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CNN This Morning
White House Seizes On Trump Remark To Ramp Up Pressure On Republicans; Rep James Clyburn (D-Supreme Court) "Stunned" At Biden Calling For South Carolina To Be First Primary State; Dr. Sanjay Gupta's New Podcast Episode Looks At Scent And Attraction. Aired 7:30- 8a ET
Aired December 06, 2022 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL)
[07:31:30]
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN THIS MORNING.
Coming up for us, police in Moscow, Idaho are looking into the possibility that one of the four college students murdered at their off-campus home had a stalker. Could that lead to a suspect and a motive? We'll take you there live.
Plus, we will be joined by the governor of North Carolina after those attacks on the electrical grid in his state plunged cities into darkness.
And is love really in the air? Dr. Sanjay Gupta is breaking down just how much scent influences attraction -- Don.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: But first, the White House is ramping up pressure on Republican lawmakers to condemn former President Trump's call to terminate the Constitution.
Straight to CNN's MJ Lee at the White House for us this morning with more on that. MJ, what are you hearing from the White House?
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, we have yet another situation where Donald Trump has made an extraordinarily anti- democratic statement and many prominent Republicans have stayed largely silent.
Well, the White House is calling on these Republicans not only to break their silence but saying that they have an explicit responsibility to uphold the Constitution.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates saying in a statement that "Asking members of Congress to reaffirm their oath of office and uphold the Constitution should not be a heavy lift. Congressional Republicans," he said, "need to do that immediately, instead of repeatedly refusing to answer the most basic question."
Now, Republicans are certainly not going to be taking their cues from the White House on this issue. But it is notable that the White House is choosing to weigh in in this matter because, as you know, the president did make a decision to go very in to this argument of protecting democracy as a part of his pre-midterms message. And after the election, they felt pretty vindicated that politically speaking, this was the right thing to do.
LEMON: And the timing of all of this is quite interesting. We're still waiting to learn if Biden will, for sure, run for a second term himself, although it is looking that way, everyone believes.
LEE: That's right. And first of all, I mean, let's just make clear that now, whenever Donald Trump makes a statement, he is speaking as the Republican candidate for presidency because he, himself, of course, announced a few weeks ago.
But you're right. It is an open question, at least for now, whether President Biden is going to seek a second term. Although we did hear chief of staff Ron Klain saying again yesterday -- reiterating that he does plan to make an announcement after the holidays and he does expect that decision to be for the president to seek a second term.
But there is just no question Don that if there does end up being another Biden versus Trump matchup -- yes, I think these kinds of issues -- threats to democracy -- that is going to end up being a huge theme this time around as well.
LEMON: All right, MJ Lee. Thank you very much from the White House this morning.
And straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to discuss this with the former national security adviser, John Bolton -- Kaitlan.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, President Biden is facing backlash from some of his fellow Democrats with his push to make South Carolina the first-in-the-nation primary in their selection process in 2024.
I sat down with one lawmaker who supports the move, though, and is making the case for why his state should go first.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): Before President Biden proposed radically shaking up his party's presidential primary calendar, he first made a phone call.
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Oh, I was stunned and really a bit surprised.
COLLINS (voice-over): South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn was caught off-guard by Biden's push to put his state first in the primary process, which would mean demoting Iowa and New Hampshire.
[07:35:07]
SCOTT BRENNAN, DNC MEMBER, IOWA: Small rural states like Iowa must have a voice in our presidential nominating process. JOANNE DOWDELL, DNC MEMBER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: New Hampshire does have a statute. We do have a law, and we will not be breaking our law.
COLLINS (voice-over): Clyburn arguing to CNN this morning that South Carolina is the ultimate candidate litmus test.
CLYBURN: Every candidate that's won South Carolina has gone -- has gone on to be our nominee and get the majority of the vote in the general election.
COLLINS (voice-over): The state was vital to Biden's 2020 primary victory and his move could indicate that he plans to run again in 2024, a step Clyburn supports.
CLYBURN: I'm making it very clear that I'm for Joe. As I said way back, I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us.
COLLINS (voice-over): Biden's chief of staff hinting that an announcement could happen soon.
RON KLAIN, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: And I expect it shortly after the holidays. But I expect the decision will be to do it.
COLLINS (voice-over): After surviving a last-minute challenge, 82- year-old Clyburn will remain in Democratic leadership at a time of generational change.
CLYBURN: Well, I didn't get in until I was 52 years old --
COLLINS (on camera): Yes.
CLYBURN: -- because state law did not allow me to get in until I was 52. Now, Hakeem Jeffries becomes the leader of our party at the age of 52. That's what evolution is all about.
COLLINS (voice-over): Clyburn will be the number-four House Democrat, as 43-year-old California Congressman Pete Aguilar assumes the number- three spot.
