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CNN This Morning
White House Turns Down Fox Super Bowl Interview With Biden; Israeli Protesters Fear Supreme Court Weakened By Judicial Reforms; New Jersey Dad Demands Justice After Teen Daughter's Suicide. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired February 13, 2023 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[07:33:24]
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN THIS MORNING.
Coming up, a mental health crisis for teens. Hear from a New Jersey father whose daughter took her own life after a video of her being attacked at school was shared on social media.
Plus, it was a busy weekend for U.S. fighter jets. Yes, it was. What we're learning about the undefined objects that were shot down over North America.
And this Valentine's Day could be the priciest yet. We're going to break down the numbers straight ahead.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Also today, two media titans talking and taking in the big game last night. You see there that's the head of Fox, Rupert Murdoch, who was spotted at the Super Bowl. Sitting to his right is Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
Not everyone, though, wanted to cozy up to Fox during the Super Bowl. President Biden actually broke with tradition and he declined to be interviewed on the network's pregame show. Typically, it's a tradition for U.S. presidents to sit down with whoever is hosting and airing the Super Bowl for an interview. So now the question has been raised by some critics of whether or not this was a missed opportunity for the president to potentially reach millions of viewers.
So joining us now with his take is SEMAFOR editor-in-chief, Ben Smith.
That is a good question because it is a lot of people. I think it was 208 million people watched the Super Bowl last year. So how do they weigh a calculus like that of whether or not to go forward with this?
BEN SMITH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, SEMAFOR: Well, I mean, I think -- I think it's pretty tactical. I don't think this was necessarily them trying to strike some big blow against Rupert Murdoch, although if that's a side benefit, like I'm sure they're into it.
But they had tried to get the actress -- they had tried to sort of go to a subsidiary Fox channel and -- [07:35:00]
COLLINS: Fox Soul.
SMITH: -- Fox Soul and to have the actress Vivica Fox -- no relation -- interview the president. She's a supporter of his. When that kind of hit a bump they discarded the whole thing.
But I think actually it's mostly about the timing. If you had an interview with Joe Biden, if I had an interview with Joe Biden, you'd say are you running for reelection? What's going on with the balloons? I don't think he -- I think he wants to answer both of those questions at sort of the time and place of his choosing. And so -- and it wasn't yesterday.
COLLINS: But he did two interviews last week with Telemundo and PBS.
SMITH: Yes, that's right. But I think -- but I just think I would mostly look at like what doesn't he want to talk about.
LEMON: What doesn't he want to talk about, and also the Fox ecosystem -- where they are, especially on truth, right, and facts? And I think that -- I definitely think that played into it. Should he have done it? That's up to him.
SMITH: I mean, they're not fans of Fox but I feel like -- I do feel like there's this hunger for Joe Biden to strike a blow against the evil empire. But honestly, like, a couple of his people go on there with some regularity. Pete Buttigieg goes on there. And I think when they see it to their tactical advantage he'll be there immediately. I'm not sure he sees like reshaping truth in the media ecosystem is like the main thing he's trying to do here.
LEMON: But then you look at -- when you talk about reshaping truth in the media ecosystem and you see Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch sitting there together, that gets people to wonder. And for some it is confirmation that see, that's why he shouldn't have done the interview with Fox. It's all -- they're all in collusion out to get Joe Biden --
SMITH: I mean --
LEMON: -- and liberals, and the administration.
SMITH: I mean, it is kind of a -- you know, Musk has sort of positioned himself as this rebel against traditional media sitting next to one of the great media moguls of our era who has these vast holdings.
Maybe most interesting -- you know, Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth, a prominent media executive, sitting next to Musk who is theoretically currently in the search for a CEO to replace himself, which I don't know, I think she's sort of an interesting candidate for that gig.
COLLINS: Were you that surprised though to see the sitting next to each other? I really -- I don't think I was that surprised.
SMITH: Yes. Well --
COLLINS: It stood out but it wasn't like oh, wow.
SMITH: No. It seems like the most predictable thing in the world.
