Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Biden Departs For European Trip, NATO Summit; U.S. Says It Killed ISIS Leader In Eastern Syria; Trump And Rivals Hit Campaign Trail. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired July 09, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:06]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Right now, President Biden is on his way to a high-stakes trip to Europe as Russia's war in Ukraine rages on. During his five-day visit, Biden will meet with leaders in the UK and Finland, and in between those two stops, attend a critical NATO Summit.

The Summit comes just days after President Biden approved giving controversial cluster munitions to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia, munitions that nearly all NATO members have banned.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is in London awaiting the president's arrival. So Arlette, how is the president preparing for what is likely to be a very important week?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly will, Fred, and President Biden is flying over on Air Force One at this moment, will arrive here in London in just a few hours to kick off this three-country trip.

Now, the president tomorrow will first meet here with British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and then he will travel to Windsor castle where he will have a meeting with King Charles, the first time the two men will meet since the King's coronation in May. The two men are expected to discuss climate issues, which is a key priority for King Charles.

But after the trip to the United Kingdom, President Biden will then travel on to the NATO Summit, which is really the centerpiece of his trip to Europe this week. And after that, he will travel to Finland where he will meet with the country's president, as well as Nordic leaders.

But at that NATO Summit, the issue of the war in Ukraine will be the top focus for allies throughout that two-day Summit. These allies want to show this continued unity and show of support and assistance that they can offer Ukraine in the face of this war that's being waged by Russia.

But there is one issue that is already up for debate amongst allies and that is the potential roadmap for Ukraine to potentially join NATO down the road. President Biden says that now is not the time for NATO -- for Ukraine to join NATO, saying that the war still continues with Russia and also arguing that there are certain conditions that Ukraine will still need to meet. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think it is ready for membership in NATO, but here is the deal.

I spent, as you know, a great deal of time trying to hold NATO together because I believe Putin has had an overwhelming objective from the time he launched 185,000 troops in Ukraine and that was to break NATO.

He was confident in my view, and men in the intelligence community, he was confident he could break NATO. So holding NATO together is really critical.

I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment in the middle of a war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: And another issue that will be a focus of this NATO Summit is Sweden's bid to join the Alliance, which is currently being held up by Turkish President Erdogan.

Erdogan believes that Sweden has been harboring groups that they consider to be terrorists.

Now President Biden has said that he is hopeful and optimistic they would be able to clear these hurdles to get Sweden into NATO. And in fact, I'm told President Biden spoke by phone with Erdogan as he was flying over at this moment on Air Force One to the United Kingdom. So that is another issue that will arise during the Summit. It is unclear whether they could come to any type of resolution. But it's just another issue at play as this is a very high-stakes moment for the future of the NATO Alliance -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Arlette Saenz, keep us posted on the president's visit. Thanks so much.

All right, new today, the US military says it killed an ISIS leader in Eastern Syria on Friday. The announcement was made by US Central Command earlier today. CNN's National Security producer, Haley Britzky joining me now from Washington.

Haley, what do we know about the person who was targeted?

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY PRODUCER: Right, so we know that this was an ISIS leader according to Central Command. His name is Usama al-Muhajir. We are still learning more information about what his role was exactly in the organization. But this is just really the latest of ISIS operatives killed in Iraq and Syria. Just last month in June, 13 ISIS operatives were killed in the two countries by US forces and what is interesting about what happened on Friday, in addition to the mission itself is that the three MQ-9 Reaper drones the US used for this mission are the same drones that had been harassed by Russian aircraft earlier that day.

We saw three instances of that in as many days last week, and so, it really underscores sort of the activity that we are continuing to see in Syria and bumping up against Russia in that way.

WHITFIELD: All right, so talk to us too now about the US saying that it killed 10 members of Al-Shabaab in airstrikes in Somalia overnight.

BRITZKY: That's right. So three airstrikes in Somalia which was announced by US-Africa Command today killed Al-Shabaab militants.

