Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: Putin Extends One Man-Rule in Russia; Haitians Shelter in School to Flee Rising Gang Violence; Democrats Express Outrage Over Latest Trump Comments; China and Taiwan Prepare for another Possible Trump Presidency; Officials: Record Breaking Heat in Rio De Janeiro. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired March 18, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi everyone and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is CNN "Newsroom".
Just ahead, Russians prepare for six more years of Vladimir Putin after he secured a landslide victory in the country's presidential election.
We will have the reaction from Moscow. Then reports of a large fire and multiple casualties that Gaza is Al Shifa Hospital where tens of thousands of people are sheltering the latest on Israel's military operation there.
Plus CNN reports from inside Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince says gang violence and unrest continues to rock the country. The outcome was never in doubt Russian President Vladimir Putin has secured a fifth term in office through what the West and others are calling a sham election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA: There are a lot of tasks ahead of us. But when we are consolidated and I think it is now understood to everyone, no matter how hard anyone tries to frighten us, whoever tries to suppress us our will, our consciousness. No one has ever managed to have done such a thing in history. And it won't happen now. And it won't happen in the future, never.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Russia Central Election Commission says there was a record turnout of more than 77 percent. It is important to note however, there were no genuine opposition candidates running and that's because while they're dead, jailed or exiled. A defiant Mr. Putin sees another chance for a victory lap later today during a planned rally to mark a decade since Crimea was annexed by Moscow.
Let's bring in CNN's Matthew Chance, who's standing by in the Russian capital. Hello to you, Matthew, what more do we hear from Putin during his victory address? MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, I mean, it was an address that came late last night. And it came on the back of an extraordinary win widely anticipated, as you mentioned, but one which has left Vladimir Putin with a higher proportion of the votes that he's got in any of the four other presidential elections.
That is one so far, we're talking about 87 percent of the vote just over that figure, in fact, according to the Central Election Authorities. Putin saying at this victory speech that represented overwhelming support from the Russian public, and he said that it meant that he would do everything he could to push through the grandiose plans that he had for the country.
In particular, he mentioned the aims of the special military operation, what the Kremlin and what Putin calls the war in Ukraine, and he said he wanted to bolster the Russian military as well, in the years ahead. There was also a mention, for the first time of Alexei Navalny, the late Russian Opposition Leader by name.
Normally Putin doesn't mention the name of Alexei Navalny always refers to him sort of in some other way using euphemisms or something like that. But on this occasion, you know, he was asked about Navalny and he answered specifically using the name. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PUTIN: But unfortunately, what happened, happened, we would exchange him, I said, only on one condition, that he doesn't come back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Right, so this is Vladimir Putin acknowledging, confirming that he had talks about the possibility of exchanging Alexei Navalny, who died in a penal colony, of course, last month in the Arctic region of Russia. He said the deal hadn't been done. But nevertheless, he had agreed to it.
In principle, that's something that's been reported previously, but it was interesting to hear Vladimir Putin sort of come out and confirm that is indeed what happened.
WALKER: Yeah, very notable there. I do want to ask you about what we expect today, as we mentioned, Matthew, that there is a plan to rally. Do we expect to see more Putin today?
CHANCE: I think we expect to, but it's not been absolutely confirmed. But yes, there's a big concert being planned in Red Square in the center of the Russian capital. It's there to it supposedly to mark 10 years since the annexation of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia took back in 2014 and annexed a year later.
You know, but we are expecting Vladimir Putin to make a showing as well. And, you know, we don't know what he's going to say yet, because the Kremlin don't make his comments available to us in advance. But, you know, look, I mean, Vladimir Putin sees this election as a testament to the idea that the country is unified behind him. And that he has a full mandate now to proceed with however, whatever plans he wants, particularly that war in Ukraine.
[08:05:00]
So we're expecting to hear sort of more comments along those lines this evening, if he appears on the stage at that concert in Red Square.
