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Today: Hungarian Autocrat Viktor Orban To Meet With Trump; Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) Is Interviewed About Biden Repeatedly Attacks Trump Without Saying His Name; Biden Touts Slowing Inflation In State Of The Union. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired March 08, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:01:02]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: President Biden fires up the base in a politicized State of the Union address. But will it be enough to rally the Nikki Haley voters who are now up for grabs.

And beating expectations, the new February jobs report showing a much higher jump than expected. I'll speak to the Labor Secretary about that in just a few moments.

And later, a tire comes off, comes flying off a United Airlines flight during takeoff, damaging cars in the airport parking lot.

Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. And you're in the CNN Newsroom.

President Biden is taking a victory lap after his fiery State of the Union address. A CNN poll finding more than six and 10 viewers had a positive reaction to the speech last night. Over the course of 66 minutes, the President sought to assuage concerns about his age and contrast, his vision for America with Donald Trump's MAGA movement. President Biden blasted the former president more than a dozen times without ever saying his name, referring to him simply as my predecessor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now my predecessor, a former Republican president tells Putin, quote, do whatever the hell you want. Many of you in this chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom. And if my predecessor is watching, instead of paying politics and pressuring members of Congress to block the bill, join me in telling the Congress to pass it. But unlike my predecessor, I know who we are as American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: For Republicans, not even the President's call to defend democracy could get a unified response. President Biden was quick to pounce on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: History is watching. Just like history watch three years ago on January 6th, when insurrection stormed this very capitol and place a dagger to throat an American democracy. My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January 6th. I will not do that. This is a moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Within moments of taking the floor, President Biden jousted with heckling House Republicans. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: In November, my team began serious negotiation with a bipartisan group of senators. The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we've ever seen. Oh, you don't think so? Oh, you don't like that bill, huh? That conservatives got together and said was a good bill? I'll be darned. That's amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. Let's get straight to our White House correspondent Arlette Saenz. Arlette, how does the President plan to build off his speech in the days weeks and months ahead?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the Biden campaign is hoping to use the coming weeks to really ramp up their organizing and also find ways to bolster the President's message that he delivered in that State of the Union address. The President laid out his vision for a second term. But also, as you heard in those clips, really tried to present this direct contrast with former President Donald Trump even as he did not name him by name and that is part of the campaign's month long initiative that they are launching today.

We have some new reporting in about how the President plans to travel, how they plan to build up staff and all of the steps they're taking to really ramp up this general election contest. Now President Biden today will kick start that travel as he travels to the battleground of Pennsylvania. He'll be visiting a suburb in the Philadelphia area. Of course, the suburbs are important because they're trying to court moderate, independent, and especially female suburban voters, as the issue of reproductive rights is one that I believe will resonate there.

[11:05:01]

The President also said to travel to Georgia. And we're just learning moments ago that he will next week be traveling to New Hampshire, Michigan and Wisconsin. You also have Vice President Harris traveling out west to the battleground of Nevada and Arizona. And it's not just having the candidates hitting the campaign trail. The campaign is also working to build, they're organizing, they're planning to open up more than 100 new offices in battleground states, hiring about 350 new staff members to try to start training and working with volunteers to spread the President's message.

Also, the campaign is planning a widespread advertising campaign. This will be about $30 million that they are pouring into television and digital ads over the course of a six week period, all to really drive up that contrast that they're trying to make with the former president. Biden's campaign officials have long believed that the Super Tuesday contests and this State of the Union would really be a moment, a turning point in the campaign, a time when voters may be tuning in a little bit more into November's election. So they want to try to take advantage of that at this moment.

When it comes to organizing, when it comes to getting their messaging out and also getting their candidate, President Joe Biden out on the campaign trail. Of course, one of the challenges Biden will face in the coming weeks is trying to continue to demonstrate that energetic fiery speech that he gave last night, trying to make those -- that same pitch to voters out on the campaign trail at a time when many have been skeptical about a second term in office, skeptical about the impact of his policies, and also skeptical about whether he has the age and physical stamina to serve another four years in office.

BLITZER: Arlette Saenz reporting from the White House for us. Thank you very much, Arlette.

