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CNN International: Haley Suspends Presidential Run, Sets up Biden-Trump Rematch; Biden And Trump Rematch After Big Super Tuesday Wins; Haley Congratulates Trump, Doesn't Offer Endorsement. Aired 11a- 12p ET

Aired March 06, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon.

Two major stories we're watching for you right now in the U.S., Nikki Haley suspending her campaign for the Republican nomination. That announcement just a short time ago. And in Ukraine, a deadly strike reportedly landing near President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit by a NATO leader. We can confirm that both leaders were not injured.

But, we want to begin this hour with that political breaking news out of the U.S. Nikki Haley is out, suspending her 2024 campaign, and the rematch that many Americans say that they don't want, President Biden versus Donald Trump. Well, that's now almost a certainty. A short time ago, Haley announced that she is hitting pause on her presidential run after Donald Trump dominated the Republican Super Tuesday contests and put himself on the verge of clinching the nomination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The time has now come to suspend my campaign. I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard. I have done that. I have no regrets. And although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Well, Haley, at least for now is not endorsing Trump. And while she did congratulate him, she also said that the former President needs to earn the support of those who did not vote for him. That essentially brings us now to the start of the general election race between President Biden and Donald Trump.

Let's bring in our panel with us for the hour. Charlie Dent is the former Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania, and the Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program. Meghan Hays is a former Special Assistant to President Biden, the Director of Message and Planning, and the Washington Bureau Chief of The Boston Globe, Jackie Kucinich, all with us. Good to have you on.

Charlie, let me start with you. You just heard Nikki Haley there say that she wanted to make sure that Americans' voices are heard. She didn't clinch the nomination. But, what did we learn from her campaign? What now?

CHARLIE DENT, FORMER U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN, & EXEC. DIRECTOR, ASPEN INSTITUTE CONGRESSIONAL PROGRAM: Well, what I've taken out of her campaign is that the Republican Party is still very divided, and it's not evenly divided, but it is divided. There are a significant number of Republicans who simply want someone other than Donald Trump. I'm not sure if that number is 10 percent or 30 percent. But, it is a significant number. I think Donald Trump is going to have a hard time consolidating that vote. There are going to be a number of people who are going to be voting for small party candidates, independent candidates, because two thirds of Americans don't like the choice. They think one is too -- one candidate is too old, Joe Biden, the other is too dangerous, Donald Trump.

And so, I think Haley right now is in a position where I think her endorsement would actually matter to Donald Trump. And if I were Joe Biden, I'd start trying to figure out ways to peel off some of those Haley voters who are clearly disaffected with Trump.

SOLOMON: And Meghan, to that point, I mean, what opportunity does this present for Biden? I mean, how does he win over those Haley voters? It seems like he is certainly trying based on his comments after she suspended her campaign.

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN, & FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE AND PLANNING: Yeah. I think that the President is really going to lay out his moving forward in the campaign, and his speech tomorrow, that there is a choice here. There is a difference between him and Donald Trump. And I think a lot of people who are the Never Trump voters, there is a great opportunity for the President to win over their votes. They believe in things like freedom for reproductive rights. They will see that the President was working for them.

So, I do think he has a great opportunity here, and I think that works out on their votes.

SOLOMON: Yeah. I want to point out something that the President said shortly after Haley made the announcement. Donald Trump made it clear he doesn't want Nikki Haley supporters. I want to be clear, there is a place for them in my campaign. That coming from President Joe Biden.

Jackie, let me bring you into the conversation now. When we look at Nikki Haley and her results, I mean, again, she didn't clinch the nomination but she was the first woman to win a GOP primary, two states, fine, but two states nonetheless. She is the daughter of immigrants. I mean, there still were things that she accomplished. Talk to me about sort of what her accomplishments were, and she raised a lot of money. JACKIE KUCINICH, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE BOSTON GLOBE, & CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, true. And once state in the District of Columbia, we aspire to statehood, but we're not quite there yet. But, all that said, you're right. She was the first to win it. So, she -- what we learned is that we did see similar chunks of voters across all these states that were going toward Nikki Haley. They weren't suburban voters who are college educated. And they really -- we saw it in pretty consistent numbers, 20 percent, 30 percent across the country.

Now, where do these voters go? I really do think it's an open question, because if you listen to Nikki Haley, she didn't say she is not endorsing the former President. She said he has to earn it, and what that actually means tangibly, I think, is open for discussion, and whether or not there is a place for her in the Trump Republican Party, also a huge question.

[11:05:00]

They tend to be fairly focused on loyalty and she has not shown that by continuing to run against the former President, despite all the warnings that the former President -- she squandered the warnings of the former President directed her way. So, we'll have to see how that turns out, or if she is going to be like Liz Cheney, and just say, you know what, I'm done. I'm staying true to what her version of the Republican Party is.

