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Campuses Tense with Growing Demonstrations in Favor of Palestine; Columbia: No Deal Could be Reached Between Colleges and Protestors; Could Noem's Admission Hurt VP Chances?; 2024 U.S. General Elections; Potential Trump Running Mate Kristi Noem Defending Her Decision to Kill 14-Month-Old Puppy; Trump Continues to Dominate Biden in Latest CNN Poll; Close Race Seen in Major Swing States by CBS Poll; WNBA Star Candace Parker Announced Retirement. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired April 29, 2024 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: What we want is total freedom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we want is total freedom.
CROWD: What we want is total freedom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want free Palestine.
CROWD: We want free Palestine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: And those are just some of the clashes that happened yesterday at George Washington University here in the nation's capital. Universities are cracking down now after reports of harassment by demonstrators that has prompted some Jewish students to say they feel unsafe.
Joining me now to discuss these concerns, Adam Lehman, CEO of Hillel Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, and Noa Fay, Jewish student at Barnard College, part of Columbia University.
Noa, let me just start with you because today we had that statement from Columbia University saying they weren't able to come to an agreement with the student protesters. What was your reaction to that? How do we get out of this?
NOA FAY, JEWISH STUDENT AT BARNARD COLLEGE, PART OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Well, I'm very glad you asked about the negotiation process because, honestly, part of why I'm absolutely fuming over this situation is that the administration is appearing to take these demands seriously, which is absolutely insulting, because I will remind everybody that I won't purport to know all of what's going on. Part of the issue is that we aren't getting a lot of transparency.
But what I do know is that some of the demands, at least, are to divest from Israel and to cancel our Tel Aviv University program. And for the university even to appear to consider this is just absolutely a slap in the face to Israeli students and all Jewish students.
ACOSTA: And Noa, I mean, they're asking the protesters to voluntarily disperse there. Have you heard whether or not there's a deadline? What do you know?
FAY: So, we've been hearing talks of deadlines and all of this pretty much since this thing started, which is to say that if we are talking about deadlines, they have not been enforced. They have been constantly pushed back. So, the university appears to continuously roll over on that.
As of right now, I don't know what the next set deadline is. But I will say in terms of this discussion of voluntary dispersion, it's not going to happen. It -- they have been doing this for over a week now, and it's very clear that it -- and that's including after serious arrests and suspensions, which we now know have been lifted, to certain extents for everybody. And, you know, because of that it -- I am not optimistic that there will be a voluntary dispersal. I think a lot of us are honestly expecting another bout of escalation.
ACOSTA: And on that point, Adam, I wanted to ask you, I mean, how much of this is being inflamed, do you think, by the police presence? We were showing some of that video from Nick Valencia earlier, where you saw that professor getting thrown to the ground by police. How much is that inflaming? And what do you think about what's taking place on these campuses and how we can ratchet things down?
ADAM LEHMAN, CEO OF HILLEL, FOUNDATION FOR JEWISH CAMPUS LIFE: Yes, so really quickly. First of all, I'm so proud of student leaders like Noa, who are representing their community strongly and forcefully but without harassing, intimidating or violating rules. There is a way to do it, which is part of the answer to how we deal with these issues.
[10:35:00]
It's really hard to watch police interventions at these encampments and protests. However, these students are brazenly and willfully violating the clear policies of the universities. They are being warned over and over and over again. And unfortunately, we've seen several assaults and other issues of safety impacting Jewish students and other students. So, I don't envy the decisions of university leaders. They have to restore safety and basic campus operations to their universities.
ACOSTA: Yes, Noa, I mean, I'm a little worried. Columbia says it still plans to hold a commencement. I mean, what do you think? You know, and just to bounce off of what Adam was saying, do you think the cops have been too heavy handed?
FAY: So, in regards to the graduation situation, I will say things are not looking great. I'm basing this off of we ended our last week of classes on Zoom, and on top of that, we have now seen that USC has -- I don't know exactly how they are structuring their graduation if it's completely canceled or not, but they have canceled at least part of it. And in any case, they are altering that process.
So, because of that -- and in conjunction with the fact that we appear to see no real progress being made in terms of getting these students off the lawns and continuing to set up for graduation, I think things are things are looking a little grim. I'm not super optimistic.
With that being said, I would be absolutely -- I would be so embarrassed if the university were to capitulate to these students, its own students, bullying its administration and dictating the terms of how we finish the school year and how we graduate. I mean, I would be -- I would just be absolutely humiliated on behalf of Columbia, and as a Columbia grad at that point.
Regarding the Police presence, I will say I have no problem with it. All of my Zionist friends and all of my Jewish friends have no problem with it. We appreciate the police presence. However, we are getting to a point where they're not really doing anything, which is why we are getting a little bit frustrated because we appreciate the gesture and we appreciate them being here if they will actually protect us. But there have been --
ACOSTA: But do you have a problem with how it's being handled on other campuses, Noa? Not to jump in there, but when you see professors getting thrown to the ground, I mean, that -- what do you think? That doesn't sound like it's helping. It doesn't look like it's helping.
