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Interview with White Flag Podcast Host and Former U.S. Representative from Illinois Joe Walsh; Hakeem Jeffries Chooses Not to Criticize Biden for the DC Criminal Code; Trump and DeSantis Offer Opposing Perspectives and Potential GOP Routes; Struggling to Survive Afghanistan's Deadly Winter; California Snow Emergency Reaches Critical Point; Honoring the Life of Judith Heumann. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired March 06, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Many Democrats opposed overriding the long principle arguing local officials should make their own laws for a congressional interference. President Biden, though, surprised many Democratic lawmakers when he said he would not veto that GOP-led legislation if it passes in the Senate. CNN's Manu Raju joins us now from Capitol Hill.

Look, there are a lot of critics of this measure, including the mayor, saying it's soft on crime. That is a label that Democrats, as we know, do not want to see attached with them, do not want to see attached with President Biden. Walk us through what is happening here, Manu.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there is a lot of frustration among the Democrats, particularly in the House about the weight the White House has handled this issue. Remember this is being pushed by Republicans, first approved the Republican-led house to overturn D.C.'s new crime law that the Republicans characterized as soft on crime.

When that passed the House last month, 173 Democrats voted against it. At that point, the White House put out a statement of administration policy saying that the president had concerns with the Republican-led effort. Saying that D.C. should make its own laws, coming at a time of Democrats pushing for statehood from D.C. But the White House did not explicitly say that the president would sign it or veto it.

But it wasn't until last week when President Biden came up to Capitol Hill, met with Senate Democrats and at that time keep (ph) to inform them that he did not plan to veto the Republican-led effort, essentially allowing it to take effect and to rescind the D.C. law. Now, over the weekend, Hakeem Jeffries, a top democratic leader sidestepped questions when asked about President Biden's handling of this issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES, (D-NY) MINORITY LEADER: Depending on what the Senate does, the president will have to respond one way or another. I have not had an opportunity to talk to the White House yet about the president's view. So, I'm not going to characterize his position, one way or the other, until we've had a chance to talk --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, he said that.

JEFFRIES: -- about that issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But the president did, in fact, say that he plans to let this go into effect. The White House confirmed that that was the position of the president, that he would sign this legislation into law to rescind the D.C. crime law. Other Democrats sharply critical. Some of them telling me they cannot trust the White House, particularly on thorny political issues like this. And as a president, he tries to position himself heading into a potential 2024 re-election bid, but expect us to pass the Senate.

But as soon as Wednesday, I'm told there could be upwards of 70 votes, even more, because a number of Democrats now are siding with the president on this issue, particularly the ones in difficult re- election races themselves in 2024. And even some members of the Democratic leadership like, Patty Murray, telling me that she does plan to side with the president, a position a lot of Democrats are saying that they agree with. Guys.

HILL: Manu Raju, Appreciate the reporting. As always, thank you.

Well, the Republican race of the White House is starting to take shape. We got a glimpse of what could, perhaps, define the GOP nomination. Former President Donald Trump speaking to a crowd of loyal supporters at CPAC over the weekend. While Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who know has not formally announced plans for a 2024 run addressed a sold-out audience at the Raegan Presidential Library.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: In 2016, I declared I am your voice. Today, I add, I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who I have been wronged and I betrayed, I am your retribution. You're your retribution.

GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R-FL): And I think, these liberal states have gotten it wrong. And why are they getting it wrong? I think it all goes back to ideology. I think it goes back to this WOKE mind virus that's infected the left --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Former Illinois Republican Representative Joe Walsh joining us now. He's also the host of the "White Flag" podcast. Good to see you as always. So, you were on over the weekend, speaking with my colleague, Jim Acosta, here in CNN that CPAC is now the base of the GOP. You say, that is where the activists are. Is that base large enough to ensure that Donald Trump is in fact the nominee in 2024? JOE WALSH, HOST, WHITE FLAG PODCAST AND (R) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM ILLINOIS: Oh, Erica, good to be with you. Absolutely, either to re-nominate trust or someone just like Donald Trump. Look, the biggest take-away for America is what we saw at CPAC this weekend is not some Republican Party fringe thing. This is what the party is now. Erica, everybody at CPAC, they represent the voting base of the Republican Party.

The only lane in this Republican Party, if you want to be the nominee for president is the Trumpy lane, which is a lane that is no longer tethered to truth, has given up on the democracy, wants authoritarian, and it's just out and out cruel. DeSantis is trying to occupy that lane as well, but that is the only lane.

HILL: Well, it's interesting when you talk about DeSantis, you know, trying to find that lane or -- there are plenty of people who I say, I want to go in the DeSantis lane, that feels like where they want to be.

