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Biden Sets Stage for Likely 2024 Bid, Sparring with GOP in Speech; Biden Calls for Unity in New Divided Congress; Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) Tells Rep. George Santos (R-NY), You Don't Belong Here, in Tense Exchange. Aired 7-7:30a ET
Aired February 08, 2023 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Speaker, I don't want to ruin your reputation, but I look forward to working with you.
And to my Republican friends, we can together the last Congress. There is no reason we can't work together and find consensus on important things in this Congress as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Who said Washington, D.C. was boring? It was like a drama.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I've been trying to tell everybody.
LEMON: I mean, it was the real -- what would you call it, the real Congress, the real lawmakers of Washington, D.C.
COLLINS: A lot livelier.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Where is Andy Cohen?
LEMON: Yes. I'm sure somewhere watching and taking notes saying I need to start this.
Hey, we're here live in Washington with our coverage of the state of the union post analysis, as a matter of fact. President Biden heckled and booed during a speech that he gave last night but still insisting that he can reach across the across the aisle to get things done for the American. We're going to talk to the White House in just a few minutes.
COLLINS: Also a moment that stood out last night, Senator Mitt Romney calling out George Santos and his lies on the House floor in the chamber after President Biden's speech, reportedly telling Santos, quote, you don't belong here.
LEMON: I told you it was dramatic. HARLOW: Also Manhattan's district attorney slamming a book by one of his former prosecutors who once said Donald Trump was guilty of multiple felonies and who resigned after the D.A. failed to bring charges against the former president. That former prosecutor, Mark Pomerantz, will join us ahead.
COLLINS: But we begin here on Capitol Hill after the state of the union address last address last night.
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BIDEN: I'm not saying it's a majority. Let's me give you -- anybody who doubts it --
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COLLINS: President Biden baiting Republicans at one point as he faced loud booing, heckling, shouts of liar from some of the GOP. But the president stood his ground on that point. On one point, he also appeared to get Republicans to cheer and promise that they would not make cuts to Medicare or social security.
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BIDEN: As we all apparently agree, social security and Medicare is off the books now, right? All right.
Let's stand up for seniors. Stand up and show them we'll not cut social security. We will not cut Medicare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: In a moment, we're going to speak to President Biden's senior adviser, Mitch Landrieu, to get the White House's take on how last night went.
But, first, I want to bring in our Senior White House Correspondent M.J. Lee for a breakdown of last night. M.J., it's always notable to see when there is a speaker of the opposing party which lines they stand up for, which ones they don't, everyone was keeping their eyes on Kevin McCarthy last night.
M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kaitlan. The president tried to mark the halfway point of his first term in office by talking about some of the strides made over the last two years. But throughout the night, he confronted his new political reality of a divided Congress as some Republican members, sometimes heckled him, booed him, even called him a liar, but the president tried to stay focused on the future multiple times, saying that it is time to finish job that he has started.
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BIDEN: Because the soul of this nation is strong, because the backbone of this nation is strong, because the people of this nation are strong, the state of the union is strong. LEE (voice over): President Biden seizing on major primetime address to a joint session of Congress to reflect on the past two years --
BIDEN: The story of America is the story of progress and resilience.
LEE: -- and lay out his vision for the next two.
BIDEN: Let's finish the job.
LEE: Biden describing an inflection point for the country, arguing that the U.S. economy has made a turnaround.
BIDEN: Two years ago, the economy was reeling. I stand here tonight after we created it with the help of many people in this room, 12 million new jobs.
LEE: But the COVID pandemic is now in the rearview mirror --
BIDEN: Today, COVID no longer controls our lives.
LEE: -- and also touting some of his major legislative accomplishments.
BIDEN: I signed over 300 bipartisan pieces of legislation since becoming president.
LEE: A notable difference from Biden's last state of the union address, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy seated behind the president.
BIDEN: And the new speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy.
LEE: At times stoic as Democrats applauded the speech --
BIDEN: Our democracy is unbowed and unbroken.
LEE: -- and at other times, visibly trying to quiet his colleagues as they heckled Biden, including on the topic of entitlement cuts.
[07:05:04]
BIDEN: Some Republicans want Medicare and social security to sunset. I'm not saying it's a majority. Let me give you -- anybody who doubts it, contact my office. I'll give you a copy -- I'll give you a copy of the proposal. Look --
LEE: Still, the president insisting that he'll work with the other party.
BIDEN: There is no reason we can't work together and find consensus on important things in this Congress as well.
