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CNN International: Putin Expected to Maintain Grip on Power in Russian Election; Putin Confirms Discussions Over Navalny Prison Exchange; Fallout from Trump's Controversial Comments in Ohio; Biden- Netanyahu Rift Grows; Biden Calls for Ceasefire; Yulia Navalnaya Votes at Russian Embassy in Germany. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 18, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): But unfortunately, what happened, happened. We would exchange him, I said, only on one condition. That he doesn't come back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a killer. He's a gangster. He's the person who brought my country to the war.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've seen the humanity, and these humanity, these are bad, these are animals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I, of course, have disagreed with those in the past. I think the American public disagreed with those. But I do think that people see that Donald Trump is the only candidate in this race that's going to be able to fix this crisis.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We're going to continue military pressure, and we're going to continue to try to get those ostriches out.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the Taoiseach and I agree about the urgent need to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza and get the ceasefire deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Max Foster.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianca Nobilo. It is Monday, March 18, 8 a.m. here in London.

And we begin in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin is poised to cement his grip on power with a fifth term after the country wrapped up its three-day presidential election.

FOSTER: With no genuine opponent running against him, the outcome was never in doubt. So far, preliminary results show him with a commanding lead of almost 90 percent.

NOBILO: A win means that he'll stay in office until at least 2030, continuing as Russia's longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

FOSTER: But even as Putin called for unity, Russians both at home and abroad made their opposition clear. Protests were held in a number of cities, from Paris to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi and in Washington.

NOBILO: Russia's election came a month after the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who Putin addressed by name in wide-ranging remarks after the vote ended on Sunday.

CNN's Matthew Chance has been following all of those developments from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a landslide victory for Vladimir Putin in this Russian presidential vote. So no surprises there.

But it was an extraordinary post-election address in which Putin answered reporters' questions at his campaign headquarters. He confirmed reports, for example, that he'd agreed to swap jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who he named for the first time in the days before he died in an Arctic penal colony last month, which Putin dismissed as simply a sad event. Take a listen.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): A few days before Mr. Navalny passed away, some colleagues told me that there is an idea to exchange Mr. Navalny for some people who are in prison in Western countries. Maybe you believe me, maybe you don't. The person who spoke to me had not finished his sentence yet when I said I agree.

But unfortunately, what happened, happened. There was only one condition, for him not to come back. Let him sit there. Well, such things happen. There's nothing you can do about it. That's life.

CHANCE: Of course, Navalny's supporters accused Putin of killing the opposition leader as he ruthlessly silences critics of the Kremlin. Of course, Putin has denied any involvement.

The presidential election, though, has been slammed by critics also as being neither free nor fair. With high turnout, Putin received well over 80 percent of the vote, claiming a mandate to rule Russia for another six years.

And he lashed out at criticism by taking a swing at the U.S. political system, suggesting that court cases involving presumptive Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump were politically motivated. PUTIN (through translator): Can it be considered democratic to use

administrative resources to attack one of the candidates for president of the United States, including through the courts? The use of administrative resources, the judicial system, this has become simply ridiculous and a disgrace in front of the whole world for the United States and for your so-called democratic system, in quotes.

I have every reason to believe that today we are not seeing any democracy, at least during the election processes in some Western countries, including the United States.

CHANCE: Well, a warning there from the Kremlin leader about democracy.

[04:05:00]

But in the aftermath of elections in which opposition candidates weren't even allowed to stand, critics say democracy in Russia has virtually disappeared.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Clare Sebastian has been following this shock result.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, I mean look, it was -- the day I was cast, wasn't it, before people even went to the ballots. There were no real opposition leaders that were available to be voted for.

But I think we've got to look at this in the context of the sort of shows of defiance that we did see throughout the election. There were people pouring green ink into ballot boxes.

There were several arson attacks at polling stations. And then we saw this noon against Putin movement on Sunday, not only in Russia, but outside of Russia. I was at the event in London.

And I think weirdly, in the strange twist of irony, that may have contributed somehow to these high turnout numbers. There is a sort of a more mobilized opposition than we expected. People telling me that for the first time they're participating in elections, even though they know they couldn't change the results.

I spoke to a key ally of Alexei Navalny in London who said, look, we know we can't change anything now, but we want to make sure that we're a unified opposition force and ready.

But obviously, on the flip side, this means more Putin, another six years, possibly another 12 years. It means more repression in Russia, which I think many people felt that that was the case anyway after the death of Alexei Navalny.