[10:35:00]

We just played a little bit from where he was over the weekend, using the favorite word, WOKE. When we look at this, I was really struck, there was a piece in "Rolling Stone", thinking about that word, just about how Republicans have gone all-in on this term, and how young conservatives are really balking at it. One called it a catch-all, saying that a lot of, "Older folks use it if they don't really know what they are referring to and expressing concern that it could turn off the younger voters".

It has become a catchall. We hear it all of the time. It does not seem that a lot of people know what it's used or how it's used. It's being thrown at the wall for everything. Is there a chance that that backfires?

WALSH: Well, Erica, I think it will backfire in a general election because you're right, most Americans, generally don't know what it means, but most Americans are tolerant and empathetic. But in a Republican primary, all you need to do is say that word. Because let's be real, the base of the Republican voter is middle-age and older white folks.

And what Trump and DeSantis try to do, what people on the right now try to do, is make these middle-age and older white folks feel like victims. Like the country is changing and brown and black people are coming into America and you're not going to be safe. This is what, again, this Republican Party is now. And I don't think that DeSantis has a separate lane, pretty much all of DeSantis's support is Trump supporters who just think maybe he's got a better chance to win.

HILL: Looking at where we stand, looking at what the messaging is, this culture wars messaging that's coming from the Republicans, do Democrats have a handle on their rebuttal there?

WALSH: I'll tell you -- I want to scream, Erica, because look, Republicans and I -- Erica, you know, I used to do this HILL: Uh-huh.

WALSH: Republicans and the right wing media people, their entire operation is to scare their voters and scare their listeners. So, they engage in this culture world B.S. all the time and it generally works. The problem for Democrats is Democrats kind of sit back and don't engage which is a big, big mistake because I do believe most Americans when it is coming to the issues of gender and race, most Americans are tolerant and empathetic. They would be with the Democrats on the culture war issues if Democrats fought. And I'm not a Democrat, Erica, but that is my biggest criticism of Democrats is --

HILL: Uh-huh.

WALSH: -- damn it, fight Republicans on these issues. Americans are with you.

HILL: We will be watching. Joe Walsh, good to talk to you this morning. Thank you.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Still ahead, as Afghans face a brutal and deadly winter, United Nations says that millions will need humanitarian aid this year simply to survive. Some of their heartbreaking stories coming up.

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[10:40:00]

SCIUTTO: Millions of people in Afghanistan already suffering from extreme poverty and hunger are now also enduring a brutal winter.

HILL: It's a situation being made even worse -- it seems it can't be, but it made even worse by the Taliban's policies and their response, the international response. The impact on that, CNN'S Anna Coren reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Fresh snow blankets the hilltops of Ghor province in Central Afghanistan, creating the illusion of a winter wonderland, but for those who live here, there is no wonder, let alone glimmer of hope. Simply staying alive is a daily struggle. For this family, their young son lost that battle. Now, they huddle around his hillside grave offering prayers to six-year-old Waheed, who just days ago froze to death.

I miss my brother, and that is why I came to visit him at the graveyard, she says.

Abdul Zaheer moved his family to the townshop of Feroz Koh in Ghor looking for work as a laborer. But with an economic and humanitarian crisis, gripping Taliban controlled Afghanistan, he was unable to make ends meet.

I had nothing to burn to keep the house warm, he explains. I checked on the children during the night and their bodies were numb. I realized my son had died of frostbite. This is a photo of him last year, he says. And this is his dead body.

An unprecedentedly brutal winter has claimed countless Afghan lives this year, but so too, has extreme poverty. This has been exacerbated by the repercussions of the Taliban government's dystopian gender policies and the response by the International Community. Almost a year ago, the Taliban banned the female secondary students from attending school, that has morphed into a nationwide ban of all female education. But it was the Taliban's decision in December banning women from working for non-governmental organizations that forced humanitarian aid groups to abruptly halt or suspend operations.

[10:45:00]

JAN EGELAND, SECRETARY GENERAL, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: There is 28 million Afghans in desperate need at the moment, 28 million. And we're not even reaching a fraction of those.

COREN (voiceover): The Norwegian Refugee Council says, they normally help 700,000 Afghans each year. But their operation has been drastically pared back. It's secretary general recently traveled to Kabul pleading with the Taliban to allow female aid workers to return to work.

EGELAND: It's as this worst hour. It's never been as bad as it is now.

COREN (voiceover): 35-year-old Saforo (ph) wipes away her tears as she grieves for her husband who perished from the cold also in Ghor province. Father and breadwinner for their eight children, the youngest just two. Now, she's wondering how to keep her family alive.

I have no education, she says. My children need food. What should I do?

