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Zelenskyy Says He Has Hope That Congress Will Approve More Aid; Top U.S. Humanitarian Official To Travel To Middle East This Week; Trump Wins South Carolina Primary, Haley Vows To Stay In Race; Georgia Governor Criticizes Biden Over Jogger Death At UGA; Primary Race Shifts To Battleground State Of Michigan On Tuesday. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired February 25, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:46]

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

We're following two big stories this afternoon.

First in the Middle East where sources say talks will resume in Qatar tomorrow in an effort to free hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a temporary humanitarian ceasefire.

In Ukraine today, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remained defiant, telling the world that there is no option but to win the fight against Russia.

But in a rare admission, Zelenskyy also said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since the war began. CNN cannot independently verify that figure, but U.S. officials estimate the death toll could be closer to 70,000.

On the front lines, Ukraine's weapons and ammunition are running desperately low. And right now, there doesn't appear to be much hope that more U.S. aid is coming any soon.

At a press conference earlier in Kyiv, CNN's Kaitlan Collins asks Zelenskyy about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: it has been two years now, obviously since this war started. But for the first time since Russia invaded, U.S. aid to Ukraine is seriously in doubt, at a total standstill in Congress.

Do you still have faith in the U.S. Congress?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Well, we do have hopes for the Congress. I'm sure there will be a positive decision because otherwise, it will leave me wondering what kind of a world we are living in. Because of that we do count on Congress' support. We do know we need

the support within a month. (INAUDIBLE) both parties in different formats and the president, those at power, those in the positions know it. They know that our request has been to get this assistance in a month. They know that.

As regards aerial defenses, we do know -- they do know we need more. If we speak about that today, but well anyway, most of the money will be left in the U.S. with companies producing the types of weapons we need. So let us not forget about that.

This is not about price regarding the Congress, the war in Ukraine. There are certain steps like (INAUDIBLE) to guarantee is with some very specific concrete things.

There is a very serious specific concrete things about money and we do see the challenges in the U.S., but we do count on the U.S. remaining the leader of the democracy worldwide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. We've got full coverage of today's developments. Let's begin with Kaitlan Collins. Kaitlan, there's more to your discussions with President Zelenskyy.

COLLINS: Yes. Of course, Fred, we are just one day past that two-year mark here in Kyiv. Obviously a very different two years ago as his first moments of the invasion were unfolding. And that's really what President Zelenskyy has been talking about. That was a nearly two-hour press conference there that we were in where he took those questions.

But really one theme has overshadowed this -- this anniversary of the invasion, like nothing else. And that is the fact that U.S. aid is in doubt and they may not get any more in Ukraine. And you can really see how they are grappling with what that could mean, what the implications of that would be.

So right after this press conference happened, I just sat down and President Zelenskyy, one-on-one to talk more about what's at stake here. And in no uncertain terms, he said millions of lives are at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Senator JD Vance, who was in Munich at the security conference, but didn't meet with you, he said that even if you got the $60 billion in aid, it is not going to fundamentally change the reality on the battlefield. What's your response to that?

[14:05:00]

ZELENSKYY: I'm not sure that he understands what's going on here. And we don't need any rhetoric of from people who are not deeply in the, you know, in the war.

So to understand it is to come to the frontline to see what's going on, to speak with the people then to go to civilians to understand what will be with them. And then what will be done without this support. And he will understand that millions of people been killed -- will be killed.

COLLINS: So he doesn't understand it.

ZELENSKYY: Because he doesn't understand if. Of course, he got -- God bless, you don't have the war on your territory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now what he laid out there is essentially saying that these senators, some of the key ones and some of the House Republicans, they're the ones who were making the decisions that have major implications for what happens here in Ukraine.

And so obviously there are genuine concerns in the United States from some of these lawmakers who were standing in the way of this about corruption in Ukraine, about how that money is being spent.

We went over all of that with President Zelenskyy in this interview. But the one thing that we walked away from this Fred was really him just trying to communicate how grave of a situation Ukraine is going to be facing if this U.S. aid does not come through, whether it's the $60 billion that's in that Senate package that Senator JD Vance was saying would not have a material difference on the battlefield, Zelenskyy clearly disagrees with him.