And as the President hits the campaign trail today and in the coming days is likely November opponent is set to host a European autocrat. Donald Trump is preparing to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban later today at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Trump repeatedly has praised the authoritarian leader for his hardline policies and inflammatory rhetoric. CNN's national correspondent Kristen Holmes is in West Palm Beach, Florida for us not far from Mar-a-Lago. Kristen, what are we expecting from this meeting today?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, if I'm talking to a senior Trump advisor who described this as a quote unquote, social meeting, obviously pushing for details there. They said it was a friendly meeting between two people with no agenda. But of course, it is hard to see how Viktor Orban and Donald Trump could sit down with no agenda, these two powerful, one current leader, one former leader.

But this is significant for a number of reasons. One, Donald Trump is not just the former president but he is also the Republican nominee, presumptive nominee and could be the next president. Other side of the coin here is that the White House did not issue Orban a formal invitation to come to the White House and Orban did not reach out to the White House for any meeting with any sit down in terms of the Biden administration. The other part of this that is significant is that Donald Trump is to win November, this will give us an idea of who he is aligning himself with in terms of world leaders.

You mentioned there that Viktor Orban is a European autocrat, he's authoritarian. It's not so surprising that Donald Trump has often said that he admires these authoritarian leaders. I want you to listen to exactly what he has said about Viktor Orban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is a great man, a great leader in Europe, Viktor Orban. He's the Prime Minister of Hungary. He's a very great leader, very strong man. Some people don't like him because he's too strong. It's nice to have a strong man running a country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Nice to have a strong man running your country, a sentiment we've heard from Donald Trump before. The two are also aligned politically on various topics, including immigration. They talked about building a wall. They've also both said separately that Ukraine would not have gone to war. Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if Donald Trump was still in the White House and among many other policy agreements, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, let's not forget, Hungary is a NATO ally indeed. I think that's significant as we see Orban unfold. Kristen Holmes, reporting for us, Kristen, thank you very much. Let's discuss what's going on with the Congressman Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat and former House Majority Leader. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us on this important day. Let me start. Do you think President Biden's performance last night was enough to overcome American serious concerns, for example, about his age, and his handling of areas like the border and the economy?

REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD): I think it was. I think it was a very compelling, powerful, articulate recitation not only of what he had promised to do, but what he has accomplished in the three years that he's been the President of the United States. So I think it was a -- and it gave light to the fact, he gave a 45 maybe a little more than that speech, very articulate, very well-reasoned and recited a lot of facts. Yesterday, was there a teleprompter but this was not a guy who was not in charge of his thoughts, of his words and of the country.

[11:10:10]

I think anybody who watched that speech saw a very strong, focused, knowledgeable individual who was having no trouble having repartee with some of his detractors. He was on top of his game. So I would think the American people saw this. President presenting an argument in a way that they thought was very evil. Now, they may or may not be for him. They may or may not think that what he said was what they wanted to hear him say. But what they did here is a person who's in charge of not only of himself, but of the country, and of the future of this country.

So I thought it was a very, very compelling address to the American people. And, of course, the record that he had to talk about is probably as good a record as any presidents had in three years perhaps since Franklin Roosevelt, certainly during the 43 years that I've been in Congress.

BLITZER: Interesting. He actually spoke by the way for about 66 minutes. HOYER: OK.

BLITZER: That was a very lengthy State of the Union address indeed. The main focus --

HOYER: And he didn't flag for one minute. I think the American public I mean, that in and of itself, spoke to the silliness that none of us who have who speak with him personally, sit in meetings with him have given questions and hear his answers that none of us believe was Joe Biden. What Joe Biden is what people saw last night.

BLITZER: Yes. And he's getting pretty good reviews, at least so far. The main focus of the President's speech, as you know, Congressman, was to draw a major contrast between himself and Trump, who he referred to, as we just noted as his predecessor, 13 times. If President Biden's goal was taking on Trump this forcefully, why didn't he call him out by name?

HOYER: I think it was the strategy. You know, this guy, not Donald Trump the person but Donald Trump the public figure who has been a President of the United States, and who accomplished almost none of what he said he was going to accomplish, other than that big tax cut, he said he was going to do infrastructure. You know, I have this make it in America agenda that I've been pressing for 15 years.

