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President Biden And Former President Trump Campaign Simultaneously In Georgia; President Biden's Campaign Increasing Staff Across Country In Preparation For General Election; Numerous Incidents With United Airlines Flights Take Place In One Week; Protestors In Israel Attempt To Stop Aid Trucks from Entering Gaza; Reports Indicates U.S. Economy Beat Expectations By Adding 275,000 Jobs In February; Federal Regulators Limit Credit Card Late Fees; Former President Trump Possibly Facing Cash Crunch As Judges Order Him To Pay Fines And Bonds In Multiple Cases; Sailor Cole Brauer Becomes First Woman To Successfully Race Unassisted Around Globe. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired March 09, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, Clark has said that all of the pressure and attention that she's garnered with chasing all of these milestones has not been a distraction for her or the team, and they're going to have to compartmentalize once again as they get set to face a tough Michigan team later on this afternoon at 04:30 eastern. Clark says that the job is not done. She's got a lot left to do before ultimately moving on to the WNBA next season.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome, and thank you for joining me. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York live, in for Fredricka Whitfield today who is off.

All eyes on the state of Georgia today where the Biden-Trump rematch is about to take center stage in that critical battleground state. Any moment now, Biden is expected to land in Atlanta. He will be appearing at a campaign event in the next few hours, and his presumptive Republican rival, Donald Trump, is holding a rally in Rome. Thats north of Atlanta. And Georgia is a key swing state that Biden won in 2020 by less than a percentage point. And it is the only swing state among primary contests happening on Tuesday.

We have team coverage of these dueling campaign events. Steve Contorno is with the Trump campaign, but let's begin with Priscilla Alvarez. She is live in Atlanta where Biden is holding that campaign event in just a few hours from now. Priscilla, set the stage for us on what we can expect from the president.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN REPORTER: Well, we can expect him to build off his momentum from the State of the Union. We got a preview of what that looked like yesterday when he was in Pennsylvania where he used forceful language to go after former President Donald Trump while also laying out his own accomplishments and trying to relay that to voters and make the connection between what they're feeling and what the administration has provided to that effect. Now, of course, Rahel, as you noted there at the beginning, this is a

crucial state for President Biden. It's one he only narrowly won in 2020, and its one were early polls show that Donald Trump holds the lead right now. And so key to what he is doing here today is going to be voter outreach and connecting and engaging with those voters in the state. And Democratic strategists tell me that that is really going to be key at a time when this time around we don't expect to have those key statewide races that also bolstered who was showing up to the polls in November. This is going to have to be coming from a place of enthusiasm for President Biden, which as we have seen in polls, has waned among some voters, particularly black voters. So that is who the president is going to have to talk to you today.

Now, while he's here, he is going to accept an endorsement from three political action committees that represent Asian Americans and black and Latino Americans. So all of that coming together in his visit today.

SOLOMON: And just for our audience, you were just watching Air Force One land there in Atlanta as we await the president to deplane. Priscilla, while I still have you, I think we've gotten some glimpses the last few weeks of what may be the Biden campaign strategy. Tell us a bit more based on your reporting what that strategy could look like in the months ahead before November.

ALVAREZ: They're bolstering their infrastructure across the board, and they're hitting the airwaves. They have $30 million in ads they're going to be running in battleground states. And one of those ads is quite notable because it does touch on one of the most sensitive issues for the White House, and that is the president's age. But they're taking it on head-on in this ad that will start airing today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look. I'm not a young guy. That's no secret. But here's the deal. I understand how to get things done for the American people.

Donald Trump believes the job of the president is to take care of Donald Trump. I believe the job of the president is to fight for you, the American people, and that's what I'm doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now in addition to that, the president's team will also be bolstering staff across the country, and the president and vice president will each hit battleground states in the weeks to come, Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right, Priscilla, thank you, as we continue to keep our eye on the airport there in Atlanta. Let's go to Steve Contorno, who is covering the Trump rally also in Georgia. Steve, this is going to be Trump's first campaign event since Nikki Haley suspended her campaign. Give us a sense of what we can expect. And I should say the last time we heard from you, we saw quite the quiet the energy in the room there when Marjorie Taylor Greene arrived. What's happening right now?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Yes, and they are just about to start this program in a little bit. And look, the message is going to be very similar to what it has been in recent months. Donald Trump has been acting like the presumptive nominees since he won the New Hampshire primary. And that is basically the way he's been campaigning over the last six weeks. And that has included talking a lot about the economy, talking a lot about immigration, especially, and crime.