[15:05:05]

No indication so far that the strike overnight was related at all to the strike that we saw on Friday. But again, this is something that the US military regularly is announcing. They are regularly partnering with the federal government of Somalia to assist in in this organization in targeting Al-Shabaab.

And so it really underscores again, just the activity we continue to see in these areas as the US has largely turned its eyes away from the Middle East and Africa to focus on the Pacific, to focus on Russia and Ukraine. There is still a very active US military presence in these areas continuing to carry out missions like those we saw this weekend.

WHITFIELD: All right, Haley Britzky, thanks so much for that.

All right, there may be a small thawing of chilling relations between China and the US on the horizon. Right now, US Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen is on her way back from a trip to China, where she called, or she, you know, described her talks as substantive.

CNN's Will Ripley explains why this trip could prove to be so important.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The world is big enough for the US and China to thrive, not to mention the fact there are more than 190 other countries and territories that also want to thrive and survive, and yet could be at risk if there was some sort of a massive military confrontation or war between these two nuclear armed nations with enough warheads to take out the world many times over.

And so for the US and China and the rest of the world, the progress that was made in Beijing, while, it may not appear to be earth shattering in terms of a big deliverable deal on one specific thing, it perhaps experts say, did something even more important than that, and that is to set up a line of communication that is reliable, stable, and at a high enough level that if a call needs to be made, if there needs to be an urgent conversation to gain clarity about something, to avoid a misunderstanding, to avoid a military clash that could create a series of events, that would be potentially catastrophic.

And we saw close calls after close calls in recent months in years in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea between the US and China and what was scary about that, a lot of experts said was that they just were not talking.

Now, they are talking. Maybe not necessarily talking at the military level, yet, that's a little more tricky and complicated than at the economic level, but certainly, the economic relationship between the US and China is a very powerful peacekeeping force, when you consider the fact that they -- and both countries will acknowledge this -- they are so interlinked, that essentially trying to decouple the US and Chinese economies, Secretary Yellen said would be impossible. And it would also be absolutely devastating for both countries' economies, and not to mention those other 190-plus around the world.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead this hour: Have you heard of the energy drink called "Prime"? Well, it's become hugely popular, but it's also raising concerns over its consumption by children. Why the US Senate majority leader was calling on the FDA to investigate.

Plus, this week, the planet's temperature soared to a level that even scientists are saying is likely the warmest in 100,000 years. Yes, you heard that right. We will explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:12:37]

WHITFIELD: All right, former President Donald Trump has returned to the campaign trail and he is using his legal troubles to rally his supporters lashing out at prosecutors and claiming the probes are actually helping him politically.

Here is CNN is Jeff Zeleny.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If I weren't leading in the polls by so much, they wouldn't be indicting me.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Donald Trump back on the campaign trail in Iowa trying to use the indictments and investigation surrounding him as a weapon to rally Republicans around his quest to win back the White House.

TRUMP: They want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom. ZELENY (voice over): The former president making clear he is consumed by the special counsel's intensifying probe of his attempts to cling to power and overturn the results of the 2020 election.

TRUMP: Every time I get a subpoena, you know, my polls go up, I get more and more subpoenas. Report to a grand jury. He's killing Biden, he's killing them all.

ZELENY (voice over): Before his appearance in Council Bluffs, advisers told CNN, Trump would focus on confronting a leading Republican rival --

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hello Iowa.

ZELENY (voice over): Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

TRUMP: He would be a total disaster.

Every Iowan also needs to know that Ron DeSantis totally despises Iowa ethanol.

ZELENY (voice over): But Trump stepped on his own attack lines portraying himself as a victim of prosecutors trying to derail his candidacy.

Trump returned to Iowa as many of his Republican rivals bluntly questioned his ability to win a general election. As they seek to gain attention in a crowded field of candidates, some contenders are taking to the airwaves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Small town boy, self-made business leader.

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The radical left have chosen a culture of grievance over greatness.

ZELENY (voice over): Others are shaking hands introducing themselves to one voter at a time. Former Vice President Mike Pence implored Republicans to turn the page to avoid losing in 2024.

MIKE PENCE (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I honestly believe that different times call for different leadership.