SOLOMON: Charlie, let me play for you -- right. Let me play for you a clip just from Nikki Haley's comment just a short time ago where she talks about in all likelihood Trump will be the nominee. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY: I have always been a conservative Republican and always supported the Republican nominee. But, on this question, as she did on so many others, Margaret Thatcher provided some good advice, when she said "Never just follow the crowd. Always make up your own mind." It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that. In all likelihood, Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee when our party convention meets in July. I congratulate him and wish him well. I wish anyone well who would be America's President. Our country is too precious to let our differences divide us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And Charlie, actually, I'll get your thoughts on that in just a moment. Standby for a moment.

I want to get to CNN's Kylie Atwood, who is in Charleston, South Carolina, where we heard from Nikki Haley a short time ago. Kylie, give us a sense sort of what things are like on the ground there, the mood in the room. Just give us a sense. Take us inside the room.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, listen, there was a small group of folks who are here for Nikki Haley's final speech, announcing that she is suspending her presidential campaign. They're mostly folks who have worked on this campaign for the greater part of the last year or so. They were obviously cheering for her.

She made this short speech, and made it very clear that even though she is dropping out of the race today, she will continue to use her voice, she said, for the issues that she cares about. Those are issues that we have heard her talk about time and time again on the campaign trail when it comes to conservative fiscal policy, when it comes to what she called the moral imperative to side with U.S. allies to keep U.S. allies close. Those are just two of the things that she talked about today, and has touched on throughout the course of the campaign.

And as you guys have been talking about, she did not endorse former President Trump, not today. She said that he is going to have to earn the support of the voters who supported her, and she said that she hopes that he does that. So, very clearly, leaving the door open to the possibility that she could endorse him ahead of the election in November. But, what she is doing here is leaving some decision-making space for her to see what happens over the next few months, also putting herself in a position of power because she knows that people who support her are going to be looking for her to give them some guidance as they head into the November election and have to decide between former President Trump and President Biden.

I do want to note that we have now seen statements from both President Biden, who said that he welcomes Nikki Haley supporters to his campaign. We also heard from former President Trump who said that those voters are welcome to support him, but also said that Haley got trounced last night in Super Tuesday, saying that Democrats are the majority of the folks who have been supporting her financially, not really a conciliatory tone from former President Trump. And Nikki Haley's spokesperson tweeted out those two statements side by side, saying, just a tale of two statements, clearly indicating that they don't believe that these initial remarks from former President Trump are going to head in the right direction of drawing in her voters.

But, we'll have to watch and see how this plays out. This is just the beginning of what will be a long conversation on this topic. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Absolutely. And we have eight months until November. All right. Kylie Atwood live for us in Charleston. Kylie, thank you.

Charlie, let me get back to you. But, my question after that Haley bite was, her choice of words, in all likelihood, Trump will be the nominee, and Kylie sort of touched on it there just in terms of like question marks. What does she do next? What do you think? Help game this out for us.

DENT: Well, it seems to me that Nikki Haley has a lot of hesitation about supporting Donald Trump. Donald Trump is -- made it very clear he wants to excommunicate heretics, and he is -- he derisively calls a lot of Republicans who are not -- who are uncomfortable with him as rhinos. He is trying to shrink the Republican Party. And so, I think Nikki Haley has been talking about electability, expanding the base.

[11:10:00] Trump has not. So, I think Nikki Haley right now, it'd be smart just to keep her powder dry and not make any commitments, because it's quite clear to me that Trump doesn't -- he has made it clear in all his statements, he doesn't want their support. I mean, it's -- that's what is so stunning to me that he has brought nothing but defeat to the party all these years since he was elected in 2016. At some point, they have -- the party has to get serious about winning again. Trump has made losing great again. And Republicans, I think, are -- right now, a lot of Republicans, they said the party is divided, not evenly, but it's divided. And Trump has a -- he has a real base problem going into this general election. At least Biden is reaching out to the Haley voters.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Jackie, can Trump win without expanding his base, without sort of peeling away some of these voters that would have gone for Haley, some of these suburban voters? Also, your thoughts on this endorsement from McConnell. Does that change anything meaningfully?

KUCINICH: I think the McConnell endorsement is really interesting, and just shows that, to his core, McConnell is a political person. He sees the way that the wind is shifting, particularly when it comes to the Republican Party, not running again for leader, but he does -- he is not going to fight where the tides are -- where the tides are going on this. And it was a little maybe not surprising, but maybe that's not the right word. But, given the open hostility between the two of them, it really just -- this became probably party over preference when it comes to McConnell.

As your other question, no. Trump needs these middle of the road voters who voted for Joe Biden, and potentially voted for -- and voted for Nikki Haley in these primaries to come home, particularly in those -- these states that we're all watching, places like -- I mean, Georgia is voting next week. Pennsylvania has not voted yet. But, several of these states that are purple states, he needs to consolidate those voters again, and telling them basically that he doesn't want them. Best of luck.