LEE: Foreign policy also in the spotlight following the dramatic downing over the weekend of a Chinese spy balloon, Biden only making a passing reference to the incident and instead emphasizing America's readiness to compete with China. The guests invited to Tuesday night's speech by First Lady Jill Biden painting a story of some of the president's top priorities and challenges over the past year. Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., a reminder of how much the war in Ukraine has tested and dominated Biden's second year in office.
BIDEN: If we're going to stand with you, as long as it takes.
LEE: Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was violently attacked in his home and raised alarm about political extremism.
BIDEN: That's such a heinous act. It should have never happened. We must all speak out.
LEE: And the parents of Tyre Nichols, a man whose death after a violent beating by police officers prompted outrage and grief across the country.
BIDEN: Let's commit ourselves to make the words of Tyre's mom true, something good must come from this.
All of us in this chamber, we need to rise to this moment. We can't turn away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEE (on camera): And those moments where Republicans heckled the president, White House officials feel like they couldn't have choreographed this better. This was exactly the contrast they wanted to draw between Republicans and the president. And later today, we are going to see him hit the road to sell this message and what we see in the coming days will certainly pave the way for what we expect to be a re-election announcement coming in the next few weeks. Kaitlan?
COLLINS: Yes, he'll be taking that message to Wisconsin today. M.J. Lee, thank you.
LEMON: And we said we gave you the White House with M.j. Lee and others as well.
We have a quick snapshot for you of how President Biden's state of the union address landed with people who watched. All right, here it is. A CNN flash poll shows 72 percent of viewers had a positive reaction to President Joe Biden's speech. Just over a third of them reacted very positively. That number is a bit down from last year, though, when viewers found that -- you can see there on the screen what they thought was positive about it.
President Biden's speech was particularly effective with political independents. Before the speech, just 40 percent of independent voters felt like President Biden's policies would move the nation in the right direction. That number jumped to 66 percent by the end of the night. And so it is interesting to see how people are reacting to the president's speech and also reacting to -- in particular, to his accomplishments. Al though they are many, he is up against headwinds with the Republican Party basically obstructing everything. But he's been able to get things done through bipartisanship, which most people believe wouldn't happen. He has defied really all expectations.
So, let's get to the White House now, to Mitch Landrieu, a White House senior adviser and infrastructure implementation coordinator, he is also the former mayor of New Orleans, and, as I say, my homeboy from the state of Louisiana. So, we're happy to see you this morning. Thank you so much. Listen --
MITCH LANDRIEU, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER AND INFRASTRUCTURE COORDINATOR: Hey, Don.
LEMON: Thank you. Hey, as we say down south, in Louisiana. So, listen, went to the speech with a majority of Americans not thinking the president has accomplish a lot, why is that and how is he going to fix that?
LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, I think he went a long way to fixing it last night. I mean, your poll itself shows 72 percent of the folks that watched the speech think that the president's proposals are going to move the country forward. The president was able in front of the entire nation to talk about the tremendous progress that we've made under the most difficult of times. He ticked that off with the war in Ukraine and COVID and all of the work we've done, passing the most significant legislation in the last 50 years, 12 million jobs, 800,000 construction jobs, the lowest unemployment rate in the country. And then he talked about finishing the job.
And by the response of the American people, he basically tried to bring the country together, put a hand out to the Republicans in Congress and ask them to come together to make sure that we finish the job. And I think you will agree with me, Don, the president was hopeful. He was optimistic. He was confident. And he hit it out of the park last night for the country.
LEMON: Let me just ask you -- I want to ask you about the heckling first in a moment. I only asked you, because I said how is he going to fix that. He's going to get out on the road. Members of the administration are going to get on the road as well to tout the president's accomplishments. Are you one those people?
[07:10:00]
LANDRIEU: Yes, of course. I'm going to be out there. The cabinet is going to be out there. The president is going to be out there. The vice president is going to be out there. I think the president is traveling to Wisconsin today and will continue to tell the story.
But, look, we're getting the money out of the door, we'll get the progress out on the ground and we're making it happen.
LEMON: I ask you because the whole infrastructure part of it, you know it takes time to build roads and bridges, and sometimes that doesn't come to fruition for years, even decades. The American people aren't going to feel that for a long time, probably after -- or most likely after President Joe Biden is out of office. That's why I ask you if you're going out there, how do you get that across?
LANDRIEU: Yes. But, Don, that's not really true for all of the projects. We have 20,000 projects under formation. But as we speak, you saw Deanna Branch, who was the mother of Aiden and Jaden from Milwaukee. We went to her house and there's work going on in the neighborhood where she lives right now to make sure that we get lead out of the water, to help kids be safe in America because the president things everybody ought to have clean air and clean water. So, we absolutely have projects and people will see them. But the more they come out of the ground, they'll see them more.
