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Biden Pushes for Bipartisanship in Speech; Sanders Blasts Biden over Speech; Biden Spars with GOP; Zelenskyy Visits London; Children Pulled from Rubble in Turkey. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired February 08, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:23]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A very good Wednesday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Erica Hill.

Today, President Biden taking that State of the Union message to the battleground state of Wisconsin. It's part of a two-day swing where he'll be touting his administration's accomplishments and also - which, of course, were laid out during last night's address.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Sounds like the start of a campaign. President Biden's speech set the stage for a likely 2024 bid. He vowed to, quote, finish the job, while making a point to call for unity and bipartisanship, asking to work with Republicans even as he sparred with a handful of Republican lawmakers on a number of topics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I'm not saying it's a majority.

I'm not -- politely not naming them, but it's being proposed by some of you. Look -

So, folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the -- off the books now, right? They're not to be touched? All right. We've got unanimity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: He did get folks to stand up there to pledge their support for Social Security and Medicare.

We do begin this hour with CNN senior White House correspondent MJ Lee.

So, the White House view is that some of that heckling, which got a bit out of hand at times, actually helped the president. What more are they saying this morning?

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jim. The heckling, the booing, even calling the president a liar, White House officials essentially welcomed those moments. In fact, they were literally cheering those moments as they were watching from the West Wing last night. This was precisely the kind of contrast that they hoped to draw between Republicans and the president, sort of painting Republicans as being intransigent and engaging in partisan bickering, whereas the president, they wanted to come off as the adult in the room who was optimistic about the future.

And, of course, all throughout the night we had this reminder, sitting behind the president in the form of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, of the divided Congress that the president now confronts. At moments McCarthy looked stoic as Democrats were cheering on the president. Other times we, of course, saw him trying to shush his colleagues. Obviously warnings that they didn't often heed.

But the president really sort of tried to turn the page on the last two years of his presidency. He talked about the country turning a corner when it comes to the economy or the Covid pandemic, talking about his legislative accomplishments. And if you look at the amount of time that he spent talking about the various issues, you really get a good sense of what some of his top priorities were. Some of the issues that he talked about the most included health care, the economy and infrastructure and policing.

And really the president wanted to send a political message to the members of Congress in front of him that just because Congress is divided now for the next two years doesn't mean that Democrats and Republicans can't continue to work together.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Speaker, I don't want to ruin your reputation, but I look forward to working with you.

You know, we're often told that Democrats and Republicans can't work together. But over the past two years we've proved the cynics and naysayers wrong.

You came together to defend a stronger and safer Europe. You came together to pass one in a generation -- once in a generation infrastructure law, building bridges, connecting our nation and our people. We came together to pass the most significant law ever, helping victims exposed to toxic burn pits. And, in fact -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And we've talked about how the State of the Union speech last night would be sort of a soft launch and a preview of the president's eventual re-election campaign message. And it's why we saw him try to sort of make the case last night that the country is really going to be better off with him leading it for the next two years, perhaps the next six years.

And he is going to be hitting the road later today to take that message with him. He will first travel to Madison, Wisconsin. And we do expect that this will be just the beginning of paving the road for him to make his re-election announcement as soon as in the next couple of weeks.

Guys.

SCIUTTO: Wow.

HILL: And we'll be watching for that official announcement. And, of course, the road trip starting today.

MJ, appreciate it. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Next couple of weeks. That's sooner than some had said.

Well, Republican Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who you may remember from being the White House spokesperson under Donald Trump, delivered a fierce rebuttal to Biden's speech, criticizing the president on a number of topics.

[09:05:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS (R-AR): The dividing line in America is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal or crazy. It's time for a new generation of Republican leadership.

At 40, I'm the youngest governor in the country. And at 80, he's the oldest president in American history. I'm the first woman to lead my state, and he's the first man to surrender his presidency to a woke mob that can't even tell you what a woman is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Dean on Capitol Hill for us this morning.

So, what sort of feedback are you hearing there on The Hill this morning, Jessica?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jim and Erica.

Well, as we all might imagine, this was an opportunity for Democrats in leadership and also rank and file Democrats here on The Hill to really cheer the president and unify behind a Democratic agenda. And it was an opportunity for Republicans and Republican leadership to really present a very different picture. That's pretty typical.

What is less typical that we saw last night was a lot of the yelling from rank and file House GOP members, a handful of hardliners that were yelling, calling the president a liar, as you saw in those clips just a couple of minutes ago. And we even saw the House Speaker Kevin McCarthy shushing them at some points. We know that earlier in the day he had warned them to kind of be on their best behavior, that there were cameras everywhere. And he later said just this morning he doesn't want them to take the bait.

I'll let you listen to what he said just a little bit ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): The president was trying to goad the members.