LEMON: I was kind of surprised that they actually -- like, wow -- they actually did it because it's a little frightening I must say.
SMITH: I was kind of surprised when CNN -- when Fox did the roundup of celebs who were there, like here's LeBron, here's so and so, Musk was not included. It's just sort of interesting to me.
LEMON: Oh, I'm sure he doesn't like that.
So let's -- so the past interviews -- let's see, Obama -- President Obama did Bill O'Reilly, which was a very interesting interview. I think Bill O'Reilly got to talk more than President Obama did. Do we have some of that?
And then he talked -- he questioned him a lot about Benghazi. This was the reason that people said -- because that President Biden shouldn't do it because it's going to be all about his son, Hunter Biden. And so, I'm -- but let's listen to the Fox interview and then we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL O'REILLY, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST, "THE O'REILLY FACTOR": Your detractors believe that you did not tell the world it was a terror attack because your campaign didn't want that out.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Bill, think about it.
O'REILLY: That's what they believe.
OBAMA: And they believe it because folks like you are telling them that.
O'REILLY: No, I'm not telling them that.
OBAMA: But --
O'REILLY: I'm asking you whether you were told it was a terror attack and you --
OBAMA: And what I'm saying is -- and what I'm saying is that is inaccurate.
O'REILLY: All right.
OBAMA: We revealed to the American people exactly what we understood at the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: No tie? So do you think it was a missed opportunity?
SMITH: Before his -- a man before his time.
LEMON: A man before his time with no tie here now. But do you think it was a missed opportunity?
SMITH: I think if Barack Obama were president he might have done it and happily kind of sparred with Brett Baier or somebody like that. I don't -- I think Biden is not as likely to stay on script in a combative interview.
LEMON: Yes.
COLLINS: Trump also skipped an -- a Super Bowl interview --
SMITH: Yes.
COLLINS: -- back in 2018 with NBC, so it's not like Biden's the first president to do it.
SMITH: Yes, it's not.
COLLINS: It's not like enshrined in the Constitution that you --
SMITH: Though we should -- we should have an amendment probably.
COLLINS: Yes. I'll have you introduce that when you're on Capitol Hill as a congressman.
SMITH: We have that kind of power.
COLLINS: That's good.
All right, Ben. Thank you so much for joining us on all of this, this morning.
SMITH: Fantastic.
COLLINS: We love having you.
SMITH: Thank you.
LEMON: Good to see you.
COLLINS: All right. Also happening right now, a growing crowd of Israelis are protesting outside Parliament against the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his controversial judicial reform plan. We brought you this story in the 6 a.m. hour.
This plan aims to give lawmakers substantially more control over the Supreme Court. And you can see these protests are playing out there -- growing.
CNN's Hadas Gold is there on the ground. Hadas, are you seeing more people there? What are you seeing at this -- at this hour? HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, Kaitlan, I'd have to say that there are tens of thousands of Israelis who came out on the streets of Jerusalem on a Monday, leaving work in order to come out, hoping that the members of Parliament will be able to hear their shouts from the street. Today was the day that this judicial reform bill was first introduced into the committee. It passed through the committee.
And the protesters here say that they worry that it will destroy the independence of Israel's judiciary. They worry that it will be -- some of them even say the beginning of the end of Israeli democracy.
And actually, President Biden even weighing in yesterday in a comment to The New York Times, calling for the consensus to be built around these reforms, saying that it's important to ensure that people buy into them so that they can be sustained.
The Israeli president making a rare primetime address here today on television warning that this sort of division between Israeli society of people who want these reforms -- who say that the Supreme Court have too much power -- and those that say the Supreme Court should keep its power to be able to overturn laws, warning that Israel could be on a violent collision course if consensus is not come together -- Kaitlan.
[07:40:17]
COLLINS: Yes. Hadas Gold covering one of the largest protests that we have seen outside Israel's Parliament in years. Thank you for that update.
LEMON: A New Jersey father is now speaking out after his daughter took her own life days after she was beaten up at school. The fallout and his demands, next.