The president is going to continue to talk, as are the cabinet, and the American people will absolutely give him credit for leading this country in the right direction.
LEMON: Yes. Okay. So, I have to ask you about this as we head -- I think that is a lawnmower or whatever is happening at the White House right now.
LANDRIEU: They cut the grass, right? You've got to give it a (INAUDIBLE).
LEMON: You do do a lot. I'm not sure if grass cutting is one of them.
LANDRIEU: Well, you never know.
LEMON: All right. There were very tense moments during the speech that included some heckling from some House Republicans. Some called him a liar at some points in the speech. What do you think about how the president responded and how he handled that?
LANDRIEU: Well, I was so proud to be a part of the president's team when he began by I extending a hand in graciousness to the speaker, McCarthy, and then to Mitch McConnell. He went out of his way to be open and inviting. It wasn't surprising to me that he got heckled by some folks from the other side because that's what some of them do something. But the president's response, again, was one of graciousness.
The fact of the matter is the president told the truth, that there are a significant numbers of folks on the other side that have thought about and talked about cutting social security and Medicare. Rick Scott is the senator from Florida who is responsible for running the Senate campaigns of the Senate Republicans and is actually part of the plan. I think can you probably put it up so the American people could show it.
So, the point is that the president told the truth. But the most important thing he did last night, or one of them, was he actually got the Republicans in Congress in front of the entire nation to agree not to cut social security and Medicare, which I think is a huge win for the American people and something that only a person who is experienced as him knows how to do.
LEMON: That was a mass for a moment. Listen, I want to talk about climate change and his comments on oil and gas companies. But let me just ask you, were you bothered by the heckling? Did it put you off in any way?
LANDRIEU: Well, it's just disrespectful, and that's not the way that congressmen has supposed to conduct themselves when a president is speaking, whether they're Republican or Democrat. But you know what, the president said he has been around longer than most of us. He understands that. You can see the bigger point is that he handled it with grace and dignity, as we would expect the leader of the free world too, which just goes to show you that he is ready and he is up to the task of what he has the American people to do is work with him to finish the job because we have more to do.
LEMON: The president called climate change an existential threat and also criticized oil and gas companies for not reinvesting in domestic oil production despite raking in record profits. But I just want you to listen to this moment from the address and then we'll discuss here.
LANDRIEU: I heard it.
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BIDEN: And when I talked to a couple and they say, we're afraid you're going to shut down all the oil wells and all the oil refineries anyway, so why should we invest in them? I said we're going to need oil for at least another decade and going to exceed and beyond that. We're going to need it.
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LEMON: So, what is President Biden's plans with fossil fuels? Is he acknowledging that the U.S. may need to depend on them for longer than he wants? And you said you heard it. So, go on, please respond.
LANDRIEU: Well, I think what the president was saying last night is something that everybody knows, that climate change is am existential threat. Don, you and I are from you from Louisiana. We're watching coast wash away. We suffered from Hurricane Katrina and, of course, everybody else in the country, whether it is the wildfires in the west, the water crisis, tornadoes, et cetera. We have got a huge problem. And we have to build a clean energy economy. And we have to get away from depending on fossil fuels.
Now, having said that, the president acknowledged last night that we're not going to get rid of using oil and gas in the immediate future. And I think that's the point that he was trying to make. And I think that the transition from where we are to where we need to be to make sure that we don't leave any community behind is critically important. States like Louisiana, oil and gas states, they're going to continue to pump oil for quite some time.
But in the meantime, we have to get ready for the incredible challenges that are coming our way.
[07:15:02]
It would be political malfeasance not to do that because climate is an existential threat. And putting your head in the sand is not going to make it go away.
LEMON: All right. Mitch Landrieu, thank you. I think they need help with the leaf blowing behind, so get to work with your --
LANDRIEU: I got to go finish cutting the grass, let me get out of here. Thank you.
LEMON: Thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. It's good to see you.
LANDRIEU: Bye.
COLLINS: All right. Let's bring in Pollster and Communication Strategist Frank Luntz. Frank, you heard Mitch Landrieu there. What do you think about his explanation for Biden's line on oil for the next ten years?
FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIST: It was -- there were a couple moments, and that was one of them when I thought we've gone back to high school and this is not a good look for the United States. I was actually more upset over the social security line.
COLLINS: Why?
