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Today, President Zelenskyy to Meet with Biden, Addressing Congress; 70-Plus Million Under Alerts as Storms Threaten Holiday Travel; Biden Administration Urges Supreme Court to Let Title 24 End. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired December 21, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, my pitching arm is not very good. So, I'm going to probably stay in this business.

All right, and CNN this morning is going to continue right now.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I think you'll do okay, though.

Good morning, everyone. We say to you there's a lot to get to, there's a lot to get to, there's a lot to get to. It really is a busy Wednesday. As you pointed out, this is probably the busiest since we've began the show in November, right?

COLLINS: Yes, just historic.

LEMON: A lot going on. It's going to start in Washington because it will be a massive day in D.C. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive in just hours. He's going to speak with President Joe Biden and Congress after more than 300 days of war. We're on the ground in Ukraine.

COLLINS: Plus, here in the U.S., a bomb cyclone and blizzards are set to disrupt your holiday travel across the United States. What airlines want travelers to know about their options.

LEMON: And the Biden administration gearing up for the end of Title 42, but officials say they're not quite ready for it to end. What they are asking the Supreme Court to do. We have all of that straight ahead.

But we are going to begin with this, President Zelenskyy's surprise trip to Washington D.C. It's his first trip outside of Ukraine since Russia's invasion and it comes at a very pivotal time as the U.S. prepares to announce nearly $2 billion in military aid for Ukraine's defenses, including Patriot missile systems.

And moments ago, Zelenskyy was seen arriving in Poland. You see the pictures right there. We have learned that he traveled by train to a town near the Polish/Ukrainian border as part of his journey here. So, it is under way.

Straight to CNN's Will Ripley in the region, in Ukraine for us. Will, hello to you. How important is this visit for Ukraine?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Don. It's an incredibly important visit for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people who are celebrating the news that Patriot missile defense systems will be arriving. Although the reality is that the war continues.

Just hours after President Zelenskyy tweeted that he was on his way to the U.S. to meet with President Biden, the air raid sirens sounded here across Ukraine, pretty much like every other day of this conflict since this began on February 24th. But the difference, of course, is that Zelenskyy physically no longer in Kyiv or actively in the country on his way out is the first overseas trip by the Ukrainian president.

It shows from the perspective of commentators here a level of confidence that he's willing to go to the United States for this major announcement, not any concern about the security of Ukraine or his own security leaving.

But nonetheless, the Ukrainian people understand and he has a big challenge ahead as he meets with lawmakers in the U.S., some of whom are growing increasingly skeptical that the war should drag on as long as the Ukrainians say it needs to. They want to see the return to pre- 2014 territorial by Ukrainian, which would include retaking illegally annexed Crimea.

Of course, Russia took that almost nine years ago. That pretty started this whole thing. And so from the Ukrainian perspective, this war doesn't end until they get back everything that Russia took but he might find a different message meeting with U.S. lawmakers. He's certainly gotten some pressure members of NATO, including the French president, calling for peace talks with Russia, Don.

LEMON: Of course, the Kremlin has something to say about this. The spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, says that the visit and the supplying of arms does not bode well for Ukraine. What does his visit mean for the future of the war?

RIPLEY: Well, look, I mean, it's viewed here in Ukraine as posturing by Russia, empty threats or legitimate threats. The fact is that Russian bombs continue raining down on the country on a regular basis, devastating the civilian infrastructure and the Ukrainians say they need these weapons, they need this assistance and they're going to need it for the long haul, including those Patriot missile defense systems, which they hope could be a game changer once Ukrainians are adequately trained to stop the bombs that are coming from Russian bombers that currently Ukrainian does not have the capability to shoot down.

However, again, they know here that Russia and Putin basically wants to put everything they have into this war. They are assembling troops up to the northern border in Belarus. There continues to be very intense fighting on the east, into the south. And there's going to be increasing skepticism as the world pumps billions of dollars into Ukraine and yet the lines are basically holding. Ukraine isn't retaking much territory these days but they're not giving it up either, Don.

LEMON: All right. Will Ripley, thank you.

COLLINS: Joining us now to perspective on all of this and how significant it is, CNN's Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour, who interviewed Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and the first lady of Ukraine actually last month.