FAY: Well, so we're not experiencing that at Columbia. In fact, as I was saying, the police aren't really doing anything, which is part of the problem. A lot of Jewish students have tried to go to them to help get escorts to various places on campus at throughout the day and also throughout the evening. They've been met with, you know, explanations that that's not their role. They can't do that, which is obviously confusing to us.
But so, I think that that's the real issue, is that they are not doing their job to protect the students and they're also not doing their job to get the students off the lawns, which is, to my knowledge, what they were first enlisted for.
ACOSTA: Yes. All right. Well, Adam and Noa, thank you so much for your time. We're, of course, going to continue this conversation. We'd love to keep this conversation going. Really appreciate it. Thank you so much to both of you.
Coming up, could a puppy named Cricket take South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem out of the Trump beefsteaks? We'll talk about that in just a few moments.
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ACOSTA: South Dakota governor and potential Trump running mate Kristi Noem is defending her decision to kill her 14-month-old puppy. In her new book, Noem describes struggling to take her dog Cricket and tame the dog, but after it attacked a flock of chickens, Noem shot at execution style in a gravel pit. This is according to her book. She's now claiming in a post on social media, I followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor. That's what she says.
Let's discuss with CNN Political Commentator, Republican Strategist Alice Stewart and CNN Political Commentator and Democratic Strategist Maria Cardona. They're the hosts of the podcast "Hot Mics Left to Right". Ladies, good morning, both of you. And people are obviously sickened over Noem killing this puppy. I've got my mug here of Duke. He's with me every day. I just can't imagine, like, how do you look into -- and there he is on screen right there.
I mean, dogs are as America as baseball and apple pie.
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Right, right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
ACOSTA: I just like, who could look into those eyes and do such a thing. I mean, that's the thing I've been struggling with all weekend. But also, why would you brag about it in a book? I don't get -- is she trying to prove something to Trump?
STEWART: Look, her explanation and her defense is that this shows that she's able to make tough decisions and make difficult decisions. Look, as a pet owner, we all are pet owners.
ACOSTA: yes.
STEWART: I love the heck out of my dog. A tough decision for a dog owner is having that decision to put your dog down at the end of life, not blowing the head off a puppy that you can't train. That's not a tough decision. That is just heartless, quite frankly.
And look, she says she was on a farm. It's in a rural area. I've been on many farms. I know many people that live on farms.
ACOSTA: Right.
STEWART: They don't go around shooting the family pet. So, look, I think this is a bad issue for her. She's going to have a rough time ahead moving forward on this issue.
[10:45:00]
Whether or not this has an impact on if she's a VP candidate or whatnot in the future, I just can't imagine her thinking about killing her dog, doing it, writing about it in a book, and then doubling and tripling down that this was the right thing to do. This doesn't make sense.
ACOSTA: Right, and she's being considered for vice president. It feels intentional. Like, OK, look what I could do. I can kill a puppy, You Know.
MARIA CORDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Exactly. And I think sadly, that's probably what she and maybe many others believe is what Donald Trump is looking for. The kind of strength, the kind of lack of empathy, and sadly, you know, maybe Trump does like this. I mean, I hope not. But this is --
ACOSTA: Yes, there's nothing strong about killing a puppy.
CORDONA: There is absolutely nothing strong about it. And in fact, I would go further to say this is a huge red flag and a warning sign about her. I mean, that is the behavior that you see out of sociopaths, because killing animals -- I mean, remember the kind of grief that Mitt Romney got just for putting the family talk on the roof?
ACOSTA: I do.
CORDONA: I think and I hope this puts her completely out of the running for VP because certainly for the American public, that is not going to be acceptable.
ACOSTA: Alice, is she out of the running?
STEWART: Look, who knows what the ultimate decision will be. Look, Donald Trump, fortunately, has some tremendous candidates to be VP. We can go down the full list of Doug Burgum, Tim Scott, Elise Stefanik and many others -- Marco Rubio, many others.
So, she is one that was potentially on that list. I can see where she might not be on that list anymore.
ACOSTA: Some of those rivals were putting up pictures over the weekend. I think we might have some of those tweets, it might be ready. Carrie Lake, I think Ron DeSantis are all tweeting about their dogs. I mean, that's --
STEWART: Yes, look --
CORDONA: That's smart of them, actually.
STEWART: -- and usually --
ACOSTA: -- not by accident.
CORDONA: Right.
STEWART: I do want to push back a little on my friend, Maria, who are trying to link too much. This is what Donald Trump would want. Look, I can't imagine anyone outside of, you know, Kristi Noem --
CORDONA: Kristi Noem.
STEWART: -- herself thinking this was a good thing to do. So, I would really --
ACOSTA: That sweet little baby right there.
STEWART: -- be cautious on linking this to other Republicans thinking this is a show of strength.
CORDONA: I mean, I hope you're right.
