Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
2024 U.S. Election; Despite Winning, the Michigan Primary Reveals Trump and Biden's Shortcomings; Interview with Former Illinois Congressman and White Flag Podcast Host Joe Walsh (R); "Another Warning Sign" for the GOP, Says Haley on Trump's Victory in Michigan; Trump Attributes Death of Georgia Student to Biden; Tomorrow, Trump and Biden Will Visit the Southern Border; Sanctuary City Regulations Be Modified Demanded by Mayor of NYC; House Return to Face Funding Fight; House Republican Face Criticism from Democrats Over Possible Government Shutdown; Calls Grow to Delay Execution of Texas Inmate; Widow of Navalny Criticizes Putin, Worries About Arrest During Husband's Burial. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired February 28, 2024 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Now, this morning, some warning signs for President Biden and Donald Trump after they comfortably won their primaries in Michigan, President Biden overcame a protest vote led by activists who are angry over his handling of the war in Gaza. But take a look at this, more than 100,000 voters went against the president and chose uncommitted, that could spell trouble come November if the margin is tight.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump trounced Nikki Haley by a wide margin, but Haley's continued support is raising questions about the former president's electability in a general election.
Let's discuss, more now with former communications director of Vice President Harris, Ashley Etienne. And Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois. Guys, great to be with you. Thanks for being on during this first week. I keep saying it just to, I don't know, tell myself, Oh, yes, I'm on. And I have my --
ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR VP HARRIS AND FORMER DENIOR ADVISER TO SPEAKER PELOSI: That's good, yes.
ACOSTA: -- I have my Duke mug and it feels good, you know. A little more rusted. Joe --
JOE WALSH, (R) FORMER ILLINOIS CONGRESSMAN AND HOST, WHITE FLAG PODCAST: It's good to see you during the week.
ACOSTA: It's good to see you during the week. Absolutely. Let me start with you. OK. I'm old enough to remember when Former President Barack Obama struggled in some of his own primaries back in 2012. Remember when he was running for reelection, the uncommitted vote against Obama was 11 percent in Massachusetts, in Michigan, 12 percent in Maryland and Tennessee, 14 percent Rhode Island, 21 percent North Carolina, 41 percent in Kentucky. I could go on and on and on.
WALSH: Yes.
ACOSTA: Is last night's uncommitted vote against Biden, like bedwetting as it's called in this day and age, or is there a real problem for the President here? Is there something in the middle?
WALSH: It's something in the middle. I think we're making too big of an issue about it. It's something Biden should pay attention to, but you laid the historical complex -- context. But Jim, this is an opportunity for Biden. This -- ever since October 7th, Joe Biden is pro-Israel. He needs to remain pro-Israel, but he needs to engage his left flank because they're not where he is on this issue. He ought to engage him though.
ACOSTA: Yes -- go ahead.
ETIENNE: Yes -- no, no. I think -- I -- I'm going to respectfully slightly disagree here.
WALSH: Mm-hmm.
ETIENNE: I do think that there's some major concern for the president here. One is the protesters are saying they're going to continue to take their protests to the other states, as well as all the way to the convention, that's a problem. Secondly, Joe Biden is not in control of this situation. He has very little leverage.
His interests in Netanyahu's interests are actually in conflict right now, right? Netanyahu was --
ACOSTA: I was going to ask you that.
ETIENNE: Yes.
ACOSTA: How big of a problem is Benjamin Netanyahu to the president right now?
ETIENNE: No, absolutely. Netanyahu doesn't want this war to end, right?
ACOSTA: Yes.
ETIENNE: He's got way too much at stake for this to end. So, I think the problem for Joe Biden is that he has very little leverage in this and he's going to continue to get pressure. But here's the thing. There's a lot of time. Time is on Biden's side.
WALSH: Yes, yes.
ETIENNE: There's eight months left.
WALSH: Eight months, yes.
