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Biden And Trump Dominate Contests On Super Tuesday; Key Israeli War Cabinet Member Meets Top U.S. Officials; Violent Gangs Launch Coordinated Attacks In Port-Au-Prince; Paul Whelan: Opposition Figure's Death "Extremely Worrying"; Super Tuesday Primary Races; China Sets Growth Target of Around 5 percent for 2024; More Arrests in India in the Alleged Gang Rape of a Foreign Tourist; Toddler's "Golden Girls" Inspired Hairstyle is a Hit. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 06, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up here on CNN, warning signs for both Joe Biden and Donald Trump as they wrap up big wins on Super Tuesday, the biggest day of voting in the presidential primaries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The hostage deal is in the hands of Hamas right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Which means no deal for now, with Hamas continuing to bother permanent ceasefire first, before any hostages are released.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We in Ukraine proved what we are capable of, what power we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Apparent seems to seek another Russian warship sunk in the Black Sea after an attack by Ukrainian sea drones.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: We'll had the music and had the graphics and had all the trappings so it turns out Super Tuesday was super predictable, even super dull, with 15 states at one U.S. territory voting in the presidential primary. And the headline, the race for the White House is inching closer to a rematch between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump. Here are some of the latest states reporting results in delegate rich California, CNN projecting a win for Donald Trump. Also for Joe Biden, who so far has won all but one Super Tuesday contests. A small prize on the big night for Nikki Haley, CNN projects Trump's only last remaining challenger will win for months Republican primary, she gets 17 delegates. Despite that, Trump is certainly a commanding lead in the delegate count. There we are. Here he has 85 so far to Trump's 936.
A short time ago, Trump delivered a confusing victory speech where he criticized President Joe Biden and his immigration policies also lied about his own four years in office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They call it Super Tuesday for a reason. This is a big one. And they tell me the pundits and otherwise that there's never been one like this. There's never been anything so conclusive. This was an amazing, an amazing night, an amazing day. It's been an incredible period of time and our country's history. It's been said in so many ways, but I think it's going to be inspiring, because we're going to do something that frankly, nobody has been able to do for a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's Kristen Holmes begins our coverage report again from Palm Beach, Florida.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I am told by Trump's senior advisors that they are now focusing solely on the general election. In the next couple of weeks, you should expect them to expand out their campaign operations in places like Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, states that they believe are high priority battleground states.
Now we've seen a lot of polling that shows Donald Trump ahead in some of these days, but they're not taking any of this for granted. They do not believe that every single poll is completely accurate. They believe that every vote is going to count. And then any kind of rematch with President Joe Biden is going to be incredibly close. So that's why you're seeing them start to build out this operation now.
They also know that their candidate is incredibly polarizing. So that's something they have to work on. Now, some -- one of the things that I've been told by a senior advisor, they're wanting to look into tonight is looking at some of the datasets and seeing how it could shape some of their strategy in these battleground states, particularly when you're looking at states like Virginia not quite a battleground state that more leans blue, but states like North Carolina, which, again, means a little bit red, but it's still considered a purple or battleground state.
The other part of what you notice tonight from Donald Trump was the fact that he stayed on message for Donald Trump. This is what his campaign advisors and what his allies want him to continue to do, not mentioning Nikki Haley, not going off into any rabbit holes but instead focusing on immigration, the economy, and the general election, even talked about unifying the party.
Now of course, Donald Trump does not have a good track record when it comes to unifying the Republican Party. However, this is exactly what his campaign, his allies want him to continue to do, as they had in to November.
VAUSE: Joining me now from Los Angeles is Democratic strategist Caroline Heldman. And from Mountain View, California, Lanhee Chen, policy director for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. Good to see both of you. Thank you for staying up.
CAROLINE HELDMAN, PROFESSOR, CRITICAL THEORY & SOCIAL JUSTICE, OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: Great to see you, John.
LANHEE CHEN, POLICY DIRECTOR FOR MITT ROMNEY'S 2012 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Thanks John.
VAUSE: OK. So I want you to listen to Donald Trump speaking just a few hours ago, a little low energy that still able to spread some confusion and delusion over immigration period.
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TRUMP: We had to safest border the best numbers we've ever had and now we have the worst numbers probably, probably in the history of the world. It's sad to see what's happening to our cities. Our cities are being overrun with migrant crime. And that's Biden migrant crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:05:18]
VAUSE: So, Lanhee, first to you, are we looking at a preview of the campaign Trump plans to run in November, demonize migrants, lie about his time as president, throw a few insults at Biden and go back to the cities being overrun and chaos and everything we had back in 2016?
CHEN: Well, the Trump campaign and Republicans have clearly seen immigration as the issue that they want to talk about. Now, how that's talked about, you know, you heard former President Trump talk about it in a way that only former President Trump really can. But this is one of those issues that I think there is a real, both tactical as well as strategic advantage for Republicans right now.