ZELENY (voice over): More than six months before the presidential nominating contest begins in Iowa --

(CROWD chanting "USA.")

ZELENY (voice over): Republicans are a party divided between Trump excitement and Trump fatigue.

Starlyn Perdue who leads the Pottawattamie County Republican Party and is staying neutral in the primary is uncertain how that divide will be settled.

STARLYN PERDUE, LEADS THE POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY: There are people that are still very much pro-Trump; other ones that are exploring their options. And so it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

I think, truly, it will just be time will tell on how it will impact the election.

[15:15:00]

ZELENY (on camera): With the Iowa caucuses set to open the Republican presidential contest in early January, one thing is clear, Trump's campaign and his legal case have simply one argument behind them. The former president trying to use this indictment and investigations as a weapon to rally support among Republicans.

The question is, can any other candidate break through and challenge him one-on-one.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Council Bluffs, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, joining me now to talk more about Trump's legal troubles is Michael Moore. He is a former US attorney.

So great to see you.

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER US ATTORNEY: Good to be with you.

WHITFIELD: Okay, so not only on the campaign trail do we see the former president who is attacking the prosecutor, but he's also of course, turning to social media and doing the same for several days now.

He has actually called the special counsel, Jack Smith, deranged, and a wacko prosecutor and even claimed, quote -- and I'm quoting him, "he looks like a crackhead to me."

So I mean, this is the former president describing the special counsel. Might he be shooting himself in the foot? Or does it seem not to matter? Because he is the former president?

MOORE: Yes, I think it probably would have mattered some years ago prior to the first Trump administration. And for some reason, all our norms of what we accepted from candidates and what we accepted in cases has changed, and I think much to the worse.

You know, Jack Smith's got thick skin. These career prosecutors have thick skin, that's not a big deal. It may have some impact on their family, just how they feel about it. Certainly, it calls into issues about safety. That's something to think about.

It's not going to impact his legal case, necessarily, except that it might be the gas in the engine that Jack Smith needs just to get him, because it is an ignorant move by the former president.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So the sticks and stones, maybe not so much bothering him, but when it when it leads to threats, you know, and whether it's Jack Smith, whether it's the New York district attorney, whether it means their own personal security is impacted, things could potentially change.

MOORE: I think that's right. I mean, you may see some judges coming in at some point and say, look, we're not -- we're going to have a gag order. We're not going to talk about these people as it goes.

But as I say, I mean, Jack Smith is likely sitting there saying, you know, sticks and stones now, I'm going to break your bones. I mean it maybe the thing that gets him particularly motivated in the case.

WHITFIELD: So there could potentially be more indictments coming the way of Donald Trump, right? There are some -- there are multiple investigations. In Georgia, the Fulton County district attorney has hinted that charges in the Trump-Georgia election probe could come in early August. And we know the special counsel is also investigating him for January 6th.

So do you think, it is likely whether it be for the former president or perhaps some of his allies that they are going to be looking at more indictments as early as this summer?

MOORE: I don't think there's really any question. I think that the DA here in Fulton County has said she is likely to move forward. I think she did this whole year long, special grand jury process. So I think she is probably going to follow through with that and have something come out.

And you may see another indictment as it relates to January 6 from Jack Smith. I mean, he has done -- he has made no secret about people he has subpoenaed. He's gotten some aids close to the White House. He's talked to people in other states about this effort to maybe use fake electors. So I think you will see that.

The issue is whether or not it will galvanize the Trump base, or is it something that's going to start to peel them off. All indicators are right now that it is just galvanizing that base around him and not a good thing, but that's really what it looks like he is doing.

The prosecutors are facing sort of an uphill battle on three fronts. One is public perception. One is what evidence will they have to move the cases forward, and then the calendar.

And so the calendar is working against them. The longer we wait to see indictments, the more likely it is that you're going to find courts who are willing to say, I'm not going to let you investigate a case, prosecutor, for two years, and then expect somebody who is the leading Republican candidate come in and have to forfeit his position because of your timetable.