And for Ukraine, this means more of what we've seen, more war. And, you know, carrying out the elections in those occupied territories shows that Russia intends to consolidate its presence there and potentially move further.

NOBILO: Despite those shows of opposition we've seen, Putin sounded emboldened in the address, even the fact that he mentioned Alexei Navalny by name. Obviously, he's now deceased and presents no threat because notably he never did mention him by name. And then he was speaking about the threat to democracy worldwide. What was your interpretation of Putin reflecting on the results and where he is in terms of his power?

SEBASTIAN: Yes, I think when he mentioned Alexei Navalny, that was the moment that he seemed his most emboldened. Right. Because he's never done it before. He is the master of the unpredictable. He will sort of defy expectations like that.

But it was interesting the way he said it that also made it very clear that he was very keen to get rid of him. He said, you know, the condition -- he said that the person who mentioned the prisoner swap to him, he said yes, before they didn't finish speaking.

He said the condition was that Navalny would never come back to Russia. So I thought that was relatively telling as well. Clearly, the Kremlin did see him even in prison as a threat.

So I think, yes, Putin is emboldened. He talks a lot now about the unity of Russia, one big unified family, he said. So he's going to continue, I think, with the same path that we've seen with this new, you know, albeit false mandate.

FOSTER: Clare Sebastian, thank you.

NOBILO: Turning to the U.S. now, where Republicans who should be focusing on the upcoming general election are in damage control mode.

FOSTER: Yes, that's after a series of inflammatory comments made by the likely GOP presidential nominee at an Ohio rally this weekend. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line. And you're not going to be able to sell those guys if I get elected.

Now, if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole. That's going to be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country.

If I had prisons that were teaming with MS-13 and all sorts of people that they've got to take care of for the next 50 years. Right. Young people, they're in jail for years. If you call them people, I don't know if you call them people. In some cases, they're not people, in my opinion. These are animals. OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NOBILO: During that rally, he also described people convicted of crimes on January 6th as patriots and hostages. Democrats roundly condemned those remarks, joined by a few Republicans, too.

FOSTER: But while some GOP lawmakers sought to qualify and explain the things that Trump said, others insisted his comments were taken out of context by the, quote, liberal media.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Let me say first, he was speaking about the possibility of criminals being among the immigrants. And that those are the people he was saying may not be people, if you will.

On the other hand, clearly, the president's rhetoric is reflected poorly in terms of regarding folks who are coming here illegally, illegally. And they shouldn't be. But in a dehumanizing fashion. And that's why, again, many people continue to have reservations.

REP. DEBBIE LESKO (R-AZ): It's a concerted effort. Liberal media is out to get him. The Democrats are out to get him. And any time he says anything, they're going to get out of context and go after him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm talking about former President Trump's comments, calling them not people and animals.

REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): Well, I, of course, disagree with those in the past. I think the American public disagree with those.

[04:10:00]

But I do think that people see that Donald Trump is the only candidate in this race that's going to be able to fix this crisis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, earlier I spoke with Thomas Gift, the director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London. Here's what he had to say about the inflammatory language that Trump used.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR, CENTRE ON U.S. POLITICS, UCL: He's used similar language like this before, where he's talked about immigrants poisoning the blood of Americans.

You know, Trumpism is really about the politics of fear. It's about politics of grievance. It's about the politics of retribution. It's dark. I mean, this is a very, very serious issue. This is what has given Trump success up until this point.

And I think anyone expecting Trump to change course now heading into the general election is really missing the mark. It doesn't track with his rhetoric or his record. In 2016 and 2020, Trump really dialed up the language heading into the general election. That includes specifically his comments surrounding immigration. So it's unsurprising. I mean, on some level, it's shocking, but it's unsurprising. Trump's just going to continue to do this.

FOSTER: But the bloodbath comment, he was referring to the auto industry, wasn't he? So was that a specific reference to the auto industry or was that, you know, a wider, more provocative word that he was hoping to get headlines with?

GIFT: Well, I think taken in context, Max, I'll grant that Trump's bloodbath comments were mostly in reference to the American auto industry. I think that's giving him the benefit of the doubt because he's always a bit disjointed and mashes these phrases together.