WALKER: All right, Matthew Chance, live for us there, Moscow. Thanks so much, Matthew. CNN was near Russian polling sites outside the country on the final day of voting Sunday, including one in Berlin where Alexei Navalny's widow waited hours to submit her ballot. Our Frederik Pleitgen spoke with Russian voters making their voices heard against Vladimir Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): 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, ALEXEI NAVALNY'S WIDOW: You're probably wondering what I wrote on the ballot papers, who I voted for, of course, I've written about the surname, because it just 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: Well 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 pm, in their respective time zones, and to vote in the Russian election for anybody but Vladimir Putin.
NAVALNAYA: There could be no any negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin, because he's the killer, he's a gangster. He's the person who brought my country to the war.
PLEITGEN: 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. I was able to speak to Opposition Activist Mikhail Khodorkovsky. And here's what he had to say.
MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION ACTIVIST: 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 scene 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 are lining up. Fred Pleitgen CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Fascinating to see there, Frederik, thank you. Joining me now is world renowned Russian writer, Boris Akunin. Boris, thank you so much for your time. First off, I just want to get your reaction to of course, these election results that were widely expected.
No one is surprised the Western world condemning it says that it was based on repression and intimidation. The White House saying that this election was neither free nor fair, we all know that. What is your reaction?
BORIS AKUNIN, RUSSIAN WRITER: Well, I should say a bit surprised by all the tension that the world has been paying to the so called elections, because people inside Russia they ruin your earning than you are that meant nothing that changed nothing. It was like, you know, elections in Nazi Germany or elections in the USSR, just a meaningless show nothing else.
WALKER: May be nothing to some people, but to obviously Vladimir Putin. It's everything is dead. I mean, to him, he's seeing this as a referendum on the war. And he's using it to say, hey, look at this country is 87 percent behind me and what I'm about to do next.
AKUNIN: Exactly, that what it was all about. This whole expensive show was just for one spectator, Vladimir Putin. This was done by his entourage to show that the dictator that he is really supported, that he is genuinely loved. And when I looked at Vladimir Putin yesterday, making his victory speech, I felt sort of sorry for him, because he honestly believes in this.
What was it 87 percent 187 percent they do for him, he honestly believes in it. This is the world he lives in. He's probably the only person in the world believes in this elections.
WALKER: Are you concerned about what happens next, especially now that we have there's a Russian President who is emboldened.
[08:10:00]
Also on the battlefields you know you have foreign aid in the U.S. Congress still tied up and of course the death of Alexei Navalny, which I do want to ask you next. What happens next, I guess is the big question, right?
AKUNIN: So what happens next is in no way related to these elections anyway. So Vladimir Putin is waiting for now is the results of the U.S. elections. He has a lot of hopes for Donald Trump's victory. So he hopes that when that happens, U.S. says stops to support Ukraine, and then it will be Vladimir Putin's victory.
But the only interesting phenomenon yesterday was this unusual protest action. I mean, it was called midday against Putin. That was interesting. It was Alexei Navalny's last initiative, because it sort of breaks up this idea of the whole country united against Putin that his propaganda has been so careful to build.
No, no, it's not. It's not like this. It's there are a lot of people in Russia who hate the regime. So the inside pressure is building up, one day it will explode.
WALKER: And it was also just remarkable to see the many expats who lined up outside the Russian embassy. And of course, Yulia Navalnaya, who lives in Berlin, she waited in line for hours. I believe it was six hours to write in her husband's name on the presidential ballot.
I'm just curious in terms of your thoughts on her and Navalnaya's ability to be an effective surrogate outside Russia and from Germany carrying on her husband's work against corruption in Russia.
AKUNIN: I'd been Yulia's fan for years, I tried to persuade her many times to take more active role in politics, because I believe that she has a lot of potential and well, she speaks to people, to relate to people in a different way from Alexei her husband, because Alexei was speaking to minds and she's speaking to hearts. And then politics it usually works much, much better.
WALKER: What are your thoughts on Putin? I mean, Navalny's name. I don't know. Remember the last time Putin actually mentioned Alexei Navalny's name or you know, said his, those words, right. I mean, in news conferences when he was asked about him, he never mentioned his name intentionally.
And then, of course, yesterday after his supposed victory in this election. And there was a question I believe about fairness of the election and the lack of a meaningful opposition candidate. Putin then mentioned Alexei Navalny calling his death a sad event, but of course, you know, engaged in what about -- and then pointed out to U.S. about political prisoners die? What were your thoughts on that?
