Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Israel Retrieves Bodies Of Three Hostages Killed By Hamas; Soon: Biden Speaks At National Museum Of African American History; Biden Makes New Appeal To Black Voters. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired May 17, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: A situation like this, where Shin Bet to the domestic intelligence service and the Israeli military will go in. And what they'll do is they will try to look for all kinds of signs. It's basically like the murder scene and do it like the police would do here in the United States.

And what they're trying to do is they're trying to figure out not only where the bodies are but are there any indications of other bodies. So, they'll look for telltale signs. They'll look for pieces of clothing. They'll look for DNA samples. They will look for those kinds of things.

And they will also use intelligence to determine whether or not there were hostages in that area who are dead or who are alive. And that's really kind of the mosaic that they have to put together in a case like this.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. A sad situation. All right, stand by. Jeremy Diamond, I understand you're getting more reaction in Israel to this latest development.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Wolf, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just releasing a statement moments ago saying that he is heartbroken for this great loss, talking about his wife. Sara and I grieving with the families. He says that the heart of the -- his heart is with all of those watching over this situation. He says that they will return the abductees, all of the hostages both the dead as well as the alive. And he also congratulates the Israeli troops who were able to carry out this operation to successfully return these bodies to Israel.

Obviously, sad news that these are dead bodies of hostages and not alive -- hostages who are alive being brought back to their families. But for some of these families, at least it will provide at least a measure of closure. Especially for those who have known that their loved ones were dead, according to the Israeli government, but were not yet able to bury them, to grieve, and to mourn them.

BLITZER: And, Jeremy, remind our viewers about this Nova Music Festival where are these three Israeli hostages were simply enjoying some music, enjoying some excitement. This is the Nova Music Festival. It was right near the Gaza Strip, but in Israel. DIAMOND: Yes, that's right. It was very close to the Gaza Strip. And we saw so many of the initial videos of that horrible October 7 attack that came from the site of that music festival. Initially, they heard sirens -- the rocket sirens that went off as Hamas began firing a barrage of rockets. But soon enough, the attendees at that music festival realized that it was something much, much worse that was beginning to happen.

There were Hamas paragliders who arrived. Others who arrived on -- in pickup trucks firing wildly throughout the crowd. Many Israelis were killed there. Others were taken hostages. And then you have the situation of some of these individuals, including those we're talking about today, Shani Louk, Amit Buskila, and Itshak Gelernter who were killed on that day, but whose bodies were also then taken across to Gaza. Their bodies are held hostages as bargaining chips, which is a tactic that Hamas has been known to employ not only during this conflict but in years prior.

But it's so important to note the impact that the Nova Music Festival has had here in Israel. It brought together people who didn't just live in those border communities, but people all across Israel. And I think it really spread the emotion and the sense of connectedness here in Israel to the victims of this attack as well as to the hostages because so many of these people didn't live in those border communities.

They lived in Tel Aviv. They lived in northern Israel. They lived all across the country. And that has certainly contributed to the sense of loss, the sense of connectedness, and the sense of pain that so many Israelis have been feeling since October 7 and are certainly feeling today.

BLITZER: Yes. The news once again, the Israeli army has recovered the bodies of three Israeli hostages who were murdered by Hamas. And we'll stay on top of this story. Jeremy Diamond, thank you. Barak Ravid thanks to you as well. Colonel Leighton, appreciate it very much. And we'll be right back with more news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:38:39]

BLITZER: At any moment now, President Biden will make a fresh appeal to black voters. He's speaking over at the National Museum of African American History here in the Nation's Capital as part of a civil rights focus campaign swing this weekend to try to shore up support with black Americans. They certainly helped propel him to victory in 2020 and are obviously very critical in his reelection bid.

Let's discuss with CNN political commentator and Democratic Strategist Maria Cardona and CNN political commentator and Republican Strategist Alice Stewart. They're co-hosts by the way of the very popular podcast, "HOT MICS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT." Maria, what does the president need to say today?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He's going to actually go over the accomplishments that he has been able to deliver to the black community. More than any other administration in modern history, the Biden-Harris administration has delivered tons of accomplishments to black America, including an incredible increase in black wealth, the forgiveness of student loans in the billions that is transformational for so many black and brown families. He is focused on generating small businesses. He is focused on an incredibly low -- record low unemployment among black families and black voters.