Or with this new package that has come out from some House Republicans that is also bipartisan, that is for about $40 billion in aid.

But regardless, the point is right now, they don't know what's going to happen. And really their fate is in the hands of a few lawmakers in Washington.

WHITFIELD: Right. Very revealing in his concern. Thank you so much Kaitlan. We look forward to more as we're going to look at your entire one-on-one interview with President Zelenskyy tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern on "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS".

All right. Let's talk more about all this now with CNN's Nick Paton Walsh. He's live in Ukraine and Priscilla Alvarez is at the White House.

So Nick you first, you know, this was an unexpected moment when Zelenskyy put a number to Ukraine's losses.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Using this first day of the third year of the war for the first time to give us a number, a number that's less perhaps than some western analysis has suggested. 31,000 though lives in the military loss since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. And that's obviously 31,000 families across Ukraine in mourning, in sacrifice.

He thanked Ukrainians for their resilience, initially. There was a glimmer potentially of the role that diplomacy might play very unilateral there what he talked about in the summit in Switzerland, where Ukraine and its allies would essentially lay out a plan that Russia could either take or leave, likely frankly, Russia would leave it given them what they're likely to suggest. And when asked if he'd take a phone call from Vladimir Putin, he joked that Putin didn't have a mobile phone. But that Putin doesn't want to end this war.

As you heard from Kaitlan there look, its complex for Zelenskyy. He wants to remind the west how urgently they need this aid. Without it they are truly in trouble. And we're already seeing across the front line the extraordinary damage to morale that the holdup is causing, but also practically to their ability to feel that ammunition to hold onto terrain and to keep their soldiers alive.

But at the same time too, he cannot simply sound the knoll of desperation and say, we're done if we don't get that money because it's possible they won't and they'll have to rely on the European leaders who came through yesterday in Kyiv, pledged a lot less than the United States can.

But this was a deeply-lengthy press conference where he, I think also tried to remind European countries, and they're simply not ready to fight and they're asking Ukraine to do that for them and if Ukraine does indeed lose, this becomes potentially Russia's fight against NATO.

And so a lengthy moment there for him to try and hit multiple different messages. But be in no doubt at all, this is an administration, a country that is literally looking at his watch to wonder how long it can hold down without that western support that's kept it afloat for the last two years, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nick. Thanks so much.

Priscilla there at the White House, what is the White House saying about Zelenskyy's comments? Because you look at his demeanor, he seems defeated, but you hear his words. He remains hopeful.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the White House has maintained up until this point that it is about putting pressure on House Republicans to pass that $60 billion in aid to Ukraine.

But the national security adviser Jake Sullivan went a step further earlier today by calling House Speaker Mike Johnson out by name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The reality is that Putin gains every day that Ukraine does not get the resources it needs and Ukraine suffers.

[14:10:00]

And there is a strong bipartisan majority in the House standing ready to pass this bill if it comes to the floor. And that decision rests on the shoulders of one person. And history is watching whether Speaker Johnson will put that bill on the floor. If he does, it will pass -- we'll get Ukraine what it needs for

Ukraine to succeed. If he doesn't, then we will not be able to give Ukraine the tools required for it to stand up to Russia. And Putin will be the major beneficiary of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, of course, the White House asked for that $60 billion in additional aid to Ukraine last year. It has remained stalled until the Senate passed that foreign aid package. And now it's up to House Republicans.

And President Biden over and over again has framed this not only as support for Ukraine, but also as an issue of national security for the United States and not ceding any ground to Russia.

But of course, in recent days, what we have seen is what it looks like if Ukraine runs out of ammunition. For example, having to withdraw from a town. And in those moments, White House officials have linked directly the inaction in Congress to those battlefield losses. So anticipate hearing more of that, the longer that this proceeds, because the White House is limited in what they can do. What they will do though, is keep up this steady drumbeat on Congress and also continue their conversations with allies abroad and reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine.

WHITFIELD: All right. Priscilla Alvarez at the White House. Thank you so much. Nick Paton Walsh there in Ukraine.

All right. Let's get more analysis now on today's developments. Joining me right now is Kateryna Stepanenko. She is a Russian analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.

Great to see you.

We just heard from President Zelenskyy there saying 31,000 troops have died. But of course, the overall loss is much greater.