AKUNIN: I thought that for him, it was a sign of triumph. He had never mentioned Alexei Navalny's name because he was afraid of his popularity. Now, because he believes in those incredible 87 percent he really believes that he won the elections. He shows that he's not afraid to Alexei Navalny's name any longer.
That's how I took it. But I think that he's going to ease in for a surprise. Time will pass and Alexei Navalny's name will mean more and more for Russians.
WALKER: All right, Boris Akunin. We really appreciate the conversation. Thank you for your time.
AKUNIN: Thank you.
WALKER: Now for the latest on Russia's war with Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say a man was killed and 8 people were wounded by a Russian strike at Mykolaiv. The regional government says the southern port city was targeted by two Russian missiles on the last day of Russia's presidential election.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces said they destroyed 14 Russian drones over Odesa on Sunday. That port city was targeted by a massive Russian attack on Friday, which killed at least 21 people and left dozens wounded. The worst strike on the city since the start of the war.
Israel has surrounded Gaza's largest hospital crowded with patients and displaced people. The IDF is calling on people to evacuate and move south once again. The Ministry of Health in Gaza says about 30,000 people are sheltering there in the Al Shifa Hospital. The raid comes amid growing concern over a ground invasion of the southern city of Rafah, which Israel says could take several weeks.
[08:15:00]
Meanwhile, a source says ceasefire talks will resume in Qatar in the coming hours. The Israeli Prime Minister says Hamas has unrealistic demands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Time will tell but Hamas has outlandish demands and I'm not itemizing every one of them now makes that deal a lot more difficult. But 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)
WALKER: All right, CNN's Paula Hancocks, joining us now live from Abu Dhabi with more. Paula, if you will. Let's start with this operation around the Al Shifa Hospital. What are you hearing?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONSDENT: Well, we've been hearing from eyewitnesses within the hospital, also doctors and they say that they believe one of the surgical buildings is on fire at this point, one of the doctors saying that there were four missile strikes on that building.
This is where all of the operations of all departments within this hospital have been taking place. He said there were patients who had just undergone major operations and could not move within that building. And we've heard from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, that there are casualties, and that there have been wounded as well.
They say that some were trapped within the building itself, and they couldn't get to them because of the intensity of the fire. Now, according to the Ministry of Health, there are some 30,000 people sheltering within this complex, backed up by eye witnesses, as well. And what we've heard from the Israeli military side is that they have intelligence that Hamas terrorists, they say are operating from within this complex. So they're carrying out this operation. They have said all of those in the neighborhoods around this complex need to evacuate.
They've told them to head west towards the coast, and then effectively had saved several kilometers to an area that they described as a quote, humanitarian area Al-Musawi -- Mawasi, excuse me. So this is what the Israelis are doing at this point. But there are many within the complex and the building still, when eye witness saying that any of those who try and move between corridors, they have been fired upon there have been firing through the windows as well.
So they are being told by the Israeli military to stay inside this hospital at this point. It's an ongoing operation, eye witnesses saying that at this point, they are under siege, Amara.
WALKER: Of course, as you mentioned, a lot of concern about this ground operation in Rafah. We heard a little bit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with CNN just moments ago. What more do we know about the state of the ceasefire talks? And of course, we can't talk about a potential ceasefire without talking about what's happening on the ground and of course, the growing concerns about this ground invasion in Rafah?
HANCOCKS: Well, we've heard from a source close to these negotiations that there will be negotiations recommencing here in Doha today this Monday. We know that the Mossad Director David Barnea will be here. He'll be speaking with the Qatari Prime Minister with Egyptian officials, Qatar and Egypt, obviously the two main interlocutors between Hamas and Israel.
And even though the Israeli Prime Minister has called Hamas' latest counter proposal, outlandish and unrealistic, he has still sent a delegation here. There were two key meetings in Israel yesterday on Sunday, a war cabinet meeting a political security cabinet meeting, where they laid out the red lines of how far the negotiators on their side could go.