Christiane, this is just incredibly significant. I mean, it's been 300 days, he has not left Ukraine. And now his first trip outside during this war is to the United States. CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Absolutely,

Kaitlan. And, of course, the United States is his biggest backer and he has thanked them over and again, including in my interview and thanked the American people knowing it is taxpayers' money that is helping Ukraine with the weapons that it needs.

[07:05:06]

This is an incredibly important punctuation point because of where we are in the war, because of the change in seasons. Many have likened and have pointed to Winston Churchill, the famous British World War II leader, as the epitome and the example of a leader during wartime. And many over the last ten months of the war in Ukraine have sort of compared Zelenskyy and his wartime leadership to that of Winston Churchill and most importantly in the rallying of international support for the defense of Ukraine. So, this is massively important. He will want all sorts of modern weapons.

He'll thank obviously for the Patriot, the most sophisticated anti-air missile defense system that he's got so far and that's available so far. And then they're going to want to have presumably other things, like more and more drones and sophisticated weapon systems to combat the air that Russia controls with its missile attacks. So, that's the important thing.

Zelenskyy is bringing with him, he said in his press conference, a flag from the soldiers on the frontline of Bakhmut. That is the key city or the town in the east, on the eastern front, that it is being pummeled and fought vociferously over by both Russia and Ukraine.

The president of Ukraine went over there, met with the troops, took a flag of Ukraine, had it signed by the troops and said he will deliver it to the American people in the American Congress as a message of thanks. When I asked him even a month ago, and they still stick to this, whether it's enough already and that they should bow to certain sectors of the international opinion who say they should negotiate, he said absolutely not. He said that's just what Putin wants. Here's what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: The current military and political leadership of Russia needs a pause in one form or another, just like with the Minsk agreement or some other agreement they needed a pause. They would gather up their strength, money, weapons, they would get ready, they would lay out the information for their own society. And when all of that has been prepared, they start their offensive. Because there is only one goal, to destroy our independence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: And so, the Ukrainians believe that the Russians are somehow preparing a new ground offensive, including keeping Kyiv in play, or some time, you know, during or after the winter.

According to Fiona Hill, America's most senior and most informed Russia expert, basically, Putin wants to control Ukraine, erase Ukraine from the map and stop American and European aid to Ukraine. That's his objective right now. And Ukraine obviously wants exactly the opposite, to get the kind of weapons that it needs to fight for the fight that America and the world says is all of our fight, the fight against autocracy and the fight for democracy.

LEMON: Christiane Amanpour, Christiane, thank you very much, and Merry Christmas to you. Good to see you. Thanks.

AMANPOUR: And to you.

LEMON: So, this morning, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's risky and highly secretive White House visit is unfolding amid extraordinary measures. Zelenskyy was very keen to visit the U.S. but could only agree once the parameters met his needs.

So, joining us now, Kylie Atwood with the very latest in this. Kylie, good morning to you. What kind of heightened security measures are being taken at this point?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, realistically, we'll probably know a lot more about that after the visit has concluded. Because what the Biden administration, what Zelenskyy is trying to do is really keep close tabs on all information about this visit, because, as you said, it is risky. They did try and keep it confidential for as long as they could.

But what we do know is that there were security consultations between the U.S. and those around Zelenskyy that started about a week ago. And President Zelenskyy had some conditions that needed to be met. Once those were met, they did and then confirm that the trip was going to happen. That happened on Sunday.

Now, the Biden administration, senior administration officials aren't saying how Zelenskyy is flying here, if he's coming on a U.S. military aircraft or not. But we're learning this morning some new details from Polish T.V., because they captured Zelenskyy coming into Poland over the Ukraine border on a train, and that is traditionally how U.S. leaders, how leaders around the world have gotten in and out of Ukraine on that train that comes in and out of the country and then, of course, on a flight out of Poland.

Now, the other thing that's noteworthy is that he was with the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bridgette Brink. And notably today, of course, Ukraine is going to be a focus, but we should note that the U.S. Senate is going to be voting on Lynne Tracy.

Now, she is going to be the first female ambassador to Russia.

[07:10:01]

And she's going to be replacing Don Sullivan, who is there for a number of years. Her nomination went to the Senate in September. They're going to be voting on her today. It is just significant because this is a day all about the United States standing with Ukraine but, of course, it is noteworthy that the Senate is also going to be sending a new ambassador to Russia.