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COLLINS: Former President Trump's attorney says the search for classified documents at his properties is now finished. This is long after the National Archives, of course, asked for the records back to their -- in their custody.
[07:45:00]
In a CNN exclusive interview, Tim Parlatore says that the additional classified documents were turned over to the Justice Department.
CNN had reported late last week that the president's legal team had turned over more classified materials with classified markings and a laptop that belonged to an aide working for the Save America PAC all to federal prosecutors in recent weeks.
This is what Trump's attorney told CNN about how the former president was using the folder that they turned over that was marked as classified.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIMOTHY PARLATORE, TRUMP LAWYER: He has one of those landline telephones next to his bed and it has a blue light on it and it keeps him up at night. So he took the manila folder and he put it over it so that it would keep the light down so he could sleep at night.
And it's just this folder. It says classified evening brief -- evening summary on it. It is not a classification marking. It's not anything that is controlled in any way. There's nothing illegal about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: His attorney says he was using it to cover a phone that was next to his bed.
When Tim Parlatore was pressed on why classified documents were still being found at Trump's properties several years -- two years after he was president, Parlatore blamed the White House procedure for how they handled sensitive material when an administration leaves office.
LEMON: So the father of a New Jersey 14-year-old who committed suicide is demanding justice this morning. Adriana Kuch was found dead in her home last week just two days after a beating video of her brutal attack at Central Regional High in Bayville was posted online. Four teenagers are now facing criminal charges and the school superintendent has resigned.
Brynn Gingras is here. Gin (sic), this is an -- Brynn, this is an awful story. The death of any child obviously is tragic but this --
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
LEMON: -- the circumstances surrounding this one are particularly awful and brutal.
GINGRAS: Yes. Well, we don't want to show the video. We do have some images of that actual video of this incident happening inside the high school, Don, in the hallways. And it shows these teenagers walking up to Adriana while she's walking down the hallway with her boyfriend. A liquid is thrown on her and then she's basically just taken to the ground and then beaten.
And what the father of Adriana is saying is why didn't the school take her immediately to the hospital? Why did they not contact authorities? Instead, we're told that she was taken -- he says she was taken to the -- to the nurse and he's the one who took her to police to file a police report.
Well then, later that day this video of the attack was posted on TikTok and there was some vicious online bullying that was happening in the aftermath. And then as Don mentioned, Adriana took her life. Her family found her in her home dead two days after that.
I want to hear from her father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL KUCH, FATHER OF ADRIANA KUCH: They think it's fun to attack people and make videos and post them. She blacks out and they don't call an ambulance. They take her to the nurse's office.
Adriana was the most happy, beautiful young lady in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRAS: Guys, just 14 years old.
Now the school says that they did contact authorities. That those students who were involved in this attack were immediately suspended. They are now charged, one of them with aggravated assault, as you mentioned. And they said they did everything right. But the community is certainly saying uh, no, we don't think so.
LEMON: Yes. This is going to see -- there's outrage around this. What does the community --
GINGRAS: Yes.
LEMON: -- how are they responding?
GINGRAS: So there was already a walkout at the school last week in the aftermath of this. The superintendent has resigned and the school district says it is, in part, of this.
And also now they're saying that they are reviewing their anti- bullying policies. That they are going to review past incidents of bullying to figure out if there is something that needs to be addressed, but certainly just the policies as a whole.
But again, there was a walkout. There are students, there are parents who are saying listen, there are so many examples of this and nothing has been done -- or at least something not strong enough as you can see by this case -- this tragic case.
LEMON: It's awful. Let's hope that something comes out of this tragedy.
GINGRAS: Yes.
LEMON: Thank you, Brynn Gingras.
GINGRAS: All right.
LEMON: Appreciate that.
So if you or a loved one have contemplated suicide, make sure you call, please, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. That number is 9-8-8. Call them to connect with a trained counselor -- Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Such an important number for people to know and to be aware of.