And so this is something they're going to continue to drive over the next couple of months. Now, the dynamic may change, you know, there's still a long way to go between now and November. But at least for now, this is one of those issues where clearly, they believe that there's a tactical and strategic advantage, and that's where they're going to go to.
VAUSE: Caroline, how much is the issue of immigration and migrant crime has been juiced by Donald Trump essentially lying?
HELDMAN: Well, he's certainly lying about the idea that immigrants have higher rates of crime, they actually have lower rates of crime than natural born folks. I think Lanhee is right that Republicans are going to use this as a bludgeon in the election. But I don't know if they have quite the advantage, though, given that they gave up on a bill that would have comprehensively addressed the issue.
I think Biden and the Democrats do have some standing on that. And I would imagine that, well, immigration is the issue that is driving Republicans now, I'm looking at polls and reproductive rights are driving Democrats. So we're going to see these two culture war issues play out primarily in this election along with of course, with the economy.
VAUSE: You know, Donald Trump, in that speech, he could have taken a moment, after a very big night, a very successful night, maybe to reach out to Nikki Haley. But, no, here he was on "Fox News" long before the polls closed.
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TRUMP: There's no path for her to win. Whether you she likes hearing that or not, there's no path for her to win, no matter what. Now today, I should win hopefully every state.
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VAUSE: Should have waited for Vermont. Lanhee, how important will Haley voters be for Donald Trump come November? How hard will it be for him to win them over? How hard will it be for Democrats to win them over?
CHEN: Yes, I mean, we're looking at anywhere between, you know, 20 to 40 percent of the Republican electorate, depending on the state that voted for Nikki Haley. And if you look at the exit polling, what is absolutely clear is that those Nikki Haley voters feel very differently than Trump voters about Donald Trump. And so this is going to be in my mind one of the crucial questions going into this election cycle, which is can Donald Trump unite the Republican Party and bring back some significant percentage, he doesn't need to bring back all of them. But he's going to have to be able to bring back some significant percentage of those voters if he wants to compete, particularly in the swing states.
Now, the polling at this point suggests that there is a little bit of an advantage for Donald Trump in several of these states. But I do think that for that to hold, he is going to have to secure the support of Republicans at a pretty significant level. And at least at this point, if you look state after state, there is a significant non- trivial chunk of Republican voters that are not happy with Donald Trump as the Republican nominee.
VAUSE: So Caroline, can Donald Trump unite the Democrat Party? Because right now it seems that coalition which sent Joe Biden to the White House in 2020, just isn't there right now.
HELDMAN: They are not enthusiastic for sure. Both candidates have high unfavorability ratings about 60 percent of Americans would prefer that these were not their candidates. And yet, here we are. I think that for Trump, that warning sign that Lanhee noted was really a protest vote against Trump. And granted, some of these are open primaries. So there were Democrats or Independents voting, but there's a substantial number even in closed primaries, casting those protest votes against Donald Trump.
The question for Biden is whether or not as you point out, John, whether or not he's going to incentivize people to actually show up to the polls come November. We know that people are much more concerned about his age than they are Donald Trump's. I would imagine that Biden will go hard after Trump since they're, you know, they're both older guys. And they both have plenty of gaffes that have been recorded by video and otherwise. So I would assume that that gap will close. But really, this is such a contest between two really unpopular candidates that most Americans actually don't want to see on the ballot.
VAUSE: Yet, so it's kind of a rerun of 2016 in many ways. And, you know, once again, the polls show very close race between Biden and Trump. It is a different story when it comes to fundraising. CNN and others are reporting that, you know, Trump has met with Elon Musk amid some fundraising concerns. So Lanhee, you know, money talks. And right now the Biden campaign is light years ahead of the Trump campaign, Biden has about $56 billion on hand, Trump has $30 million. And that says a lot about committed support. Because right now, it seems Trump donors are tapped out. So where does this go from here?
[01:10:26]
CHEN: Well, the big factor in U.S. politics is obviously you have the campaign funding. But we have all these outside groups in American politics. We have Super PACs, we have groups that are affiliated with campaigns, but they're not obviously officially legally permitted to coordinate with those campaigns. So I think it's important to take a look at the broader universe of what the funding situation looks like.
I think that the two sides are going to be relatively similarly funded if you take into account the entire constellation of groups. Now, the efficacy of different campaign ads and what those groups do, we can certainly quibble over those issues. But this is going to be a multibillion dollar campaign when all is said and done, in my view. And it's going to be a situation where, unfortunately, from my perspective, both sides are going to spend their time trying to disqualify the other. And it does have shades of 2016. There's no question about it.
VAUSE: Listen to Nikki Haley, speaking on Monday about, you know, Trump and campaign contributions and legal funds and Biden and why this campaign this year is so unusual. Here she is.