SOLOMON: Meghan, on what issues do you think Biden can persuade some of these Haley voters to come to his side? And he sort of touched on some of the issues where he said, look, there is a lot we won't agree on, but suggested that there could be common ground on other issues. On what areas do you think other voters might be persuaded to come to Biden side of things?

HAYS: I think it's more than just issues. I think it's the tone and the demeanor in which Trump approaches the election and how he approaches being the President. I think that the President -- President Biden works with other people, works across lines. He tried to do a bipartisan border bill and that he has worked tirelessly across lines in his entire career, and President Trump just doesn't do that. He doesn't have the same respect for Democratic -- the Democratic leaders or even people who are more moderate, as he is showing to Haley and her voters now.

I think that things like freedom for reproduction rights are huge. That will be a huge driver in a lot of these battleground states. That could be a real turning point for the President to shore up her votes.

SOLOMON: Charlie, what advantage does Trump have, not sort of striking a more conciliatory tone at this point? She is suspending her race. He has no other opponents on the GOP side. What does he gain from continuing to strike this combative tone that the two have had with each other at least, I mean, moving forward or have had since competing against each other?

DENT: Yeah. I don't know what he thinks he is going to gain out of this, because I think there are a number of Republicans right now are continuing to watch his legal difficulties. I think Republic -- a lot of Republicans really want a nominee, not a criminal defendant as their standard bearer. And so, this is so typical of Donald Trump, though, to basically tell his enemies that they are somehow, or his opponents, I should say, that they are disloyal, and he wants no part of them. And he -- the reason why he lost in 2020 in part was because there were a number of disaffected Republicans who did not vote for him or voted for Biden enough.

And Trump is going to need to win at least 90 percent of Republicans or to win the presidency. I'm not sure how he gets there when he carries on like this. And his problem with independents is even more striking. The only thing he has going in his favor is that Joe Biden is experiencing erosion from some key constituencies, younger voters, Hispanics, and even African Americans in some cases. So, I -- this is just a bad choice, and there are going to be a lot of people voting in protest for the small parties, independent candidates, RFK. No Labels is going to make a decision, or they're going to have a big meeting this week on Friday to talk about their path forward. So, it's still a wide open situation.

SOLOMON: Yeah. There is also the question of how many people, because they're upset with the two decisions, decide just not to vote at all sort of in protest.

A lot more to discuss. We're going to leave it here for now.

[11:15:00]

But, panel, standby. We're going to talk to you throughout the show. We'll get back to you to continue the conversation in just a few minutes.

But, still ahead for us, we're going to dive into the exit polling from Super Tuesday and the key insights that those polls reveal about Donald Trump's supporters. We'll break it down, coming up next. Plus, Georgia lawmakers hearing today from one of the people trying to disqualify the district attorney who is prosecuting Donald Trump. We're going to have a live report. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. And like it or not, we are now in a Trump versus Biden rematch. Donald Trump is not expected to make any on- camera remarks today. But, a source says that he did watch Nikki Haley's speech when she suspended her campaign. Last night, he used his victory speech to underscore his utter dominance of the Republican Party. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 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 has never been one like this. There has never been anything so conclusive. This was an amazing night, an amazing day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, Trump is still short of the delegates needed to officially become the Republican nominee for President. But, he will likely push past the magic number of 1,215 next week. We still have a long road until November.

Let's bring in CNN's Alayna Treene, who joins us now from the D.C. Bureau. So, Alayna, we just heard from the former President they are after some of the results last night. But, what are we hearing from him this morning after Nikki Haley's comments?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, we did see him react to Haley dropping out of the race, or at least on the news that he was -- she was going to be dropping out of the race. This came shortly before she took the stage. But, essentially, he responded on Truth Social and said that he was excited that Nikki Haley was dropping out that -- let me just read some of it for you as well. But, he also mocked her supporters and tried to call them to his side as well. So, this is what he wrote.

He wrote "Nikki Haley got TROUNCED last night, in record setting fashion, despite the fact that Democrats, for reasons unknown, are allowed to vote in Vermont, and various other Republican Primaries." He went on to attack some of her supporters and donors as being radical left Democrats. He then wrote, "I'd like to thank my family, friends and the Great Republican Party for helping me to produce, by far, the most successful Super Tuesday in HISTORY, and would further like to invite all of the Haley supporters to join the greatest movement in the history of our Nation."

Now, Rahel, I do just want to note that this is something Nikki Haley brought up in her remarks as she was suspending her campaign, that she thinks Trump will need to earn her supporters and her voters, and this is also something that Donald Trump's campaign recognizes is a problem for them in a general election. They saw yesterday, Super Tuesday, how Nikki Haley did with a lot of the suburban voters, a lot of the voters that they recognize they have a lot of work to do to earn their support.