Also this morning, we're tracking updates. What is happening in North America's airspace? That is a question so many of us had this weekend. We're going to actually ask Canada's defense minister just that in a moment.
Plus, the latest on the recovery of those objects that were shot down by U.S. forces. Where it stands and what they've seen.
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[07:53:38]
COLLINS: All right. Jennifer Lopez famously, as we all know, said that love does not cost a thing. But actually, in reality, it costs $26 billion.
LEMON: Geez.
COLLINS: That is how much money is expected to be spent on Valentine's Day -- which, by the way, if you are watching this and you have not gotten something for your significant other, it's tomorrow.
According to the National Retail Federation, tomorrow could be one of the highest spending years on record.
So here to break it all down for us is CNN Business correspondent, Rahel Solomon.
LEMON: Singing "What's Love Got to Do With It."
COLLINS: I mean, clearly, what's money got to do with it is the real question.
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is all about money, guys. Good morning.
So about half of people say that they are going to celebrate Valentine's Day, which love it or hate it is right around the corner. It's tomorrow. So half of people say they're going to celebrate. And on average that $26 billion that you pointed out Kaitlan -- that compares to about $24 billion last year so that just gives you a sense of how much more --
COLLINS: So it's getting more expensive.
SOLOMON: It is getting more expensive.
LEMON: I just realized that Valentine's Day is tomorrow.
SOLOMON: So that means you need to get on it, Don.
LEMON: I just realized. I thought it was like Thursday or -- oh my gosh.
SOLOMON: Yes, get on it. Get on it.
COLLINS: I wonder if Tim (INAUDIBLE)? SOLOMON: So when we look at sort of where the prices are increasing the most it helps explain why we're spending more, to your point, Kaitlan.
So take a look at this. I mean, you look at flowers. They're up six percent. You look at dining out.
LEMON: Wow.
SOLOMON: That's up eight percent. Stationery up 16 percent. And jewelry, by the way, also up six percent.
When you add all of this together it adds to about $192 per person for Valentine's Day.
[07:55:02]
LEMON: Hmm.
SOLOMON: Don?
COLLINS: He's thinking. He can't answer right now.
LEMON: I was thinking like -- what do -- I have to ask that as it relates to business, but when do you buy a Valentine's Day gift? Like, how long do you have to date in order to buy a Valentine's Day gift?
SOLOMON: I mean, I would say as soon as you like someone you should be giving that person a gift. But --
LEMON: So if you went on a date this weekend or last weekend should you buy someone a Valentine's --
SOLOMON: I mean, if you want to impress this person, yes, I would think you would.
So here is something I should say though --
LEMON: yes.
SOLOMON: -- that does include business and the economy. Let's say you don't want to spend money on a gift or if you're like Don Lemon and maybe you forgot to buy a gift you can do experiences. More people are doing experiences. According to the National Retail Federation --
LEMON: OK.
SOLOMON: -- about half -- a third of people are now gifting experiences. That's what my guy did. We went to a comedian -- a comic show this weekend and that's what he did.
LEMON: I would -- that's great.
SOLOMON: Yes.
LEMON: Do you buy a present? Do you -- COLLINS: Well, the thing is actually, people don't just buy for significant others. They buy for --
LEMON: Right.
COLLINS: My sister is buying for --
SOLOMON: Yes.
COLLINS: -- my nephew's classroom, for their teachers, for their friends.
SOLOMON: Yes, it's a great point. So if you look at sort of where we're spending more money it's actually not necessarily on significant others. It's actually on coworkers, it's on friends, it's on pets. So, Don, I'm almost afraid to ask --
COLLINS: Yes.
SOLOMON: -- if you have not even purchased your significant --
LEMON: Oh my gosh, that would break me.
SOLOMON: -- other a gift, have you purchased your pets their Valentine's Day gift?
COLLINS: Or your co-hosts.
LEMON: I can't afford Valentine's Day --
SOLOMON: Or your co-hosts.