LEMON: All right. And the world will be watching. Thank you very much, Kylie Atwood.

COLLINS: For more perspective, let's bring in former European Affairs Director at the National Security Council Retired Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor, who is currently the vice president of the U.S. Institute of Peace Office of Strategic Stability. Thank you both for being here. You're two experts in this area, so we're so glad to have you this morning.

And, Ambassador Taylor, I'd like to start with you on just how critical the visit is and what you're going to be watching for as President Zelenskyy makes such a historic trip to the United States, his first time out of Ukraine since Russia invaded his country.

AMB. WILLIAM TAYLOR, V.P. USIP STRATEGIC STABILITY: Kaitlan, you're exactly, Kaitlan, a great visit, a great opportunity. He will certainly -- President Zelenskyy will certainly thank the American people. He will thank President Biden. He will thank the Congress for all the support and it has been major. It has been significant. It has been overwhelming. It has been huge, the support that we've provided. And the Ukrainians really appreciate it. And President Zelenskyy is going to reflect all the Ukrainian views that appreciate all the support they've gotten and they need it to continue and they need it, frankly, to expand and that looks like it's coming.

LEMON: Ambassador, just one more for you before we get to Lieutenant Vindman. Do you remember back in April when this -- almost at the beginning of the war, nearly two months in, and you had Boris Johnson walking around Kyiv, visiting Zelenskyy in Kyiv. That was in country. And now you have this visit. People will compare these two visits. But the big difference is that one was on Ukrainian soil and now this is on U.S. soil. That is a very big difference.

TAYLOR: It's a big difference. It shows, though, Don, that President Zelenskyy has identified the United States as his major supporter, as the leader of the coalition, the leader of this broad assembly of nations that are supporting Ukraine and opposing the unjustified Russian invasion. And so that is a strong signal of the cooperation and the importance of the alliance between the United States and Ukraine.

COLLINS: And, Colonel Vindman, this Patriot missile system that the U.S. is going to sending to Ukraine, we heard from U.S. officials last night that say it's going to take a while, they have to train in a third party country to actually get them trained on how to use this. And that is a huge focus. It's one of the most powerful weapons in the U.S. arsenal. But do you expect President Zelenskyy to also ask for more given this is not signaling that the war is coming to an end any time soon?

LT. COL. ALEXANDER VINDMAN (RET.), FORMER EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Yes. So, to me the delivery or the announcement of the Patriot missile system is important but it's frankly less important than a signal that the U.S. government is prepared to provide other advanced capabilities and that the U.S. is going to start training Ukraine on how to operate everything, from aircraft, U.S. aircrafts, like F-16s, F-15s. Tanks are in the mix, starting to train forces on those tanks. These are systems that are complex, require a lot training, not just for the operators but for the (INAUDIBLE) to be in working order.

One of the biggest challenges that the Ukrainians face at the moment is that they need an enormous amount of equipment. And over the course of ten months, a lot of it has started to break down. So, a broader, kind of more strategic relationship and a more strategic view on sustaining this war for the next six to nine months is going to be absolutely critical.

And I think that's exactly why President Zelenskyy is making this trip now. He's -- it's halftime, he's run up the score real high. The endgame is the spring and summer and he's going to push through until he liberates the entirety of his country. And he's looking for the U.S., his strategic partner, his strategic ally, to wade in in the same way with the same kind of commitment.

LEMON: So, then what is his message then? We know he's going to speak to Congress and we know that there are Republicans who have been signaling possibly pulling back on support, especially financial support for Ukraine. He's expected to address Congress at a time where there's an additional $45 billion in Ukraine aid on the table. So, what message, Lieutenant, does Zelenskyy need to really hammer home here?

VINDMAN: Sure. So, I think what the message is is that it is halftime, Don. And you don't walk away from a game when you run up the score and cede the field to the enemy without opposition.

[07:15:02]

So, he's going to say that the Ukrainian forces are in a position to liberate territory. This is going to be a brutal winter for the Russians, not simply because the Ukrainians are outgunning them, even in places that are challenging like Bakhmut, the most difficult battlefield, but the winter is going to besiege the Russian forces that are not prepared to operate under those conditions.