And so, all of these accomplishments, Wolf, is going to be something that he's going to continue to talk about. He's also focused on -- incredibly focused on making sure that the legacy of the civil rights movement. The historic movement that that has helped so many black families in this country. And what he is going to do along with Kamala Harris is he's going to say what will the contrast be between what we have done for you and what the existential threat for your families, your future if Donald Trump gets elected?

[11:40:27]

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, Alice, because we reassess all that. But there are some new polls that are just out including in some of these key battleground states, which show Trump winning more than 20 percent of the black vote right now. That was just about six percent in the 2020 election.

So, from six percent to more than 20 percent. And if he were to win 20 percent, that would be the highest level of support for any Republican presidential candidate since the 60s and the Civil Rights Act. So, what do you think accounts for this potential shift in the electorate?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look. I think that's a significant number also Biden, right, in that poll at 63 percent. In 2020, exit polls show him with 87 percent of the black vote. And despite what my dear friend Maria says with regard to his message to the African American community, they are not buying what he is selling. He can go to every university, he can go to museums, he can go on black-owned radio stations, and say that things are fine with the African American community under his leadership. They don't feel that way.

Bernice King, the daughter of M.L.K. Jr. says black people don't feel as though they're better off under this administration. And look, African Americans are like all Americans. They feel the pain, at the pump, at the grocery store, and interest rates. They're suffering under this economy. And that's a problem.

One of the big promises that he could do for African Americans was the Voting Rights Act. He wasn't able to make any progress on that. So, what we're seeing is African Americans deserting President Biden because they feel as though he has abandoned them on the promises he made when he ran for office.

BLITZER: And we'll have live coverage of the president's speech here in Washington coming up appealing to the African American vote in the United States. Guys, thanks very much.

CARDONA: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Maria Cardona Alice and Stewart. Meanwhile, there are deadly storms ripping through Houston knocking out power for thousands and thousands of people. That means many won't have air conditioning where the triple-digit temperatures arrive.

CNN is live on the ground. We'll update you on that and a lot more. Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: All right. Let's listen into President Biden delivering a major speech appealing to black voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lifetime member of NAACP. When I said a little earlier the president said are your dues paid up, I got to check. Oh, my Lord. So many -- so many people here today. You changed the world. 70 years ago, you changed -- I say the world. That's not hyperbole. I'm not exaggerating.

Not only it change the United States. It changed our role in the world in a fundamental way. I know there's a lot more to do. President Johnson, that introduction, thank you for your leadership. But most importantly, for the NAACP.

It's an honor to be with all of you here at the National Museum of American -- African American History and Culture. Remember, we're trying to get this built for years. It's pretty neat, isn't it?

[11:45:00]

By the way, I want to thank the staff who runs this place who do an incredible job. Together, the NAACP and this museum are monuments of the power of black history. And Black history is American history. It's American.

It's a really important thing to continue to -- we have a whole group of people out there trying to rewrite history, trying to erase history. It's a tribute to heroes, known and unknown, who pursued our nation's North Star. We're unique among all nations of the world. And I mean that.

Every other nation is based on ethnicity, based on religion, and other things, but we're the only one based on an idea. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, and should be treated equally their whole lives. Throughout their life. We've never fully lived up to that idea to state the obvious, but we've never walked away from it either because of so many of you in this room, and so many more.

70 years ago, when the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Board of Education, a racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional, a prayer was answered, and a long struggle for freedom. Yesterday, I welcomed the family of plaintiffs of the landmark case to the White House, to the Oval Office, their office. Once upon a time, they were excluded from certain classrooms.

But seven years later, they're inside the most important room of all, the Oval Office, where they belong. But a living reminder that once upon a time, wasn't that long ago, and with all the progress we've made is still have more to do. And there are still groups that are trying to erase it.

You know, one of the cases that led to the landmark decision was in my home state of Delaware. A black mother from Hockessin, Delaware joined by parents and eight other students -- Claymont, the town I moved to when we work ran out in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and we moved back in third grade -- moved here in third -- the Delaware in third grade. All in Claymont. There, we just want a simple proposition. They want the kids to be able to attend school and be treated with dignity and respect.