LUNTZ: Because Kevin McCarthy had said the day before, and I quote, social security and Medicare are off the table. Mitch Landrieu had said 48 hours before, Medicare and social security are off the table. To accuse the Republicans of sunsetting, and that's the word he used, you know I'm a language person, of sunsetting social security is wrong. It's equally wrong for the members -- I know you've been playing it a lot this morning, to have heckled him the way that they did.
And I was watching, as I was sitting in the chamber, I was in the gallery, and I watched the squad all sits together and they were -- it was almost like a party for them, whooping it up, and they liked what the president said. And the Republicans cheering him were not parliament. And it sets really bad example. This is great if you're in London. It's not great for Americans. And particularly my students from USC are here. And I'm trying to tell them, don't treat people with disrespect. Treat people with civility even if you disagree. The state of the union is the president's moment. Give him his moment and then use the response to disagree.
LEMON: It is their House though.
LUNTZ: Yes, but how we keep that House is determines how we keep the neighborhood. It determines how react to each other. We have a rapport. I'm not going to cut you off. I may disagree and I know you disagree with me often strongly but I'm listening and I'm trying to learn from it. And that's what should be happening in moments like this. Tens of millions of people are watching. We shouldn't tear each other apart. But the president knows about -- he knew the language and the two leaders of the Republicans in both the House and the Senate were clear about this. So, for him to say that was not only provocative, it was dishonest. COLLINS: Even though, people in politics do that a lot, twisting each other's words, and the thing is Senator Rick Scott did propose that. He hid put that on a website. It angered a lot of Republicans. And you are right about what Kevin McCarthy has said.
LUNTZ: And McConnell, the two leaders said, no, it's not going to happen. And --
COLLINS: But isn't it the Republicans fault that the president has that kind of cudgel to use against them?
LUNTZ: It's the president's responsibility to seek a higher plain. He says he is for unity. Show it. And I was there in the chamber. I'm listening to these people walking out. It is less likely that we're going to have bipartisan cooperation after that speech, and that's a problem.
HARLOW: Why? Because of what he said on social security and Medicare or because it was something else?
LUNTZ: That was the primary thing. Because he was so disingenuous that it really bothered them. We are --
HARLOW: Even with all of his qualifications around it?
LUNTZ: Because he was listening to them booing him. And he realized that he was being pushed back.
At some point we have to calm down. At some point, we have to look people straight in the eye and be able to tell them the truth. The truth is the Democrats are not always right, the Republicans are not always right. Joe Biden has a record of accomplishment but he also has a record of saying things and doing things that he was not supposed to do as president. Let's tell the entire story, which is exactly what you all have been doing for the last few months.
LEMON: But there are people who -- you said, look, it works in parliament but it doesn't work -- but there are people who also believe in America that there is too much decorum, people sit on hands and they just sort of let things slide.
The president pushed back last night. He seemed completely comfortable with pushing back on Republicans heckling him and yelling things out. He is very comfortable being there. Doesn't that say something about this president's maturity, his -- he has been asking -- he has been actually very bipartisan to people who thought, hey, he is trying to work with Republicans way too much?
LUNTZ: It's interesting. You call it pushing back. And the conversations I have with the voters, because they want to be able to get their sense of it, was he was yelling at them. We all see things differently. Push back or yelling. You can play to segments. You can make that decision.
LEMON: He was yelling at them? LUNTZ: Yelling at them, yes. And in the end, you're supposed to feel better about your country after state of the union than you did before.
[07:20:04]
I think we have gone in the other direction.
HARLOW: Frank Luntz, thank you.
LEMON: Hey, Frank, let me ask you, because you said -- I'm sorry. Pardon me. What would you have -- how should he have respond then if you said he was yelling at them?
LUNTZ: I would have looked at them and actually would have asked them a question. Really? And then I would have gone and given the evidence for either the oil or for social security or the deficit coming down. I would have gone point by point by point rather than yelling.
LEMON: Didn't he do that?
LUNTZ: He went the point by point on the deficit. He did not on social security and he did not energy.
LEMON: All right. Thank you for entertaining that. Sorry, Poppy.
HARLOW: That's okay. Thanks, Frank. And hi to your students. We see them behind the camera. Pretty cool.
Senator Mitt Romney calling out Congressman George Santos, reportedly telling him, you don't belong here.
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SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): And he shouldn't be in Congress. And they're going to go to the process and hopefully get him out. But he shouldn't be there. And if he had any shame at all, he wouldn't be there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Coming up, we'll be joined by Republican Congressman from Santos' neighboring district.