[11:20:00]

And so, this is going to be a key focus for them. And they're really going to be expanding their strategy in a number of the important battleground states, places like Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, the places they know that they really do need every single vote to count if they're going to try and defeat Joe Biden in November.

SOLOMON: All right. Alayna Treene live for us there in Washington. Alayna, thank you.

Let's continue this conversation with our panel.

Jackie, let me pick up on something that Alayna just said there just in terms of every vote counting. It does appear that if this is in fact the decision that voters have come November, this doesn't look like it's going to be a landslide, regardless. This looks like it's really going to come down to the margins in a lot of these key states, which we've been here before.

KUCINICH: Yeah. It does seem kind of familiar. Doesn't it? And this is exactly what voters said they didn't want. And yet, here we are. This is what -- they're on their way, well on their way to choosing. The states are a little bit different. But still, we're going to be focusing on Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, some of the same places. Georgia is probably one of the newer ones in the in the reams (ph) of places that we're going to keep an eye out. But, you're absolutely right. This is going to come down, or right now, at this point in the cycle, it does look like this is going to come down to the margins.

SOLOMON: Charlie, let me ask, just looking at some of this exit polling from Virginia Republicans, the question was asked, is Trump fit if convicted? 55 percent of Virginia Republicans say yes. And so, I wonder there has been this sort of question mark about Trump's hold on the party. But, what you see is that even if he is convicted, now you're starting to see more and more Republicans in the GOP base say, yeah, we still think he is fit for office.

DENT: Well, that's it. 55 percent felt that way. 37 percent didn't feel that he would be fit. Again, I come back to this. Donald Trump will need an excess of 90 percent of the Republican vote to win the presidency. I'm just not -- I just don't see that path right now. I mean, I know what the polls are saying, now that he is slightly ahead of Biden. But, how do you win an election when you have a lot of your own base saying that he is not fit, should he be convicted? And there is a reasonable chance that he will be convicted of something before this election.

So, again, this question of electability, I get it, that base voters tend not to look at electability, both parties. They're true believers. But, at some point, if Republicans actually want to win a presidency, if they want to win back constituencies, particularly in suburban areas and swing districts and swing states, they're going to have to appeal to these voters on the margins and hear what they have to say. They're not listening to them right now. And that's what is so scary about this. Republicans could be setting themselves up for a major problem in November, not saying it will happen. Luckily for them, Joe Biden is a weak candidate in many ways. That can be the only thing that could save them.

SOLOMON: Meghan, I'm wondering what you might add to, the voters who necessarily participate in the primaries are not necessarily the same voters that show up in November. And so, to that end, what can be and what maybe shouldn't be considered from last night's results moving forward?

HAYS: Well, that's right. I think the base shows up during the primaries, overwhelmingly more so than in the general election. More people vote in the general election. Just overwhelmingly, that's true. Also, one thing that I'd like to note here is that where Nikki Haley lost a lot of these contests, she peeled off 20 percent, 30 percent of voters from Donald Trump. So, that is a large percentage of voters in each of these states that are going to matter in November. And if -- what Charlie was saying, about 90 percent of Republicans need to vote for Trump for him to win, he is not going to get 90 percent if 20 percent to 30 percent are already peeling off in the primaries, and these are supposed to be your dedicated, tried and true voters for your party.

SOLOMON: Jackie, talk to me about tomorrow night, the State of the Union. It may be the President's largest audience before November. Give us a sense based on your reporting and what you're hearing what we might expect. And I should say that we're getting some reporting from Trump's side that he may be doing counterprogramming on Truth Social during State of the Union.

KUCINICH: Yeah. I'm sure the folks that picked Katie Britt, the Senator from Alabama, who to be the -- GOP response are going to love that. But, no. So, I think you're going to hear, and I'm sure Meghan would know a little bit about more this than I do, but what we're hearing is that he is going to focus on a lot of the things that he has done in office, really focusing on things that have helped people, things like canceling student loan debt, things like some of the credit card fees that they've eliminated, just these very -- driven these issues that really impacted day-to-day people's lives.

And I think also he is going to really hear a lot of criticism of Republicans, particularly on immigration, particularly on Ukraine aid that he has been reiterating across the campaign trail.

[11:25:00]

But, I really do think that this matters, this speech matters, the substance matters as much as the style, how he delivers it. I think a lot of folks who are worried about the President's age are going to be watching to see how this speech is delivered and how he composes himself, just by virtue of, again, what we're hearing from voters about what they're concerned about.

SOLOMON: And Meghan, I do want to talk to you about that. But, we're going to take a quick break. So, panel, just standby for just a moment. We'll have much more to talk about throughout the show. The panel will be back to continue this conversation.