And immigration is interesting, it's going to be especially interesting in Georgia because Republicans here have done a lot to amplify what happened with the death of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley. She was jogging on the University of Georgia campus when she was killed, allegedly killed by someone who is undocumented.

[14:05:05]

And so they're actually passing out posters here with her face on it that say "Say her name," and "Remember our angel." So very clearly leaning in to the immigration issue. And this also is a part of the states that is represented by Marjorie Taylor Greene. She is obviously the congressional representative who has gotten in clashes with the Biden administration over immigration, most recently at the State of the Union address.

But Democrats have criticized Trump for holding this event with Marjorie Taylor Greene here and making this introduction to the general election campaign with her here. And they're actually, they have billboards that are up in northwest Georgia making fun of this fact and pointing it out to people there. Also pointing out that that Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene worked to kill the bipartisan border deal that had been worked out in the Senate. So clearly this is an issue that is going to resonate here, and the Republicans are hoping to use it to galvanize voters and make this state a red one in 2024 Steve.

SOLOMON: Steve Contorno, thank you. Priscilla, thank you as well.

Let's continue the conversation now. Joining me now to talk more about these dueling campaigns in Georgia is Andra Gillespie. She is an associate professor of political science at Emory University in Atlanta. Professor, good to have you today. Thank you. Georgia's primary on Tuesday, and both of these candidates have pretty much locked up their nomination, but they both still decided to come to Georgia. Does this give you a sense that they both, both of these parties believed that Georgia is up for grabs in November?

ANDRA GILLESPIE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Well, yes. These activities had been planned already. This week's primaries are actually symbolically important for former President Trump because this is the week that he's likely going to cross the delegate threshold to formally secure enough delegates to win the Republican nomination. And by casting these events or by holding these events here in Georgia today, it really does signal the start of the campaign for both parties. And it actually does signal the fact that Georgia is important. This is a state that's a must-win for both of them.

SOLOMON: Trump was the first GOP candidate to lose Georgia in 24 years. He attributed that 2020 loss to Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp and the state's secretary of state, both, both of whom refused to aid him in overturning the election in that state. Now, they have not reconciled, Trump and Kemp, and Kemp was not invited to Trump's rally today. How important do you think endorsements such as the governor, who is popular in Georgia, how important do you think that is in the minds of voters?

GILLESPIE: Well, I think what's most important is to figure out how much access the Trump campaign is going to have to the statewide party apparatus that Brian Kemp certainly enjoys in the state. I suspect that at some point Brian Kemp and Donald Trump are going to have a type of rapprochement. We've already seen the attorney general, Chris Carr, who also ran against a pro Trump candidate in 2022 on the Republican side has already endorsed President Trump. I can't imagine a scenario in which Brian Kemp doesn't actually tacitly endorse Trump. So it becomes a question of how closely they work together, because Brian Kemp has a formidable mobilization operation in the state.

SOLOMON: Let me bring in Lisa Rayam, also joining the conversation. She is the radio host of "Morning Edition" on Atlanta's NPR station WABE. Lisa, good to have you as well. Immigration has become -- good to have you. Welcome. Immigration has become a pretty big topic if not the topic in Georgia following the recent death of nursing student Laken Riley, who was allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant after jogging on campus. Georgia, obviously, not a border state, but how big of an issue is immigration in Georgia?

LISA RAYAM, HOST, "MORNING EDITION" ON ATLANTA'S WABE RADIO (NPR): GILLESPIE: It's big in that it's being talked about around the watercooler. It's being talked about at the coffee table. Last night I had dinner with some African American women, very key to both campaigns at this moment, and the talk is about safety of our borders. The talk is of Laken Riley and just how could this happened. Not necessarily whose fault it is, but it is of importance to voters here in Georgia, especially with the death of Laken Riley and the suspect being of illegal status. So it is being talked about.