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NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not normal for Donald Trump to pick the side of a tyrant over our allies. It's not normal for Donald Trump to go on pay $60 million in campaign contributions towards his personal court cases. It's not normal for Donald Trump to continue to mock the military. And it's not normal when Joe Biden calls his opponents fascists and Donald Trump calls his opponents vermin. None of that is normal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Caroline, it's a good point, isn't it? This is not a normal presidential election, and these certainly aren't two normal candidates who you would expect to see. And yet here we are.
HELDMAN: Well, it's unbridled Donald Trump, right? 2016, if you recall, Super Tuesday was the big day he wins 11 states and his rhetoric starts to ramp up, because it's obvious that this is, you know, the racism and the sexism are appealing to a certain segment of the American population. And then in 2020, we see him even more emboldened, but now running again, it seems like he's on a different level.
And Biden, of course, is going to be going after him much more aggressively than he has. I think that's probably a good idea for him, especially starting with the State of the Union in a couple of days, because the harder he goes after Trump, the more he is going to appear presidential because of the way in which we think about presidential masculinity, unfortunately. And I would love for this to be a race, about policies. But, you know, Lanhee pointed out it's really going to be about these candidates going after each other.
And, you know, folks didn't vote for Biden in 2020. They voted against Trump. So the question really, for me, is whether or not Biden can get folks scared enough to show up to the polls to vote against Trump again in 2024.
VAUSE: Caroline and Lanhee, it's been a while. It's good to see you both. Thanks for being with us.
HELDMAN: Good to see you.
CHEN: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Cheers.
HELDMAN: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, country's airdrops desperately needed food aid in northern Gaza on Tuesday, only a limited amount of aid is being allowed in by Israel. The United States and Jordan sent the equivalent of about 37,000 meals, while the UAE and Egypt delivered 42 tons of food and medical supplies. The World Health Organization says malnutrition levels in Gaza's north are particularly extreme, roughly three times higher than the South.
Committed aid deliveries have resulted in severe food poverty and acute malnourishment. U.N. panel of experts today accused Israel of, quote, intentionally starving the Palestinian people. And a senior Hamas official accuses Israel of stalling negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for more Israeli hostages. He says there could be no exchange of prisoners until there is first a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. America's senior diplomat says it's all through on Hamas to except at immediate truce. That sentiment echoed by U.S. President Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: The hostage deal is in the hands of Hamas right now. Because there's been an offer, a rational offer. Israelis have agreed to it. And wait and see what the Hamas does.
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VAUSE: Those comments by President Biden come as a U.S. diplomat tells CNN Washington has circulated a newly revised U.N. Security draft resolution to back an immediate six weeks ceasefire in Gaza, with the release of all Israeli hostages. Meanwhile, groups of protesters gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the U.S. Consulate in Tel Aviv, calling on President Biden to help secure a deal that will see the release of all those hostages, more than 100 right now.
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And the top U.S. official has expressed frustration over the situation in Gaza to an Israeli war cabinet member, Benny Gantz, who's currently visiting Washington. They also pushed for Israel to open another crossing to deliver humanitarian assistance. Details from CNN's Alex Marquardt in Washington.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The Israeli war cabinet minister, Benny Gantz, wrapped up a three-day trip to Washington on Tuesday, a trip that included meetings with the most senior members of the Biden administration, except for the President. On Tuesday, he met with the U.S. Secretaries of Defense and State. It was a controversial visit because Gantz is a rival of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was reportedly enraged that Benny Gantz made this trip and then forbade the Israeli embassy here in Washington for supporting the visit.
An Israeli official told CNN that Gantz was not here representing the Israeli government. But he is seen by U.S. officials as a potential future prime minister of Israel. And as a current member of the Israeli war cabinet, U.S. administration officials defended their meetings with him in Washington, National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby said, quote, the conversations were constructive and productive and hope that he goes home informed by them, end quote.
The Biden administration has been ratcheting up its criticism of Israel in recent days for not allowing more aid into Gaza. Both the President and Vice President have said that there is no excuse and called on Israel to open more border crossings into the Gaza Strip. U.S. officials have said repeatedly, there is more urgency to get aid into Gaza after more than 100 Palestinians were killed last week in a single incident, after they rushed an aid convoy in northern Gaza.
Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
VAUSE: Well, we're hearing now from the U.N. panel, which carried out an investigation into sexual violence by Hamas fighters on Israel -- on Israelis rather. A U.N. team visited the region, said they found clear and convincing information that hostages taken to Gaza was sexually abused. The report also says there's reasonable grounds to believe that sexual violence including rape is ongoing that has occurred on October 7th. The mission was not an investigation. Instead, the U.N. says it aims to gather, analyze and verify information. Here's the head of that U.N. mission speaking now with CNN about the findings.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRAMILA PATTEN, U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT: And came to this finding of reasonable grounds to believe that in at least three different locations, Nova Festival, music festival site, the Road 232 and kibbutz Re'im, that there were instances of sexual violence in the form of rape and gang rape, in addition to other forms of sexual violence, and we found in two in two cases, rape of corpses.
