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CNN International: Biden, Trump Clinch Parties' Presidential Nominations; U.S. Announces $300 Million Aid Package for Ukraine; Haiti Gears Up for Transitional Council After Prime Minister Resigns; First Food Convoy in Three Weeks Reaches Northern Gaza. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 13, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're the official nominee of the Republican Party.

TRUMP: We'll celebrate in eight months when the election is over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The fact that it was the state of Georgia that put the president over the top is basically a cherry on top for this campaign.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ukrainian forces are having to ration some of their ammunition to make sure it doesn't run out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We must act before it literally is too late.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators in New Zealand have seized the plane's black boxes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It felt like, you know, when you are in a roller coaster and you just go like this, that sensation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Max Foster. Bianca has the day off.

It is Wednesday, March 13th, 8 a.m. here in London, 4 a.m. in Washington, D.C. The stage is now set for the presidential rematch American voters don't actually want. They say they don't want anyway. Joe Biden versus Donald Trump. Primary wins in Georgia. Mississippi and Washington State gave Trump enough delegates to clinch the Republican nomination.

President Biden took all three Democratic contests to put him over the finish line. He'll officially be nominated at the party's convention now in Chicago in August. Mr. Biden will be campaigning this week in the crucial swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan.

Trump has an event planned for Ohio. The former president posted on social media after his primary wins.

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TRUMP: It's your favorite president speaking to you on a really great day of victory.

The Republican National Committee has just declared us the official nominee. And so we're the official nominee of the Republican Party, which is a big deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: More on Donald Trump's strategy from CNN's Kristen Holmes.

But first, President Biden's reaction from our senior White House correspondent, MJ Lee.

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MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden saying in a statement Tuesday night that he is honored to have clinched the Democratic Party's nomination for president and echoing some of the language that we saw him use in his State of the Union remarks last week. He said that he believes that the country is in the middle of a comeback.

But he also goes on to say in this statement: Amid this progress, we face a sobering reality. Freedom and democracy are at risk here at home in a way they have not been since the Civil War. Donald Trump is running a campaign of resentment, revenge and retribution that threatens the very idea of America. Voters now have a choice to make about the future of this country. Are we going to stand up and defend our democracy or let others tear it down?

Now, the Biden campaign going into Tuesday fully expected that the president was going to cross that delegate's threshold. But the fact that it was a state of Georgia that put the president over the top is basically a cherry on top for this campaign.

Of course, President Biden ended up defeating former President Donald Trump in that state back in 2020. And that marked the first time that a Democratic presidential candidate had won that state in 28 years. And there's no question that the Biden campaign continues to see that state as a battleground state going into November.

They would very much like to win that state. It's not a coincidence that the president traveled to Georgia this weekend as he kicked off his post State of the Union tour.

Now, zooming out Tuesday night was not only just a symbolically important moment for the campaign, but campaign officials saying that they are hoping that the events of Tuesday night will help some voters who have so far been tuned out of the election, see and realize for the first time that the 2024 election is, in fact, going to be between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

MJ Lee, CNN at the White House.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: While former President Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination on Tuesday night, it was too much little fanfare. He didn't come out. He didn't give any remarks. He didn't even hold an event. It was almost as though he was also the incumbent.

But Donald Trump's team has been focused on the general election for weeks. They had started to pivot to try to build out their ground game operation in pivotal states, battleground states, particularly Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, states, some of which Donald Trump won in 2016 and lost in 2020. They believe this matchup against Biden is going to be incredibly close.

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And as one senior advisor put it to me, they don't want to leave a single vote on the table.

Now, we have heard a lot about Donald Trump's struggles with suburban voters. Donald Trump's team is keenly aware of that. And the former president is not going to change and likely to not win over huge swaths of suburban voters. So part of the strategy there is going to try to offset those voters with different blocks of Democratic-leaning voters, traditionally Democratic-leaning voters.

Donald Trump's team sees an opening with Black male voters in the state of Georgia. They see an opening with working-class voters in the state of Michigan. This is not all of these voters, but it is enough. They believe they can siphon off enough of these different voting demographics to try and offset what they are seeing in the suburbs, what they are seeing with independents.

Now, what they are doing is hunkering down right now and coming up with exactly what that strategy is going to look like and what exactly their ground game is going to look like in these various states. Because Donald Trump and his team, as we have reported before, believe that he has a path to the White House. But it is a very narrow one, and it is going to require them to fight again for every single vote. So that is what they are turning their attention to right now.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Washington.

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FOSTER: Robert Kennedy Jr. says he has made his pick for vice president and plans to reveal who that is within two weeks. Twenty- three states require him to name a running mate in order to get on the ballot. The independent candidate says his shortlist includes New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who famously misled the public about his Covid vaccination status ahead of the 2021 season. Others include former pro wrestler and Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, Republican Senator Rand Paul, and motivational speaker Tony Robbins.