But even so, I think that doesn't mean that his words were a problem because Trump just consistently traffics in this kind of catastrophizing language. It's violent rhetoric. It's apocalyptic rhetoric. It's designed to trigger a visceral reaction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: President Joe Biden won't have to worry about funds as his re- election campaign looks towards the general election. The president now has more cash than any U.S. Democratic presidential candidate has ever had at this stage, thanks to some record fundraising. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCELLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The Biden campaign over the weekend announced another major fundraising haul, saying that in the month of February, they raised $53 million, now of $155 million cash on hand, marking a major advantage over Republican rival, former president Donald Trump.

Now fundraising has been a bright spot for the campaign, but this haul in particular was notable, as the rematch between former president Donald Trump and President Biden has been crystallized in recent weeks, a moment that the Biden campaign has been waiting for up until this point.

Now President Biden spent the month of February on a fundraising swing on the West Coast. That contributed to this fundraising haul, as well as the GOP primary in South Carolina. Now they also had another record-breaking month in grassroots fundraising, with 97 percent of the funds raised under $200.

Now a senior campaign officials calling this a barometer of enthusiasm, even among those low approval ratings. The president is expected to continue his campaign blitz this week, with stops in Nevada and Arizona, as he continues to shore up his coalition and try to secure that victory in November.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, at the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE) NOBILO: Still to come, negotiators are set to meet for the latest round of hostage and ceasefire talks, but can there be a breakthrough as differences remain between Israel and Hamas?

FOSTER: Plus, the widow of the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny sends a message to Vladimir Putin as protests erupt in Berlin over Russia's presidential election.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The war in Gaza remained top of mind at the White House on Sunday where U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the Irish Prime Minister for a St. Patrick's Day celebration. Both leaders emphasized their shared view for a two-state solution with Mr. Biden recognizing the urgent need for aid to Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the Taoiseach and I agree about the urgent need to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza and get the ceasefire deal.

Get a ceasefire deal that brings the hostages home and move toward a two-state solution, which is the only path, the only path for lasting peace and security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hitting back at comments by a top U.S. senator calling for new elections in Israel.

NOBILO: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sharply criticized Netanyahu's government last week, calling him one of the major obstacles to peace in the region.

Netanyahu says Schumer's remarks are, quote, totally inappropriate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: It's inappropriate for a -- to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership there. That's something that Israel -- the Israeli public does on its own and we're not a banana republic. I think the only government that we should be working on to bring down now is the terrorist tyranny in Gaza, the Hamas tyranny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Netanyahu also says that the demands that Hamas is making are making the hostage ceasefire deal more difficult.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NETANYAHU: Time will tell, but Hamas's outlandish demands, and I'm not itemizing every one of them now, makes that deal a lot more difficult. But I'm -- we're going to keep on trying because we want those hostages back. We understand also that the one thing that gets Hamas to give them is -- to give these hostages to us is the continued military pressure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The latest round of those hostage and ceasefire talks are expected to resume in Doha, Qatar in the coming hours. And joining us now for more on that is CNN's Nada Bashir. Nada, what can you tell us about the state of those talks? And even though Prime Minister Netanyahu might say that it was totally inappropriate for Chuck Schumer to make those remarks, saying he was one of the key obstacles, is it accurate?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, that seems to be the perspective of the United States, certainly.

We've heard from the White House saying that they believe that the current proposals on the table at this stage are broadly within the framework that they have been working towards over the last couple of weeks alongside other international allies.

So the fact that the Israeli leadership, and in particular Netanyahu, still believe this deal to be, in their words, unrealistic and outlandish is raising some concern.

[04:20:00]

But of course, as we know, the Mossad director David Branea is in Qatar, expected to take part in those talks today with delegations from both Qatar and Egypt, again, crucial mediators between Hamas and Israel over the last few weeks.

And what it is looking like at this current stage is another six-week truce pause in fighting, which would see a phased exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

Now, what Hamas has put forward at this stage is a first stage which would see female hostages, including IDF soldiers, as well as the sick, the elderly and the wounded, being released from captivity in Gaza in exchange for between 700 to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

In the second phase, what Hamas is proposing is we would see the release of all remaining hostages, including male IDF soldiers, in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners and around 100 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails currently serving life sentences.

But what appears to be the sticking point still at this stage is what happens after that six-week period. Now, Hamas is calling for a permanent ceasefire and for the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. And as we know, Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that this is unacceptable. He believes that the Israeli military needs to continue to push forward towards what he has described as a full victory, namely the full destruction of Hamas in Gaza.

But, of course, there is mounting pressure on Israel, particularly from its allies, given the mounting civilian death toll and, of course, the concerns around a famine now in the Gaza Strip.