ETIENNE: And it seems like Netanyahu's position is not sustainable for eight months. I can't imagine that it is. But here's my real question, what is next for the president? What's his next move? Does he go meet with the protesters? Does he meet with the left, to Joe's point -- to the congressman's point, excuse me? Or --
ACOSTA: He has to do something.
ETIENNE: Yes, right. Or does he call for a ceasefire? Does he use the state of the union as an opportunity to actually do that? Does he rally the world to lean on Netanyahu to have a permanent ceasefire?
WALSH: As is right. What he does next is important. But remember, we're in a general election, basically.
ACOSTA: Yes.
WALSH: This country is pro-Israel. Biden needs to hew that. He needs to stay on that. But man, he should engage his left flank.
ACOSTA: But the one thing though, the -- you know, when you look at the returns from last night, I mean, the county where University of Michigan is.
ETIENNE: Yes.
WALSH: Yes.
ACOSTA: Ann Arbor, that area. Lot of -- a lot of students, registering their -- discussed with this --
ETIENNE: Absolutely.
ACOSTA: -- policy in Israel right now in Gaza. And that could be the difference if the general election margin is tight in Michigan.
ETIENNE: Absolutely. But I mean, as we said before, we still -- there's still a lot of time --
WALSH: A lot of time.
ETIENNE: -- for things to change.
ACOSTA: Yes.
ETIENNE: You know, eight months is an eternity in politics and especially when you're in the midst of a war, that's an eternity. So, things could change.
ACOSTA: And Joe, I want to ask Nikki Haley is warning that if Trump clinches the GOP nomination, Republicans could lose the general election. I mean, she did put out the statement last night. I thought it was interesting. She says, Donald Trump is losing about 35 percent of the vote. Let this serve as another warning sign that what has happened in Michigan will continue to play out across the country. I mean, whose protest vote problem was bigger last night? Donald Trump has this problem in all of these states.
ETIENNE: Yes, absolutely. WALSH: He Does.
[10:35:00]
ACOSTA: Wasn't as big last night in Michigan.
WALSH: He does. But I -- and I'm no-Trump fan. I think we're overplaying his problem too. A lot of these people are going to come home and a lot of the people voting for Haley are not Republicans. They're independents and Democrats.
Jim, I don't know what Nikki Haley is doing. Because I'm still assuming when she gets out of the race, she's going to endorse him. She's basically said what I've said about Trump, he's unfit. But then if she endorses him, then what is this for?
ACOSTA: Right.
ETIENNE: I mean, if she wasn't.
ACOSTA: Why is she doing all this?
And Ashley, I want to ask you guys about tomorrow. Tomorrow, Trump and Biden go to the border.
ETIENNE: Absolutely.
ACOSTA: It's kind of a bigger deal that the president is going to the border. What does he have to say? Because obviously this has become a problem --
ETIENNE: Absolutely.
ACOSTA: -- for him, this issue.
ETIENNE: Yes, he's getting dogged in the polls on this particular issue. I mean, he's polling the worst on this issue. You've got Democratic mayors and governors that aren't making his life any easier on this particular issue. But I think he's going to the border because he's got to get on the offense on this issue. And he's got to put the onus and the responsibility and the failure to close the border on -- squarely on House Republicans.
As we all know, there was a bill that was negotiated. It was a conservative wish list and they walked away from the from the bill. Why? Because they said the quiet thing out loud. That they want to use the issue to beat up Joe Biden going into the next election. They're not serious.
ACOSTA: Yes, we didn't read that through sources on the Hill. The members just came out and said it.
ETIENNE: No, they said it themselves.
WALSH: They said it.
ETIENNE: Yes, absolutely.
ACOSTA: And Joe, this is a good point because we've had a series of crimes where police say they migrants were to blame. Obviously, they don't commit all the crime in this country.
WALSH: Right.