They asked a man who I looked up to and really admired and helped me out as a young public defender, Louis L. Redding. He was the first man -- the first black man ever admitted to the practice of law in the state of Delaware to say. And that -- think about that. Here's the first man. This guy was brilliant.

And he didn't get admitted until after the 50s in Delaware to the -- I mean, well, he enlisted a young Jewish lawyer from NAACP named Jack Greenberg to help him devise a legal strategy to get rid of racial segregation at Delaware schools. In 1952, in Delaware for the first time in our country's history, in Beulah vs. Gebhart and Belton vs. Gebhart. By the way, are any Delawareans here today?

Right -- all right. For the first time ever, segregated white public schools were ordered to admit black children. Louis L. Redding's argument in those early Delaware cases has laid the legal framework for Brown vs. The Board. His story is a timeless truth about America, when we make real the promise of America for all Americans, the nation changes for the better everything from the economy to everything grows. Everything grows.

After the Brown vs. Board decision public schools gradually and often much too slowly were integrated. Graduation rates for black and Latino students increased significantly though. The Brown decision proves a simple idea. We learn better when we learn together. That's why my administration increasing funding for schools to bring together students from different backgrounds.

My Department of Education is investing $300 million, including another 20 million announced today to support diversity in our schools. We're also -- we're also funding efforts to increase diversity in the teaching profession itself because as the president said, black students, specifically young black men react to black teachers. Black students who have black teachers are significantly more likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college.

It makes a difference, and it matters. My Department of Education provided an additional almost half a billion dollars --$450 million to ensure teachers in our school reflect the diversity in our country. We're just getting started. This money is going to go toward training the next generation of teachers at HBCUs, tribal colleges, and minority-serving institutions.

By the way -- not because I'm married to one, but we need to give teachers a raise. I mean it. Another reason from Brown is that every child deserves a quality education.

[11:50:00]

How can we -- just think in simple terms. How can we have the strongest economy in the world without the best education in the world? I mean, it's not possible. That taps into the full talents of our entire nation. And the answer starts with childhood -- early childhood education.

Because of the nation's legacy of discrimination, the black children start school with an average of seven months behind their white peers in reading. But one year of universal high-quality pre-K could eliminate 98 percent of that gap. Just one year. And children who go to preschool are nearly 50 percent more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a two-year or four-year degree no matter what their background is.

That's why my administration is working to support black children. And as soon as I came to the office, I signed the American Rescue Plan. And I'm going to be political, but I just say this because we're having problems. Not one Republican voted for it. Not one.

But the America Rescue Plan expanded childcare tax credits and delivered monthly checks to working families to cut black child poverty in half. My Republican friends have it expired. Well, I'm going to keep fighting to reestablish and we're going to get it reestablished.

Well, I'm going to keep fighting to make sure a preschool is universal for every 3 and 4-year-old in America. We can afford to do this. It's not hard. Instead of giving multibillion-dollar breaks to the super- wealthy, let's make the wealthy begin to pay their fair share of taxes. We can afford all of this.

I'll just slow up for just one second here. I had to leave a little bit here because I'm going to get in trouble for doing it keep you longer. But you know, we have a thousand billionaires in America. Thousand. I'm a capitalist, you can make all our money, fine. Just pay your fair share.

Here's the deal. Do you know what the tax -- federal tax rate is for a billionaire in America? 8.3 percent. If we just raised it to 25 percent, we raise 400 million --billion dollars over the next 10 years.

That could pay for all of this, cut the deficit to do so much more. Just been -- just pay your fair share. Look, it's not only good for children, it's good for the country when we have early education, and it grows the economy.

We're also working to ensure every child no matter what their zip code has access to quality education experience in K through 12. The American Rescue Plan delivered $130 billion to American schools. Most ever in funding public education in our nation's history. And we added another 202 billion annually to Title One funding to support school students who are the most in need. These dollars help for things like tutoring, paying teachers, are -- for what they deserve, and providing more advanced casework, and course works as well.

While college degrees are still a ticket to the middle class, that ticket's becoming too expensive. Too many -- too many young people, black students are dealing with unsustainable debts in exchange for a college degree. That's why my administration is taking the most significant action notwithstanding tried -- the Supreme Court tried to stop me to provide student debt relief, the most supreme ever.