REP. PETE AGUILAR (D-CA): Our job is to reflect the values of the Democratic caucus. That means to advance the ball and more importantly, unfortunately, in the next two years, to hold the line on some of the Republican dysfunction.
COLLINS (voice-over): Democrats are vowing to push back against a Republican majority that's promising to be aggressive --
AGUILAR: And we're going to be prepared to have the back of the administration.
COLLINS (voice-over): -- as it remains to be seen who will lead the GOP.
AGUILAR: Obviously, we don't know yet whether anyone on that side of the aisle has the votes to become speaker.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Thank you all for coming.
COLLINS (voice-over): Republican Kevin McCarthy's bid to become House speaker has been complicated, as Clyburn says the GOP leader should speak out on former President Trump's call to terminate the Constitution.
CLYBURN: I also believe that these guys should be calling out our former president for asking to set aside the Constitution of the United States and reinstall him as our -- how do you do that? There's nothing -- no process for that. And why can't you speak out against that kind of foolishness?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Clyburn saying he wants to see these other leaders speak out -- McCarthy -- the people that we have not heard from talking about what Trump said.
HARLOW: What struck you most being there with him in person and about this moment for him when he decided not to pursue more in leadership?
COLLINS: Well, the South Carolina thing itself was --
HARLOW: Yes.
COLLINS: -- interesting. He didn't necessarily -- he wasn't pushing for South Carolina to go first. He wanted it to be early up in the window.
Obviously, he was critical to how Biden did in South Carolina and the White House will readily admit that. So it was interesting hearing him talk about that, emphatically saying that Biden should run in 2024 and what that looks like.
HARLOW: Yes.
COLLINS: And also, what it means for him to be in leadership. I thought what he said about his age versus Hakeem Jeffries' age was so fascinating.
HARLOW: Striking (PH).
LEMON: Well, that's also -- that's why history is important. It's important to know the history and it's important to have the -- knowing Mr. Clyburn, when you mentioned about why he couldn't run, about the history of his family not being able to get a degree, and also the history of voting and voter suppression in this country. I mean, he is sort of -- he symbolizes all of that and also symbolizes where we have come in this country catapulting Biden into the presidency.
COLLINS: Which he says is important perspective for someone in Democratic leadership to have. Obviously, we've been talking about generational change. He's staying on -- when he was talking about representing voters in the south -- rural voters in the south and what that means. LEMON: Yes. He's a --
HARLOW: Great piece.
LEMON: -- fascinating man.
COLLINS: Yes, he was. It was a great conversation.
Big questions this morning. Deion Sanders being accused of selling out after he is leaving a historically Black college for Colorado to go coach there. We'll have a conversation about all of this ahead.
LEMON: Plus, the stage is almost set for the World Cup. The face behind the iconic "gooooal" call. We have a competition coming up. He joins us live from Qatar, next.
HARLOW: You're actually going to do the competition? Yes!
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[07:44:03]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRES CANTOR, CHIEF WORLD CUP COMMENTATOR, TELEMUNDO DEPORTES: Goal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Oh my God. You are going to lose.
LEMON: Oh my gosh. I am out of breath listening to him.
HARLOW: Iconic.
LEMON: It is not a World Cup without hearing "goal" from famed soccer commentator Andres Cantor. And you just heard the straight-mark exclamation during Monday's match between Brazil and South Korea. His iconic delivery changed the game for soccer broadcasting.
Andres Cantor is a chief World Cup commentator for Telemundo Deportes and he joins us now from Doha, Qatar. I am so happy to have you here and I'm surprised that you have not lost your voice, sir.
CANTOR (via Webex by Cisco): I have not, so far, Don. How are you? And you do it very, very good. How are you all?
[07:45:00]
LEMON: I'm doing well. Are you ready? Let's go. Both of us at the same time. Three, two, one.
CANTOR: Let's go. One, two, three.
LEMON: Goooal.
CANTOR: You do it. I've got to save my voice. You do it. COLLINS: You're kidding?
HARLOW: He tricked you.
LEMON: It is annoying. It's annoying this early in the morning. I'm not going to do it. People want to hear you and not me.
Again, thank you for joining us. How did you start this? How did this start?
CANTOR: This is the way we feel for the game in Latin America. I didn't invent anything. I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time in 1994 when the World Cup was played in the U.S. and my work caught everyone's attention. I've been doing this goal call since the very first day I called a game in 1987 on Spanish 1 Television. And, of course, it takes a lot of -- a lot of meaning when it comes to the World Cup because the World Cup is everything.
LEMON: Just one more question from me. If you -- are you surprised at how the interest in the sport and just how big the sport has gotten since you started doing this? Because there wasn't that much interest in the United States and now, I mean, it's just crazy everywhere.