In your view how can Ukraine continue to be optimistic that they may ultimately get the upper hand against Russia?

KATERYNA STEPANENKO, RUSSIAN ANALYST, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR: Fredricka, thank you so much for having me on your program.

Everything really depends on Western' continuous support for Ukraine, especially in terms of providing long-range artillery missiles, also artillery ammunition. We are seeing that Ukrainians have to cede some territory, especially tactical ground in an effort to preserve the lives of its personnel, as well as to retreat to more defensible positions.

This trend might continue as long as Ukraine continues to be critically under supplied. Ukraine needs to maintain its maneuver combat -- maneuver combat on the battlefield in an effort to make sure that Russia is unable to build up reserves, is unable to improve its defense industrial base and so on. So really the hope relies on Western aid at this point.

WHITFIELD: And not just U.S. aid, but in your view, how much of a difference might it make that European Union officials reportedly say that member states will only be able to provide Ukraine half of the targeted 1 million, 155-millimeter rounds this spring.

STEPANENKO: Yes, this is the unfortunate truth about the timing. Of course, it's going to take Europe a lot longer to build up its defense industrial base, build up new ammunition plants.

So this is the time that everyone needs to come together in the Western world, as well as Asian partners that Ukraine has to support Ukraine to overcome this critical time period really.

We're already seeing European officials signal that they're opening up new ammunition plants throughout Europe to make sure that NATO stocks are replenished, as well as to support Ukraine as shortest terms as they can. So this is going to take a least a year to get on the ground.

WHITFIELD: And as we look at the map, right now on the battlefield, in your view where is Ukraine able to hold its ground?

STEPANENKO: So we're clearly seeing that Ukrainians still have positions in (INAUDIBLE) oblast. They maintain a breach head over Dnipro River. Ukrainians are also holding their positions in the Zaporizhzhia oblast despite the new offensive operations that the Russians are conducting to regain some of the previously lost positions.

We're also seeing Ukrainian forces hold their positions in western Donetsk oblast as well as eastern Zaporizhzhia oblast, where the progress of the Russian attacks have not been very successful.

But ultimately really we're seeing shortages of ammunition, we're seeing problems across the front line. And Ukraine really needs the supplies not only to resume offensive operations, conduct some sort of counteroffensive operations in the future. But really also to maintain defensive positions on the tactical and operational level.

WHITFIELD: You have family there in Ukraine. What and how are they able to communicate what life has been like for now two years?

[14:15:00]

SPANENKO: I am lucky that my family does not live in frontline settlements. However, they have specified that they're really, really concerned about Ukraine not having enough air defense missiles.

You know, there's some prognosis (ph) is that indicate that by summer of 2024 Ukraine might front out of air defense missile to shot down Russian Shahed drones as well as Russian ballistic missiles, North Korean ballistic missiles. And this is a big concern for my family that has to live through strikes on a daily basis.

WHITFIELD: Well, we wish all the best to them and all of your friends, family, extended community there in Ukraine.

Thank you so much Kateryna Stepanenko.

STEPANENKO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We're also watching new developments in the Middle East. Hostage negotiations are set to resume on Monday in Qatar after a positive step in Paris to bring Israeli hostages home from Gaza.

This morning, the White House said negotiators agreed to some basic contours of a deal, but steep obstacles remain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SULLIVAN: Representatives of Israel, the United States, Egypt, and Qatar met in Paris and came to an understanding among the four of them about what the basic contours of a hostage deal for temporary ceasefire would look like.

I'm not going to go into the specifics of that because it is still under negotiation in terms of hammering out the details of it. There will have to be indirect discussions by Qatar in Egypt with Hamas because ultimately they will have to agree to release the hostages. That work is underway. And

we hope that in the coming days, we can drive to a point where there is actually a firm and final agreement on this issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And these developments come as Israel confirms another hostage was killed by Hamas in the October 7th attack. That now leaves 100 hostages believed to still be alive.

As negotiators work, the U.S. says it is sending its top humanitarian aid official to meet with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian officials about the need to distribute aid to Gaza's vulnerable residents.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live for us now in Tel Aviv. Jeremy, what are Israeli officials saying about these hostage negotiations?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, last week, it certainly seemed like these negotiations were at a standstill. But since the Israeli delegation returned from these talks in Paris on Friday, there is a sense of cautious, perhaps guarded, optimism that is starting to emerge here.