LEMON: -- gifts. Oh, yeah. So that's what I was going to ask you. I was going to say do you buy -- I was going there. Do you buy guys presents? Because I'm wondering what I'm getting tomorrow. You know, Poppy conveniently laughed.
(Laughter)
COLLINS: Does that show you why she scheduled her reporting this week?
SOLOMON: Yes. I have not gotten a gift yet but --
LEMON: You haven't?
SOLOMON: -- there's 24 hours left. Kaitlan?
LEMON: Yes, but you can -- you went to the show.
SOLOMON: Oh, right, but I was taken to the show. But I have --
LEMON: You had -- oh, right.
(Crosstalk)
LEMON: Did you guys get yours?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
COLLINS: Oh.
LEMON: No?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I forgot also.
LEMON: I never -- I forgot. I was like it is tomorrow?
COLLINS: I love how --
LEMON: I'm going to be scrambling calling the flower shops.
SOLOMON: Kaitlan, don't you love how he's deflecting?
COLLINS: I know. I know. I'm like OK.
LEMON: I'm going to get you guys something. But don't you think it's the thought even if it's just a little candy thing or a little something-something?
SOLOMON: I a little something-something. Some candy, some chocolate. But as I pointed out, it's going to cost you more this year. Candy and chocolate is also up this year.
LEMON: Gosh, get to the drugstore and get little boxes of things. That will be fine.
COLLINS: All right. Rahel, you've got some planning to do, so thank you though for breaking down those numbers. It's actually fascinating to look and see how it changes from year to year.
SOLOMON: Yes, everything is more expensive this year, including love.
COLLINS: Yes.
LEMON: (Making heart sign).
SOLOMON: Oh, I receive that.
LEMON: Thank you.
COLLINS: All right. On that note, CNN THIS MORNING continues right now.
LEMON: I'm in trouble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRAVIS KELCE, CHIEFS TIGHT END: This man right here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know you're emotional.
KELCE: And not one of y'all said the Chiefs were going to take it home this year. Not a single one. Feel that (bleep) -- feel it. And on top of that, that the next time the Chiefs say something, put some respect on our name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The best Valentine's Day gift that you could get when you're in their shoes, right?
COLLINS: Yes, and now they're going to Disneyland for it.
LEMON: Yes, they are.
Good morning, everyone. Poppy is on assignment.
And you saw there the Kansas City -- Kansas City Chiefs elated. The big epic comeback victory to win another Super Bowl last night. We're going to show you the must-see moments and the highlights as well.
COLLINS: Also, we've got a serious development this morning when it comes to the U.S. military now shooting down several mysterious flying objects (audio gap). Was it China? Is it benign? Was it somebody else?
We're going to break down what we know and what we don't know, and we'll have expert analysis on the threat. How long has this been going on?
We're also going to speak to Canada's defense minister about the object that was shot down over their airspace. And House Intelligence member -- committee member, Congressman Jason Crow, is also going to join us.
LEMON: Those interviews just moments away.
Plus, the humanitarian crisis in Turkey and Syria growing with more than 36,000 people now confirmed dead after last week's catastrophic earthquake. We're going to take you live to the disaster zone.
But we're going to begin with the U.S. military shooting down three mysterious flying objects in just three days. And now the White House is under growing pressure to answer some basic questions. What are they? Where did they come from? Were these Chinese spy drones or something else?
The flying objects were different shapes and sizes. The latest one was shot down yesterday afternoon near Lake Huron in Michigan. We're told it was shaped like an octagon with strings hanging off of it. It was only 20,000 feet up in the sky. That is lower than the cruising altitude of a commercial airliner.
The other objects shot down over Alaska and Canada on Friday and Saturday were flying twice as high, around 40,000 feet. The suspected Chinese spy balloon that floated across the United States about a week ago was also flying much higher -- about 60,000 feet.
The Pentagon says it hopes to get some answers by examining the wreckage of the objects. So we want to turn now to CNN's chief national security correspondent and anchor of "NEWSROOM," Jim Sciutto in Washington, D.C. with more this morning. Good morning to you, sir.
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