But, in the meantime, we want to get to some breaking news out of southern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that an attack in the city of Odessa struck close to a presidential convoy during a visit by the Greek Prime Minister. All of this amid the backdrop of Russia's war against Ukraine. A video shows the two leaders together in the port city. Mr. Zelenskyy says that he saw and heard the strike and that it did leave people dead and wounded. He says the attack highlights Ukraine's ongoing need for air defenses. And we do need to point out that Greece is a NATO country. The Greek Prime Minister is saying that they did not have time to get to a shelter, and he says that the strike is a "vivid reminder that a real war is raging." Neither leader was injured.

Let's bring in CNN's Clare Sebastian, who joins us live from London with the details. Clare, what more can you share with us about what we're learning about this incident?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. We are getting more details, Rahel. I can tell you that a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy has now confirmed that five people were killed in this strike on the port infrastructure, he says in the city of Odessa. We don't know who those people were. There are also wounded, and we don't know how many as of yet. But, that news coming in, five people killed in this strike.

Now, as you said, the Greek Prime Minister in that press conference giving a little bit more detail about when this happened. He said that they were being given a tour by President Zelenskyy and his aided of the port of Odessa, being shown some of the damage that has been inflicted by repeated Russian attacks to the critical port infrastructure, and they were just getting into their cars when this happened. Take a listen to how President Zelenskyy talked about this in that same press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (TRANSLATED): We saw this strike today. You can see who we are dealing with. They don't care where they strike. I know that there are victims today. I don't know all the details yet. But, I know that there are dead and wounded. We need to defend ourselves first and foremost. The best way to do that is with an air defense system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, renewing his call for more weapons, more air defense systems. We know Ukraine is sorely in need of those. They had actually also visited today the site of one of the deadliest attacks for civilians in recent weeks in Odessa, an nine-storey building struck on Saturday, killing 12 people, including five children.

Now, the Greek Prime Minister is saying off the back of this, he is saying this is something that shows that all European leaders should come to Ukraine. He said it's completely different from hearing reports of the war to experiencing it firsthand. We've also had a tweet from Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, saying no one is intimidated by this new attempt at terror, certainly not the two leaders on the ground, nor the brave people of Ukraine.

The big question remaining, Rahel, is we don't know exactly how close this close call was for President Zelenskyy and the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. We don't know how close the strike was to their convoy. What the exact target was, we may never, of course, learned that. But, either way, it is very unusual in this war to see such a close call publicly admitted to for President Zelenskyy who, well, publicly has shrugged off any concerns for his own safety. It is something that Ukraine takes extremely seriously. It also shows this among other attacks on Odessa and other cities that Russia very much on the attack in this war at the moment.

SOLOMON: OK. Clare Sebastian live for us there in London. Clare, thank you.

All right. Coming up after a short break, we're going to discuss how President Biden is preparing for his annual State of the Union address, as he looks to convince voters to give him a second go-round in the White House. Plus, one of the people trying to disqualify a district attorney trying Donald Trump is appearing in a special Committee hearing. We'll be live in Georgia after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York.

It's the choice that many Americans say they don't want. A rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is now effectively underway as Nikki Haley suspends her presidential race. Tomorrow, President Biden will give his last State of the Union address before the general election, as he looks to convince voters to give him a second term in the White House. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on key government funding bills as lawmakers rush to beat the shutdown deadline.

Let's bring in Arlette Saenz standing by in Washington. Arlette, certainly an eventful week in Washington. Bring us up to speed on the latest here.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, this is certainly a critical three-day stretch in the 2024 campaign. Biden campaign advisors have long believed the Super Tuesday would be the moment that the choice in the 2024 race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump would really begin to crystallize in the minds of voters. They got that latest proof point this morning as Nikki Haley announced that she is suspending her presidential campaign.

And it comes as the Biden campaign is really hoping that they might be able to peel off some of Haley's supporters who are turned off by Donald Trump, hoping that they can win over moderate voters, those who live in the suburbs, especially suburban women, especially as an issue like reproductive rights is one where the Biden campaign believes will work to their advantage heading into November.

But, President Biden is also preparing for that high stakes State of the Union address tomorrow. He spent the past few days huddling with his advisors at Camp David, going over this speech, rehearsing it, fine tuning the final details relating to it. And we're told that it's expected to lean heavily into an economic populist message with the President calling for higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations, also highlighting efforts to lower costs across the board, including when it comes to prescription drugs. The President is also expected to talk about defending democracy as well as a bit of his unity agenda as well.