WHITFIELD: So let's talk more about that calendar because right now, the documents case by in Florida scheduled trial date for August; Jack Smith, prosecutors want to move it to December, Alvin Bragg's case, hush money, New York, March of next year. And of course, it will be the strategy of Donald Trump and his

attorneys to delay, delay, file motions, et cetera. However, we're talking about alleged offenses that took place before he threw his hat into the ring for re-election.

So will judges you know, acquiesce to delaying some of these cases, simply because he is on the campaign trail, or would there be other reasons why perhaps these trials don't -- not all of them would take place before the election season heats up?

MOORE: Yes. I think there will be an appetite for delay of the cases by the courts. Remember, as he goes into this, as crazy as he has been and his actions are, and as despicable as they've been, he enters into this with a presumption of innocence.

So basically, you're talking about taking a defendant and saying you're presumed innocent and now we're going to cost you the presidency of the United States by making you sit in a criminal trial for six or eight weeks, and I just think that's unlikely at this point.

[15:20:12]

The other problem that the prosecutors have is they want to make sure that this does not appear in any way to be partisan, that this is not some effort to take him off the ballot. And so any type of particularly loud objection they make to try to move the cases forward, especially when you have democratically elected DAs, local prosecutors, that starts to look like it's an effort and a concerted effort to do that.

And so a prosecutor wants to make sure that people have confidence in what they do, ultimately the outcome of the case and to not do something to cast a light that looks like they're showing favoritism.

So the department has a long-standing policy of not interfering in elections. And so if they treat him different now, then that's going to even be more apparent that somehow Trump has been singled out and you can see what he's doing on the campaign trail. That is he'll thump his chest and say now they're treating me different than they have every other defendant in the past.

WHITFIELD: Oh, fascinating. Michael Moore, great to see you.

MOORE: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right, coming up, Planet Earth feeling the heat this week as temperatures rose to the highest level on record, the growing concerns on the effects of all of that heat, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:44] WHITFIELD: All right, last week was the hottest ever recorded here on our planet. There were record-breaking temperatures everywhere from China to Mexico but scientists warn this is only the beginning as we see the growing impacts of climate change.

CNN meteorologist, Britley Ritz has more.

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thankfully, the past two days, we didn't break our global average temperature record, but we did four times this past week.

It started on Monday at 62.62 degrees and we hit another record on Tuesday at 62.92 degrees. We tied that record on Wednesday and then brought in new numbers, a new record on Thursday at 63.01 degrees Fahrenheit.

What's going on?

We've got a lot of land in the northern hemisphere, so that new record of 63.01 degrees Fahrenheit, the previous record before all of this week was set back in 2016 at 62.46 degrees, so that just kind of puts things into perspective.

So there's all that land in the northern hemisphere and land heats up a lot faster than water does. Plus, we're also dealing with what's called an El Nino. An El Nino focuses more on our sea surface temperatures, and they're typically warmer, and in the Pacific, we noticed the trade winds start to weaken.

As that happens, all of that warmer water gets pushed over toward our Pacific coasts of the Americas and we are noticing it all over the world.

El Nino is a teleconnection pattern, so it doesn't just happen in one area, it happens all across the globe. So in the North Atlantic, we have five degrees Celsius above where we should be, and that directly correlates to our land. So sea surface temperatures work with our land temperatures as well.

So the UK wound up seeing the hottest June on record at 60.4 degrees Fahrenheit, and by the 2050s, that's going to be a regular occurrence. Beijing, saw over the past five days, 104 degrees. And then we've only reached that six other times since 1951.

Notice a small cooldown for a second time before we ramp it back up as we come into next week, and this line shows you an average, so where we should be, around 88 degrees, we will be well into the 90s.

In the United States also dealing with this, too. We have an excessive heat warning that now has been issued for Southern California as well as Southern Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Albuquerque all the way down into southern parts of New Mexico under heat advisories that are announced extended back into Southern Texas. El Paso under that excessive heat warning as well.

Notice temperatures over the next three days, a good five degrees above where they should be. Phoenix trying to push 115 degrees and that will likely be the case as we come into the middle to late of next week.