It is important to Georgia, specifically those Georgians who want to hear from Biden today some specifics. This trip is very important to him in that he's familiar to Georgia because Georgia helped him over the hump in 2020. But recent polls have showed that he's losing some support from his key voter block of African American women, men, and even the young voters. So he is going to have to come with some strong messaging today. And that is on immigration, that is on housing, that is on health care.

[14:10:03]

So we think we'll see a reminiscence -- a reminiscent Biden that we saw Thursday night.

SOLOMON: Lisa, let me stick with you for just another moment. Let me ask the case, the Georgia election subversion case where Fani Willis is now being -- Fani Willis is now at the center of it, essentially her relationship with Nathan Wade and whether there was any impropriety there and whether she benefited financially. I'm just curious if you can give us a sense, depending on what the judge finds, she could theoretically be thrown off the case. Give us a sense of sort of what the feeling is on the ground in Georgia there about that development.

RAYAM: It's been going on for several weeks now. And now, a lot of Georgians are thinking it's becoming a distraction because a lot of critics believed that Fani Willis will not be taken off the case at this point. But again, you have the Trump attorneys pushing and pushing. Just recently the Fulton County Election Board ruled that it didn't have jurisdiction diction to hear the complaints that she had some ethical violations when it comes to that romantic relationship with Nathan Wade.

So it has been a lot of talk, it has been a lot of courtroom drama, but not a whole lot of action as to whether or not Fani will be taken off the case at this point. And the majority of people think that she will remain on this particular case.

SOLOMON: OK. We'll leave it here.

And just for our audience watching, you are of course, watching the president as he deplanes with first lady Dr. Jill Biden and meeting the mayor of Atlanta there as well as congressional leaders as he prepares for this rally tonight in Atlanta in just a few hours. We should say that Trump is also holding a rally tonight in Rome, Georgia, which is north of Atlanta, I believe.

We'll leave it here. Lisa Rayam, Andra Gillespie, thank you both.

RAYAM: Thank you.

SOLOMON: We want to go to some breaking news right now. For the fourth time this week, there was an incident with a United Airlines flight. This latest one took place Friday afternoon. That's when a flight from San Francisco to Mexico City had to divert to Los Angeles because of an issue with the hydraulic system.

Let's bring in CNN's Camila Bernal who joins us live from the Los Angeles International Airport. Camila, just bring us up to speed. What's happening here?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, passengers, Rahel, have been left scared, wondering what in the world is going on after all of these incidents this week. As you mentioned, that last one being a plane that was going from San Francisco to Mexico City. And in the middle of the flight, or on their way. It was starting because they landed here in LAX, but there was a problem with the hydraulic system. This was an Airbus 320 with 105 passengers, five crew members, and they had to make that emergency landing here at LAX. Eventually, all of these passengers were put into another flight and they made their way to Mexico City. But again, just a very scary situation.

And it wasn't the only incident yesterday, because there was another flight that was going for Memphis to Houston, and that flight head 160 passengers with six crew members. And this was a Boeing 737 Max. And what happened here was it was raining. And so as this plane is landing its skids off the runway and into a grassy area. So the deplaning situation here was very scary and complicated for passengers.

And then of course, there was that other very scary incident on Thursday. This was a flight from San Francisco to Osaka in Japan. And what happened here was that the tire fell off. A lot of us have seen those images. This was a Boeing 777 with 235 passengers, 14 crew members. And this tire falls off the plane into some cars. This flight also diverts to Los Angeles. And again, eventually they made their way to Japan on another flight. But passengers, of course, terrified of what was going on.

And then on Monday this week another terrifying situation. This was a flight from Houston to Fort Myers, and this was a Boeing 737 with 161 passengers, six crew members. And what happens here is that the engine in just some bubble wrap, and it goes up in flames. CNN spoke to a passenger on that flight who said that they thought they were going to die. They sent an email, he sent an email to his wife, essentially saying goodbye, saying that he loved her.

And this is what a lot of these passengers have gone through this week, just terrifying moments. And so of course, these incidents are all under investigation. But of course, a lot of questions still remain, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Camila, what's United saying about all of this?

BERNAL: Yes. I mean, they're saying that they're looking into all of these incidents and working with the FAA. They've outlined to all of the incidents and are specifically looking into each one of them individually. But again, it just takes time to figure out exactly what happened.

SOLOMON: Camila Bernal live for us there at LAX. Camila, thank you.