FOSTER: In terms of Rafah, they obviously think Hamas is gathered there. So Netanyahu is carrying on with his planned operation?

BASHIR: Yes, we heard from Netanyahu over the weekend saying that plan is approved. The military operational plans have been approved on the Israeli side, that they -- that they believe this is an operation that could take weeks. But, of course, this is a huge point of concern because while the Israeli leadership says they believe Hamas has operatives in Rafah, this is an area where some 1.5 million people, civilians mostly, are now concentrated, where they have been pushed towards and displaced.

Now, the Israeli leadership and military say that they are working on plans to evacuate these civilians. But we've heard from the White House also over the weekend saying that they have received no credible plan for the evacuation of civilians, that they cannot support any sort of military operation in Rafah without seeing a plan for the full evacuation of civilians and the protection of civilians in the south.

And, of course, as we know, this is growing increasingly difficult because the situation in the north is so dire, it is extremely difficult to get aid to the north, as it is in the south.

But what we have seen is this huge concentration now of civilians in the south, particularly around Rafah, which is a crucial gateway for aid from Egypt, and there is a huge, huge amount of concern from the international community around what this could mean for civilians, particularly during the month of Ramadan, where, of course, many are fasting, but also, as we know, warnings of famine. People simply don't have food or anywhere to turn anymore.

FOSTER: OK, Nada, thank you so much.

NOBILO: Still ahead this hour, we'll be speaking with a World Health Organization director on the state of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

FOSTER: Plus, protesters around the world gather to denounce Vladimir Putin and what they believe is another rigged election in Russia. How have demonstrators in Berlin addressed that issue after this break?

[04:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. If you're just joining us, here are some of today's top stories.

Some Republican leaders in the U.S. are speaking out in support of presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump after he said there would be a bloodbath if he wasn't elected. Former Vice President Mike Pence criticized some of Trump's comments but said Trump's bloodbath remark was about what might happen to the American automotive industry.

President Biden is once again calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and for more humanitarian aid to reach the thousands of people stuck in Rafah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on CNN that he intends to continue the use of military force until a deal with Hamas can be reached.

And Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold power for the next six years after winning what he says was a democratic election. In a news conference on Sunday, Mr. Putin confirmed that he was aware of discussions about a possible prisoner swap involving Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and that would have been just before Navalny's death last month.

FOSTER: CNN was near Russian polling sites outside the country on the final day of voting on Sunday, including one in Berlin, where Alexei Navalny's widow waited for hours to submit her ballot.

Our Fred Pleitgen spoke with Russian voters, making their voices heard against Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yulia Navalnaya was certainly the most prominent of the opposition activists who came here to the Russian Embassy in Berlin to vote in the Russian presidential election.

YULIA NAVALNAYA, ALEXIE NAVALNY'S WIDOW (through translator): You're probably wondering what I wrote on the ballot papers, who I voted for. Of course, I wrote Navalny's surname because it can't be so that a month before the election and already during the presidential campaign, Putin's main opponent, already imprisoned was murdered.

PLEITGEN: Of course, the Russian opposition had called on Russian voters both inside the country, inside Russia, and outside of the country, so expats, to go to the embassies at 12 p.m. in their respective time zones and to vote in the Russian election for anybody but Vladimir Putin.

NAVALNAYA: There could be no negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin, because he's a killer. He's a gangster. He's the person who brought my country to the war.

PLEITGEN: At the same time, what you have here in Berlin is you also have a big demonstration that took place also, and you had scenes here where at times there were anti-Putin protesters on the one side screaming at some of the voters on the other side, and there were thousands of people who lined up here at the embassy in Berlin, some of them clearly pro-Putin, but also a lot of them clearly against Vladimir Putin, and some of them even with gear in the colors of Ukraine.

[04:30:03]

Now I was able to speak to opposition activist Mikhail Khodorkovsky and here's what he had to say.

MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION ACTIVIST (voice-over): We have the only opportunity to show by going to polling stations at the same time as those who oppose Putin and those who oppose the war that we are the majority.

And this is important inside Russia. It's important for those Russians who are inside other countries today because Putin's propaganda is trying to convince including Western public opinion that all Russians are in favor of war.

PLEITGEN: Just like here in Berlin, Russian expats around the world voted in their respective embassies and the scenes that we saw here in the German capital is that some people needed hours to actually be able to get into the actual polling station because so many people were lining up.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)