WHITFIELD: Oh incredible -- 107 to 115 degrees, unbearable. Thank you, Britley Ritz.

All right, let's bring in Bill McKibben. He is a distinguished scholar at Middlebury College and the founder of Third Act.

Bill, great to see you.

As you sweat it out there on the patio, it maybe feels a little cooler there in Vermont, though. You've got a little breeze coming in.

BILL MCKIBBEN, DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR AT MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE: It's been hot, but the main problem in Vermont has been the excessive smoke pouring down from Canada as the biggest wildfires in history set off by record temperatures across Canada.

You know, yesterday last night up at the Arctic Circle, it was a hundred degrees in the northwest territories of Canada. It was as hot as it's ever been measured that far north.

WHITFIELD: It is so hard to believe. I mean, what are your thoughts and concerns about why we are at this juncture? Why these numbers are so high?

MCKIBBEN: Yes, of course. There is no mystery sadly about why we're here. I mean, I wrote the first book about what we now call climate change what we then called the greenhouse effect back in the 1980s when I was in my 20s and scientists knew exactly what was going to happen. If we kept burning coal and gas and oil and putting carbon in the atmosphere, the temperature would inevitably go up. That's what's happening.

The only small piece of good news is that the same thing that's doing us in, the sun could be our salvation here.

[15:30:02]

You'll note that the grid actually stayed on in Texas over the last week despite those incredible record temperatures. That's because there is now enough solar power on the grid that really can move up some other things.

If we move fast towards sun and wind and batteries right now, we can't erase the rise in temperature we've already gotten, but we might be able to keep it from getting a whole hell of a lot worse and I use that word "hell" advisedly.

WHITFIELD: Oh, wow. Great points.

All right, so here, you wrote about this. You're first writing about this in your 20s. You're still writing about it and trying to get the world's attention. Your most recent piece in "The New Yorker" last week, and you talked about the human effects on climate change and the need to look at the so called Degrowth Movement. What do you mean by that?

MCKIBBEN: Well, I mean, you know, we learned about climate change in the 1980s. Since that time, humans have put more carbon in the atmosphere than in all of human history before.

Our acceleration of everything has become a huge problem. It is worth noting that the day we set the world temperature record was also the day we set the record for the most flights in the air that there have ever been.

Those airplanes were by themselves weren't causing climate change, they're only three or four percent of the problem, but they are indicative of why it is that things have gotten out of control.

So while we need to grow very fast the green energy -- the sun, the wind, the batteries -- we don't need, at least in the rich countries of the world to be rapidly expanding the size of our economies. We've got to figure out how to slow things down, mellow things out, because otherwise, we're just going to roast and that's what the scientists have told us.

We should have paid attention 30 years ago, maybe this is the slap upside the head that we needed to get us to pay attention.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Maybe this is the wake-up call. I mean, dang, Bill, you know, we're our worst enemies. You're making it loud and clear, you know. So there are real challenges, right, to implementing this degrowth. And I mean, this is more of what you said in your article that, you know, "Climate change by contrast is not happening slowly. We've been told by climate scientists around the world that we have to cut emissions in half in six years, in order to meet the Paris targets. If we don't, the toll on the poorest and the most vulnerable people will rise sharply."

So I mean, how do we get this message across?

MCKIBBEN: It is -- that's the hardest message, it is a time to test. Our political system, as you know, is not geared to move fast. But we have to move fast here. The technology is available.

In the last decade, engineers have cut the price of solar power, wind power, and batteries by 90 percent. We live on a planet where the cheapest way to produce power is to point a sheet of glass at the sun.

We're capable of taking advantage of that, but at the moment, the fossil fuel industry and all their political enablers have us locked in a place where we're not making progress fast enough.

That's what this heat should be telling us. It's time to go into an all-out effort, an emergency effort.

Look, the world is more or less literally on fire. When your house is on fire, you act differently than when it isn't. Now is the moment to go into action.

WHITFIELD: Bill McKibben, great pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much. Yeah, , we all better hurry up.