[14:15:02]

Still ahead for us, the U.S. is airdropping more humanitarian aid into Gaza as hopes for a ceasefire before the start of Ramadan dim. We're going to go to live to Israel coming up next.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLE BRAUER, AMERICAN SAILOR, SKIPPER OF THE FIRST LIGHT: It doesn't feel as if I just went around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: The American woman sailing into history as the first to race solo around the world. She joins us to talk about her incredible journey. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:07]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

Hopes for an imminent ceasefire deal in Gaza appear to be fading. U.S. officials said that they wanted to see a deal for a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages before the beginning of Ramadan tomorrow evening. While time is running out for that to happen, the U.S. is conducting and continuing to conduct humanitarian airdrops into Gaza with another round coming just hours ago. The Hamas-run health ministry says that 25 people have now died in Gaza due to malnutrition and dehydration.

Let's go the CNN's Clarissa Ward who is in Jerusalem. Clarissa, just give us a sense of where things stand now.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, it does not appear that there is going to be a ceasefire as initially the White House had been optimistic that that would happen before Ramadan. We know that the head of Israeli intelligence, David Barnea, met with the director of the CIA, Bill Burns, just yesterday, but there's no sense that there's been some real momentum in terms of finding a breakthrough.

That is for a number of reasons. But the reality on the ground inside Gaza is that a desperate situation is quickly spiraling completely out of control. And what's interesting to see, Rahel, is in Israel, people are divided about how they see this issue of aid going into Gaza and how much should be allowed. And quite a few people believed that no aid should be allowed to go in, as we saw for our for selves when we spent the day with some protesters, take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

WARD: They march with determination to the Kerem Shalom border as they have for six weeks. Their mission, to block international aid from crossing into Gaza. The border police are waiting for them. There is a danger of sniper fire and projectiles, the officer warns, "I ask you to leave this place." But the protesters are undeterred. made up mostly of hostage family members, former reservists, and settlers, they ignore the order and change course to move closer to the crossing.

So you can see the trucks with aid over there. The police had been trying to stop the protesters, but then they've just cut through this field and they're pushing ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can anyone check these trucks and see what's inside? Or bags of right that are meant to go to their children are filled with bullets.

WARD: Under international law, its Israel's obligation to make sure that the ordinary citizens of Gaza don't starve to death. And right now, they are starving to death. DEBBIE SHARON, PROTESTER: Hamas is making it very difficult because

Hamas is not allowing this to -- they're not holding. They're not receiving it. But they do it. I'm telling you here and now, if we knew it's getting to children of Gaza, we would do it. This does not arrive at their doorstep. This arrives into the tunnels of Hamas that are fighting us and holding our hostages.

WARD: There's no evidence to support the idea that all of this aid is going to Hamas.

KATYA, PROTESTOR: Not to the rest of the population. This is intelligence only for terror. That's why they're getting -- they should get only the minimum calories required to survive.

WARD: They're starving to death.

KATYA: They're not.

WARD: Theya re starving to death.

KATYA: You know what, if they are starving to death, give us back -- give the hostages back. Not a single loaf of bread should go there until our hostages are coming back.

WARD: To many people in the world, listening to what you're saying and what you're protesting for, it sounds like, a, a contravention of international law, and b, incredibly callous in the face of an epic humanitarian catastrophe, in the face of children starving to death. People can't understand why anyone in their right mind would advocate for stopping aid.

SHARON: Hamas has no fair play. Hamas has no rules. Hamas is holding civilians.

KATYA: Even if there is a humanitarian crisis, and there is now, even if there is, it's my right and my duty to prioritize the life of one year old babies, they deserve over any Gazan babies.

WARD: And with that, the interview is over as the protesters press on. Previously, they'd managed to block aid trucks from crossing. But on this day, the police have been given their orders and no one is getting through, prompting anger from the crowd.

"You are confused. Go deal with the war," this woman shouts. "We came to help you." Unable to cross here, the protesters try their luck in another area. But the authorities are just as quick to stop them.

[14:25:03]

So the police are now really starting to lose their patience. They've been trying to push these protesters away for hours now, and still they're not leaving.