And what we need to do -- what he's going to say is that we need to help arm the Ukrainians so that they're in a position to liberate territories sooner rather than later so that Russia doesn't cast about for like fringe approaches to try to see if it could somehow, you know, do a Hail Mary and win this war. The Hail Mary in the case of Russia could be disastrous. It's a recipe for spillover. So, he's going to make the case this war could end sooner rather than later. And with U.S. support, that could happen before there is some sort of a broader catastrophe that spills out of this massive war that's been going on for ten months. And I think he's going to be quite effective -- thus far.

LEMON: Lieutenant Colonel and Ambassador Taylor, thank you both very much. We appreciate it.

TAYLOR: Thank you, Don.

COLLINS: All right. Now, to the Midwest, where a powerful and potentially dangerous storm is threatening millions of Americans and also their travel plans ahead of the holidays. A brewing bomb cyclone, as it's known, has about 70 million people under these weather alerts. The brutal cold temperature People are preparing for icy and snowy conditions. Nearly everyone in the lower 48 is going to see temperatures had local officials preparing for snowy and icy conditions and wind chills that could dip well below zero.

More than 80 percent of the population in every state in the lower 48 is going to see temperatures dip below freezing in the next seven days. My home state of Alabama is seeing wind chill alerts, and in the upper Midwest, conditions could be life threatening. The height of the storm is expected to hit on Friday, one of the busiest travel days ahead of Christmas, as more than 100 million Americans are expected to travel for the holidays.

Some cities are going to have their coldest Christmas in years. Atlanta is going to get just a high of 32 degrees, tying its second coldest Christmas on record. New York expecting a high of 27 degrees, its coldest in 22 years.

LEMON: For more, we want to bring in now CNN's Omar Jimenez live for us from Chicago's O'Hare Airport, where he is warm and snugly, that's because he's inside. Omar, the impact of this storm is expected to hit cities nationwide. How are they dealing with this and preparing for this weather?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the one good thing ahead of the forecast is airports are trying to prepare. Like here in Chicago, lots of places across the Midwest that typically deal with snow and ice this time of year are trying to prepare their de-icing materials here, over 400,000 gallons, trying to clear those runways and taxi ways to make sure there are no issues there. And when you expand across the region, there are some more efforts.

Where we are really going to have to look are in places like Alabama, Atlanta, of course, the world's busiest airport there, as planes come in and out, which has the potential to disrupt so much. So, a lot of the travelers we're seeing today are people trying to get ahead of those conditions, like someone we spoke to a little bit earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RAYHAN AKTAAR, TRAVELER: I think my dad just saw on the news that's there's going to be a huge blizzard Thursday, and my brother only has a few days off while we visit him, so we didn't want our flight to get delayed and miss out some of that time. So, we thought we just move it up two just to avoid it all together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And, of course, the cold is one thing but it will be part of a lot of winter-like conditions here in the Midwest, and particularly blizzard-like conditions expected starting tomorrow night through Friday night. And it's that combination of all things that will affect sure some flights but also people who will be getting out on the roads as they run into potentially some whiteout conditions.

LEMON: Yes, it can be very dangerous. Thank you very much, Omar Jimenez, at Chicago's O'Hare.

A controversial border policy is still law for now but that could change any day. We're going to ask a Republican governor what should be done about a potential surge of migrants.

COLLINS: Also, questions remain about the resume of the incoming Republican congressman that we talked about yesterday, how some members of his party who say that he does need to address it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

LEMON: So, Title 42 is the Trump-era border policy that allows officials to quickly expel migrants from the U.S. It remains in effect for now, at least the Biden administration told the Supreme Court yesterday that the justices should reject an emergency bid by a group 19 Republican-controlled states to keep the controversial policy in effect while legal challenges play out.

Let's discuss now with Republican Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson. Good morning to you. Listen, Arkansas is not one of the states that's suing but you're a Republican governor and so I want to see how you feel. I'm so glad that you could join us this morning from Little Rock, as we see there. So, President Biden wants to end Title 42. Its administration has plans to increase resources at the border, increased processing efficiency, impose consequences for unlawful entry and they want to target smugglers. Do you think that's enough, Governor?

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR): I mean, first of all, that should have been done six months or a year ago. We're waiting until now to surge our resources there and to put the additional emphasis on the border security.