STEVE DOOCY, FOX NEWS HOST: Right.

MCCARTHY: And the members are passionate about it. But the one thing the president was saying is something that he knew was not true. I just spent an hour with him. I've said it many times before, Social Security and Medicare are off the table. He tries to use that for a political ploy.

We need to be smart. Don't take the bait. Stay with the American public about what we want to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And it's that Social Security and Medicare argument, Jim and Erica, that got everyone all riled up, those House Republicans, and Senate Republicans, riled up. Kevin McCarthy there behind him kind of shaking his head no.

The president appeared to be referring to a proposal by Florida Senator Rick Scott that would sunset all federal legislation, including Medicare and Social Security. That is something that the House speaker has said will not be included in these cuts.

But, again, it was really a unique moment watching that really play out, the back and forth, the president back and forth with the House GOP members who were yelling at him. And it's also worth noting that several years ago -- it just shows how far the decorum has eroded here. Several years ago, when Republican Joe Wilson called then President Obama a liar, you'll remember he was rebuked by the House for that. At this point, it was unexpected. We don't see that a lot. But also, in a way, Jim and Erica, somewhat expected, right?

HILL: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Jessica Dean, you know, I wonder what lesson it teaches to our children about how to respond to points of opinion they disagree with. I always think in those terms. Thanks so much.

With us now, CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp and Natasha Alford, vice president of digital content and senior correspondent for "TheGrio."

Good to have you both on. We won't shout at each other, I promise that. I wonder, S.E. Cupp, you're a conservative. You and I and us together

have watched a lot of State of the Union speeches, good moments and bad. That was a bad moment. It was -- it was just ugly, right? And, again, as Jessica said, some of this is just the nature of the way our political discourse is today. But there's a lot of shouting going at a sitting president that even the Republican speaker was uncomfortable with.

Was it a good political look for Republicans?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it was inside their base, right? I mean, I think this Republican Party, especially under Trump, really conditioned voters to want a politics of revenge where they are yelling out and breaking with the traditional rules. So, don't be surprised, Kevin McCarthy, when you invite disrupters into Congress that you get disruption.

I thought his shushing of his own conference to be remarkable, both because I didn't expect it from him, he hasn't done much to discipline those rowdier members of the House. In fact, he's elevated them. But also because it's so symbolic, right, of his long journey ahead, maybe short journey ahead, as speaker, having to deal with this unruly faction inside his own house, a faction that might indeed get in the way of an agenda he has that by his own admission includes working with president Biden.

HILL: It was interesting just in that vein in terms of working with the president.

[09:10:02]

You had to chuckle a little bit at the president's comment as he introduced him. You know, hope this won't get you in trouble, but we're going to work together here, which he - which we saw the speaker laugh at a little bit.

Natasha, as we look at this and we pull out a little bit more, right, as we're dissecting everything we heard, we know that a lot of what the president was putting out there was also this test run for his likely 2024 re-election big. That's coming, of course, on the heals of polling, and reporting, that is not very favorable toward the president as the Democratic nominee. Six in ten Americans in a "Washington Post"/ABC News poll, either Democratic or Democratic leaning, independents said they would like to see somebody else. Was there anything that was put out last night, Natasha, that you see as changing some of those minds?

NATASHA ALFORD, VP OF DIGITAL CONTENT AND SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, "THE GRIO": I actually think it was the unscripted moments that we were just talking about which really can change hearts and minds. We came in knowing that, you know, the president was kind of an underdog, right, having this record that said one thing, but in terms of the hearts of the people really believing that he is capable of doing another four years or that the accomplishments that he's touting are actually things that they are feeling on the ground, there's this huge disconnect. So, those off script moments where he was jarring and kind of, you

know, going back and forth with Republicans and actually kind of -- kind of tricked them into doing what he wanted them to do, right, which is basically committing to saying that they won't attack Social Security and Medicaid, it showed a mental fitness. It showed, you know, a willingness to go off script. And there are a lot of folks who think that, you know, Joe Biden is just scripted, he's kind of being controlled by other people. And he showed in that moment a real command. I think that is really going to make the difference as much as any of the other broad and, you know, really ambitious policy proposals that he presented.

SCIUTTO: S.E. Cupp, you have the polls about the upcoming election. We did just have an election, though. We had a midterm election where many of those hardline Republican position did not seem to work, certainly underperforming in House races but also in the Senate.

The president tried to focus on issues that he thinks are kitchen table issues that cross party lines, making insulin cheaper, paid family leave, addressing the fact that many big, profitable companies here pay zero percent tax.

Is it good politics for Republicans to stand in the way of proposals like that?