The crowd on this day is small. The sentiment is shared by the majority of people in the country. A recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 68 percent of Jewish-Israelis oppose the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

On the other side of the border, the situation could not be more dire. Seven year-old Fadi (ph) al-Sant (ph) is suffering from severe dehydration and malnutrition. Doctors at the Kamal Adwan Hospital say they don't have the resources to properly treat him. Fadi's (ph) mother says she has already lost two children. She doesn't want to lose him. According to Gaza's health authorities, at least 17 children have died of dehydration and malnutrition already. And with a U.N. warning that famine is just a step away, there is hardly room for debate. More aid needs to get to more people as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WARD (on camera): Now Rahel, I do think it's important for our viewers to know that these protesters do not represent everyone in Israel, and on the same day that we were out with this group there was another group of Israeli protesters who were trying to get a convoy of aid into Gaza, who do not believe that food should be weaponized and who do not believe that the innocent civilians of Gaza should be punished for the crimes of Hamas.

But at this stage, as you heard from that poll, they tend to be in a minority, with the vast -- not the vast. Let's say a good 68 percent, so just over two-thirds of Jewish Israelis say that they believe, as you heard in that story, that aid should not be allowed into Gaza, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Really important reporting there. Clarissa Ward live in Jerusalem for us. Thank you.

Still to come, the new economic indicator that shows that the U.S. is beating expectations. And a change to credit card late fees that could save you a lot of money. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:31:44]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. The U.S. economy added 275,000 jobs last month, beating expectations. And the good news doesn't stop there. Federal regulators also just finalizing a rule to cap most credit card late fees at $8. And this move will say families more than $10 billion a year. That's according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Let's discuss all of this with Mark Zandi. He is the chief economist for Moody's Analytics. Mark, always good to have you even on a jobs Saturday, we'll call it. Let's start with the jobs report. What seems to be driving the growth here?

MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST MOODY'S ANALYTICS: Well, it's good gross Rahel, 275,000 jobs is a really good economy. It's across the board. It's mostly in health care, broadly across the entire industry. Government, leisure, hospitality. But the economy is creating lots of jobs across lots of industries, and really, from coast to coast, unemployment remains. So the bottom line is that the economy continues to perform well, remains resilient. We continue to move forward. And one of those not so hot, not so cold, like right down the strike

zone kind of report. So it felt pretty good.

SOLOMON: Mark, would you say that it was truly broad-based? Because one thing that you sometimes hear, I hear it from viewers, I hear from friends, is, yes, we hear the job numbers and they sound really great, but I don't really see that in my industry. Are we seeing this really concentrated in certain parts of the economy? What would you say to that?

ZANDI: Well, in the last, say, three, six months, it has become -- the job creation growth has become more concentrated in the industries I just mentioned, health care, government, leisure hospitality. But still, if you look across the broad expansive industries, it's still widespread.

Now there are some industries where job growth is kind of flattish to down maybe a little bit. Manufacturing would be good case in point. Mining would be another good case point, parts of the tech industry, for example. But yes, I think we can say with confidence that the job creation is across, pretty much across the board about as good -- about as broad based as it gets.

SOLOMON: How about wages? Of course, that's something that not only matters for the American people, but also for the Fed as it watches the inflation picture. What do we see there?

ZANDI: Yes, that's not so hot, not so cold that. We need wage growth that remains strong. I mean, that's key to people's purchasing power, so they can keep on spending and keep the economy forward, but not so strong that it puts a lot of pressure on businesses to raise their prices and creates more inflationary pressures, which would force the Federal Reserve to maybe not cut interest rates, maybe even raise interest rates.

So we're getting growth in wages that's kind of just around four percent-ish, that's on an analyzed basis. That's where you want to see it. That's consistent with the Federal Reserve's inflation target. It's also consistent with the current rate of productivity growth, which means that those kinds of ways gains aren't going to put pressure on businesses to raise prices more aggressively. So it's right, again, as I said earlier, right down the strike zone.

SOLOMON: Yes, what you might hear analysts called the goldilocks, not too hot, not too cold.

[14:35:00]

Mark, let's talk about this initiative to cap credit card late fees. What is that going to mean for Americans, you think? That feels like a pretty big deal.