What they could agree to and where they had to stop and leave the negotiations. Now, we have heard from a diplomat familiar with these talks that it will not be easy to convince Israel, they believe of this deal. We've also heard from Israeli diplomat telling CNN that these will be very tough negotiations.
The basics of what we know from this counter proposal from Hamas, who itself within its senior leaders has said they believe these are logical proposals and believe it could lead to a breakthrough, is that they want some in phase one some 700 to 1000 Palestinian prisoners released in return for female hostages, including IDF soldiers, the elderly, the sick and the wounded, which may amount to around 40 hostages.
Once that first phase with a potential six week ceasefire, then they will become the deliberations on what Hamas wants, which is a more permanent ceasefire, which we know at this point is not what the Israeli Prime Minister wants, he has already said that he does want to go into Rafah still that the offensive will happen.
There's no timing on that. But when it does start, he said it will last several weeks. But the hope for more than mediators, the hope from the Biden administration is you least gets this phase one six weeks ceasefire and then you can talk about the rest, Amara.
[08:20:00]
WALKER: All right, Paula Hancocks we'll see what happens from there. Thank you very much. The U.S. is condemning North Korea after Japan says Pyongyang fire three test ballistic missiles. Now Japan believes all three missiles landed outside of Japan's coastal territory.
The test comes just days after South Korea and the U.S. completed their annual military drills and as the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in South Korea for democracy summit. Blinken met with South Korea's president and they stress the importance of deterring North Korea's aggression, excuse me.
Just ahead, the U.N. looking to put the focus on Haiti later as our team on the ground says machete wielding militias are battling gangs in Port-au-Prince.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Welcome back. Haiti is high on the agenda at today's U.N. Security Council meeting as the country grapples with a violent gang uprising. Dozens of U.S. citizens have been evacuated on the first State Department flight. The Dominican Republic also says it has flown 27 of its citizens out of the country.
Dominican officials say people had to be evacuated because it's so difficult to get in or out of Haiti right now. Limited access to the country is also fueling a humanitarian crisis. UNICEF says a container with essential items for newborn babies and their mothers was located in Port-au-Prince over the weekend.
CNN's David Culver is in Haiti's capital reporting on the desperate situation so many in that country find themselves in. He visited a school where civilians are camping out in a bid to escape the rampant violence and also, he went to a police station under siege from gangs.
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So police stations like this one here Port-au-Prince are main targets for gangs. They feel like as soon as they can get hold of a station like this, they can then take seize, take control of much of the community. And they've tried coming after this when many of times reinforcements have been built up not only because of the police, but because of the community.
They've built barricades all around here for the police station to function properly, they need to rely on the community and to have these almost vigilantes building a lot of the barricades to keep out any gang members. So this was a school here in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. And every single classroom that we pass, like this one here, has now become a dorm room essentially. There are dozens, if not hundreds of people who have made this a recent campsite. And you can see a lot of them are following us around and are curious to what we're doing because for them, it's a distraction, really.
And you talk to a lot of these folks, and they've come here in the past couple of weeks because of the most recent surge in violence and gangs taking more and more territory here in the city.
[08:25:00]
But these folks have also been on the run from their own homes for months if not years. She just got this small bag of rice and she's going to cook it up for seven people, a lot of them tell me they don't know where their next meal is going to be one little girl eight years old, saying she goes to bed every single night hungry.
And a lot of that is because in the past two weeks in particular, supply lines, especially for programs of international aid, like the World Food Programme had been severed. So while these organizations are trying desperately to get food in, it's not just about getting them into Port-au-Prince.
It's been about giving them into communities like this. The challenges logistically are immense. They're dealing with this at a level that they have not faced prior. I mean, it's unprecedented. And the pain -- in kids' eyes and their parents who feel helpless at this point, but for them, it's about pushing forward.
I asked one woman how you get up every day and move ahead with -- the grace of God, but then admitted in the same breath, that sometimes they feel they'd be better off dead than living. David Culver, CNN.
WALKER: Just a terrifying situation. David, thank you. Turning now to a rare sight in Cuba, public protests, these crowds of people gathered in Cuba's second largest city on Sunday protesting power cuts and food shortages with police and local officials trying to disperse those protesters.