CUPP: Well, it certainly put them on defense. You know, it's odd to see Republicans not stand and clap for lines about more jobs.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

CUPP: I was -- I was pleasantly surprised to see Republicans stand and clap for like made in America, stuff that Republicans are traditionally tied to. So, it did, it put them on the defensive and you would hope that they'll have to explain where they stand on some of those issues that they seemed to disagree with.

Now, I suspect that they'll disagree with the way money will be spent to achieve some of these goals. That's fair. Those are the kinds of arguments I miss, frankly, as a conservative. And while Joe Biden was a little misleading about the debt and the deficit, I was happy to hear him talking about lowering it, something that under President Trump, who exploded both, Republicans were pretty quiet about.

HILL: There's always a lot made of the guests, who is invited. And, frankly, too often recently we see people who are there because of extreme tragedy.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: I'm thinking right now of Mr. And Mrs. Wells, of course the parents of Tyre Nichols. We think of Brandon Tsay, who was there, who stopped the gunman from perhaps killing more in Monterey Park.

Senator Booker, this morning, Natasha, said on CNN he felt what he called a collective moment of hope last night. He said it was a human moment, in his words. SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: Recognizing the grief and the agony in the chamber, recognizing that grief and agony for Tyre Nichols' parents.

I think the question this morning is, does that hope, that collective understanding of grief and agony, does that last beyond what we saw last night and lead to any real action?

ALFORD: I know that the parents of Tyre Nichols are an inspiration to many. I cannot imagine burying a son and then having to show up in this political space, right, and to have, you know, really just this deep sense of purpose out of the pain.

This moment where President Biden said the talk. You knew, he empathized with the fact that so many people do not have to have the talk with their children in the way that black communities have to talk to their children. That moment was one that called on us to be Americans together and to care about the issue together.

So, I think he did a really good job of walking the tightrope, balancing calling for action while, you know, acknowledging, you know, police officers, which can be tricky, right, because there are people who sort of expect Democrats to have a defund the police approach.

[09:15:05]

So, he had to kind of appeal to both groups. And I think that he did a good job of humanizing that moment and letting everyone know that the stakes are higher than ever.

HILL: And they certainly are.

Natasha Alford, S.E. Cupp, great to have you both with us this morning. Thank you.

CUPP: Thank you.

HILL: Just moments ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressing the British parliament in his first trip abroad since that momentous visit here to Washington to the White House. Soon, he's set to meet with King Charles as he presses for additional aid in Ukraine's fight against Russia. We're live.

Plus, CNN also in Turkey, where rescuers are desperately searching, listening for any signs of life under the rubble. The devastating death toll in Turkey and Syria has now passed 11,000 lives.

SCIUTTO: Lord, 11,000 people.

And we hear from the parents of Tyre Nichols this morning on new efforts now to pass police reform, as we are learning disturbing new allegations about the five former officers now charged in their son's killing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [09:20:19]

HILL: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in London right now making this just his second trip outside of his country since Russia invaded almost exactly one year ago.

SCIUTTO: It's quite a visit to one of the allies that's been closest to Ukraine throughout this war. And Zelenskyy has already met with the prime minister. He's addressed parliament as well.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE: We know freedom will win. We know -- we know Russia will lose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Quite a powerful backdrop there.

Next up, a meeting with King Charles. Always sounds interesting to say that. The visit comes as the U.K. announces a new round of sanctions against Russia. It is also stepping up its training of Ukrainian troops.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is live in London, just outside parliament.

Nic, this is quite a trip, a significant appearance, for one of the closest relationships in this war between Ukraine and the U.K. What is the actual function here? Is he looking for more help? Lots of talk about a Russian -- new Russian offensive against Ukraine.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think part of it is not just about new help, he wants fighter jets, and he's got part of that, if you will, that the British are announcing today. They're expanding their training program. They're training Ukrainian troops on the Challenger 2 tanks. Of course, the U.K., the first to commit tanks to Ukraine. They're now going to train Ukrainian fighter pilots on -- to use NATO standard aircraft for the future. No commitment on the aircraft. So, that's something that steps in the direction of what President Zelenskyy wants.

But I think also he's trying to, if you will, future-proof the support, to thank for the support that he's had in the past and future-proof it by coming here and thanking people personally, thanking politicians on both sides of the aisle.

It's been exceptional from the get-go. I have to say, the prime minister driving an hour outside of London to meet President Zelenskyy off his military aircraft when he landed, but then spending that hour talking as they drove in. I was outside 10 Downing Street when President Zelenskyy walked in. I stood outside there when a lot of leaders, U.S. presidents as well, have walked in the building. There was a thunderous applause from all those inside Downing Street as he walked in, thunderous applause when he spoke to all the parliamentarians here today. And I think he kind of hit this speech -- the tone of the speech as always with President Zelenskyy,, fine-tuned to the audience. But there were a couple of moments that stood out, evoking Winston Churchill, thanking Boris Johnson, the former prime minister there in the audience. But he said, in the U.K., your king is an air force pilot. In the Ukraine, our air force pilots are the king, he said, because there are so few of them and they do such a heroic job.