There are three things that really are important right now. First of all, Title 42 needs to be extended. Now, the president has given mixed signals on this, most recently saying even though we want to end it, let's extend it beyond Christmas. Well, this is a humanitarian crisis at the border. It puts migrants in a terrible position. They have came here expecting the president to end Title 42.

[07:25:00]

It needs to be extended at least until April.

And the reason for that is that's when the president has indicating we're extending the public health emergency for Medicaid enrollees if the states cannot take action to remove somebody who is not qualified, to acknowledge the public health emergency ought to be in effect for one place, let's continue it at least through April.

In the meantime, go to Congress with a board security bill. The Republicans will have new leadership in place. Let's have a tight border security bill that will put the resources there for the processing that can reform our asylum laws.

The third thing that needs to be done is to have an engagement with Mexico to a greater extent to make sure they're doing more when it comes to the cartels, when it comes to the resources with the handling of migrants. We need to be able to engage them to a greater extent to accomplish those objectives and to reduce the influence of the cartel. Those are the steps that need to be taken.

LEMON: Okay. So, listen, apparently, you think this temporary thing is just a band-aid, right? That's what you're saying. You mentioned the three things. I think one of the most important, obviously, the buck stops with the administration. But one of the most important things, you said a border security bill to Congress, which means there is going to have to be bipartisan action on that.

Do you think there's the appetite in Washington right now, especially considering January 3rd, it's all going to change over and Republicans will be in control of Congress, do you think there's the appetite for some sort of border security bill and for bipartisanship here?

HUTCHINSON: I do believe so. Whenever you look at the Democrat mayors of major cities calling out for relief and help, whenever you look at every state governor is impacted by this. I think there is room for bipartisanship. And what we've done before is we try to have a comprehensive immigration reform bill that can't get the support that's needed.

And so let's have simply a border security bill accomplishing some of the things that the president is trying to do, even though it's too late. Let's increase the resources for the processing of asylum claims so it can be done timely. Let's have more immigration judges there so that they're not caught and then released into our society and we don't -- are not able to -- whenever their asylum claim is denied, we can't find them at that point. And so that has to be done. So, I think there can be bipartisan support for border security bill.

But we also have to have a replacement for Title 42. It can't last forever. And so let's have a replacement that can accomplish some of the same objectives and have a consistent message that our border is not open, that it's going to be difficult and we're going to look at those asylum claims very carefully and not just release you into the United States.

LEMON: I'm glad you mentioned that it shouldn't be temporary. You answered my next question, so now I can move on. I'm glad because this is very important. Listen, I know that you're possibly considering a run for the White House, so it goes just beyond border security. I want to ask you about what's happening in Washington today. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy is set to arrive at the White House soon.

Support for Ukrainian aid among Republicans, it really has wavered. Do you believe the U.S. needs to keep up for as long as it takes? What do you think? And there are Republicans who are in Washington now saying, I'm not so sure, and they appear to be backing off at least as much financial support for Ukraine.

HUTCHINSON: Well, the answer is we absolutely need to continue our support for Ukraine. I'm so delighted that President Zelenskyy is going to be there to address Congress. I look forward, the nation, hearing that message. And they're standing for their sovereign territory, for their freedom, and they're fighting for a free Europe.

And so the United States' support has been critical in this. I think president Zelenskyy is going to recognize that today. But our support needs to continue. And he's winning. They've shown incredible courage in this, but it's a long struggle and we need to continue that support and give them the support they need.

When I look at the Republican side, I think there is still broad support but it's fair to make sure that the money is spent appropriately and that we have the right checks and balances. But let's stand strong with Ukraine. They're really fighting a battle for all of us in terms of freedom and sovereignty.

LEMON: Yes. I snuck in the considering a run for the White House there. I'm sure that did not pass you. So, where are you on that decision?

HUTCHINSON: You know, we only have one candidate in the race right now on the Republican side, President Trump. I don't think there's been a great deterrence for others looking. I know a number of them are looking at it, including myself. What America needs to understand is there is going to be options on the Republican side.

[07:30:02]

We'll be making a decision the first quarter of next year. So, stay tuned.

LEMON: You're saying there's a chance. Thank you, Governor Asa.