Russia's president says that from a military and technical standpoint, his country is prepared for nuclear war. Vladimir Putin spoke to Russian state media in an interview published on Wednesday. He tells them nuclear conflict is not imminent, but he says he is ready to use nuclear weapons to deal with any threat to the existence of the Russian state. He's also trying to stoke fear about Polish troops entering Ukraine, saying they may be tempted to retake land they consider theirs historically.

And President Putin is warning the United States to keep its soldiers out of Ukraine -- not that there are any plans for the U.S. to send its troops into combat.

But more American weapons will soon be on the way. The U.S. announced a surprise package of $300 million in new military aid to Ukraine on Tuesday after months of warning there wasn't any money left.

Senior defense officials say this isn't a long-term solution because they scrounged up the money with savings from weapons contracts. President Joe Biden again called on House lawmakers to pass a bill that includes billions in aid for Ukraine.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Congress must pass the bipartisan national security bill now, which includes urgent funding for Ukraine. We must act before it literally is too late. Before it's too late. Because as Paul remembers, Russia won't stop at Ukraine. Putin will keep going, putting Europe, the United States and the entire free world at risk, in my view.

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FOSTER: President Biden met with Poland's president and prime minister at the White House on Tuesday. Both countries reaffirmed their support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion.

CNN's Oren Lieberman has more on the U.S. aid package from the Pentagon.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: This $300 million aid package to Ukraine includes some of the most needed arms and equipment for Ukrainian forces as they try to hold the line against Russia, which is gradually advancing in the face of, effectively, a lack of U.S.-supplied ammunition and equipment. So take a look at the list of what's in here.

Crucially, 155-millimeter artillery ammunition. This is some of the most needed basic weaponry to hold the line against the Russians. Russia able to fire a far greater amount of artillery ammunition because of its supply lines and its ability to put its economy on a wartime footing.

Ukraine has had to rely on U.S. supplies, and the last U.S. aid package was back on December 27. In terms of what else is in this package, it also includes anti-aircraft missiles. Those are needed to repel Russian air assaults, as well as more of the necessary weapons and equipment.

But the U.S. made it clear this is only a tiny fraction of what Ukraine needs, and this may only be able to help Ukraine for a matter of weeks, perhaps as little as a couple of weeks, according to the White House. And that is why the U.S. pushed both the White House and the Pentagon to put forward a need for the supplemental $90 billion that's already gotten through the Senate, but it's stuck in the House. Critically, it includes $60 billion for Ukraine.

That, the White House, the Pentagon and Ukraine have made clear, is much needed, especially at this point in the fight when Ukrainian forces are having to ration some of their ammunition to make sure it doesn't run out. They need U.S.-supplied weapons essentially to be able to push back against these Russian advances.

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Some of the other countries in Europe have stepped up and tried to fill that gap, but it is the U.S. that has been the bulk of the provider here, and it is the U.S. that is still very much needed in this case.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, in the Pentagon.

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FOSTER: Ukrainian officials say at least three people were killed by a Russian attack in the southern part of Ukraine on Tuesday. At least 40 people were injured, including 10 children, after Russian missiles struck multi-story buildings in the city of Kryvyi Rih. Officials say the missiles started fires in residential buildings, and rescue workers had to dig through rubble to save people.

Alexei Navalny's former chief of staff has survived an attack in Lithuania. And a warning, the images you're about to see are pretty graphic. According to Navalny's spokesperson, someone struck Leonid Volkov with a hammer and sprayed him with tear gas outside his home.

The Russian opposition activist was taken to hospital. He says he has a broken arm and was also hit in the leg, in the head. But he says he will not -- it won't stop him.

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LEONID VOLKOV, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION ACTIVIST (through translator): Well, listen, this will pass. The main thing is that we will continue to work and we will not give up. I'm not ready to give any comments yet, other than the obvious that this was such an obvious, typical gangster greeting from Putin, from gangster St. Petersburg.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, hello to you too.

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FOSTER: The attack comes less than a month after Alexei Navalny's death in a Russian prison. Volkov served as the chairman of his anti- corruption foundation until last year.

Haiti hoping to have a transitional council in place after the country's prime minister resigned following widespread gang violence in the country. The council will be tasked with appointing an interim prime minister and establishing a provisional electoral council to facilitate elections. The U.N. has welcomed the new developments but says it's hard to predict if it will help end the violence.

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STEPHANE DUJARRIC, U.N. SPOKESPERSON: What is clear is that a political solution cannot be imposed on the Haitian people from the outside. This is a way forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the SG have any message to gangs and gang leaders in Haiti right now because they are threatening in bloodbath?