MCKIBBEN: Good to see you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

All right, still ahead, it is an energy drink wildly popular among young adults. Have you heard about it? Well, now a US senator, Chuck Schumer is calling for the FDA to investigate that drink right there, it is called Prime. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:38:04]

WHITFIELD: A warning today about a sports drink that is all the rage with the young people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): We have created our own drink company.

The fastest growing sports drink in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh yes, Well, my youngest kids were just asking about this drink, Prime sports drink hit the market in 2022 and according to YouTube stars, Logan Paul and KSI, who created the beverages, it has racked up nearly $250 million in sales in its first year.

But despite a warning that children under the age of 18 should not consume Prime beverages, the drinks are heavily marketed to kids, which has US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calling for the FDA to investigate because the drink is high in caffeine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): One of the summer's hottest status symbols for kids is not an outfit, it is not a toy, it is a beverage, but buyer and parents beware, because it is a serious health concern for the kids it so feverishly targets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So the drink prime packs 200 milligrams of caffeine per 12 ounces, which is the equivalent to about six Coca-Cola drinks or nearly two Red Bulls.

Joining me right now is Dr. Edith Bracho Sanchez, a pediatrician, and a mom.

Doctor, you joined Senator Chuck Schumer today. What are your biggest concerns about this drink? Particularly, you know, besides the caffeine, the high caffeine content, but what are your concerns about it being marketed to young people? DR. EDITH BRACHO SANCHEZ, PRIMARY CARE PEDIATRICIAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, IRVING MEDICAL CENTER : Fredricka, that's exactly right. My biggest concern is that it is being marketed to young people.

I think we're kidding ourselves thinking that just because it has a label in the back of a can that says should not be consumed by people under the age of 18 that that's going to stop kids who are hanging out with their friends this summer who are tasting different flavors of this drink from consuming it.

[15:40:11]

So it is the high amount of caffeine, which unfortunately gives you a rush and then a crash, which unfortunately can also have all kinds of consequences for the health of young kids and the fact that it is being targeted the way that it is.

WHITFIELD: Okay, so remind people, what are the consequences?

SANCHEZ: Yes, I think you know, first to remember that just because this is an energy drink doesn't mean that it's giving you actual energy, right? What we're talking about is a stimulant that is going to give you a rush followed by a crash, as I was saying.

And then when it comes to young kids, we're talking about them being very vulnerable to the jitters, the nervousness, the anxiousness. We're talking about potential digestive issues, disruptions of the sleep cycle, headaches.

I mean, really, we're talking about bodies and brains that are still in development and this can have serious consequences for them.

WHITFIELD: So in April, Prime ranked sixth, I understand in sports drink sales in the US, but I mean, is it an energy drink or a sports drink? Or is that interchangeable?

SANCHEZ: So my understanding from this company is that they have two different drinks, a hydration drink, and an energy drink. That hydration drink is not necessarily what we're talking about here. Although as a physician and a mom, my preferred beverage for hydration is water. You can add some flavors at home, if you like it flavored, but really, water is the best source of hydration.

But what we're talking about having very serious consequences to the health of kids is the energy drink and that is because as you mentioned, Fredricka, of the high amounts of caffeine that it contains.

WHITFIELD: I see, so we're looking at graphic now. We're talking about hydration drinks, which are sports drinks, like Gatorade, Powerade, and all of that. You see how prime kind of stacks up with it.

Now your other big concerns are, you know, how it is being marketed. I mean, here it is, an energy drink as you put it 200 milligrams of caffeine. It is being marketed directly to kids or by virtue of the fact that the influencers are kind of the hip folks to a lot of young people.

SANCHEZ: That's exactly right. It's just celebrity backing, right? It's the fact that the cool kids are doing it. And it's the way that it is advertised, even the way that it's packaged. It's really hard to distinguish the hydration versus the actual energy drink that we're talking about as being harmful. How are you able to tell the difference between the two?

And then I think, we're kidding ourselves, Fredricka, to think that a warning is going to stop kids from consuming this.