And indeed, it's very disturbing. But when it comes to hostages whom we met, we met some recently released hostages and got direct information from them. And we got -- we had a finding of clear and convincing information that sexual violence did occur against what was in captivity. And we also have reasonable grounds to believe that there are risks of ongoing -- of ongoing sexual violence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The United Nations is also looking into alleged Israeli abuses against Palestinians.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATTEN: I went there. I went to Ramallah. And I met with recently released detainees who said very disturbing information with me and with my technical team because my technical team went back about strip searches, about threats of rape, about prolonged forced nudity. And also they expressed concerns about sexual harassment and threats of rape during house raids, and at checkpoints.
And I must say that I have solid information more and more in depth information in this regard from U.N. entities operating in the occupied Palestinian Authority, which will be in the annual report of the Secretary General, which will be debated before the Security Council on the 25th of April.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Special envoy has also added this that there has -- there is a request for information on sexual violence carried out in Gaza.
We'll take a short break. When we come back, the violence spiraling out of control in Haiti. Armed gangs launching coordinated attacks, taking over police stations in the capital.
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Also ahead, Ukrainian forces may be struggling on the frontlines but Ukrainian sea drones has struck another major blow. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Criminal armed gangs in Haiti have launched a coordinated attacks on police stations in the capital. The Nation Armed Forces have reportedly been deployed to protect the airport which also apparently is under attack as well. The police academy where hundreds of cadets are stationed has been targeted as well. Now Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors Without Borders, reports widespread injuries in the capital for a weekend prison outbreak. The U.N. says Haiti desperately needs humanitarian assistance as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANE DUJARRIC, U.N. SPOKESPERSON: 5.5 million people, that's nearly half of Haiti's population need humanitarian assistance. This year $674 million humanitarian appeal for Haiti is just 2.5 percent funded. That means it has received only $17 million.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry landed in Puerto Rico Tuesday, after unsuccessfully trying to return home to Haiti via the neighboring Dominican Republic. Details are from CNN's Caitlin Hu who recently returned from Haiti.
CAITLIN HU, CNN SENIOR EDITOR: After days of speculation about his whereabouts, Haiti's leader, Ariel Henry, has appeared in nearby Puerto Rico according to a local government spokesperson. His plane landed in what would appear to be an attempt to reach his own country where gang violence is currently exploding.
Henry has not been seen in public since last week when he visited Kenya to sign an agreement on a mission intended to help Haiti's police beat back the gangs. But around the same time that deal was signed, the same gangs launched a wave of coordinated attacks on capital city of Port-au-Prince. And according to the leader of one gang coalition, Jimmy Cherizier, who goes by the name Barbecue. The attacks are intended to overthrow Henry's government.
The attacks of targeted state institutions, the gangs have burned down police stations and broken into two prisons releasing thousands of prisoners. And they've also targeted the airport where it seems they're waiting for Henry's return. Security sources say the love of coordination between previously warring gangs is unprecedented. This time they're using each other's territories to launch attacks for example.
And amid the chaos, Haiti's government has declared a state of emergency. The neighboring Dominican Republic has stopped all flights connecting to Haiti. Meanwhile, the civilian toll is rising. The United Nation says thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes. And that adds the over 300,000 who had already been displaced by gang violence before this escalation.
Caitlin Hu, CNN, New York. VAUSE: Another blow to Vladimir Putin's naval fleet in the Black Sea and now Ukraine's President warns, there are no longer any safe harbors there for Russian ships. According to Ukraine's military intelligence, attack drones sunk this Russian patrol ship on Tuesday. Sergei Kotov has been targeted before. A spokesperson for the Defense Intelligence Agency says this time the ship was, quote, destroyed for sure. Ukraine says it's now disabled or destroyed a third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it's a sign of Ukrainian might.
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ZELENSKYY (through translator): Russian killers will be held accountable. And that's for sure. Today, I want to thank all of our soldiers all the units that restore security and control both in the Ukrainian skies and in our Black Sea. We in Ukraine proved what we are capable of, what power we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two of Russia's top military commanders. The court has issued the arrest for Sergei Kobylash, a lieutenant general in the Russian Armed Forces. And Viktor Sokolov, an admiral in the Russian Navy. The ICC says they are responsible for war crimes, such as directly attacks on Ukrainian civilians, causing excessive harm to civilians. If a (ph) committee inhumane acts, which is a crime against humanity. The court's top prosecutor says it will pursue justice at all costs.