CANTOR: Sure. I always say that 1994 was a transformative event for soccer in our country because of the World Cup -- the enthusiasm. The amount of kids both at the youth level and at the college levels are playing the game -- at the high schools. It's tremendous.
And the fandom all over the country is really, really good. And the numbers -- our ratings show, our streaming numbers on Peacock are through the roof, and on linear and Telemundo are through the roof. Everyone is watching the World Cup. And you know what, Don and team, in 2026, it's coming home. So it's going to be even bigger than that.
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: Hmm.
HARLOW: You're from Argentina and Lionel Messi just scored his 1,000th goal -- I'm not going to try to say it the way you and Don do -- this weekend. I mean, you've had this career in soccer since you were 16 years old. What's it like -- what is it like to see Messi like this in this World Cup?
CANTOR: Yes, he played his 1,000th game. He scored his first goal in single-elimination matches. He had scored all his previous World Cup goals in the first round.
It's just tremendous to see him and call his games. Hopefully, he has more goals and more games in this World Cup. They play the Netherlands on Friday. It's going to be a very tough match but I hope for him that he gets to the final and hopefully, he wins it.
COLLINS: What's been different on the ground this time around compared to other World Cups? Because obviously, everyone's watching the games. As you noted, interest is high. But there is so much more to the backdrop here.
CANTOR: Sure. Well, first and foremost, the fact that it's -- that the World Cup is being hosted in one city.
In Russia, in 2018, in the first 17 days, I was on 37 different airplanes getting from game to game.
Here, I get to sleep in my own bed the entirety of the tournament. I have this beautiful backdrop every morning that I wake up in the same place.
And for the teams, that is very, very convenient. They don't have to travel anywhere. They have their hotel camp here and they just walk or just bus to training for no more than 15 minutes. So that is definitely the most convenient for the teams and I think it makes for the better action and competition.
HARLOW: Thanks for your legendary voice and for being the voice of soccer for so long.
LEMON: Save it. Save it. We don't need you to be hoarse.
HARLOW: Save it. Save it. Save it.
LEMON: We need you to be full-throated.
HARLOW: And you could always --
CANTOR: Thank you. Thank you very much.
LEMON: Listen -- and if that ever --
HARLOW: You could fill in.
LEMON: -- happens -- Poppy, thank you. I can certainly fill in for you if needed.
HARLOW: Is that allowed in your contract?
LEMON: I don't know. We'll figure that one out, though.
HARLOW: Thank you, Andres. Good luck --
CANTOR: All right.
HARLOW: -- to your team. Good luck, Argentina.
LEMON: Appreciate it.
HARLOW: All right.
CANTOR: Thank you.
COLLINS: Staying in sports, Tom Brady has done it again with a record-setting comeback, helping the Bucs take down the Saints in the final minutes. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NFL ANNOUNCER: He's third down. Underneath and touchdown, Rachaad White.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The Bucs were down by 13 points in the fourth quarter. But in the last three minutes, Tom Brady threw two touchdowns -- the game- winning one coming in just the last three seconds of the game alone.
This is Brady's 44th career fourth-quarter comeback. He just broke Peyton Manning's record.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM BRADY, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS QUARTERBACK: It's just like we drew it up. It's just like we drew it up. You know, we've had a lot of games come to the end, and some we've won, some we've lost, which is why we're 6-6. So, we're not where we want to be but we'll keep fighting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: As Brady said, the Buccaneers are now 6-6. It's obviously not all that impressive but it does come with the rest of the NFC South trailing with losing records. The Bucs actually are leading their division.
[07:50:03]
HARLOW: All right, Neil Diamond surprising theatergoers with a performance of his big hit -- one of his big hits during the opening night of the new musical based on his life and career. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL DIAMOND, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "Sweet Caroline."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Don tells me the bom, bom, bom isn't actually part of it.
LEMON: It's so good, so good, so good. Yes, it's not.
HARLOW: Yes, so they added it in.
LEMON: It was added afterwards. It's fine, though. I was wondering how --
HARLOW: Look at him.
LEMON: -- he felt about that.
HARLOW: Right. Everyone on their feet. This is the impromptu performance. It's a rare appearance for the 81-year-old music icon who announced his retirement from touring early in 2018 because of his Parkinson's disease diagnosis. But wonderful to see.
LEMON: I love me some Neil Diamond. I know it's --
HARLOW: I know. You've got to go see it.
COLLINS: Everybody does.
HARLOW: We've got to go see it.
COLLINS: Iconic.
LEMON: All right, we have -- we should go see it, as a matter of fact.
HARLOW: A matinee.
LEMON: Yes.