Lately, Cubans have endured more electricity cuts and the scarcity of basic items more than usual. The Cuban government officials are blaming it on U.S. sanctions. The U.S. State Department says it's aware of Niger's plan to end a military agreement between the two countries adding that the announcement came after quote, frank discussions at senior levels during a three day visit to Niger.
The agreement which was signed in 2012 allowed military personnel and civilian staff from the U.S. Defense Department to operate in the country. But Niger's military government says the accord was imposed on them and is quote profoundly on fair. All right, still to come, Donald Trump ignites a firestorm with comments at a rally.
Will it impact his hopes of winning the White House again? Plus, how does China and Taiwan view the prospect of another potential Trump presidency details, next?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:30:00]
WALKER: The political world is still buzzing about Donald Trump's fiery appearance at a rally in Ohio over the weekend. Trump appeared to raise the specter of political violence saying there would be a bloodbath if he is not elected, though he may have just been referring to the fate of the economy and the auto industry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Trump also repeated his calls to free all the people arrested in connection with the January 6th attack on the Capitol. He also renewed his attack on immigrants saying migrants who commit crimes are not people but animals. Of course, we're covering the story from multiple angles. Let's begin with CNN's Alayna Treene in Washington. Hey there, Alayna. So let's talk more about these bloodbath comments. There is some context to this, right.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: There is and that's exactly what the Trump campaign is also trying to push. We actually just heard from the former president himself as well. He wrote on "Truth Social", trying to clarify his remarks that he was speaking about a bloodbath on the auto industry. That he was warning of the economic impact that him not being elected in November would have on auto workers in that industry specifically.
But look, I was at that rally on Saturday. It was very hard to really, you know, determine what exactly Donald Trump was referencing. We obviously saw the Biden campaign on his remarks, very short after he made them arguing that Donald Trump wants another January 6, that his violent rhetoric is something that voters will reject in November.
But this is the type of rhetoric we have become accustomed to with Donald Trump. Remember in 2016, this is the exact type of language he used then, to help propel himself to the White House, the fear mongering, the warning voters of this dark doomsday picture of America if he would not be the one to lead the country again. And that's exactly what we heard from Donald Trump on Saturday.
Now as for some of his other remarks, I do want to point out, you know, he spoke about the January those convicted on for their roles on January 6, he called them hostages a term we've heard Donald Trump use repeatedly on the campaign trail. But what was interesting is this time we didn't hear just Democrats criticized his language. We also heard some other Republicans and his former allies say that
they were concerned about that language. His former Vice President, Mike Pence came out this weekend arguing that he should not be referring to those convicted for their roles on January 6 as hostages he said that language is concerning.
He said it was unacceptable, because especially given the environment right now that we are facing with the war in Israel, with many American hostages still being held in Gaza. So he is really seeing a lot of criticism again not only from Democrats, but those within his own party Amara?
WALKER: All right, Alayna Treene in Washington, thank you so much. So what are they saying about all this said Joe Biden's White House. CNN's Kevin Liptak is there of course, the White House criticized Trump's comments. What do they say?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, they're saying that they amount to a threat of political violence. And certainly this has been a theme that you've been hearing from President Biden and his campaign throughout this election, really raising the stakes of what would happen if Trump were to be reelected the stakes for democracy, the stakes for the country.
And President Biden himself weighed in on Twitter reacting to these comments, saying it's clear this guy wants another January 6, really making plain in his language that he thinks that this could amount to political violence if Trump were to be reelected. And he went on to say, the American people are going to give him another resounding electoral defeat this November, so really trying to emphasize the difference between the two men.
We also heard from the Biden campaign saying that the American people would continue to reject Trump's extremism, his affection for violence and his thirst for revenge. So you can certainly expect them to continue making this argument as this general election campaign heats up. And of course, to do that they will need money and we did just learn over the weekend that the Biden campaign had raised $53 million last month.
That's a sizable sum and it does put Biden added advantage over Trump when it comes to the campaign cash situation they ended last month with $155 million cash on hand.
[08:35:00]
And you really do start to see them using that money to make these arguments to the American people. They've bought a $30 million ad buy that they began rolling out over the last several weeks. And you do see President Biden start to go on these intensive campaign trips to the battleground states. Just this week, he will head to Nevada and Arizona and Texas to continue this effort to start ramping up the organizational aspects of his campaign.