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KARIM KHAN, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT PROSECUTOR: The message is clear. We will continue to investigate in Ukraine, go deeper. And we will not hesitate to bring further applications if and when the evidence requires us to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: More details out from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: A profound development really in the war in Ukraine. Two key Russian military commanders both functioning in the Black Sea area issued arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court. Two of them both accused of being involved in attacks on civilian infrastructure and essentially the damage that has caused to the civilian population, essentially killing innocent civilians here. The warrant points to two individuals Admiral Viktor Sokolov, and another man, Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, both of whom were key commanders in the Black Sea.
The warrant suggests during the last couple of years while much munitions fight against civilian areas were initially originating from the Black Sea Fleet. That Black Sea Fleet itself though targeted by Ukraine over the past hours. The Ukrainian intelligence service suggesting they managed to take out a patrol ship called the Sergei Kotov that costs $65 million. They said another example of how Ukraine has begun to project its force into areas that Moscow would normally have considered to be its safe territory. These outlying suggestions of Ukrainian strategic success, it comes at a time of extraordinary trouble for Ukraine here near the eastern front where I'm standing.
You can hear the distant rumble of explosions far away from me. Really Ukraine is struggling to hold the defensive line. It said it will be able to maintain after it pulled out at the town of Avdiivka, about two weekends ago. Avdiivka have been fought over for months. And Ukraine said that it had voluntarily pulled back. It gave up a number of villages in its retreat. And it said it would hold another three villages. Those villages themselves under significant Russian repeated persistent assault.
Russia would throw extraordinary resources at these particular objectives. And Ukraine, I think on the best day struggling to suggest that it has that fight calmed entirely. It's significant because if we do see Russia continue to put pressure on Ukrainian frontlines around me here, there are minimal signs that there is another back defensive line prepared for Ukraine to be able to hold. And so we are dealing with a very complex time for Ukrainian at this moment.
They're able to project success in the Black Sea. Yes, they even suggested in the recent days, they hit a bridge 500 miles inside Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they took 15 fighter jets out of the sky in February alone. They are doing things that nobody felt they could do at the start of the war. But the one thing that we're able to do right now is hold key parts of the Donbas frontline because they haven't got the ammunition they need from the West.
And that is because of the holdup in Republican held Congress, no sign of that changing at all. And we hear from Ukrainian fighters on the frontline here that it's simply a matter of life and death until that changes. And already, the resurgence of Russia is changing the frontline calculus daily.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.
VAUSE: The head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, says outspoken Putin and critic, Alexei Navalny, died his own death in prison. Pressure is now going on the Kremlin to provide answers about how Navalny died unexpectedly in prison last month. More than 40 countries including the United States have blamed Putin for Navalny's death and are calling for an independent investigation.
The Kremlin continues to deny any involvement. An American detained in Russia for more than five years says Navalny's death, is extremely worrying for him. Paul Whelan was arrested in Moscow in 2018. He's serving a 16-year prison sentence on espionage charges, which he vehemently denies. And he spoke exclusively to CNN as he was spending his 54th birthday behind bars.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL WHELAN, WRONGFULLY DETAINED IN RUSSIA: I can't say too much for obvious reasons, but one thing I will say is that if they can get to him, they can get to me. And what that means is if they are willing to face the repercussions from the world for doing in somebody like Navalny, they are not going to think twice about doing in someone like me and then blaming the United States for not bothering to get me back in five years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The U.S. State Department says Whelan has been wrongfully detained.
With that we will take a short break. When we come back a super Super- Tuesday for Donald Trump. But what about Nikki Haley? Let's hear from her campaign when we come back.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone.
I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
It was a super predictable, Super Tuesday in the U.S., the biggest day of voting during the U.S. presidential primaries. No surprise, U.S. President Joe Biden is projected to win every Democrat contest so far, except one. That would be American Samoa. Biden campaign official brushed off the loss, calling it silly news.
Donald Trump also won bigly. As expected, he's projected to extend his lead over Republican rival Nikki Haley by more than 800 delegates, putting the country even closer for a Biden-Trump rematch this November. Surprise, surprise.
Trump celebrated the Super Tuesday wins with a familiar message to his supporters. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of people say, a lot of experts have said the stock market's the only thing that's doing well and that's doing well because our poll numbers are so much higher than Joe Biden's. He's the worst president in the history of our country.
They want open borders and open borders are going to destroy our country. We need borders and we need free and fair elections or we don't have a country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Trump also continued to push a false narrative that Joe Biden was behind all of Trump's legal troubles or 91 indictments or charges rather.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have a very divided country. We have a country that a political person uses weaponization against his political opponent. Never happened here. It happens in other countries, but they're third world countries.
And in some ways we're a third world country. We're a third world country at our borders. And were a third world country at our elections. And we have to stop that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:34:52]
VAUSE: Tuesday wasn't a total wash for Nikki Haley. CNN projects she'll win Vermont.
More now from CNN's Kylie Atwood reporting in from Charleston, South Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nikki Haley's campaign responding to the results on Super Tuesday saying that she is honored to have received the support of millions of Americans and going on to point out that she is the first woman to have won two presidential primary states.