COLLINS: All right. In Georgia, nearly two million people have already voted early in the runoff election between Herschel Walker and Sen. Raphael Warnock. But now it is time for the in-person voting and that's happening this morning, already underway as polls are open. We will take you live to Atlanta.
LEMON: OK, and this is weird. Smelling your way to love? How much of a role does scent play in our romantic decisions? This is a medical question because Dr. Sanjay Gupta --
HARLOW: Clearly.
LEMON: -- is going to join us next to explain this.
J. GEILS BAND: Singing "Love Stinks"
HARLOW: "Love Stinks" -- do you hear the song?
LEMON: Yes -- "Love Stinks."
(COMMERCIAL)
[07:55:47]
HARLOW: You know how when you smell something you think of something from your past, right? We know certain smells evoke a lot of deep memories for us. Sometimes they can remind us of certain people and might affect our attraction to a person.
In this latest episode of his podcast, "Chasing Life," Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores exactly that -- why smells may play a role in human attraction. He is with us now.
I never thought I would be talking to you about why I think about my high school boyfriend when I smell Tommy Hilfiger --
LEMON: Your husband is watching.
HARLOW: He's not watching -- when I smell Tommy Hilfiger cologne on the street --
LEMON: Trouble.
HARLOW: -- but I do. What is this?
LEMON: But you still smell -- no.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, "CHASING LIFE" PODCAST: We're going right there, yes.
HARLOW: Why not?
GUPTA: Well, first of all, I've got to tell you, I love doing this podcast because we dive into these really fascinating topics with some of the experts -- the biggest experts in the world about this.
And when it comes to smell, there was a lot of attention given during the pandemic because people lost their smell.
HARLOW: Right.
GUPTA: Millions of people lost their smell. It was often thought of as the Cinderella scents -- not that important.
We know 80 to 90 percent of the taste of food, for example, comes from smell. So it's a very important thing. It's the -- it's the sense that goes straight to the brain stem -- smell -- which is why it evokes such powerful memories like you're talking about, even going back to college or whenever.
But what is fascinating is that these -- this concept of pheromones, which are these tiny electrical chemical signals that basically are an instant form of communication between humans. You can just -- these pheromones are just being given off and they can -- they can instantly communicate. They do it in species of animals, but humans do this as well. And it typically signals alarm, aggregation -- meaning you're going to find people that are similar smelling in this case -- and attraction to the point that you're making.
But this is -- this is exactly the way that it works. And there's been all these fascinating studies done in the animal kingdom that they're now extrapolating to humans.
LEMON: I'm not going to give it away.
HARLOW: Can you stop staring at me?
LEMON: Poppy and I had a conversation in the break where she told me about -- so don't share it, right?
HARLOW: About the Tommy Hilfiger thing?
GUPTA: The old boyfriend.
LEMON: No, the part --
HARLOW: Oh, definitely. You have to share it now.
LEMON: OK. So --
HARLOW: Oh, I thought you were going to share your news.
LEMON: No. What is --
HARLOW: Oh.
LEMON: No, no -- the particles. She is saying her husband said that our particles liked each other or something.
HARLOW: He does. He is like there are particles in the universe and this is why we come together. I cannot believe I'm telling everyone this.
LEMON: (Laughing).
COLLINS: But I think that goes to the question, which is the science behind this. And one of the questions you had, Sanjay, during this podcast was is this an actual chemical reaction? And what did you learn?
LEMON: Yes, yes. I think it is.
GUPTA: Yes -- no. It is. And that's the part that's, in some ways, not so surprising at all but it took a lot of research to get to that question and being able to answer it.
Because it started off in the animal kingdom. They had moths, for example, and they'd collect millions and millions of moths, take these pheromones -- these little chemical signals -- and basically figure out is it attractive to other moths. Do other moths then start to follow? Do they change their behavior?
Smell -- the way that you smell can change the behavior of those around you. So it is an absolute chemical signal and it's an instantaneous one as well.
LEMON: Are there -- I don't know -- like -- but it's not necessarily like B.O., or is it? I don't know. I --
GUPTA: Well, it -- so there is a binary component to this where either you smell bad or you don't. That is true. But beyond that, it's far more complicated. I mean, colognes and perfumes, and deodorants, and things like that.
What is interesting when you talk to these smell researchers, they basically say it's almost a chicken and egg question, meaning you like somebody and then you start to associate that person with that scent as opposed to liking the person because of the scent.
LEMON: Yes.
GUPTA: It's far more complicated.
Tristram Wyatt -- I don't know if we have time for this, but Tristram Wyatt is the smell researcher. Listen to how he put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRISTRAM WYATT, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD: If you go to your nose, there are something like 400 different receptors, each detecting a different range or kind of molecule.
[08:00:00]