I've been able to relieve $160 billion in student debt for over 4.5 million Americans, including a significant number of black borrowers. That means they can now start a family, buy a home, save for their children's school, give them -- give back to their communities. It also increased the maximum Pell Grant by $900. The largest increase in a decade.

And it matters because over 60 percent of black students rely on Pell grants to go to college. And something I'm really proud of. We're making historic investments in historic black colleges and universities.

Now, I'm from Delaware so I go along with Delaware State being the best HBCU. Kamala keeps saying it's Howard. And I'm going now -- I'm going on Sunday to make a speech at that other place. That man's calm more -- Morehouse. I got more Morehouse men in my administration in Morehouse.

But regardless of loyalties, it's clear HBCUs are vital to our nation's progress. I mean it. That's not hyperbole.

HBCUs are responsible for 40 percent of black engineers in America. 50 percent of black teachers. 70 percent of all black doctors and dentists. 80 percent of all black judges.

[11:55:08]

And by the way, I put more on the bench than anybody ever had. And one hundred percent of black vice presidents. We've got it.

HBCUs also don't have endowments like other colleges and universities that are able to fund research labs and so much more. Well, Kamala and I made a commitment to lift HBCUs up, and we're keeping that commitment. Today, I'm proud to announce, as was mentioned earlier by the president that we've invested over $16 billion in HBCUs. By far, the most ever of any administration in combination with almost all administrations.

This investment's helped HBCUs with everything from bills, and student housing, to study climate science, to create health research labs, prepare black students for labs and industries in the future because they don't have the endowments to do it themselves now. But let's be clear. I know real power when I see it. Later today in the Oval Office, I'll be meeting with the presidents of the Divine Nine. You all think I'm kidding, don't you? Well, I'm proud that we're the first to -- you got it. I can tell there's no -- anyway.

We're the first administration in history to have a working group from the Divine Nine in the White House. And I've asked them to do that from the very beginning. But we know that 70 years after Brown vs. the Board, there are some forces trying to deny freedom of opportunity for all Americans.

A few minutes ago, I talked with some of the Little Rock Nine who were determined to integrate public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas 67 years ago. I'd like to recognize them for their courage --(INAUDIBLE) would they -- if they can, we do -- if you're able, please stand arise so we can all see.

I thank God Eisenhower's president. Thank God we had someone who stood up. But Little Rock Nine were met with vitriol and violence. Today, the resistance comes in other insidious forms, an extreme movement led by my predecessor and his MAGA Republican allies, backed by an extreme Supreme Court gutted affirmative action in college admissions.

My predecessor and his extreme MAGA friends are now going after diversity, equity, and inclusion all across America. They want a country for some not for all. And let's not kid ourselves, folks, this is a God's truth what I'm saying.

My predecessor and his extreme MAGA friends are responsible for taking away other fundamental freedoms. From the freedom to vote to the freedom to choose. But I've always believed that the promise of America is big enough for everyone to succeed. And I mean that. Everyone to succeed.

That's what Brown is all about. That's what we're all about. That's what America is about.

Let me close with this. On Sunday, I'm attending the commencement of Morehouse College, one of our nation's most important institutions. Morehouse was founded after our nation's Civil War to help prepare black Americans who were formerly enslaved to enter the ministry, earn an education, and usher them from slavery to freedom.

The founders of Morehouse understood something fundamental. Education is linked to freedom. Because to be free means to have something that no one can ever take away from you. And that's the power of an education. That's why the Brown decision to commemorate today is so important.

The work of building democracy as a possibility of a democracy worthy of our dreams starts with opening the doors of opportunity for everyone without exception. And we can do it. We just have to remember who we are. We are the United States of America. There's nothing beyond our capacity when we decide to work together.

May God bless you all. And thank you all for all of the bravery you've demonstrated over the years. And may God protect our troops.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm proud to be with you. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The president of the United States speaking at the National Museum of African American History and Culture here in Washington, DC. Very strong words, and words that are designed to at least in part, to appeal to the African American community for support going into the November election. The president also making it clear that -- they went after Trump and what he calls Trump's MAGA supporters for erasing history in many -- in many ways as well.

[12:00:25]

We're going to continue to stay on top of all of these stories. Thanks very much for joining me here in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. And I'll, of course, be back later tonight at 6:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM." "INSIDE POLITICS" with Dana Bash starts right now.

END