Three of her children are girls, including 12-year-old Mamlikat (ph) who knows all too well what happens to poor young Afghan girls who reach puberty.

I am worried that if we don't have food, my brothers will be forced to sell or marry me under pressure, she says. I don't want to get married. I'm a kid. I don't want a husband.

U.S. charity Too Young to Wed says, it's been able to it is able to provide emergency aid for the family and many other. But founder, Stephanie Sinclair, says the avalanche of need is overwhelming and they're unable to help everyone.

STEPHANIE SINCLAIR, FOUNDER, TOO YOUNG TO WED: To me, it's unconscionable that the International Community is not paying more attention to what's happening to women and girls in Afghanistan. It is simply just inexcusable that we're not doing everything in our power to try to change the course of what is happening there. We have to do better. COREN (voiceover): And with the U.N. predicting two-thirds of the population will require humanitarian aid this year, Afghan children like Mamlikat (ph) can only hope the world is listening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN (on camera): The U.N. Special Rapporteur to Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, issued his report over the weekend, taking aim at the Taliban's erasure of women and girls from society. This is a huge issue for the International Community and one of the main reasons for international sanctions against the Taliban government and the freezing of billions of dollars in Afghan reserves.

The report said, "Discriminatory denial of women and girls' desires of the fundamental human rights may amount to gender persecution. A crime against humanity." The Taliban is yet to respond to the report. Back to you.

HILL: Perhaps not surprising, Jim --

SCIUTTO: Goodness.

HILL: -- that they have yet to respond.

SCIUTTO: Listen, it's so powerful, the number of people suffering there, you know, the government member early on. The Taliban said, they wouldn't go quite so far in terms of bringing back some of these medieval policies, of course, they have.

HILL: Yes.

SCIUTTO: And then now we're seeing the effects of that.

HILL: And there was a reason people did not believe those words at the time either.

SCIUTTO: Uh-huh.

HILL: Still to come here, parts of Southern California still digging out after a week of intense snowfall. Some people there have been trapped for days. They can't get food, medicine, other supplies. We're going to get you a live update.

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[10:50:00]

HILL: We want to take a moment this morning to honor the life of Judith Heumann, a trailblazing disabilities rights activist who passed over the weekend. Heumann lost her ability to walk after a polio infection at the age two in the '60s. She attended a summer camp for disabled people which was a focus of the Oscar nominated documentary "crip camp."

SCIUTTO: She later sued to be able to teach in New York City schools after she was initially denied because, well, she was in a wheelchair, that's all. Heumann also lobbied for legislation that eventually led to the Americans with Disabilities Act, it's had enormous impact. She served in both the Clinton and Obama administrations. Judith Heumann was 75 years old.

HILL: In Southern California, crews are still working around the clock to clear roads after a record snowfall trapped residents in the San Bernardino mountains.

SCIUTTO: Yes, I mean, the snowfall has been incredible there, nearly 100 inches of snow in Crestline. And nearby Lake Arrowhead, it caused roofs to collapse, trees, massive ones, snapping. Now, emergency crews trying to find residents isolated by all this now to get them food and supplies. CNN's Camila Bernal, she's in Crestline, California this morning.

I wonder, we were talking about some of this people last week. Are there still folks who are isolated, right, and can't get what they need.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, for days, more than 10 days, actually, and they are so frustrated because they too are dealing which is walls of snow. This is what the authorities are dealing with, trying to clear the roads.

I want to show you what they're doing. So, they're clearing the main roads, and what we have been told is that 80 percent of the county roads have been clear. I also want to show you a view from above where we are right now, and that just shows you how those streets are cleared. The problem is that a lot of the side streets, the smaller roads, those have not been plowed. And a lot people in this area live on these side streets.

So, they're not able to come to this area. We are actually at the supermarket, the only supermarket in town where the roof collapsed. So, this is an area where they are going to have donations. But again, a lot of people who live further up the mountain cannot even get to the supermarket to come get food because they are not able to walk here. The ones that can are doing everything they can to walk here.

[10:55:00]

I talked to some ladies who came yesterday, and they said food was gone by noon. So, they are trying again today because they desperately need -- she was asking butter and milk. And so, that's what's frustrating for a lot of these people who have been stuck here for so long. Authorities say, they are working 24/7. That they are doing everything they can but they have apologized for how long this is taking. And there is the need for so many things here, and this is what the residents are asking for. Jim, Erica.

SREENIVASAN: Yes, they need the help and fast. Camila Bernal, thanks so much.

BERNAL: Yes.

HILL: Thanks to all of you for joining us today. I'm Erica Hill. SCIUTTO: I'm Jim Sciutto. "At This Hour with Kate Bolduan" starts right after a short break.

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