ACOSTA: Yes. Maria, let me ask you about this poll over the weekend. The new CNN poll showing Trump with this lead over Biden. I mean, a lot of Democrats looked at this and spit out their coffee on Sunday morning. The CBS battleground poll over the week did show a tight race in multiple swing states. So, the numbers are all over the place.
CORDONA: Right.
ACOSTA: It's April and people say, it's April, it's early. But May --
CORDONA: Yes.
ACOSTA: -- it's almost May.
CORDONA: Yes.
ACOSTA: May is not that early.
CORDONA: There's still six months left. I did not spit out my coffee. I had a very nice, calming cup of coffee yesterday, even after seeing this poll. Because, look, the trend with all of the other national polls is that the race is tightening. A lot of the other national polls, including the one that you mentioned, CBS, has Joe Biden either tied or ahead two or three points. The CBS poll had Joe Biden ahead in Michigan, tied in all of the other battleground states.
What the Biden campaign is doing is the smart thing to do, which is they are rolling up their sleeves. They're doing the work. They are having Joe Biden go to all the battleground states. He is whipping up a storm in terms of the travel that he is doing. Going around telling all of the Americans about the accomplishments, what he has done, what he's going to do. While Donald Trump is stuck in a courthouse.
ACOSTA: But the other thing that's in that poll, and we have to -- we are out of time. But the other thing that's in that poll is it shows that a lot of Americans view Donald Trump's presidency as a success --
STEWART: A success and Biden's as a failure.
ACOSTA: -- which is extraordinary, given the fact that a million people died from COVID.
CORDONA: Yes.
ACOSTA: I mean, I --
STEWART: But, look, if the poll -- based on this poll, if the election were held today, Donald Trump would go from the courthouse to the White House. No questions asked. And you look at the --
CORDONA: But guess what, Alice? It's not today.
STEWART: But you look at this and say that --
ACOSTA: But it was remarkable. His presidency ended with an insurrection at the Capitol.
STEWART: yes.
ACOSTA: Maria.
CORDONA: Yes.
ACOSTA: How is it that Democrats have not been able to get that message across to voters and that they can't break through this short- term memory it seems?
CORDONA: Well, again, I will look at the other polls that actually show Democrats have been able to break through. And let's remember, Jim, in 2022, everyone thought that a huge red wave was going to happen.
ACOSTA: Yes.
CORDONA: Everyone was showing these exact same kinds of polls where the economy was the number one issue when in fact, a lot of Americans put democracy and rights and freedoms --
ACOSTA: Are they getting a little too comfortable --
CORDONA: -- upfront --
STEWART: Look, I --
ACOSTA: -- in the Trump world?
CORDONA: -- in addition to the economy.
STEWART: I think the other cross tabs to look at in this poll are the fact that Biden is underwater and has strong disapproval ratings and how he's handled the economy. And the situation with Gaza and Israel is going to really damage him. There are fluctuating --
CORDONA: It's a challenge right now, it's not a threat.
ACOSTA: When I talk -- I talked to a lot of Democratic operatives over the weekend, in office, out of office, they were all worried about that. We'll keep talking about it. Maria, Alice, thanks a lot, appreciate it coming up.
CORDONA: Thanks, Jim.
ACOSTA: We love Duke and all of our fur babies out there.
STEWART: We do.
CORDONA: Yes, we do. ACOSTA: Coming up, after 16 seasons, WNBA icon Candace Parker is stepping off the court. A look back at her legendary career, next.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the world's news network.
ACOSTA: It's the end of an era in women's basketball. Three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Candace Parker, announced she's retiring after 16 seasons in that league.
CNN's Carolyn Manno joins us now. Carolyn, she was just dominant. What do you think about this decision to retire? What do we know?
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the 38-year-old says that it's an ongoing foot injury that's only allowed her to appear in 18 games last season. That's the reason that she can no longer perform at her best. Candace Parker is going to be known as one of the greatest to ever play the game of basketball. The saying goes in sports, and you know this, Jim, father time is undefeated.
[10:55:00]
So, I think it's just time. She made her announcement in a post on Instagram, and here's what she said. She said, I promise I'd never cheat the game and that I'd leave it in a better place than I came into it. The competitor in me always wants one more, but it's time. My heart and body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.
You know, she joined the league as the number one draft pick in 2008. She went on to play for the L.A. Sparks, the Chicago Sky, the Las Vegas Aces. She had this stellar 16-year career and her decision to step away comes just a couple of months after she agreed to resign with the two-time defending WNBA champs, the Aces on a one year deal.
But when the body goes, it's just -- it's time. But she's inspired so many players along the way. She's had an incredible career and she continues to do that.
ACOSTA: Yes, she's leaving at a time when the sport is in an amazing place. I mean, everybody is obsessed with women's basketball right now and the WNBA is going to get a big star this summer and Caitlin Clark, we're all going to be watching. I know you will as well.
Carolyn Manno, thank you very much for that. That's great stuff.
All right. And thanks very much for joining us this morning. Fast moving hour. I'm Jim Acosta. Our next hour of "Newsroom with Wolf Blitzer" starts after a short break. Have a good week, everybody.
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