DUJARRIC: Silence the guns.

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FOSTER: CNN's David Culver has more now on the proposed transitional council.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mounting uncertainty in neighboring Haiti despite efforts by CARICOM, the regional bloc, to craft a transitional presidential council. The council would include seven members from different political factions within Haiti. And it will appoint an interim prime minister.

The goal is for it to stabilize the country enough for presidential elections, which haven't happened since 2016. This comes as current prime minister, Ariel Henry, has succumbed to the mounting pressure and announced his resignation. But he says he's going to stay in power until the transitional council is in place.

Meantime, you've got gang and former coup leaders saying they either won't recognize the transitional government or they say it won't work because it doesn't represent the will of the Haitian people. They see this as put in place by an outside force.

This comes after weeks of anti-government protests and gang violence. A lot of it directed towards Henry. We were in Port-au-Prince a little more than two weeks ago. And you could feel the anger amongst folks who believed that Henry had overstayed his welcome and they wanted him out. At the same time, the country has been dealing with lawlessness and

gangs taking more and more control, especially following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.

Folks, we first met a couple of weeks back, having recent days felt the growing wrath of gangs. Some have had their makeshift camps or homes torched. Others are sealing themselves indoors, trying to hunker down. Police are feeling the pressure too.

A Haitian security source telling us they are frustrated. They've been holding the front line as they see it, awaiting the Kenyan security forces, but that deployment is now on hold, much to the frustration of the U.S. And it's because Kenyan officials say with Henry resigning, there is no anchor for the Kenyan forces to rest.

Meantime, the Pentagon is on alert for possible mass migration from Haiti. This is happening as the WFP, the World Food Program, warns a million people in Haiti are one step away from famine.

David Culver, CNN, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

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FOSTER: The curse on Haiti has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. U.S. officials say they're on alert for possible mass migration.

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REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): You anticipate a mass migration though?

REBECCA ZIMMERMAN, U.S. HOMELAND DEFENSE AND HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS: But we are alert to that. We are alert to that possibility. I think you're right that the driving conditions in Haiti could very well press more people. So we've recently approved some additional assistance that we can provide to the Coast Guard.

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FOSTER: Well, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas have been cracking down on Haitian migrants in recent weeks. The International Organization for Migration says the Dominican Republic reported -- or deported, rather, more than 4,000 people in March alone, while the Bahamas announced a large number of detentions after imposing a maritime blockade to prevent mass migration from Haiti.

Still to come, more desperately needed assistance is now en route to Gaza as the first maritime shipment of humanitarian aid leaves Cyprus.

Plus, we'll tell you why TikTok's days on U.S. app stores may be numbered.

And exploding shortly after launch. Disappointment for a Japanese space company as its plans go up in smoke. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The U.N.'s food program, the World Food Program, says it has reached northern Gaza with much needed aid in the first successful food convoy to the area in three weeks. The WFP said it delivered enough food for 25,000 people but says more deliveries are needed with direct entry points into the north where people are on the brink of famine.

The Israel Defense Forces says the six U.N. humanitarian trucks entered the area through a new route on Tuesday. Countries are also working to get food into northern Gaza from the air. Jordan's air force conducted joint air drops with the U.S., Egypt and Belgium on Tuesday.

Despite all this, Israel is under growing pressure to allow more access to Gaza in an effort to get more aid in by land.

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JOSEP BORRELL, EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: This is a humanitarian crisis which is not a natural disaster. It's not a flood. It's not a earthquake. It's a man-made. And when we look for alternative ways of providing support by sea or by air, we have to remind that we have to do it because the natural way of providing support through roads is being closed, artificially closed. And starvation is being used as a war arm.

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FOSTER: And more assistance is heading to Gaza, this time by sea. A ship carrying aid from the World Central Kitchen is now en route to the enclave after leaving Cyprus on Tuesday. On board about 200 tons of food. One U.N. official says the move is highly appreciated but stressed it's not a substitute for the overland transport of food to those on the verge of famine in Gaza. CNN's Nada Bashir has those details.

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NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): On its way at last. The open arms, normally a search and rescue vessel, setting sail from Larnaca in Cyprus with nearly 200 tons of aid in tow -- rice, flour and canned goods.

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Enough for 500,000 meals according to World Central Kitchen.

JUAN CAMILLO JIMENEZ, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: It's the first thing happening in many years. And that means we are working with different actors, different governments, different entities to make this possible.

BASHIR (voice-over): And this is where it's going. A makeshift pier in Gaza, still under construction. This in addition to a temporary pier to be established by the U.S. military on Gaza's coast.