What Joe Biden did is what better than Joe -- than Trump said he was going to do on infrastructure and so many other things. So I think what he wanted to do is say, yes, I had a predecessor without mentioning him, the person, which, frankly, you can figure out whether he has the characteristics to be president of the greatest country on Earth. But that aside, but this is what he didn't do or did do. And this is why I'm asking you to continue the policies that are making America, frankly, one of the best economic engines, the best economic engine as a matter of fact, in the world. That's a great accomplishment.

BLITZER: Congressman, let's turn quickly to immigration. As you know, the President sees that in the fact that Republicans tanked the bipartisan border and foreign aid, compromise the legislation largely at Trump's behest. Let's listen to this moment from last night. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: In November, my team began serious negotiation with a bipartisan group of senators. The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we've ever seen. Oh, you don't think so? Oh, you don't like that bill, huh? That conservatives got together and said was a good bill? I'll be darned. That's amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And we showed our viewers, Republican Senator James Lankford, nodding his head, as the President was speaking and saying, true. James Lankford of Oklahoma, who was in charge of the conservative Republicans work on that bipartisan piece of legislation. What did you make of that, Congressman?

HOYER: Look, I think the President believes we need to act to make sure our borders are secure and make -- and act to make sure that people are not coming into the country who are not authorized to come into the country to make sure that people aren't bringing illicit drugs and other items into the country. And he worked very hard, with some very, as he pointed out conservative, including Jim Lankford, senators, to reach a bipartisan agreement.

The problem is, the Republicans in the House of Representatives do not look for consensus. They do not look for agreement. They don't look to get things done. What they look to do is make their point, notwithstanding the fact that their point is not supported by their colleagues in the Senate, by the President of the United States or by House Democrats. So they're simply a do it our way or no way crowd.

[11:15:02]

And they rejected a very strong step forward that was the President's point. That's Lankford point. The President, the former president, his predecessor's point is, it's not good for my politics. That's what he said politics over people, politics over people that was the President's point.

BLITZER: Congressman, before I let you go, I want to just ask you about this. In the speech last night, the President also announced that the United States will now build a temporary pier on the coast of Gaza, to help surge desperately needed humanitarian aid to the Palestinians there, and he delivered a rather sharp message to Israel. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Leadership of Israel I say this, humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration, or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be priority. As we look to the future, the only real solution to the situation is a two-state solution over time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So Congressman, will President Biden stronger message here move the needle when he's been facing growing backlash, as you know, for his handling of the Israel-Hamas war?

HOYER: Look, I think the President was doing exactly the right thing. A, he said that Israel needs to defeat Hamas. Hamas has been terrorizing Israel for a long period of time and has a central tenet of its program, kill Jews and eliminate Israel. Any country that's confronts that kind of an enemy understand, it's got to respond. And very frankly, former responses have not worked. We've constantly had additional attacks, rocket attacks, personal attacks by Hamas, notwithstanding peace agreements or cessation of fire.

So that I think he was absolutely right. And I think he's absolutely right, on the fact that humanitarian concerns need to be at the forefront of our actions. I think the deployment, as a matter of fact, I had called the White House and suggested that we put some hospital ships out there as well, so that we can get people who need health emergency care, hospital care, have a facility which is not in harm's way, not being hidden under or around by Hamas in a hospital or in a school or in some other humanitarian related agency.

So that I think he made the right balance in defeating terrorism defeating Hamas, but also making sure that innocent civilians, men, women and children are able to get out of harm's way and get the treatment, food, nutrition that they need. So I think he set the right balance, and we need to pursue that.

BLITZER: So you're with the President and that. Congressman Steny Hoyer, thanks so much for joining us.

HOYER: Thank you very much, Wolf.

[11:18:06]

BLITZER: We learned this morning that the U.S. economy added 275,000 jobs last month. That's much larger, larger than expected. I'll speak live with the Labor Secretary Julie Su. That's coming up next.