He was in five battleground states last week as well. So you do start to see how they are using this significant cash advantage to start ramping up this argument with former President Trump. And certainly comments like these, these bloodbath comments will become a central component of Biden's argument as more and more Americans start to tune into this election, as this rematch between Biden and Trump becomes more crystallized in the view of voters.
Certainly this argument about democracy, the fact that democracy could be at stake will compose a central facet of the President's campaign going forward Amara?
WALKER: All right, Kevin Liptak I appreciate it at the White House for us. Let's talk more about this get some context and an analysis from David Frum. He is a Political Commentator and a Staff Writer for The Atlantic. He was also a speech writer in the White House for then President George W. Bush, David, great to see you. I first want to get your reaction to Trump's comments.
DAVID FRUM, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Good morning.
WALKER: You know, if he's not elected, there will be a bloodbath. He was apparently referring to an economic bloodbath for the auto industry. But I'm just curious in terms of, you know, how you take his comments, especially in light of the history of comments that he's made in the past, encouraging political violence.
FRUM: I have counted this morning, five previous instances in just the past year, where Donald Trump either incited or provoked or predicted political violence if he didn't win the election in 2024. If you want to see the links are on my Twitter feed under my name, their five previous instances. So when Donald Trump says that the sixth instance of predicting a bloodbath, should he lose refers only to what might happen to the auto industry.
First that doesn't align with what he actually said. You can see the clip that he says the problems with the auto industry will be the least of the country's problems in the face of this bloodbath that will follow if he is not elected. But it also goes against his pattern of repeatedly five times in just the past year, predicting or inciting violence.
Look, the words "I Shot The Sheriff" are both a hit song from the 1970s and a confession of a crime against law enforcement. Which do you mean? Well, when someone who is right now facing indictment for shooting, the sheriff says I shot the sheriff. He's probably not referring to the song.
WALKER: OK, Yeah, fair argument there. Let me ask you more about his comments, because he also mentioned migrants, right. He called them animals, the ones who commit crimes. Let's play some of that. And you know, he's making by the way, unfounded claims that the countries some of these countries are emptying prisons and sending these prisoners to the United States. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If I had prisons that were teeming with MS-13 and all sorts of people that they've got to take care 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)
WALKER: So we've heard this language before from Trump. I mean and we know that it resonates with his base. But I mean, Trump has bigger problems with the Republican Party, doesn't he unifying the GOP, which seems to be fractured right now between pro-Trump and anti-Trump factions?
FRUM: Look, if Donald Trump is concerned about aliens, some of them potentially criminal crossing the border, he should not have pushed his party to shut down the most effective border control package in generations. You know, I've been writing about border issues since I was a staff writer on "The Wall Street Journal" back in the -- and Editorial Writer on "The Wall Street Journal" back in the 1980s.
I've covered so many bills, I wrote about the immigration bill of 1990. What the bill that came out of the Senate was the toughest immigration control measure I've seen in all these years of writing about it. It contains no concessions to democratic priorities -- the pathway to citizenship, the dreamers, those kinds of things.
It emphasized only Republican priorities. It was a complete yielding by Democrats and the senate to Republican demands, and yet Trump shut it down. So if there -- if people are crossing the border and doing crimes that's on him, that's not on President Biden.
WALKER: Yeah, of course, he does not want Biden to have any kind of political win during this election season. And that's why he was stepping in. And that's a great point. David, let's talk about the Biden Administration. The fact that they're celebrating this fundraising milestone is bringing in $53 million in February. They have a lot of cash on hand between the Biden reelection campaigns and of course the DNC.
[08:40:00]
Huge advantage over Trump, especially as you know as Trump is facing a lot of liabilities in terms of hundreds of millions of dollars he has to pay out. How could that translate? Or how could that play out in the race for president?
FRUM: Well, my own view is the biggest impact of this fundraising will be on the down ballot races. That Trump's made it pretty clear that his fundraising plan is to vacuum up all the Republican money and concentrated in his own campaign and to pay his own legal bills. Meanwhile, the Republicans have a razor thin majority in the House of Representatives.