National security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi yesterday saying that those negotiators felt like they didn't come back empty-handed and that it may be possible indeed to move forward with these negotiations.

The Israeli prime minister for his part saying that he believes that a deal can be struck, but putting the emphasis on Hamas changing its demands.

Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We're all working on it. We want it. I want it because we want to liberate the remaining hostages. We've already brought half of them back.

And I appreciate the effort, the combined effort of Israel, the United States to bring back the remaining hostages. I can't tell you if we'll have it, but if Hamas goes down from its delusional claims and goes down -- and bring them down to earth then well have the progress that we all want.

Hamas started out with just crazy demands. And you know, it's too soon to say if they're -- if they've abandoned them, but if they do abandon them and get into what you call the ballpark, they're not even in the city. They're in another planet. But if they come down to a reasonable situation, then yes, we'll have our hostages. I hope so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And it's clear that these negotiations are indeed going to continue giving perhaps a sense of momentum to these talks. An Israeli official telling us that Israel will indeed send a delegation to Qatar to continue these negotiations.

Those talks are set to continue tomorrow in the Qatari capital of Doha, where we understand that these will be working level discussions focusing on the technical aspects of this deal.

But the Israeli prime minister today also making another thing very clear, and that is that if this deal does not come about, that Israel will indeed proceed with a major military offensive into Rafah, what he has described as Hamas' last bastion. But where we know that there are also about one-and-a-half million Palestinians currently living in that city.

The Israeli prime minister said that he is reviewing plans that the military has been drafting up for that military operation, but also for evacuating the civilian population from that city.

We -- and the United States have yet to actually see the details of those plans though, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much in Tel Aviv.

All right. Still to come, a sweeping victory for Donald Trump in South Carolina's Republican primary. But will his momentum help him at all in the general election?

WHITFIELD: And new developments in the death of a nursing student on the campus of the university of Georgia. Why Georgia's governor is demanding answers from president Biden.

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[14:24:21] WHITFIELD: All right. Donald Trump's march toward the GOP presidential nomination continues following another landslide primary when the former president easily defeated Nikki Haley in her home state of South Carolina, winning by 20 points. He has now swept all of the GOP nomination contests to date.

Trump's overwhelming victory last night gave him even more of a decisive lead over the former South Carolina governor. But Haley is vowing to continue her campaign, fight at least through Super Tuesday, nine days from now.

CNN's Kristen Holmes has details.

[14:25:00]

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I've talking to a lot of Trump's campaign advisors this morning and they say it is time to move on to the general election, regardless of whether or not Nikki Haley is still in the race.

Four resounding primary wins, every contest on the horizon, Trump is favored. And they believe that they need to have a campaign reset ahead of November to start working toward that general election.

Now, to be very clear this is not a Donald Trump pivot. He's not going to stop his messaging. He's not going to stop being who he is and his campaign is very aware of the candidate that they have.

This is about campaign infrastructure and about strategy. They want to build out their operations in critical battleground states. We're talking about Michigan, Arizona, Georgia.

They also want to shift their messaging away from primary messaging and towards President Joe Biden. You saw some of that shift in messaging from the former president himself in his speech last night, when he didn't mention Nikki Haley once.

But I am going to put forward a very important caveat which was talking to Trump's senior advisers, they know that they cannot control if he does that again, they are trying to keep him on message. They are telling him it's important to focus on President Joe Biden. But again, they can't control what he says and he's going to say what he feels and what he thinks.

Now, in addition to all of that, we did see in the election last night, there were some warning signs for Donald Trump in the 2024 general election rematch with President Biden, particularly among Independent voters.

His team knows that. His team knows that he's a very polarizing figure and that is part of the reason why they believe it is important for them to start shifting towards that general election, to start going through that data, to start coming up with a game plan to take on Joe Biden before November, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kristen Holmes, thank you so much. Joining me right now to discuss this is Julian Zelizer. He is a CNN political analyst, and historian and professor at Princeton University. Julian, always great to see you.