Vermont is one of them, the District of Columbia is the other one. But the statement also went on to point out the fact that there is not unity within the Republican Party right now.
I want to read to you a bit of that saying quote "Today in state after state, there remains a large bloc of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump. That is not the unity our party needs for success. Addressing these voters concerns will make the Republican Party and America better."
Now this statement not saying when Nikki Haley plans to address the public. We know that on the eve of Super Tuesday, she has no plans to make public remarks, but we will watch for Wednesday to see if she comes out and speaks with her voters and tells them what the future of her campaign holds.
Kylie Atwood, CNN -- Charleston, South Carolina
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Live now to Los Angeles and Ron Brownstein, CNN's senior political analyst. He's the senior editor for "The Atlantic" and a savant of reading the entrails of demographic data and exit polls. Thank you for staying up.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
John, I've covered -- I've covered some Super Tuesdays and this was something less.
VAUSE: Yes. It was super boring. I mean, I never know what the hoopla was about, but you know, i8t was a big night for Donald Trump.
So with that in mind, you know, here's CNN's David Chalian with some exit poll data from voters who cast their ballot for Nikki Haley in North Carolina. Listen to this.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Feelings (ph) if Donald Trump wins the nomination, obviously you might suspect this will be a largely dissatisfied group, 73 percent of Haley voters in North Carolina say they will be downright dissatisfied if indeed Donald Trump wins the nomination.
And what about will you vote Republican in November regardless of who that nominee is?
Haley voters, and this is the warning sign for Donald Trump. 81 percent of them say no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: What do you make of those numbers?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Look two things are demonstrably true through these -- through these rounds of primaries, Donald Trump's coalition is the dominant faction in the Republican Party. He is on track to win more primaries and caucuses than any non-incumbent ever.
And to the point where we might even really you should correctly understand it to be a quasi-incumbent in this race. But there is a consistent third, 25 to 35 percent, of the party coalition that is resistant to him and they are demographically similar from state to state.
It's basically the same voters who have moved away from the Republican Party since he emerged as its leading figure in 2016. Primarily white- collar suburbanites who are probably right of center on a lot of issues, particularly economic issues. But find Trump, you know, unacceptable on multiple fronts and are probably more centrist on social issues.
Now you know, that is the pool that Joe Biden can fish in. The complication for him is that I think the vast majority -- the vast, vast majority of those voters also have a negative opinion of how he has performed as president.
And the question of how these, you know, what some people call the double-hater voters who are down on Trump, but also negative on Biden's performance. How they sort out in November will be a big factor in how this ultimately tips.
VAUSE: Double-hater voter, that's a -- I like that line. Ok.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
VAUSE: In recent days, A.I.-generated photos showing Trump surrounded by black supporters -- these are A.I.-generated, fake. Like this one right here. They've gone viral. Apparently, they are being made by Trump's white supporters to get a point across.
The photos are fake, but the increase support from black voters for Trump is real. And that's a real problem for Biden. That's a key core of that coalition which got him to the White House in 2020.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, you know, John. It's interesting, you know, for high quality national polls came out over the weekend and they gave a strikingly consistent picture. They all had Trump up over Biden by two to four points. But here's been interesting -- a really interesting part about them.
Biden's vote among white voters was pretty close to his level in 2020 and pretty close to the level that he would likely need to win. There wasn't that much deterioration. In fact, in some of the polls, he was exactly where he was among non-college whites and better than he was among college whites.
So how is he trailing after winning last time? The reason is that Trump is performing in these polls at this point, at a higher level than any Republican has among non-white voters.
[01:39:53]
BROWNSTEIN: He's not only winning about a quarter of black voters consistently in these polls, he's winning as much as 45 percent of Hispanic voters.
And these are voters who are discontented, I think primarily over inflation and who felt that they have not seen many material benefits out of Biden's presidency.
The question is whether Trump can hold those voters all the way to November, particularly in the key swing states, once Biden and Democratic allies really focus in on many of the provocative things he said and are proposing like for example, can he really holds 45 percent of Hispanic voters when he's talking about mass deportation, internment camps and using military action against Mexico. Maybe -- maybe the discontent over inflation is high enough, but it is -- it is an unproven proposition.
And the same thing with black voters. To be a 25 percent would be a remarkable showing for him, but he has said and done a lot of things. They give Democrats ammunition to try to knock that number back down.
VAUSE: Polls are reflective, not predictive. We should make that point. Here's John King with a closer look at some of the other headwinds that Joe Biden is facing. And one of the biggest it seems is his age. Listen to this.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here's the troubling part, even in his own party, the president needs big Democratic turnout in the fall. More than half, 56 percent of Democrats say they think he's too old to be an effective president. 43 percent say no.
So that is one challenge for the president as he runs out the primary season as he gives that big speech Thursday night. Address that.