ACOSTA: But in New York City, the mayor is calling for changes to the city's sanctuary city problem -- or policies. In Georgia, you have this Georgia college student who was allegedly murdered by a migrant. The public is really focused on this issue. But to Ashley's point, Republicans passed up on this chance to have a bipartisan border security bill. It was --
WALSH: Agreed, agreed.
ACOSTA: -- the best chance you had to tackle this issue in a generation.
WALSH: A cynical, political, nakedly political play by Republicans. But as abortion is an issue that's hurting Republicans politically, this cake is baked too. Immigration is hurting Democrats politically and it's going to, and I think Biden needs to do a lot more than go to the border. He ought to just enact a number of executive actions and make Republicans look silly and weak on this issue.
ACOSTA: You worked inside the White House.
WALSH: I kind of disagree. I kind of disagree. So, I think the president shouldn't take executive action quite yet. To me, it's not an issue of whether he should, it's an issue of when he actually should, is my point. I think he should leverage the State of the Union to really box in Republicans on this issue. He's quite adept at doing that.
ACOSTA: He's done this at --
ETIENNE: Yes, he's done it --
ACOSTA: -- he's done it before.
ETIENNE: He's done it before.
ACOSTA: Yes.
ETIENNE: He should -- he -- he's got to continue to lean on them and put the pressure on them and have them answer the question, why are they not moving on this bill? I mean, as it relates to this family, you know, my heart goes out to the family and anyone who's a victim of crime. But the reality is, is some say that Trump, as well as House Republicans, have blood on their hands because they're walking away from the bill. And they're creating a situation where it's only getting worse.
WALSH: Well, then maybe it's a matter of when, but Biden has to show he cares about this issue. ACOSTA: Yes.
ETIENNE: Yes.
ACOSTA: All right, guys. Great conversation. Thanks so much.
WALSH: Thanks.
ETIENNE: Thanks.
ACOSTA: Appreciate it.
All right. The House -- speaking of the House, the House is back from winter break, staring down the very real possibility of big parts of the government shutting down. We're live on Capitol Hill with the latest on all of that. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:40:00]
ACOSTA: The House is back in session today with Congress barreling toward Friday night's funding deadline. Major policy issues are still unresolved, including the border and aid to Ukraine. Two crucial sticking points for lawmakers.
CNN's Manu Raju is live for us up on Capitol Hill. Manu, are we going to see a deal?
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR, INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY AND CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: It's possible that there could be a short-term extension of government funding to avoid a shutdown by the end of the day on Friday. But that is still uncertain as Congress, once again, continues to try to kick the can down the road, unable to get a full year spending bill deal, something they should have done by the end of September of last year, but one in which they are still struggling and unable to reach at this point. And that has prompted considerable anger within the ranks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Voters are shaking their heads. Wondering what in God's name we are doing in Washington D.C.? Lurching from one temporary short gap blocking measure to another. Voters are really raising eyebrows, shaking heads.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): Think about the announcements we make here. We are so proud that we have these band aid budgets that take us from week to week and month to month. We are so proud that we keep the lights on in Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: But it's still uncertain exactly how this will ultimately play out because in the House that would require support from both parties, two thirds of the House in order to get it over the finish line. A lot of Republicans are expected to vote against it. Likely, they would have enough votes to get that passed in the House before Friday if they were to move on the short-term extension.
But Jim, if they were to do that, then it would just simply kick the extend funding for a week up to -- for one set of deadlines and another couple of weeks for another set of deadlines. They could be right back at the same issue facing a government shutdown without any deal in place.
So, a lot of questions here as frustration, anger on both sides of the aisle about the fact that they can't do the basic essence of governing, which is to keeping the lights on for the government. Jim.
[10:45:00]
ACOSTA: Yes, it seems like all they know is how to play kick the can. All right. Manu Raju, thank you very much. Live for us up on Capitol Hill. Appreciate it.
