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Thune Launches Bid To Replace McConnell As GOP Leader; Trump Eyes Tuesday Sweep, Looks To Solidify Hold On GOP; Jury Selection Begins In Trial Of School Shooter's Father. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired March 05, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: For years, John Thune has been at Mitch McConnell's side as the two men shaped and shepherded the Republican agenda in the U.S. Senate. But now the Republican whip from South Dakota is hoping to take center stage. Thune is officially announcing his bid to replace McConnell as the party's leader.

CNN's Lauren Fox is joining us right now. Lauren, as the number two Republican, Thune is considered by some as McConnell's successor. But with the conference getting more and more fractured. could that actually hurt his chances?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're still months away, Wolf from this race really taking shape. And in a lot of ways, it's wide open. Republican senators still have a long way to go before many of them will make up their minds about who they think should succeed Mitch McConnell as the Republican leader.

And so far, you have two men who are jumping into this race. John Cornyn, who previously served as the Republican whip. And John Thune, who currently serves as the Republican whip. As you noted, Thune has worked really closely with McConnell over the course of the last several years, but before that, Senator John Cornyn worked very closely with Mitch McConnell when he was in the number two slot.

We did get some news this morning, though. John Barrasso, a member of Republican leadership has decided he will not run for Republican leader. Instead, he will run for that number two slot as the Republican whip as Thune and Cornyn are now facing off in that leadership race. So, a lot of moving parts happening right now.

As people are moving up, as people are ascending within the conference, you're starting to see those lower-tier races also take shape. In this case, Barrasso announcing he's going to run for that number two slot, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, all significant races, indeed. Senator Rick Scott who lost a bid to unseat McConnell after the 2022 midterms is set to hold a press conference today ahead of a lot of speculation he may also get into this race. Last night, he met with Donald Trump over at Mar-a- Lago. How much influence could Trump have in this Senate leadership race?

FOX: Well, certainly that is one of the key questions going into this race dynamic over the next several months. One thing to keep in mind, though, Wolf, is that this is a secret ballot election, which means lawmakers will go behind closed doors to cast their votes. And despite the fact that Trump may have tweets, despite the fact that Trump may post on Truth Social or make his preferences known, no one will ultimately know how each individual senator actually votes when they go into that room to cast their ballots.

And you hear from a lot of Republican senators saying that, despite the fact that they trust, or they have confidence in Donald Trump, they also argue this is about the Republican conference. This is about individual senators making a decision about who should be -- serve as their leader. This is not a moment for Trump to really exert his influence. So, it's a huge open question right now, Wolf.

[11:35:15]

BLITZER: Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill, thank you very much. And when we come back, it's the busiest day in the primary season as Donald Trump hopes to sweep Nikki Haley off the campaign trail and out of the race. Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[11:40:04]

BLITZER: Voters across the country are headed to the polls today as Donald Trump eyes a possible Super Tuesday sweep to all but clinched the Republican presidential nomination. Trump could end up winning more primaries and caucuses than any previous Republican presidential candidate who wasn't an incumbent. It's an indication that he is successfully transforming the GOP.

CNN's Senior Political Analyst and Atlantic Senior Editor Ron Brownstein is joining us right now. Ron, you just wrote an excellent article for cnn.com. As we watch voters head to the polls today, how do you see Trump's grip fundamentally changing the GOP?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, Wolf. You know, I think the primary so far has sent us an important dual message about the state of the Republican coalition. As you say, the clearest message is that this is Donald Trump's party. His coalition is the largest faction in the GOP.

And if you look at the way elected officials are behaving, especially the younger ones elected since Trump's emergence, it's likely that he is going to be the dominant figure in this party for a while. For example, virtually all of the Republican senators elected since 2018 voted against the aid to Ukraine, a rejection of kind of the Reagan- era view about America's role in the world symbolized by Mitch McConnell who is stepping aside.

But having said that, what the primaries are also showing us is that there is a meaningful slice of the GOP coalition that remains resistant to this vision. A quarter, a third, maybe higher in some states, where Nikki Haley has had the time and money to campaign. But there is a portion of Republicans who are uneasy about this, who feel disconnected from it. And the question remains whether Biden can harvest any of that and just support himself in November given their doubts about him as well.