And then he gave an air force fighter pilot's helmet to the parliamentary speaker here. And emblazed on it were the words of "we have the freedom, give us the wings two protect it." Very powerful speech, very emotional, reaching to the core of sort of British identity.

But, obviously, getting at that point, and to your point, Jim, what did he want? He wants fighter planes. Did he lay on the message thick? Yes, he did.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

ROBERTSON: Did he get the applause? A hundred percent.

SCIUTTO: He's great at tailoring his message as well. When he visits the U.S. Capitol, a message about Pearl Harbor. When he visits the U.K., he, of course, mentions the king's military service. Quite a leader.

Nic Robertson, thanks so much.

Well, the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria has now claimed, well, just an eye-popping 11,000 lives. That's just so far. These are drone shots, live ones, of the destruction in Gaziantep, Turkey. There have been, here and there, some signs of hope as rescuers are still finding survivors buried in the rubble, some of them children.

HILL: That drone footage, though, that shot really gives you a sense of just the enormity of the destruction and of this task, in addition to the fact that these teams are racing against freezing temperatures as they try to find any survivors and bring them to safety.

Take a look as this family is rescued. A hopeful crowd looking on.

(VIDEO CLIP)

[09:25:25]

HILL: It gives you chills to see that little girl, other members pulled out of the rubble alive. Look at this little guy.

CNN international correspondent Jomana Karadsheh is live in Turkey this hour with the latest.

And, Jomana, I know that we are trying to be extra sensitive to the fact that they have just called for quiet around you, which means there is a chance that perhaps they heard a survivor.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Erica, we've seen this happen a few times over the past few hours since we've been here. This is -- used to be a 14-story residential building here in Adana. They believe that 100 people were living in this building. And you had these search and rescue teams working night and day around the clock trying to find any signs of life, trying to locate any survivors. But so far, unfortunately, they have only been able to pull dead bodies, at least 13, three of them in just the last hour.

And a short time ago, as you mentioned, we were asked to be quiet. They asked people to get down as well. They don't want people moving around. They're trying to scan the area as well.

So, everyone here, you've got this real nerve-racking wait. We've got hundreds of people here. You've got people who have been displaced, but you also have people who are here looking for their family members, loved ones, relatives.

Down. Down. Get down. Get down. Get down. They're asking us to get down. And we believe this is because they're scanning the building, the wreckage. I'm going to move - I'm going to have to keep my voice down. This is such a delicate operation.

OK. And you've got -- I'm going to ask our colleague, Youssuf (ph), to translate what's going on.

Youssuf, what are they saying?

They're asking everyone to be quiet, as you can see - if, Kareem (ph), if you can just move the camera towards the building so we can see what's going on. Our viewers can see this is a very, very careful and delicate operation that's going on to try and see if they can locate any survivors because so far they haven't been able to.

We've been speaking to so many people here who have been waiting for days trying to locate family members, friends, loved ones. One man was wailing and crying and just asking, why can't they pull him out, referring to his son who was in the building.

And a woman who was telling us that she is here looking for her relatives, a couple and their 14-year-old daughter. The last time she says they heard anything from the family was the 14-year-old daughter messaging a friend saying there's been an earthquake. She says that she's holding on to the hope. She says her faith is getting her through this.

But we also have spoken to people who are beginning to lose hope. Two sisters who are here also looking for their cousin. They say they've been to morgues. They've been to hospitals. And they come here every single day waiting and hoping to find their cousin who was inside the building. But they say right now that hope of finding their cousin alive has turned into the hope that they would be able to pull a body in one piece, as they described it. I mean, it's just heartbreaking scenes here. This nerve-racking wait

that's been going on for days. People just sitting around here in the cold, around the fires, you've got groups of people crying together, comforting each other. I mean, it's just unimaginable what people are going through right now.

And, Kareem, if you can -- if we can just take a look at what's going on at the building, at the -- as you can see, they've still got those search and rescue teams going on. They've stopped the diggers. It's really quiet right now. And just really trying hard to see if they can find anyone under the wreckage.

Again, we were told that about 100 people are in that building. We spoke to a woman who said that she knew a couple who were living on the ninth floor of that building, a young couple, they had a two-year- old daughter and a newborn. And she was just out here waiting, hoping, praying that they will be able to find them.

This has been going on now for more than 60 hours.

[09:30:01]

And so far not a single survivor has been pulled from this building. But everyone here is still hoping.