In the meantime, a death row inmate in Texas is running out of options just hours before his scheduled execution. Next, we will speak to Ivan Cantu's attorney as tens of thousands of people are petitioning for a pause.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Right now, in Texas, calls are growing to pause the execution of a death row inmate with just hours remaining before Ivan Cantu is set to be put to death. The head juror who helped convict him says, he's having second thoughts about the case.
[10:50:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF CALHOUN, FOREMAN OF JURY THAT SENTENCED IVAN CANTU TO DEATH: I don't feel like we got a complete trial presented to us now that I look back on the new evidence. In a situation where this may be one of the most important decisions I will have ever made, and that's why it led me to go ahead and carry out and be a voice in this situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Cantu was convicted of murdering his cousin and his cousin's fiance more than 20 years ago. He says, there's evidence to prove he is being framed. And I want to talk more about this case with Cantu's attorney. Gena Bunn joins us now.
Thank you very much for taking time for us this morning. We just saw your client there talking to our Ed Lavandera about this case. And I'm just wondering when you hear the jury foreman in that case, we just heard sound from him a few moments ago, talking about his own reservations. What -- what's your response to that and does your client know about this? What is his response to all of this?
GENA BUNN, ATTORNEY FOR IVAN CANTU: Yes, he does know about this. You know, that's been one of the disturbing things about this case. And I think, the jury foreman's statement at this point just real -- encapsulates it. When Ivan stood trial back in 2001, he had a lawyer who had decided he was guilty for whatever reason, you know, based on what the state had given him and didn't do anything to help him. Didn't investigate the case. No independent investigation.
And there were some other problems with the -- fundamental problems with the case. There was suppression of evidence by the police. Then after the trial, there was state habeas council who didn't have the bandwidth to handle a case like this, frankly. And at that point, the case just kind of got set in amber in a way that was totally distorted and wrong.
And so, what that juror heard, you know, probably what -- and I think Ivan has even said this, that if he was on the jury with what his attorneys did and with what the state put forward, he probably would have found him guilty too. But now, by the time so much of this has come to light, there are just too many procedural barriers to get -- to really get Ivan's claims in front of the courts. And so, that's what we have been battling.
ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, Gena, that's my question because this happens today. Do you have any hope that something might happen? That there might be some kind of last-minute pause in all of this? What's your sense of it?
BUNN: Well, I always have hope. I have to have hope. But I have to say that, you know, our chances are dwindling. We've had denials from the courts the last -- over the last day. So, yes, we're there.
ACOSTA: You think you're there?
BUNN: Yes. I mean, of course, like I said, I have hope. I have hope that something will happen, that, you know, the governor will give us a reprieve. But at this point, the system has failed us.
ACOSTA: And is it your feeling, Gena, that the state of Texas is about to execute an innocent man?
BUNN: I -- there is enough wrong with this case that it's just too great a risk. It's just too -- it's too great a risk.
ACOSTA: And how is Ivan dealing with all of this? What is he saying? What's going through his mind?
BUNN: Well, he's frantic. He -- I think, desperate. I mean, the times I've spoken with him in the last several weeks, particularly, he's just -- he's scared. I mean, we have had glimmers of hope and then it's just -- so it's been quite the roller coaster.
ACOSTA: Well, Gena, please give us any updates if something happens at the last minute. Please, feel free to reach out as soon as you can. But in the meantime, Gena Bunn, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.
BUNN: Thank you. ACOSTA: All right. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:55:00]
ACOSTA: There are global concerns about the funeral of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny who will be laid to rest on Friday. This morning, his widow warned the European Parliament that his memorial may be defined by disruption and arrest. She demanded that the West make Russian President Vladimir Putin pay for her husband's death, and she recounted the horrors Her husband suffered in his final days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YULIA NAVALNAYA, WIDOW OF ALEXEI NAVALNY: He was starved in a tiny stone cell. Cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls, and then even letters. And then they killed him.
[11:00:00]