Of course, the State of the Union comes at a challenging time for President Biden. If you take a look at the polls, the polls have shown that there is no clear leader in the 2024 race and these hypothetical matchups between him and Trump. We have the President's approval rating sitting around the mid-30s. And so, it really will be an opportunity for the President to try to distinguish himself with the voters, touting his accomplishments, things like the bipartisan infrastructure law, and also trying to lay out his vision for a second term, especially now that the Biden campaign believes that there could be a pool of voters, those Haley supporters that they might be able to peel off to the Democratic column come November.

So, the President is spending these final hours before the State of the Union. The next really 36 hours are really honing in on this speech, as he is looking to present his case to convince voters to give him a second term in the White House.

SOLOMON: All right. Arlette Saenz live for us in Washington. Arlette, thank you.

Let's continue the conversation now, and joining us is Larry Sabato. He is the Founder and Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Larry, good to have you today. We want to talk about State of the Union. But, just because it is such an eventful news day, let me just ask your first reaction to this news from Nikki Haley. How does this change things moving forward? Where do her supporters go now?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS, & COEDITOR, "A RETURN TO NORMALCY?": Well, remember, she suspended. She didn't really end the campaign.

[11:35:00]

They all suspend, and in the back of their minds, they think there may come a set of circumstances that will cause them to re-enter. But, for the time being she is out, she'll probably end up staying out. Her supporters are kind of a ragtag bunch. They're impressive people, but they're a ragtag bunch. Some truly are dedicated to Nikki Haley herself. They voted for her because they were very impressed with her. But, you also have the Never Trump faction of the Republican Party who were happy to vote for her to demonstrate their continuing dislike of Donald Trump.

And you had a fair number of Democrats, I personally know quite a few, who voted in yesterday's Virginia primary. This airing was carried by Nikki Haley. And it's a heavily Democratic area. That would never happen in a general election. And some will stay home. Some of her supporters will be disillusioned and say, I don't like Biden. I don't like Trump. And I'm not going to vote third party. So, there are lots of pieces of this. And you can't just transfer her 30 percent or 35 percent into one person's column.

SOLOMON: Yeah. I think she pulled 35 percent in your state of Virginia. Control Room, let me know, do we have the soundbite from Doug Moran, the voter in Virginia. Larry, I want you to hear what he said. I think we have it. Let me play it for you.

SABATO: Yeah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: If it ends up being a Trump versus Biden rematch, who you would vote for?

DOUG MORAN, HALEY VOTER: Yeah. I hold my nose and vote for Biden again, just the moral objections, and moral and political objections like Donald Trump ran his campaign and his office and some of the choices he has made are I think just wrong for our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, Larry, I thought Doug was interesting, because he had sort of already wrestled with what he would do if it's not Nikki Haley. But, for those who are really the -- they're really stuck in their sort of their angst about who they would choose, what type of opportunity does this present for Biden, and what might we see tomorrow night in his State of the Union as he tries to convince some of those voters who are hesitant?

SABATO: It's a tremendous opportunity, because in a sense, Donald Trump gave a full acceptance address after he swept or almost swept last evening in Super Tuesday. Biden just issued a statement. He didn't appear at all. And I think he did it intentionally, obviously, because Thursday night, he has the opportunity to give his acceptance address, having now clearly been designated the Democratic nominee. He has got to pick some issues that will attract Haley voters, and they were attracted to her in part because they knew she was saying she wouldn't pop off. She wouldn't insult people right and left. And to some degree, that description fits Biden.

I think, probably Haley is more articulate on the stump. Biden has never been Cicero. He never will be Cicero. And you'll see tomorrow night he isn't Cicero. But, it's more about the specifics, the substance of what he is going to say, look presidential, act presidential, and touch on the issues that people actually care about in their daily lives.

SOLOMON: Talk to me a bit about, not just what he says, but how he needs to say it. I mean, obviously, I don't have to tell you that one of his biggest liabilities is just the perception of his fitness for office because of his age. Talk to me about sort of what he needs to present, whether it's rigor or etcetera, just sort of allay some of those concerns.

SABATO: Well, rigor is a good word. I might choose John F. Kennedy's rigor. You have to show real rigor at the age of 81, and who hasn't declined a little bit at that age or Trump's age of 77. But, I think he has to show that certainly, but he has to stay focused. Yes, there are undoubtedly going to be moments that are extemporaneous, probably. I'm not predicting this for sure. But, probably a few members of the Republican caucus will do what they usually do. And that's yell, embarrassing things. And certainly, he can respond. He did that effectively in last year's State of the Union address, but don't do too much of it, and don't stray from the assignment that he has given himself or his staff has given him for those moments. Be disciplined. Be disciplined.

SOLOMON: Fascinating. Certainly a lot to watch. Larry Sabato, so good to have you today. Thank you. He is the Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Great to talk to you.

Well, this hour, one of the people trying to disqualify the district attorney in Fulton County. Georgia, from prosecuting Donald Trump is testifying in Atlanta.