All right.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So Haley was soundly defeated in her home state, but vows, you know, to keep up with the campaign. What do you suppose her strategy is or her backing is?

ZELIZER: Well, I don't think she's waiting for a primary victory at this point. But there is a conviction -- the possibility of a conviction hanging over the former president. And so I think if she can stay in long enough, if she can convince PEOPLE to continue to give her money, that the idea of should a conviction happen, it will not happen before Super Tuesday, somehow she's still in the mix and then she steps in.

But it's a real longshot. I expect Super Tuesday is going to primarily go Trump's way.

WHITFIELD: And in her speech after the results came in, Haley focused not on her loss, but the percentage of voters that she actually got. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to count it. I know 40 percent is not 50 percent. But I also know 40 percent is not some tiny group.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Her numbers were significant and she did capture a good number of the Independent voters. So, you know, should the GOP be worried about the overall message here?

ZELIZER: Well, of course. I mean, it's a known fact that Trump is a general election risk and those are the exact kind of numbers that will cause Republicans concern. They will not disappear. Trump will not change as a candidate.

So somehow, they have to win despite Independent unease. There are ways to do it. I think Trump is anticipating he can bring down Biden enough that does Independents either wouldn't vote or in the end, they'd vote for the Republicans and him.

And so I don't think that he's expecting to change how they perceive him that much.

WHITFIELD: Haley also outraised Trump in the most recent quarter or giving her lots of money to continue her campaign. But continuing, you know, how much does she also kind of help Joe Biden and Democrats? ZELIZER: Well, she does. I mean, I think look, both candidates in some

ways now want to focus on each other rather than on internal party battles.

I don't think this will damage Biden so much. More important will be how the Biden campaign is set up for mobilization to message come September. I think the less they do, focused on Haley and the Republican primaries, and the more they're focused on what their plan is going forward from the convention onward. That's the best for the democrats to strategize about.

WHITFIELD: At CPAC on Saturday Trump, you know, pivoted his attacks, you know, to Biden nearly dismissing Haley. And then at that conference it also has appeared to many observers to be like an audition to be Trump's vice-presidential pick with a number of politicians praising him.

You recently wrote on CNN.com that you believe that there's a real short list there that he is contemplating. How much will Trump's pick say about him, who he is trying to perhaps appeal to, and whether it's at all impactful?

[14:30:02]

ZELIZER: Well, I think the initial list suggests he does want to try to dig into some of the Democratic constituencies, Black and Latino voters, for example, and his strategy to do that in part is by the person running with him.

I also think he wants to generate some excitement about a younger Republican look in a his strategy to do that in part is by the person running with him. I also think he wants to generate some excitement about a younger Republican look in a different voice knowing he's from an older generation. In the end, this will be about Trump. I don't think the vice presidential pick will matter almost at all and he is such a dominant voice. And also historically the vice presidential pick is not very consequential in terms of moving the electorate.

So I see what he's trying to do. I doubt it's really going to have the kind of effect he might hope for.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julian Zelizer, great to see you. We'll leave it there for now.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Outrage over the murder of a nursing student on the campus of the University of Georgia. Coming up, why the states governor is slamming President Biden following the young woman's death.

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[14:35:14]

WHITFIELD: Georgia's governor is demanding answers from the White House after the man accused of killing a student at the University of Georgia was identified as neither a student nor a U.S. citizen. Jose Antonio Ibarra was taken into custody Friday on several charges related to the death of 22-year-old Laken Riley. Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University and was found dead Thursday after going for a run on UGA's campus.

CNN's Isabel Rosales has been following the developments.

So what did Governor Brian Kemp say?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. So he posted a copy of the letter that he sent over to President Biden on X. And in that letter he was criticizing the Biden administration's immigration policies, stating that this led to this homicide, also requesting more information on the suspect, Jose Ibarra, and his immigration status as well.

So here's part of what the letter said. Quote, Laken Riley is tragic deaths struck the hearts of Georgians everywhere and has sparked national well outrage. Joe Biden's failed policies have turned every state into a border state. And I'm demanding information from him so we can protect our people when the federal government won't.