The problems are deeper for the president. Again, he is the incumbent president. 24 percent of Americans say the countries on the right track; two-thirds, two-thirds say it is not. 65 percent say the country is on the wrong track as the president prepares to deliver his State of the Union Address.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: At this point, it seems Biden is facing a lot more challenges than Trump and Trump's been indicted four times and faces more than federal -- 90 federal criminal charges.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. You know, I think part of the reason for that is that when you have an incumbent president seeking reelection, historically that campaign is primarily about him and his performance.
I mean, when we have presidents with approval ratings that have been comfortably over 50 percent going into reelection -- Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton -- they've won comfortably. When we had presidents with approval ratings in the past in the range that Joe Biden is today, under 40 percent, 40 percent or below that -- Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Trump himself -- they've lost.
So in many ways, Biden has to defy history, given that he is at 38 percent. Now, we saw in 2022 that an unprecedented number of voters who disapproved of Biden's performance and were down on the economy, still voted for Democrats because they viewed the Republican alternative as unacceptable, too extreme, a threat to their rights. threat to their values, a threat to their democracy.
That dynamic will help Biden again but it is not as I have said, it is not an infinite ladder. I mean, there are clearly people who will say Biden is doing a bad job or he's too old, but I will vote for him anyway because I don't want Trump. There's not an infinite number of people that will do that.
And the question is if he cannot get his approval rate up a little bit, are there 15 million people who will make that calculation?
You know, that is a tall order for Biden, so certainly the State of the Union is important because no matter what he does to damage Trump and certainly there's lots of ammunition for that, if the voters remain as down on him as they are, it is still an uphill climb for an incumbent president. VAUSE: Ron, some really great points and great analysis there. We appreciate you being with us. Thank you, sir.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me, John.
VAUSE: Cheers.
Well, Rupert Murdoch is pulling his right-wing channel, Talk TV off British Airways. The media mogul launched the opinion-focused network just two years ago, hoping to replicate the success of Fox News in the U.K. Talk TV will stop broadcasting in a few months and will switch to online only.
The decision comes weeks after political commentator, piers morgan announced he was leaving Talk TV and taking his show uncensored to YouTube, where he has more than 2 million subscribers.
When we come back, a bold new target for China's economy. Beijing puts growth front and center as leaders gather for their annual congress in the great hall of the people. More on that in a moment.
[01:44:03]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Day two of the National People's Congress in Beijing and already an ambitious economic growth target has been set of around 5 percent. They're now working to try and restore confidence in the world's second largest economy which is facing a number of challenges including the property sector, pressure from deflation, a low birth rate isn't helping much either.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is in Hong Kong with details on this year's congress and why it is so important and what they're trying to do with his economic growth target of 5 percent and how they're going to get there.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is a big question and there is skepticism out there. And with the Chinese economy under such immense pressure, the Chinese president Xi Jinping is now calling for the nation to unleash new quality, productive forces.
At the National People's Congress annual gathering underway trying to set that ambitious growth target around 5 percent this year as its trying to transform its growth model, but no major stimulus measures were announced.
And elders (ph) fear that China has a target, but it doesn't have a plan. One analyst at UBS says this quote, "The growth target is ok. But the missing part is how they want to achieve that. What sort of stimulus is unclear for now," unquote.
Now during the NBC Xi Jinping spoke to a delegation from Jiangxi Province and he used this new mantra. Let's bring up Xi Jinping's words saying quote "Developing new quality, productive forces does not mean neglecting or abandoning traditional industries. It is necessary to prevent a headlong rush into projects in the formation of industry bubbles," unquote.
Now that term "new productive forces" that was coined, that was used by Xi Jinping late last year when he emphasized the need for new growth model based on innovation. Xi Jinping may be putting the focus on future growth, but China to right now faces a number of dire economic challenges like the property crisis, like deflation, like weak consumer spending, high youth unemployment, rising local government debt, et cetera, et cetera.
And the situation has gotten so bad that it has been called a drag on world output by the IMF. We are awaiting to hear any details if they're released this afternoon 3:00 p.m. local times at the top of the hour, the press conference in Beijing with senior Chinese officials, including the central bank governor, along with China's commerce minister, or finance minister, and its top securities regulator to get any more information about how China plans to reach that ambitious target, John.
VAUSE: It feels like the great leap forward when Chairman Mao, you know, demanded that increase of yields in the crops and their produce and inevitably (INAUDIBLE).
Kristie, we'll see if they have a plan and we'll see how it works out. Thank you. Kristie Lu Stout live for us --
(CROSSTALKING)
STOUT: Yes.
VAUSE: -- in Hong Kong.
STOUT: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, to an escalating dispute now, in the South China Sea. The Philippines coast guard is accusing a Chinese vessel of causing minor damage during a collision saying dangerous maneuvers were being performed by the Chinese.