And they have this shock of the discovery of the country that the human life amendment, so many Republicans have endorsed would put at risk in vitro fertilization in a world without Roe v. Wade. So what happens down the ballot if you're a Republican member of Congress, trying to defend your record, your votes against the true charge that you are putting in vitro fertilization at risk?
Your democratic counterpart has got lots of money from the democratic national organizations. You have none because it's all been vacuumed up to pay Trump's lawyers.
WALKER: David Frum, we'll leave it there. Thank you so much. If Donald Trump is reelected as U.S. President it will have repercussions of course, well beyond Washington. And both China and Taiwan are two places that are closely watching what happens. CNN's Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Chinese capital Beijing, no shortage of people sounding off about Donald Trump.
WANG FENG, COFFEE SHOP OWNER: I think Trump will probably get elected because he's pretty good. If Trump were to be elected, he will undermine us even more through economic blockade or tariffs or he could instigate wars.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Publicly, the Chinese government is playing neutral, criticizing the U.S. China policies of former President Trump and current President Joe Biden. State media is mocking the messiness of American democracy, political chaos, deep division. On Chinese social media comments like these are these two old guys all they've got left old against old they both are tough on China. We need to speed up our preparation for battle. And this prediction, Trump is going to be back.
Remember six years ago when then President Trump traveled to Beijing, Chinese leader Xi Jinping pulled out all the stocks, the lavish state banquet inside the Forbidden City, a first for any U.S. President since 1949, the founding of Communist China. China's rulers have historically preferred leaders they can manipulate through personal relationships and flattery. Trump's ego driven diplomacy seemed at the time like a perfect match.
TRUMP: I think we're going to do tremendous things for both China and for the United States.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Then came the trade war, Trump's tariffs and trade barriers since bolstered by President Biden still battering Beijing's economy. Now Trump says U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will skyrocket to 60 percent or higher if he wins a second term. China's Top Diplomat Wang Yi, voicing concerns over those U.S. trade and tech controls warning of be wielding levels of unfathomable absurdity.
But experts say some aspects of Trump's foreign policy actually benefit China's strategic interests. His doubts about traditional American alliances like NATO admiration for strong men like Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
WEI-TING YEN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE: If I was a Chinese leader or in the Chinese leadership, I will be worried about Trump's presidency simply because Trump is just less predictable.
RIPLEY (voice-over): That unpredictability on display this week, Trump abruptly reversed his hardline stance on TikTok, opposing a bipartisan bill that would essentially ban the Chinese owned app in the U.S.
TRUMP: There are a lot of people on TikTok that love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Trump himself tried to ban TikTok in 2020, citing a national security threat. U-turns like this could inject even more instability in a fraught U.S. China relationship.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY (on camera): The bottom line China sees Trump as transactional, which could be good for China, could be bad for China; they've been on both ends of it. Whereas Biden is seen as more stable predictable. President Biden has said four times that he would defend Taiwan if China was to try to enforce its territorial claims and it has over this self-governing democracy. President Trump has never once said if American troops would defend Taiwan militarily, he has criticized Taiwan for its chips business here.
[08:45:00]
So even though they're very diplomatic in public saying that they're going to have a good relationship regardless of who wins the election. Under the surface, there was a bit of nervousness about what lies ahead. Will Ripley, CNN Taipei.
WALKER: Still to come it is a Supreme Court ruling that could prevent the White House from fighting online disinformation over topics like COVID-19 and the U.S. elections, we'll have more. Plus a fourth volcanic eruption at Iceland's Blue Lagoon is forcing people to evacuate once again. That story is just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: It is a case that could prove pivotal to this year's upcoming elections. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that pits the First Amendment against false information posted on social media. For years, the White House persuaded social media platforms such as Facebook and X to take down false posts about the pandemic vaccines, among other things.
But Republicans in two states and five social media users sued saying the government went too far. CNN's Brian Fung is joining us now from Washington with more. Hi there, Brian. So what exactly is at stake here in this case?
BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: Yeah, Amara. As you said, this case is all about the First Amendment. Did the Biden Administration cross a line when it pressured social media companies to remove misinformation related to COVID-19 and potential foreign interference efforts in the 2020 election? And this case was brought by two states, Missouri and Louisiana,
alleging that the Biden Administration violated the First Amendment by encouraging platforms like Facebook and X to remove that type of information, saying that it engaged in illegal coercion of these companies and essentially turning them into government actors.
The Biden Administration says, you know what, there's a distinction between persuasion which is what it believes it did and coercion which is prohibited under the First Amendment. And this case could have huge implications not just for elections, but also for public health, for counterterrorism, anytime the U.S. government communicates with social media companies. Now, this has particular significance for this year's elections.
Because if the Biden Administration is not allowed to communicate with social media companies about things like foreign interference or election meddling, then that could have a powerful influence on this year's presidential race, which we just heard about and it could affect future races as well. You know if the Supreme Court establishes a new precedent, saying that the U.S. government can't be seen pressuring social media companies on virtually any type of type of content, Amara?
WALKER: Brian that it's always difficult to predict you know when and how the Supreme Court will act. Do we have any sense of a timeline on this case?
[08:50:00]
FUNG: Well, we're expecting a result by the summer at the very latest. And this could again be in the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election, excuse me. And so it's a very critical decision coming just in a few months.
WALKER: All right, we'll be watching for it. Brian Fung, good to see you. Thanks so much. Alright, still ahead the latest on the volcanic eruption in Iceland, why some tourists say was the experience of a lifetime.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: In Iceland, no damage has been reported so far to critical infrastructure from Saturday's volcano eruption near the capital. The Meteorological Office says that, while the eruption is not over, lava flow has slowed substantially. CNN's Michael Holmes has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A siren wails at the world famous Blue Lagoon spa in Iceland, the orange plume lighting up the night sky means it's time to evacuate again. For some tourists, this is part of the excitement one of the reasons they came to Iceland to see its active volcanoes and there has been a lot of activity lately.
This is the fourth time since December that a volcano has erupted in southwest Iceland less than an hour from the country's capital Reykjavik. The fissure is estimated to be roughly three kilometers long and flowing once again towards the town of Grindavik where emergency teams are working to reinforce the town's defenses.
HALLDOR GEIRSSON, GEOPHYSICIST: Almost as if the flow is going east of the town towards the sea, so it looks like the barriers are really doing the job they were designed for.
HOLMES (voice-over): Grindavik was first evacuated in November after a series of earthquakes split open roads in the town, heralding the reawakening of a volcanic system, which had been dormant for nearly 800 years. Their lava first burst through the surface in December, followed by a second eruption in January that destroyed several homes and buildings in the area.
A third eruption last month demolished a hot water pipeline and cut off heat to more than 20,000 people. The last few residents of Grindavik who had returned to their homes have been evacuated again. And Icelandic authorities have declared a state of emergency for the area, calling this the most powerful eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula since 2021.
As in previous eruptions, the Blue Lagoon spa once again closed its doors, interrupting the vacations of some tourists, some who may have gotten a little more of the Icelandic volcano experience than they imagined.
MELISSA EZAIR, TOURIST: I've never experienced anything like that before. I'll be honest, I wasn't scared or anything. I hope everybody got out OK, but it really was an experience that and I'm like at the same time wow. How could this happen?
HOLMES (voice-over): Michael Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: The heat index in Rio de Janeiro just set a new record high and it is the second day in a row that they have broken the old record for thermal sensation. Thermal sensation uses temperature and humidity data like the heat index or feels like temperature. One real neighborhood hits 62.3 degrees Celsius or 144 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday.
[08:55:00]
What does that even feel like? My goodness. Officials say it is the highest thermal sensation temperature since the Rio alert system began in 2014. The U.S. National Park Service says cherry blossoms in Washington are in peak bloom, beautiful. This is the Tidal Basin in the U.S. capital; people are out enjoying the gorgeous trees near the Jefferson Memorial.
And although it's extremely beautiful, keep in mind it's also extremely early. The U.S. capital just experienced one of its warmest winters on record. Climate change and very warm weather made this peak bloom the second earliest in D.C.'s history; not good for some people who have lots of allergies like myself. Thank you so much for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:00:0]