[11:40:00]

Defense Attorney Ashleigh Merchant was subpoenaed to appear before a Georgia State Senate Committee today. That Committee is investigating DA Fani Willis over claims that her romantic relationship with another attorney prosecuting Trump presents a conflict of interest.

CNN's Nick Valencia joins us now from Atlanta. Nick, just the latest sort of development and twist in this story, bring us up to speed and sort of walk us through what's exactly happening.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, so many twists and turns to this over the course of the last three months, really two months since Fani Willis was alleged to have had this "improper relationship" by Ashleigh Merchant. Today, it has a feeling very much so of political theater. We had anticipated this Committee to be a friendly platform for Ashleigh Merchant, but it's even exceeded our expectations. This is a bipartisan Committee. But, so far, only the Republican chairman has been allowed to question Merchant, and they had said that they formed this Committee to investigate whether or not Willis had a conflict of interest or misused public funds.

But, some of the questions really delved into political propaganda with a suggestion that Fani Willis was colluding with the Biden White House back in 2023 when they visited the White House. Our reporting, of course, saying that it's routine visits, and that Willis was meeting with the White House to try to figure out the best way to contact White House officials. But, it really -- to underscore this, Rahel, there was absolutely no pushback from Merchant. She is able to use this platform without pushback to reiterate why she feels that Fani Willis should be removed from office.

And we should be clear here. This Committee has absolutely no power to remove Fani Willis. What they can do is draft new laws and legislation that could recommend Fani Willis to be removed. But also, none of this of what we've heard today is going to be considered as evidence or weighed in the decision of the ultimate gatekeeper, the ultimate person who decides whether or not Willis is going to be removed, and that's judge Scott McAfee. McAfee has indicated that he is going to make his decision within the next two weeks. And so, we wait.

But, in the meantime, this issue is not going away for Fani Willis. This Committee is continuing to bring this issue up, keep it in the public eye with Merchant being unchallenged, and making some really bombshell claims about why she believes Willis should be removed from office. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. We saw some fireworks between Merchant and Fani Willis when Fani Willis testified. Yet another twist. Yet another turn, as we await Scott McAfee's, the judge's decision.

Nick Valencia live for us there. Nick, thank you.

All right. Coming up, the panel will be back to continue our conversation. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon.

We have been following two major stories this hour. First, a deadly strike on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's convoy. The Russian Defense Ministry has now acknowledged that strike, saying that the target was the port of Odessa. In the U.S., Nikki Haley suspending her challenge to Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.

[11:45:00]

In her speech last hour, Haley stressed the importance of foreign policy in this election. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY: Because of America's retreat, standing by our allies in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is a moral imperative. But, it's also more than that. If we retreat further, there will be more war, not less.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. Let's continue this conversation now with our panel.

Charlie, just your reactions. I mean, this Russian strike was provocative even in the context of an unprovoked war, because, I mean, in addition to Zelenskyy being there, he was also being visited by the Greek leader. And then just talk to me about Haley's comments about the importance of foreign policy. Is it resonating the same way with the GOP base? Because when you look at polling, you're seeing more and more Republicans say that Americans should actually not meddle in international affairs and international wars.

DENT: Well, there is no question that within the Republican Party right now there is a growing isolationist, protectionist, nativist element. That really is, it does not want us to engage. But, I think it's fair to say, though, there are a lot of Republicans like myself and others who do believe that America must play a constructive role in the international stage, and that supporting Ukraine is absolutely in America's interest long term to degrade the Russian Military, as Ukrainians done on the cheap. I think it's a bargain.

But, unfortunately, under a party of Donald Trump, who has got the sympathies to Vladimir Putin and is prepared to throw Ukraine under the bus, this party is not in a good place on foreign policy. But, again, very divided. By the way, on the political side, if I were Joe Biden, if I wanted to appeal to Haley voters, this is one area where I would make the case. But, right now, this is a very serious situation for Ukraine. In the House, Speaker Johnson in particular is going to be under tremendous pressure to bring up Ukraine funding bill for many of his own members in short order.

SOLOMON: Meghan, do you see it the same way for Biden that this is an area of opportunity? Because you could also make the same argument just in terms of his foreign policy initiatives as of the last year. This is an area where he polls pretty poorly, at least with young voters, certainly with Arab American voters because of what's happening in Gaza.

HAYS: Sure. I actually do agree with Charlie. And I do think this is a strength for the President, and the President has long-standing views of NATO, and our democracy and foreign policy is one of his strengths and has been for obviously many years in much of his career. I do think, though, that with the young voters and Arab Americans that have issues with the President's stance on the conflict in Israel and Gaza, to take a look at what the President Trump said -- or what former President Trump said, excuse me, about how the IDF should go into Gaza and finish the job. I mean, that's just like totally completely opposite of what we need to be doing and completely opposite of where they stand.