BLITZER: In your important article, Ron, you also wrote this and I'm quoting you now.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BLITZER: "In important ways, Trump is a different candidate than he was in 2016. This time, he's much stronger among and more reliant on the party's most conservative elements." What does that mean heading toward a general election in November?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. He's more ideologically defined in the primaries than he was last time. In 2016, there really wasn't much difference in his support between moderates, somewhat conservative, and very conservative voters. That wasn't much difference between voters who are not evangelicals and those who were.

Now, those gaps are much bigger. Trump is much more reliant on evangelical voters, much stronger among very conservative voters, and the biggest divide that we saw in 2016, which was education is even bigger this time. Trump's support among non-college Republicans is overwhelming. I mean, around 70 percent so far in most of these states. But among college-educated voters, he is still facing much more resistance.

And that really is, as I say, Nikki Haley is leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for Joe Biden about where he can go. It's the same kind of voters that we saw in 2018, 2020, and 2022 reject Republicans and move toward the Democrats, why Biden became the first Democrat since Harry Truman 1948 to win Maricopa County and Phoenix, suburban white-collar voters. The difference, of course, is now these voters have had a four-year exposure to Biden and his record, and they are very negative on him. So, how these double negative voters, these Republican-leaning voters, in many cases, white-collar voters are down on Trump but also down on Biden, how they sort out is obviously going to be critical in November.

BLITZER: As you know, we couldn't see Trump all but clinched the presidential nomination on the Republican side later today. But the question of what will happen to Nikki Haley's voters in a general election certainly remains.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BLITZER: What do you think happens?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look. At least 60 percent of her voters in each of the first three states, Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina said in the AP vote cast study, they would not vote for Trump in a general election. 80 percent of them in our exit polls, right, as research says that he is not -- at least in each states that he is not fit to be president if he's convicted of a crime.

Now, I do -- I have not met a strategist at the party who believes nearly that many of them in the end would abandon Trump but if even a meaningful slice do, that becomes a problem. And as I said, the question is the problem -- the challenge for Biden is that many of those voters are negative on his performance as well. They like the economy better under Trump.

And he really has to focus their choice on the issues where they have the most hesitation about Trump. The idea is that he is a threat to their rights, on issues like abortion to their values, and to democracy itself. Of course, Biden faces, Wolf, as you know, the reverse problem, which is that he is looking at historic defection at this point among black and Hispanic voters.

Trump is in the polling that's come out this weekend, double I think the share that any Republican has had among black voters and he's in the 40s among Hispanics. Whether Trump can sustain that all the way to November is a question but there's no doubt that both coalitions now are showing some fractures.

[11:45:10]

BLITZER: Good point. Ron Brownstein, thank you very, very much.

BROWNSTEIN: You got it.

BLITZER: Happening now. The jury selection is underway in the involuntary manslaughter trial of the Michigan high school shooter's father. You'll remember the teen's mother was convicted last month. Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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BLITZER: In Michigan, jury selection is underway for the father of the teenage gunman at Oxford High School. James Crumbley faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter. One count for each of the students his son murdered back in 2021. His wife was convicted last month on all four counts.

CNN's Jean Casarez is joining us right now. Jean, how will the trial of James Crumbley differ from that of his wife?

[11:50:16]

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it will differ because the emphasis is going to be different. James Crumbley is the one that purchased that gun for his son. And there was no secret it was an early Christmas present, a nine-millimeter SIG SAUER gun.

And his name is the registered owner. He's on the receipt. So, he is in control of the care, the custody, and the safekeeping of that gun. That's going to be really I think, Exhibit A for the prosecution.

Also, that text that Ethan wrote to his friend in his bedroom one night as they were texting back and forth -- he and his friend, he said, you know, I really asked my dad for mental health treatment. I need help. But he laughed at me. Told me to suck it up and take a pill.

Well, the defense fought hard to not get that into this trial. Because they say look, you have a right to confront your witnesses. We can't confront a text. They did not win. That is coming in.

And so, the only way I think the defense can really work around that is to put James Crumbley on the stand. Alternatively, it could be an argument. But I think another issue that has come up is that the prosecution wanted, and they are getting two more witnesses in this trial.