The Philippines releasing this footage shows China -- says China also deployed a water cannon. However, China is saying it took what it calls control measures after ships from the Philippines illegally intruded into disputed waters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAO NING, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: China's sovereignty and maritime rights and interests over these said territories were formed and established in the long course of history, have full historical and legal basis, and conform to the United Nations charter and international laws, including the United Nations convention on the law of the sea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:49:43] VAUSE: This collision is raising tensions at an already tense area in the South China Sea where there are territorial claims, not just by China, but also by the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Vietnam.
More arrests have been made in India in the alleged gang rape of a foreign tourist and the assault of her husband.
Details from CNN's Vedika Sud.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Five more arrests have been made in connection with the alleged gang rape of a female biker and a violent assault on her husband in India's eastern state of Jharkhand. That takes the total arrests to eight.
Addressing a press conference Tuesday, the police said they have confessions and forensic evidence and will push for a speedy trial and ask for the strictest punishment for the culprits. The accused have been booked for gang-rape and robbery. It's unclear if the alleged attackers had lawyers.
Soon after the announcement by the police the survivor put up a post on their Instagram page. She said, quote, "they have caught all the criminals. There were eight in all. Everything has gone very quickly. The police have been tremendously efficient."
She also asked for justice for all women who have been subjected to sexual violence. CNN is not naming the female victim in accordance with the Indian law that prevents the naming of victims of sexual violence. The incident has led to outrage. More than 100 bikers converged in (INAUDIBLE) in eastern India demanding justice for the survivor and capital punishment for the accused.
The incident came to light after the couple, both foreign nationals posted a video over the weekend on their Instagram page describing their ordeal. Both stopped for the night in Dumka (ph) district when the alleged attack took place.
In one of the videos, the husband said a knife was held to their throats and his wife was gang-raped.
According to government data, more than 31,500 rape cases were recorded in the year 2022, an average of 86 cases per day. Break that down further and that's a rape almost every 17 minutes in the country.
Vedika Sud, CNN -- New Delhi
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, why Miami is trying to break up with spring break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, we need to talk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This isn't working anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it's not us, it's you. We just want different things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our idea of a good time is relaxing on the beach --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- hitting up the spot --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- or checking out a new restaurant.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just want to get drunk in public and ignore laws.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you even remember what happened last march?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was our breaking point so we're breaking up with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Party's over it seems with a warning from Miami Beach. Curfew, security searches. and bag checks over spring break. More than 100 state troopers will also be deployed to Miami Beach and other cities in Florida to deal with the very large crowds which are expected.
A midnight curfew was put in place last year and also in 2022. That was after two shootings left five people injured.
Reality show star RuPaul is launching a new online bookstore called Allstora (ph) to promote queer literature and authors. Allstora?
The queer icon also announced that he'll be working with Rainbow Book Bus to distribute banned books to communities facing censorship across the U.S.. Rainbow Book Bus partners with local LGBTQ organizations to give away banned books and promote literacy.
Ten years after his death, fans of Columbian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez are celebrating the release of a new novel. The posthumous book "Until August" was written in 2004. But Garcia Marquez decided not to publish.
[01:54:55]
VAUSE: He was best known for his novels, "100 Years of Solitude" and "Love in a Time of Cholera". "Until August" releases in Spanish in the coming day, March 6, which is Garcia Marquez's birthday, if he was alive.
Nowadays, some kids want their hair braided. Some want pixie cuts or crewcuts. But a toddler in Texas is going viral for her throwback hairstyle reminiscence of the 1980s sitcom, "The Golden Girls".
Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She is a one-year-old, suddenly transformed into her golden years.
Theres a reason everywhere May Matthis is accompanied by "The Golden Girls" theme song.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She turned into a little -- a little mini-Betty White.
MOOS: After Evie's grandmother, a hairstylist, gave her first haircut, blow dry and tease, the result --
-- teased the internet into a frenzy of 80s nostalgia. That (INAUDIBLE), those padded shoulders, applying Liz Taylor's White Diamond perfume. Mom and grandma take their style cues from the comments people leave. Commenters recognize the 80s in Evie. I took a jazzercise class from her in '89. She sold me some Mary Kay Cosmetics last week.
Most say she reminds them of either Blanche or Rose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You did.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe I should have done my own hair. I've been doing it for years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's why it looks like something you buy on a stick at halftime.
MOOS: Evie's hair literally bounces. The other day it bounced -- to the grocery store. There's a whiff of the past in the wafers she passes, in the candies she passes out. Her mom says the secret sauce is the (INAUDIBLE) toddlers large volume of hair, and its texture.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And of course, just got a tease, tease the heck out of it.
MOOS: She says she was shocked when after that first hairstyling Evie --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Popped out looking like a -- like an old lady.
MOOS: Not old, golden --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: whose hair do I wash next.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: that was funny. Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
Stay with us. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a short break.
I was going to make a Golden Girls comment.
See you tomorrow.
[01:57:34]
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