ZANDI: Yes, it's, as you said, it's $10 billion a year, if it goes through. Obviously, there's lawsuits now from various trade groups, so we'll see how this plays out. So it will be a big saving, particularly for hard-pressed households who are borrowing against her credit cards. The households that are borrowing against their cards generally are lower-income households that are more financially pressed, having more difficulty making their way through financially and thus using their cards.

Now, you know, like most policies, there's pluses and there's minuses. The minus to this is that credit card companies aren't going to be making as much money. They're not going let be, therefore, quite as aggressive in extending out credit. So people who are kind of on the margin for getting a loan may not get a loan because they're just not profitable anymore. So, yes, it will hurt with lending. So there's pluses and minuses here. But for many Americans with cards, obviously, it's a plus.

SOLOMON: Mark Zandi, so good to have you. Thank you, Mark.

ZANDI: Anytime, Rahel. Take care.

SOLOMON: You, too.

All right, well, Donald Trump is in a cash crunch. He just paid a bond of nearly $100 million, and in weeks he will have to call off up half- a-billion more. New questions about where Trump will find the money for his legal bills.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:07]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. Former President Donald Trump is facing an enormous cash crunch for multiple legal judgments, fees, and penalties. He just posted in nearly $92 million bond in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case. But he's still on the hook for millions more from his other cases. CNN's Brian Todd takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: They attack my business. I built a great business.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The former president's projection of himself as a star businessman with deep pockets facing a stern challenge. Donald Trump on Friday posted a bond of nearly $92 million to cover the damages in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case as he appeals the judgment against him in that case. An insurance company called Chubb underwrote the bond Trump posted on Friday, but Trump still owes damages of $454 million for a separate judgment against him in the New York attorney general's civil fraud case. And while he's appealing the case, he's only got until March 25th to pay that off.

SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: He's in a really big bind, particularly because there's a clock ticking on it. It's a very tight timetable. Someone with that wealth might be able to raise cash if you give them enough time. But with this kind of situation, it's very hard.

TODD: Another hit, he's been ordered to pay $385,000 in legal fees to a company he sued in the Christopher Steele dossier case. And he's got other mounting legal fees that he owes for litigation in the four criminal trials he's facing. All of this raising questions about Trump's ability to pay.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON, AUTHOR, "THE MAKING OF DONALD TRUMP": This has got to be really straining his finances. Donald has always had a house of cards financial structure.

TODD: The former president's finances are an opaque, complicated tangle. "Forbes" estimates his net worth at about $2.6 billion, but most of it is tied up in real estate. Could he sell one or more of his famous properties to cover it?

WU: It's hard to sell real estate very quickly, unless you're doing a fire sale on the assets, which you would want to be doing.

TODD: Could he spend campaign money to pay the New York civil judgment? "The New York Times" recently reported that one of Trump's political action committees spent about $50 million in donor money last year to pay legal expenses for him. But because that New York civil case was not related to his campaign or his conduct as president, he likely wouldn't be able to use his PACs to pay that judgment. He could sell his stake in his social media platform, Truth Social. A pending merger between the parent company of Truth Social and another firm could make Trump's stake worth about $4 billion. But --

SARA FISCHER, "AXIOS" SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: If this company can even merge to go public, he would have to wait six months to be able to sell anything.

TODD: That raises another possibility.

JOHNSTON: I think Donald may file personal bankruptcy as a strategic move to delay collection of these cases. His goal would be to get past November 5th, the day of the presidential election.

TODD: Another hurdle Trump is facing is that some of the world's biggest banks stopped lending to him a while ago. Deutsche Bank, which often lended money to Trump for his property deals, ended its relationship with him after the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Axos Bank from California did give Trump a $100 million loan in 2022, but it's not clear if that bank would lend to them again. CNN's calls to Axos and its chief executive were not returned.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SOLOMON: All right, Brian, thanks so much.

And coming up, this sailor right here overcame violent waters and broken ribs to become the first American woman to race around the world completely alone. She joins us coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:49:23]

SOLOMON: History made. Sailor Cole Brauer has become the first American woman to race nonstop around the world by herself. The 29 year-old New York native arrived back in Spain this week, waving flares, as you see here, to celebrate her arduous and lengthy journey. Brauer placed second out of 16 sailors who competed in the race. And she shared her adventure with her hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers, hoping to inspire other women.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLE BRAUER, AMERICAN SAILOR, SKIPPER OF THE FIRST LIGHT: My whole goal is to be the first American woman to race solo around the world. There has been a couple of women that have come from the United States that have sailed around the world, but no American woman has actually raced around the world.