We've seen this happen before with other products in the past. Kids go for it when it's packaged in this way for them.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Doctor. And of course, we did reach out to Prime for a response on the company's website. The Fact Page states that Prime Energy contains 200 milligrams of caffeine per 12 ounce can. Prime Energy is not recommended for children under the age of 18. Women who are pregnant or nursing or individuals who are sensitive to caffeine.

So that's the response at least by way of the label and the website from Prime, but we've not heard from them directly in our reaching out to them.

Dr. Edith Bracho Sanchez, thanks so much. Glad you could be with us. Appreciate it.

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, the new CNN Original Series, "See It Loud: The History of Black Television" celebrates the creators behind Black TV and looks at the impact that it's had on American culture overall.

After the break, we'll be talking to Real Housewives star, Kandi Burruss. We'll be talking to her about her career in television, on stage, and music, all of it and what she sees as the future of the industry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:48:22]

WHITFIELD: All right, today, with shows like "Insecure" "Black-ish" and "Abbott Elementary" among many Black-produced, written and starred in shows on mainstream networks, the words Golden Age are now being associated with Black television. But it's taken a really long time to get here in the near 100 year history of television.

The new CNN Original Series "See It Loud: The History of Black Television" celebrates the creators behind Black television and looks at the impact it's all had on American culture overall. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think about the history of Black television, and really think about progress.

For the longest time, we were footnotes in history.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is so important for us to have African- American representation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We talk about things that nobody in this country was willing to have a discussion about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was like, Martin, can you believe they call us icons?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was one of the first times I saw myself in the sci-fi genre.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That show was so successful it launched Bravo Network.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have Tyler Perry who owns a studio. In 1950, you could never have imagined it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was an era to be as loud as possible and as Black as possible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:` We are the story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, joining us right now is actress, producer -- I mean, the list is long, I should like take a deep breath first -- singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, and of course you'll recognize her from "Real Housewives of Atlanta," among other projects, so many projects, Kandi Burruss, great to see you.

KANDI BURRUSS, TV PERSONALITY, ACTRESS, PRODUCER, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: Thanks for having me.

[15:50:05]

WHITFIELD: Oh fantastic. I'm telling you, you have influenced so many because you have done so much. And I've got to read my notes because I wrote down just a little tiny taste of the many things that you have done as a songwriter for TLC, Destiny's Child, Pink, Ed Sheeran, and so many others; as a singer on Escape, Broadway producer, actress, and of course, as a star on "Real Housewives" and you've probably been one of the longest running stars on "Real Housewives of Atlanta," right?

BURRUSS: I am the longest running housewife.

WHITFIELD: The longest?

BURRUSS: Overall franchises.

WHITFIELD: Oh, be very proud of that. Oh, that's so wonderful. BURRUSS: I guess, with 14 seasons.

WHITFIELD: Yes, longevity. It's meaningful. And so you know, as you are continuing to make your mark on the industry -- television, on stage music, et cetera -- who along the way influenced you in television?

BURRUSS: Wow, that's a good question. Right off the top of my head, I have to go straight to Queen Latifah and the reason being is, I admire the fact that she has been able to wear so many different hats, and be successful in so many different lanes.

And when I was like, 19 years old, I saw her win the Sammy Davis Jr. Award because she was a television producer, an actress, you know, she wrapped. She had a management company, she got so many things, and so she won that award.

And I was sitting in the audience, and I told my group member, Tiny, I said, I'm going to get that award one day.

WHITFIELD: And you're on your way.

BURRUSS: Because -- yes, the next day, I started working towards it.

WHITFIELD: That's amazing. And Queen Latifah, I mean, I love her on "The Equalizer" right now. I think, too -- yes.

BURRUSS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: She is representative of a type of longevity, endurance.

BURRUSS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And making adjustments along the way.

BURRUSS: That's what I appreciate about it. Because, you know, sometimes when you start off in one lane, right, she started off as an artist in music industry. So did I, and people want to put you in a box.

They want to act like you, oh, if you decide that you want to be an actress, and then they're like, oh, yes, she is just another one of those artists that think that they can act?