So, I don't think that they're going to get an ally in President -- former President Trump.

SOLOMON: Jackie, talk to me about, for those not in cable news, for those who don't work in cable news, or necessarily watch cable news, talk to me about how much voters, average Americans, are following the day to day of what Trump says, the day to day of what Biden says. Are voters paying attention right now?

KUCINICH: I don't know that we're there yet. I think some of the races -- some of the places where they've actually had primaries, where there have been candidates marching through their towns, sure, they're definitely aware that this is happening. But, I think across the country, no, I don't know that this has broken through yet. When that will actually happen? I mean, usually, it's something like August. The fact that the general election is starting in March is extremely unusual. I personally have never covered anything that is this early. So, it may be we'll see voters start to plug in a little earlier because it is so settled. But, certainly, a lot of people are just living their lives right now and not really paying attention to politics. It doesn't impact their lives every single day.

SOLOMON: So, to that point, Meghan, I mean, one thing you sometimes hear from both sides when you're hearing from strategists about what Biden should do, is there this -- there is this push pull about, well, Biden should remind American voters what Trump has said, and others will say, no, no, no. Biden shouldn't worry about what Trump is saying. Biden should talk about what Biden is doing. How do you see it?

HAYS: I think he definitely needs to provide a contrast for folks. Also, the President has accomplished a tremendous amount in the first -- his first three years in office. I do think it's important to provide a contrast. But, I also think that, much like what Jackie was saying is, people aren't tuned in right now. People are figuring out how to pay for their student loans, the ones that didn't get it canceled or they pay for groceries. So, I don't think that folks are necessarily tuned in to the extent. So, I don't know that everything has to be so divisive at the moment. But, I do think that the President has an opportunity to draw contrast, but he also needs to lay out everything he has accomplished and how he has made people's lives better.

[11:50:00]

SOLOMON: And then, Charlie, before I let you go, because you're from the great state of Pennsylvania that I know and love very well, as am I, talk to me a bit about -- we know President Biden will be in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia suburbs on Friday. Talk to me a bit about how important these suburban areas are going to be, whether it's Philadelphia, whether it's the suburbs of Atlanta, I mean, for both candidates.

DENT: Well, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Joe Biden won in 2020 largely because he performed very well in those four collar counties around Philadelphia. Well, Hillary Clinton won those four counties by about 185,000 votes, Joe Biden won them by about 285,000 votes. And that is not just true in the Philadelphia suburbs, but suburbs elsewhere in Pennsylvania, in Allentown, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and certainly true throughout the country. And this is ultimately the biggest vulnerability for Republicans in swing states, is that they are just simply not performing well enough in the suburbs to win these states.

Now, I'm not saying that Arizona and Georgia are a little bit different. But, in Pennsylvania, that is a big problem. And women's health issues are going to play a very big role in those suburban communities in particular. And so, I think that's one where we ought to pay real close attention.

SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, I think we'll have to because that was an area where Nikki Haley seemed to have some strength --

DENT: Yeah.

SOLOMON: -- with those suburban voters. So, with her suspending, it's sort of like, what happens there?

Well, we'll take a short break. Panel, don't go anywhere. We're going to take a short break, but a lot more to talk about. Still ahead, Super Tuesday is over. We have a better picture now, the

November election. What does the panel think? They're going to be back with one more thing. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back to CNN's special coverage. Before we go, I want to ask my panelists for one more thing. So, guys, what's one thing on the campaign trail or in Washington that you're watching for in the coming days? Charlie, let me start with you. 30 seconds each.

DENT: I'm watching for the funding bill at the end of the week. It looks like they're ready to go. The votes should be there. But, how are Republicans going to do it? They might need a two thirds vote if they can't get the bill out of the Rules Committee. So, I'm just watching to see how they're going to actually fund the bills on -- later this week.

SOLOMON: Meghan, how about you?

HAYS: I'm looking to the President's State of the Union tomorrow. I think his delivery and his substance of the speech is extremely important for setting the tone for the campaign and for his election in November.

SOLOMON: And Jackie.

KUCINICH: State of the Union, there is lots of things to watch. But, I'm going to watch the gallery where a lot of members of Congress invite people whose lived experiences illustrate an issue that they care about. Like in Massachusetts, we have members bringing an IVF doctor, another Ukrainian national who is living in Massachusetts, another is bringing someone whose student loan debt was relieved by a Biden program. So, it's always really interesting to see who they select to sit and watch the speech in person.

SOLOMON: Yeah. No. That's a great point. It's always interesting what's said but also what's happening on the floor there. Charlie Dent, Meghan Hays, Jackie Kucinich, thank you all for joining me today for the hour. It's a great hour.

KUCINICH: Thank you.

DENT: Thank you.

SOLOMON: And we know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.

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[11:55:00]

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