So, the suspect Jose Ibarra, he is not a resident. He is not a U.S. citizen. He is a resident of Athens, Georgia, and we have new information that has come in from ICE stating that he's a Venezuelan national, that back in 2022, he was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after he unlawfully entered the U.S. near El Paso, he was paroled, then he was released for further processing.

Now, he faces a little one of charges here, four in connection to the death of Laken Riley. And here's some of the charges, malice murder, felony murder, false imprisonment, kidnapping aggravated assault, concealing the death of another and hindering 911 calls. And, Fred, obviously, what these charges he's been denied bond. He saw a judge for the first time recently here in victim Laken Riley, a junior on the dean's list at Augusta University, just two-and-a-half miles away from UGA. She never returned home after jogging. And of course that made her friend concerned who's the one who called authorities, asking them to look into this. They found her body near a lake where she was dogging there on UGA's campus, an examination found that she died from blunt force trauma.

Now that UGA's campus police chief, he says that this was a solo act, a crime of opportunity, quote, an individual who woke up with bad intentions and there's no indication here, he says, that they knew each other, that Riley and Ibarra knew each other. Diego Ibarra, the brother of the suspect, was also arrested on Friday for presenting a fraudulent green card as well. Classes will resume tomorrow. Her funeral is on Friday.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, it's terribly sad.

All right. Thank you so much, Isabel Rosales.

All right. We're just two days now from the presidential primaries in Michigan. Still to come, why the state's governor says a planned protest vote against President Joe Biden will backfire.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:36]

WHITFIELD: All right. With South Carolina's primary wrapped up, the race now shifts to Michigan where voters will head to the polls on Tuesday for a critical primary election in that battleground state.

While Trump will be looking to continue his win streak, Michigan's Democratic primary is also a key test for President Biden. Some Democrats in that state are warning they won't back Biden because of their opposition to his support for Israel.

Today, Michigan's Democratic governor warned that any party protests against Biden could embolden Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D), MICHIGAN: Any vote that's not pass for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term, a second Trump term would be devastating, not just on fundamental rights, not just on our democracy here at home but also when it comes to foreign policy. This was a man who promoted a Muslim ban. This is, I think of a very high-stakes moment. I'm encouraging people to cast an affirmative vote for President Biden.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. With me now to talk more about Michigan's primary election is Simon Shuster. He is a senior political reporter for "M Live".

Simon, great to see you.

SIMON SCHUSTER, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, MLIVE.COM: Thanks so much for having me on.

WHITFIELD: All right. So how serious is this effort to get Democratic voters to choose the option uncommitted on Tuesday's ballot to protest at Biden's support for Israel?

SCHUSTER: I think it's particularly serious. This is something that was originally seen as sort of a ad hoc grassroots effort, but has seen a growing amount of support, especially in a state that has such a significant Arab American population. We have Arab American leaders in state government and in Congress. And these are people who have really full-throatedly backed this initiative.

I think that a key thing is going to be how large of a level of support we're going to see on election day that will actually meet that threshold that effectively sends a message to the Biden administration that says, you know, reverse course on this foreign policy matter, or we're going to put your reelection at risk.

WHITFIELD: Michigan is home to one of the largest Arab and Muslim American populations in this country. So what kind of impact could that have on the Biden campaign if he loses some of that very important voting bloc in the general election.

SCHUSTER: Yeah. I mean, there's 200,000 registered Muslim voters in Michigan. Every Arab American community is about 300,000 strong. Trump won the state by a margin of around 11,000 votes and Biden won it by over 150,000.

And so, I think a key measure of support for this group, which is calling itself Listen to Michigan, is whether it can expand even beyond these demographics and tap into some of these young voters, particularly college students, who have been bombarded by images of the war in Gaza on social media and have been deeply affected by it and are motivated to sort of send a message to the Biden administration.

[14:45:20]

And I think it's also important to note that this movement itself represents sort of a middle ground between another movement within the Arab American that's calling itself Abandon Biden, where every American community leaders in a number of battleground states are saying, we don't want you to just simply say you can win our support back. We're not going to vote for you in November no matter what happens. So, there is a conciliatory nature to some of what activists are doing here.

WHITFIELD: So, then what's the alternative or what are they telling you is the alternative because surely they are not going to throw for their support behind Trump. I mean, they're not going to forget his Arab ban, his Muslim ban during his administration.

