brown, Olivia Troye, thank you.

BROWN: Thank you. Cheers.

CAMEROTA: You too. We have some amazing images coming out of Hawaii. Two of the world's most notable volcanoes are erupting at the same time. We'll talk about this rare event, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:15]

CAMEROTA: Inflation drove U.S. consumer confidence lower in November. I know you're waiting for me to start.

BLACKWELL: I was. I think everybody was. Yes, everyone is waiting.

CAMEROTA: To its lowest level since July.

BLACKWELL: But online Black Friday sales hit a new record and Cyber Monday sales grew by almost six percent from last year, setting another record. CNN's Alison Kosik joins us now.

So now, if consumer confidence is dropping a bit again, but the sales are going up, what's going on?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's almost like the tale of the two sides of the consumer, right, of what consumers are doing and what they're saying. So what they're doing is they seem to be shopping like there's no tomorrow. When you look at those Cyber Monday figures $11.3 billion spent on one day in one day online. That breaks right goods. That's the best online shopping day of the year, if not, ever.

[14:50:04]

Also, the National Retail Federation says a record 196 people shopped over the weekend, and that certainly blew away expectations as well. So what's going on here with consumer confidence? Consumer confidence is the part of it where consumers are saying they're feeling a certain way. And they're saying that they're feeling uneasy about where the economy is headed.

Consumer confidence falling to its lowest level since July, falling for a second month in a row in November. And they're basically reflecting that. There's uncertainty going forward, that they're feeling pretty gloomy about where the economy is headed.

Why? There are three reasons why. And I bet you can guess which the first reason is, and that's inflation, inflation at 40 year highs. No one likes to spend top dollar for rent, food and clothing, right. Secondly, gas prices. When this survey was taken, gas prices were actually at a high, so confidence took a hit then. And then the third part of it is the jobs market. Look, you know, you can just, you know, watch the news and hear about the tech layoffs, that creates uncertainty as well.

As well as the hiring freeze is going on at a lot of these tech companies as well, and concerned that these kinds of layoffs are spreading to other industries. And we know of other industries as well. Ford laid off 3,000 people in August, and hearing reports of AMC expecting some layoffs as well. That's according to the Wall Street Journal. So that uncertainty is breeding. The part of the consumer who says they don't feel great, but then they're doing something else, they are shopping like there's no tomorrow.

BLACKWELL: Yes, there have been conflicting signals throughout this last stretch --

KOSIK: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- economically and it continues. All right. Alison Kosik, thank you.

KOSIK: You got it.

CAMEROTA: So that just happened. This is fans reacting in Atlanta as Team USA scored a goal against Iran. They are almost at halftime with America now up, one-nothing.

BLACKWELL: Yes. We will bring you the updates from the match. No need to go anywhere else.

CAMEROTA: No, no.

BLACKWELL: Whatever you need to see it's here.

CAMEROTA: Just stay comfortable right here.

BLACKWELL: We got to bring another hour in 10 minutes.

All right. Amazing. After more than five decades, listen to this. A Texas family was just reunited with their daughter who was kidnapped as a baby. We'll tell you how DNA solve this case. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:00]

CAMEROTA: A rare natural phenomenon is happening in Hawaii. Mauna Loa, the world's largest and most active volcano is erupting at the same time as the Kilauea Volcano just 20 miles away. They have not erupted simultaneously since 1984. That's the last time the Mauna Loa was active. And we've just learned that the governor of Hawaii has signed an emergency proclamation today, which allows top officials to take emergency action as they see fit.

Jess Phoenix is a volcanologist and the CEO of Blueprint Earth Jess, great to have you here. So tell us about this rare dual event, and is it dangerous?

JESS PHOENIX, VOLCANOLOGIST: So I just want to preface it by saying I think everybody in the volcanology community is really excited about this. It hasn't erupted in 38 years. And the '84 eruption was the last time that both erupted at the same time. And before that, not since 1924. So we are really excited to get all of the data that's going to be generated by this event and to inform our understanding of how volcanoes work.

But also really exciting for us is right now this eruption is very low risk to anybody because it's not in areas that are populated. So we're looking at really oozy runny lava flows and not very high likelihood of anything explosive. Hawaiian volcanoes usually erupt in a more oozy runny fashion, so the major hazards are volcanic smog, fog, which can cause respiratory issues in local folks, and minor, minor ashfall. But other than that this is a field day for scientists.

CAMEROTA: I'm so happy this is your Super Bowl. Also, I was fascinated to read that because of the slow flow of this lava then most people can out walk this lava flow. See I imagined, you know, just having to run, you know, as fast as you possibly can to avoid catastrophe. But, no, you can just stroll away from it.

PHOENIX: Yes, it's a misconception. We see that a lot when we're doing science outreach about volcanoes. People think lava is the major hazard. But it usually isn't because of the fact that people can get up and walk away. Most blows stay under about 20 miles per hour. So, you know, somewhere in the mid-20s and kilometers per hour.

And they can get faster, but that's usually when the flow hits a channel. So if you imagine like a drainage system for water, it's the same sort of thing. If you channelize a liquid or something moving like a liquid like lava, it'll go faster. But that's not common. We've seen it with Hawaiian eruptions, including Kilauea just a few years ago. But really, the biggest threat is to property, things that we can't move. But generally with an eruption like this, we have plenty of time to help people get out of harm's way.

CAMEROTA: The fact that these are happening simultaneously, did one trigger the other? Or is this random? And does this have anything to do with climate change?