World Central Kitchen says it plans to distribute the food in Gaza, where a quarter of Palestinians are on the brink of famine, according to the U.N.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: My strongest appeal today is to honor the spirit of Ramadan by silencing the guns. And removing all obstacles to ensure the delivery of life-saving aid at the speed and massive scale required.

BASHIR (voice-over): Any form of celebration during this holy month is, at best, muted. With little food for Palestinians to break their fast at sunset.

We decided to come and break our fast here in our home, which was struck. Despite the destruction and the rubble, we brought our food and cooked on firewood.

Open Arms will be one of the first ships to enter the Strip in years. Ever since Israel implemented a naval blockade on the territory in 2007. Aid trucks which, on average, crossed at around 500 a day before the war began, now pile up at the Rafah border crossing in Egypt. Only a fraction actually make it across the border every day.

Governments and other aid agencies have also taken to airdrops, though this option has proven both controversial and even risky. Leaving the sea as one of the last remaining avenues to bring food to those so desperately in need.

Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

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FOSTER: U.S. President Joe Biden says he's devastated to learn of the death of an Israeli American citizen who Israeli officials now say was killed on October the 7th. 19-year-old Itay Chen had been serving on the Gaza border when Hamas launched its attack. His parents released a statement saying their son was fun-loving and a bright light for his family and friends.

The Israel Defense Forces say Chen's remains were taken into Gaza after he was killed. His parents are urging Mr. Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do everything they can to bring him back home.

Israeli police say a 12-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and killed by a border officer in a refugee camp in Jerusalem. In a video tamed by CNN, the boy can be seen holding a lit firework above his head before the sound of a gunshot is heard. Now in a second video, he's seen lying on the ground as several people gather around him. A police spokesperson says forces responded to a violent disturbance at the camp when an officer fired towards a suspect who, quote, endangered forces whilst firing aerial fireworks in their direction.

Hospital officials say the boy, identified as Rami Al-Halhouli, arrived in critical condition and died a short time later. CNN has reached out to Israeli police for further evidence of the alleged disturbances they say took place at the refugee camp.

CNN's Paul Hancocks joins me now. Paul, in terms of the ceasefire talks, obviously it's all about them right now and, you know, trying to do something about this famine. Where do they stand?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, the optimism that everyone was projecting last week has almost gone at this point. We've heard from the CIA director Bill Burns saying that it is still a possibility but it is a very tough process.

Also saying that there's actually no guarantee that this is going to work. The only guarantee, he says, is that it will be far worse for everybody if it doesn't work. Of course, speaking about those in Gaza and also the families of the hostages being held in Gaza.

Now we've also been hearing from Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson. Qatar was key when it came to the mediation for that ceasefire. However, temporary back in November and the hostage release. Telling CNN that at this point it was not looking too positive.

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MAJED AL-ANSARI, QATARI FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: Since the collapse of the last pause, we always knew that we needed a comprehensive deal that would lead to a longer pause and would lead, therefore, to a more sustainable ceasefire between the parties of this conflict. We are right now engaged in constructive dialogue between both sides.

The situation on the ground is very much difficult and we are nowhere near a deal at the moment.

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However, we are working day and night to make sure that we have the right ideas going across between both sides.

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HANCOCKS: The spokesperson also saying this Wednesday that he's hoping that there will be some kind of a ceasefire by Eid al-Fitr, which is the celebration at the end of Ramadan. So, hoping that something can be done by then. But that is, of course, a few weeks away at this point.

Now, some of the key gaps that still remain between the two sides is Hamas would like all the Israeli military to leave the Gaza Strip when there is this pause in fighting. But Israel is not willing to do that. So, we've heard that Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire, which Israel does not, because we've heard from Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, that he still wants to carry out this operation in Rafah itself, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering.

We have heard, though, from Qatar that there is still constructive dialogue. So, even though there are no delegations travelling to meet each other at this point, there is still negotiations on language of a deal going back and forth through these mediators. So, it's not completely ended at this point, but certainly not as optimistic as it was last week.

FOSTER: OK. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. Thank you so much for that.

Now, ahead, the former special counsel behind the report that called Joe Biden an elderly man with a poor memory, defends himself on Capitol Hill. The latest on the investigation into the president's handling of classified documents.

Plus, legal troubles are mounting for a controversial Internet influencer. Details of why the Tate brothers don't want to be extradited from Romania to the U.K. After a quick break.

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FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, here are our top stories.

It's official, a Biden-Trump rematch is set for November. After Tuesday's primary results, U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump clinched their parties' nominations.

Romania's president has launched his bid to be the next NATO Secretary General. Klaus Ioannis is calling for greater representation from Eastern Europe, especially a country located near Russia.

But the U.S., U.K., France and Germany have already backed the Dutch Prime Minister to be the next NATO chief.

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