SCHUSTER: Right and so, I don't think that necessarily these people in listen to Michigan are presenting an alternative if, you know, Biden doesn't listen, but for them this movement is solely about sending a message and what they would are used. A low stakes moment in his presidential primary, given Joe Biden is very much expected to win this primary.

And the question for them is whether they can really send that message effectively. And that if they can really get the Biden administration to even listen to what they're going to say. I mean, there's still a strong Jewish population here that's very much pro-Israel. And it really places the Biden administration in a bind on terms of what they're going to do moving forward.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Is there an expectation in the sum eight months to go in the Arab and Muslim community that the White House will advocate a different position to win back their support?

SCHUSTER: I don't necessarily know what they're hoping for in this regard, but clearly, they're looking for some movement on this issue. They haven't necessarily set an expectation, but the bar that they do need to meet is they want the Biden administration to call for an immediate ceasefire. I think anything short of that is going to fall short of their

expectations and really move a lot of these voters away. Just incentivize them to stay home.

I think that for younger voters in particular, this is something among a number of different issues that's motivating them to get to the polls. And the question is if the Biden administration can somehow form some sort of political jiu-jitsu and take their motivation to have this protest vote against Biden and turn that into turnout in the polls in November, it would be a massive stroke. But whether they can make that happen is far from clear at this point.

WHITFIELD: All right. Simon Schuster, great to see you. Thanks so much.

SCHUSTER: Thank you. Appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, a -- this was a scary scene in college basketball. Duke star player in the middle of, middle of all that you see right there getting injured pretty seriously by fans who stormed the court to celebrate an upset. We -- upset. We have the latest.

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[14:52:21]

WHITFIELD: Thousands were evacuated in the U.K. after an unexploded World War II bomb was discovered inside a residential garden. Bomb disposal experts managed to safely remove the device from nearby homes in Plymouth, England. The U.K. government called this operation one of the largest evacuations since the end of World War II.

The German bomb was eventually detonated at sea.

One of Japan's most popular theme parks is reopening its doors after receiving a terrorist threat online.

The Hello Kitty Land amusement park near Tokyo was forced to temporarily shut down on Saturday out of it abundance of caution. Police were able to verify there were no longer any credible threats. Hello Kitty Land attracts more than one million visitors a year.

All right, Dukes basketball coaches, fuming one of his star players was hurt by students storming the court after an upset win.

Coy Wire tells us how the coach's solution is simple. Court storming should be banned.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

Storming the court is part of sport culture. It's almost expected anytime we see a big upset, but several events in recent weeks are raising serious concerns yet again. At the end of number-eight Duke's loss to in-state rivals Wake Forest yesterday, a sea of fans stormed the court. Dukes star sophomore Kyle Filipowski was caught in the chaos. Several fans making contact with him teammates and coach Jon Scheyer rushed to help carry him off, trying to protect him.

Wait for us athletics director said the school sincerely regrets what happened, admitting the school and event security should have done better. Filipowski was injured after what he says was intentional contact.

KYLE FILIPOWSKI, DUKE CENTER: I've already heard that there's some videos of getting punched in the back and so I absolutely feel like it was personal, intentional for sure.

JON SCHEYER, DUKE COACH: When are we going to ban court storming? Like when are we going to ban that? Like how many times does a player have to get into something where they get punched or they get pushed, or they get taunted. You look around the country and Caitlin Clark (ph), something happens. Now, Flip, I don't know what his status is going to be. He sprained his ankle.

And it's one thing like when I played at least it was ten seconds in the court, you know what, you were stormed the court. Now its the buzzer doesn't even go off and running on the floor.

WIRE: Now the ACC does not have a fine structure or any sort of disciplinary measure in place for court storming, like the SEC for instance, which find LSU $100,000 just this week. But after yesterday's incident, the ACC commissioner now says they will be looking into whether that has to change.

[14:55:04]

Perhaps, Fredricka, this might lead to larger fines for schools, heightened security requirements, or possibly banning students and fans from attending future games, like we may see in professional sports.

WHITFIELD: Right. That's more dangerous than it is fun.

All right. Coy Wire, thank you so much.

All right, still to come, millions will be killed without U.S. aid. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's dire warning to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, next.

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