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BLITZER: A stronger than expected February jobs report sends markets higher. This morning and the latest government data showing 275,000 jobs were added to payrolls last month. The unemployment rate also ticked higher to 3.9 percent as more Americans step back into the jobs market. The biggest gains came in health care, government and the hospitality industry. And average hourly earnings are up by just about 4 percent year over year, continuing an upward trend.

To discuss today's report and more. I'm joined by the Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. Secretary, thank you so much for joining us. First of all, what more can you tell us about these latest jobs report a very significant number of jobs added this month. But the unemployment rate also climbed slightly, slightly higher to 3.9 percent. That means the jobs market is getting bigger and more people are looking for jobs. What does that mean for the U.S. economy?

JULIE SU, ACTING LABOR SECRETARY: That was a great summary. So that unemployment rate is still under 4 percent. It's been under 4 percent now for two years running. That's the longest stretch in 50 years. And as you mentioned, not only are people in the labor market, you know, it's a sign of trust and hope. It's also real wages have gone up they've been better than inflation, which means more spending money in the pockets of working families. That's a good thing. It's fundamental to Bidenomics.

The President has been very clear that the only way we're going to build the economy that the American people need and deserve is if we invest in working people and make sure that workers do well. And that is what the overall numbers indicate. And that is the continued strong, stable growth under President Biden's leadership. BLITZER: As you know, Madam Secretary, the President touted his economic record last night in the State of the Union address. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[11:25:00]

BIDEN: The racial wealth gap is as small as it's been in 20 years. Wages keep going up, inflation keeps coming down. Inflation has dropped from 9 percent to 3 percent, the lowest in the world and tending lower.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: But it's interesting, a recent poll from "CBS News," for example, among other polls is the latest example of what voters have been saying for quite a long time, the majority of Americans 57 percent in that poll, view the economy is quote, fairly bad, or very bad. Why is there this massive disconnect between how the economy is doing the very positive jobs numbers out there, for example, the economic numbers are pretty good, and how people actually feel.

SU: So we are starting to see some changes in those survey results, right? That is, I think, partly a result of, you know, you mentioned, and the President mentioned last night, the, you know, inflation has been, you know, cut by about two thirds since its peak. And that means that people are being, you know, they're able to go to the grocery store, go to the pump, and feel that difference. I travel the country. I was in Atlanta earlier this week. And then Madison, Wisconsin, and I'm talking to working people, families, young people who are in training programs for jobs, they didn't even know existed, employers who are looking for workers.

And I think the overall numbers are just the macro sense of what we're seeing on the ground, which is jobs being created, shovels in the ground, people opening up facilities to build electric vehicles, buses, and then to store them and make them part of their public transit system. All of those things improve lives for working Americans and for American families. And that's what we want to see. That's what we're going to continue to work toward.

And your point about the racial gap and unemployment is very important to the President and to me. We're building an economy where no one gets left behind. And that means focusing on who's been excluded in the past and saying, not this time, not on our watch.

BLITZER: Madam Secretary, what trajectory do you see for the labor market here in the United States and the economy more broadly, going forward? Look ahead a little bit for us.

SU: So I'm going to look back for one second, which is to say that everything that has happened in this economy was not promised, it was not inevitable. In fact, people said, when President Biden took office, there was no way we were going to see the kind of jobs recovery that we've seen, the kinds of, you know, that we could match, bringing prices down with increasing workers' wages. And then people said, oh, my gosh, the markets too hot and now everything's going to come crashing down. And none of those things have come to pass.

And so the latest jobs number just further confirm that when you have strong, steady leadership, when you invest in America's industries, and America's workers, and when you create jobs, and then pathways for all communities, so they can put their talent into those jobs. That's a recipe for strength. And, you know, we talk about each month numbers, but the three-month average for job creation is 265,000. Coasting 265,000 jobs or three-month average feels like a soft landing, as you can imagine.

BLITZER: The Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, Madam Secretary, thank you so much for joining us. We'll continue this conversation down the road.

[11:28:32]

Still to come, President Biden ended a passionate State of the Union address last night by mentioning the other elephant in the room, namely his age. We'll have more on that and voters' reaction to the speech. That's coming up next. Stay with us. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

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