[14:50:04]

I always wanted to race around the world before I turned 30, so it looks like in the next couple of weeks that's going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, Brauer battled intense storms and rogue waves during her 30,000 mile trek. At one point, it was so rough that she injured her ribs after getting thrown across the boat.

And joining us now is called Cole Brauer. First, congratulations. What an incredible accomplishment. How do you feel? How does it feel?

COLE BRAUER, AMERICAN SAILOR, SKIPPER OF THE FIRST LIGHT: I would say that it feels pretty good. And to be honest, it doesn't feel as if I just went around the world. Like I stepped on the dock, and you see all your friends and your family and they're staring at you. And you're kind of like, why are they staring at me so weird? Why are they crying? Why is this thing so -- it just didn't make any sense. And I think maybe it just hasn't hit me, the magnitude of it. And I'm just kind of, let's go out, let's go out dancing. Let's go get together. Let's have a beverage. Let's go eat really good foods since I have been restricted on the food that I've been heavily. So I'm just I'm just out here having my mini-vacation and enjoying every moment.

SOLOMON: Just incredible. And following your Instagram, its really cool to see just sort of your journey along the way. And I'm wondering, half of the people who competed in this race dropped out because it was so challenging. What were some of the challenges that you experienced?

BRAUER: I think there was a few challenges. It's definitely just breakages. We started with almost everything was brand new before I left. But honestly, when it comes down to it, these things are just not made to go around the world. Like 30,000 miles and you have these things that are really only made to go about 10,000 miles. And so you're doing all of your own maintenance onboard. And you find out very quick, oh, I probably should have brought that with me. But it's nonstop and it's unassisted. So you kind of have to figure out, oh, I don't have that tool. I have to use a different tool. And that was a challenge, but I knew what I was getting myself into. So it was a little bit fun trying to figure. It's a puzzle. It's always a puzzle.

SOLOMON: Yes, and it's interesting because obviously you prepared for this journey, but I'm wondering if you discovered anything that maybe you hadn't been expecting? Or what was the most gratifying part of this journey?

BRAUER: Gratifying. It's so interesting. I think just being out in the ocean. And the only time that I've actually really cried since I've been back is I had an interview where he asked me, what are you going to miss? And it brought back all these memories of the pure ocean. It's just so clean, it's so fresh. There's no cars, there's no drama, there's no traffic. When there's you just got side and it's just so pure. And yes, that is just an amazing thing.

SOLOMON: Yes, it looked really peaceful. And I know you were out there journaling as well.

Let me ask. Friday, of course, was International Women's Day. This something that is obviously very important to you. I read something that you said, it would be amazing if there was just one other girl that saw me and said, oh, I can do that, too. Talk to me about how important it was to be breaking glass ceilings in this male dominated sport.

BRAUER: I think that was always the goal in this entire process was we really wanted to make a statement. And I didn't -- and I didn't think it was going to go a little bit more as mainstream as it did. I really thought that it was going to be just the sailing world, and the sailing world is super male dominated. And I'm --

SOLOMON: Look, you just got back on land. You certainly deserve rest. You certainly deserve all the foods that you have been deprived of over the last four months. But I'm wondering, what's next for Cole Brauer?

BRAUER: A lot of people have been asking me that, and I think I've always look towards, there's a French race called the Vendee Globe, and it happens every four years. So there's one happening this year, and then there's one happening in 2028. And so I really would like to align myself up well for the 2028 one, but its tenfold on sponsorship money. And so I'm still looking for the next sponsorship, and everything takes time and energy and just getting back on the water. And so right now it's just getting back out on the water is quickly as possible.

[14:55:00]

SOLOMON: Well, look, a lot of people have loved your journey. You have almost half-a-million followers the last I checked. It's been such a joy talking to you. Congratulations. Enjoy all of the food, all of the rest, all of the things you've missed out on. Cole Brauer, thanks so much. BRAUER: Thank you so much for having me. I will be eating for forever

now.

(LAUGHTER)

SOLOMON: Yes, yes. Well deserved. All right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

SOLOMON: Welcome, and thanks for joining me. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York.