Number one, one of the students that was shot but not killed. And from sitting in that courtroom during Ethan Crumbley's hearings, that is emotional testimony to see a minor -- a child talk about getting shot. Secondly, the previous gun owner of that nine-millimeter is going to take the stand. That was a used gun that James Crumbley purchased. And he's going to testify that he got a cable lock with it.

We already know a cable lock came with the gun that James Crumbley purchased. We don't ever see it being used in any picture. So, prosecution is going to have that.

But I think one big thing I just have to leave you with this. The defense really wanted to change the venue because, Wolf, you just said, it was about a month ago that Jennifer Crumbley was convicted in that same courthouse -- in that same courtroom, community is infused with his guilty verdict. And they said Your Honor, we need to go to another city in Michigan. Got -- the judge refused. So, jury selection today to get that jury is right in the same community.

BLITZER: All right. Jean Casarez reporting for us, thank you very much. Just ahead. A satellite that detects methane is about to begin its patrol from space. We'll explain. That's next.

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[11:56:55]

BLITZER: Fossil fuel companies and governments are on notice a brand- new satellite will now be tracking methane gas emissions around the globe. CNN Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, ignition. And lift off -- (INAUDIBLE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Paid for by the likes of billionaire Jeff Bezos and other donors, the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund just launched a new kind of eye in the sky. MethaneSAT is designed to circle the Earth every 95 minutes or so. And with cutting-edge detail, spot plumes and leaks of planet cooking pollution long associated with the production of natural gas. If carbon dioxide is a blanket of average thickness overheating the earth for centuries, methane is like a blanket seven feet thick, with over 80 times the heat-trapping power of CO2 for about two decades after its release. Sometimes it leaks from old equipment or orphan wells. And sometimes when there's no one to buy it, companies just burn it in a practice known as flaring.

KELSEY ROBINSON, PROGRAM MANAGER, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: What we found here in the Permian Basin is that operators are wasting enough gas to heat about two million homes a year.

WEIR (voiceover): In 2021, E.D.F. took us up over the oil and gas fields of Texas to sniff out methane leakers with a specially equipped airplane.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, this is carbon dioxide down here.

WEIR: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is methane.

WEIR (voiceover): But now they can fly over every oil and gas basin in the world where 80 percent of global supplies are fracked and pumped.

STEVEN HAMBURG, CHIEF SCIENTIST, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: We can basically create a movie of what's going on with respect to methane emissions. Before, we can just take snapshots when we had a plane in the air, and we can get permission to fly. This is a whole new game. It really creates an enormous leap forward in our ability to really understand greenhouse gas emissions.

WEIR (voiceover): While other satellites can spot methane, what they find is often kept private. But E.D.F. says that in about 18 months, their data will be open and free on Google Earth Engine for anyone to see.

HAMBURG: You just have a real clarity now. A clarity we never hadn't before. And I think people realize you don't have to accept on what somebody says whether that's a government or a company. You can actually directly look at it, and see what it is. And that is completely different than anything we've ever had for greenhouse gases. What I refer to as we're going to have radical transparency.

WEIR: And what has been the response from the oil and gas companies that you're doing this?

HAMBURG: Well, I think many of the companies see this as a real opportunity because they really do believe and I suspect they're right that they're doing a good job, but many of them aren't. It gives countries and companies the tools to select who they buy gas from and where that gas comes from. So, the first time they'll have the ability to make really informed decisions. And those informed decisions will have an enormous positive impact on the climate.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: Our thanks to Bill Weir for that report. Before we go, a very quick and special thanks to one of our many loyal viewers for watching.

[12:00:09]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Breaking news this morning. The United States Supreme Court ruling that former President Donald Trump cannot be removed from any state's ballot.

JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: I think the real breaking news here is Wolf Blitzer and I turned to be merging. I -- we are becoming one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: I want to just say this to Jon, welcome to the Wolfpack, and very nice glasses. I'll be back later today with Kate Bolduan at 4:00 p.m. Eastern for special coverage of Super Tuesday. "INSIDE POLITICS" with Dana Bash starts right now.