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[07:25:00]
COLLINS: Senator Mitt Romney telling embattled Republican Congressman George Santos, quote, you don't belong here. That's according to a member who witnessed this tense exchange that you see here, which happened on the floor last night. After the president delivered his state of the union that Romney was asked about what he said to George Santos, he criticized him for standing so close to the aisle that the president walks down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROMNEY: I didn't expect he would be standing there trying to shake hands with every senator and the president of the United States, given the fact that he is under ethics investigation, as can you see in the back row (ph) and stand quiet.
He says he embellishes record. Look, embellishing is saying you got an A when you got an A minus. Lying is saying you graduated from a college you didn't even attend. And he shouldn't be in Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Joining us now is Republican Congressman from Nick LaLota of New York. His district borders George Santos' district on Long Island and he is a member also of the armed services and homeland security committees, attended his first state of the union address last night.
Let's start with George Santos, though. Is mitt Romney right?
REP. NICK LALOTA (R-NY): Mitt Romney is right on this one. I've been clear on George Santos for months now. He does deserve to be in Congress. He's lied time and again. He's shown no remorse. He has broken the public trust. This is an institution that should be filled with folks that have strong ideologies, want to fight for those ideologies, want to get results. He's all about the rhetoric, he's all about the drama and he's fallen far below the standard that we all should hold ourselves to.
COLLINS: Romney was saying basically he shouldn't have been standing so close to the aisle, but the president walks down, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, he should have just quietly sat at the back of the room. Do you agree?
LALOTA: He's a sociopath, George Santos. He looks for that attention. Even the negative attention drives him. It's become an embarrassment and a distraction to the Republicans in the House. We want to focus on our commitment to America. We want to talk about putting our economy back on the right track, securing our border, holding the administration accountable. These are things that Republicans campaigned. These are the things that Republicans want to govern on. And every time I have to come to something like this and talk about George Santos, I can't talk about what Republicans ought to be doing instead.
COLLINS: Yes. Well, let's talk about what did happen last night, because there was quite a back and forth between the president and Republicans. I know this is your first state of the union but you've watched them before, you've seen normally they are pretty state affairs. Do you think this is the new normal of what state of the unions look like?
LALOTA: Well, the reaction was pretty strong from the conference when the president chose to spread something that is totally untrue. He's been saying like others have said falsely that Republicans will make some sort of move on social security and Medicare. We've been out there. The speaker has been out there for days, if not longer on. That is absolutely not on the table during these debt ceiling discussions. We've made that position clear. Yet, during the state of the union, the president chose to profess that lie, again, and it was quite disappointing.
COLLINS: Well, was it a mistake for Senator Rick Scott to make that proposal as he did last year, because it gave Biden that opening to use it last night?
LALOTA: I think every member, right or left, is entitled to make their proposals and it's up to that member afterwards to get a consensus of is there a conference and maybe even across the aisle. Some of these proposals that come down the way don't get a lot of support. And that is one of those ones that did not get much support and it shouldn't be any measuring sort of stick for the other party to criticize us on.
COLLINS: One thing, McCarthy said they're off the table. He came outside the White House and said social security, Medicare are not going to be tied to these negotiations. I think some people have rightfully raised the question of is that something that he can stand by given, of course, he has to deal with your entire conference and at least a lot of the members we saw the speakers fight with, you're confident that that is going to be the line in the sand that they will not touch?
LALOTA: I know there is not 218 votes for that. I'm not sure if there is two or three votes for that drastic, draconian change.
COLLINS: Last night, the president was calling for work on immigration, for police reform work. Is that something that you think Republicans can work with Democrats on to actually get done?
LALOTA: Well, we heard from the president one decent thing. He said he was committed to putting more technology on the border. I think that those words meant something to a lot of Republican conference who campaigned on securing border. We would welcome that. There is also needs to be a discussion on physical barriers and process and ensuring the secretary promotes an environment to ensure that the CBP and others can ensure that we enforce those laws. But it's a small step in the right direction.
COLLINS: On the heckling overall and the back and forth, not just on the social security and Medicare, because it happened other times when it came to China with Marjorie Taylor Greene, when the president was talking about fentanyl and had a father in his guest box who lost his daughter to it. There was heckling from the members, one blaming him for the fentanyl crisis, Marjorie Taylor Greene on China. Is it appropriate for members of Congress to heckle the president?
LALOTA: So, I think that we need to get to a place where you have proper decorum, a place where we can actually disagree on ideas and not just shout back and forth at each other. I hope that's the future in this town. I know there is a strong portion from this side of the aisle who wants to get to that place.
[07:30:00]
I don't think those one or two incidents necessarily reflect the future of where we're going.
COLLINS: Did you do any heckling?
LALOTA: I did.