No, like, she made it real. She made it like you can really do all of these things, and so seeing her do that, it put that thing in me that yes, okay, I can make it happen as well.

WHITFIELD: Oh, and you have, and you continue to do so. "See It Loud," we were talking about, you know, really the evolution of Blacks in television, right?

I mean, we're talking about Black TV, but really, it's much bigger than that. I think about things and shows, creations that influenced me on television, you know, "Good Times." I mean, I'm old enough or seasoned enough, I should say, right, to Flip Wilson was on television.

You know, a different world, a different world, Kandi, a time when I was finishing up at my HBCU of Howard University. So that made a huge impact. But I think a lot of folks, when they when they hear the word Black television, they're thinking it's only influential to Black audiences.

But instead, all of these productions have been influential to American culture overall.

BURRUSS: Oh, for sure.

WHITFIELD: Did you ever think that this day, you know, would arrive at this place where, you know, it has become mainstream, really, for everyone to see "Black-ish," Grown-ish," "Insecure" and big fans of it.

BURRUSS: Yes, I think this day has been long coming. Just as a Black woman in the Black culture, we have always been on the forefront of what's hot, right? We've always set the tone for you know, what's hip, what is hot, and people kind of followed our trends.

And with that being said, for a long time, I didn't think we got the respect that we deserve when it came to being able to have more television shows, more movies, more -- because we were always told that our shows and the things that we did weren't going to be profitable if it was all Black.

WHITFIELD: Remember, it was Tyler Perry, he reiterated that and then he changed the dialogue and the --

BURRUSS: Yes, we changed the game. And I think that that is important. Now, it is like -- now it is becoming normal for people to see so many shows that show Black, you know, actors and actresses being the leads and not necessarily having to be the side person.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

BURRUSS: You know.

WHITFIELD: You've been a star on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" for a really long time now since the second season.

BURRUSS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Right? And, you know, I guess, when you first add this opportunity, and it was, I guess, it advertises, this is a place of, you know, Black women, influential, accomplished. Here is the show. This is what life is like on a regular basis. At the time when you embarked on this, did you think it would be -- it would catch on the way it has? How did this --

BURRUSS: I definitely did not.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

BURRUSS: Okay.

WHITFIELD: Staying power.

BURRUSS: So when I first decided to do it, it was kind of looked down upon from some of my peers that are Black, because, you know, of course, a lot of people look at reality TV, they see some of the arguments and the cattiness and they're like it's not a good representation of Black people.

So some friends of mine were like or people that I come in contact with told me and they were like yes, I don't know if you should do that. You know, that's not a good representation of us.

[15:55:09]

And I said, well, if you feel like I am a good representation of you, why would you want me to be on there? Because I feel like this platform has allowed people -- the great thing about "Real Housewives of Atlanta," it's like, we set the tone that yes, there are a lot of Black people who are doing well for themselves, who everybody isn't necessarily a rapper or a singer, like everybody has -- just comes from different lifestyles, different walks of life, and you see the success.

And a lot of times before that, we weren't being able to see the success on a major platform from everyday Black women. That wasn't necessarily a scripted television show, you know, and that was a thing that I felt like, helped in the culture as far as like when they show -- when I saw that our show was super, super successful, then all of a sudden, you saw so many other reality shows, especially based in Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

BURRUSS: And I think that it helped because not only were people in front of the camera, but then you know, behind the scenes as well who were being able to start moving up in positions of making decisions as Black people.

WHITFIELD: You have been groundbreaking and getting paid to do so. We can't wait to see what's next for Kandi Burruss. What's next for television overall?

BURRUSS: Well, what's next for me is the Broadway show "The Wiz." We're bringing that back to Broadway right now.

WHITFIELD: Can't wait.

BURRUSS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Look forward to seeing that. We'll have you back and let's talk more about that.

BURRUSS: Yes, let's do it.

WHITFIELD: Okay, it's a date. Kandi, good to see you. All right, be sure to tune in, the all-new CNN Original Series "See It Loud: The History of Black Television" premieres tonight at 9:00 PM Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:00]