Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

E. Jean Carroll and Her Attorney are Interviewed about her Lawsuit; Jim Steyer is Interviewed about AI; Key Report out on Inflation; Trump GOP Front-Runner Despite Legal Clouds. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 10, 2023 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

E. JEAN CARROLL, WON SEXUAL ABUSE, DEFAMATION CASE AGAINST DONALD TRUMP: Accountable in a courtroom, thanks to Robbie Kaplan. So it's this - it's such a mash of overwhelming emotions, it's hard to put into words.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: What about appeals? We heard the president say they'll appeal. Our Paula Reid, with her brilliant legal analysis on the program earlier talked about that that's going to be - this is a tough appeal to make and what -- what would the grounds be when the Trump team didn't present a defense and he didn't step foot in that courtroom. Your perspective?

ROBERTA KAPLAN, E. JEAN CARROLL'S ATTORNEY: So, you heard Donald Trump in that tape say that the judge here, Judge Kaplan, no relation to me, went out of his way to be unfair. Actually, the opposite is true. Judge Kaplan, in this case, went out of his way to be fair to Donald Trump. He gave him multiple opportunities to show up in that courtroom and testify, and Donald Trump decided not to. There are no issues in this case on appeal. They'll make them, but there are no serious issues on this appeal. And your colleague is absolutely right.

HARLOW: If Trump had come into -- well, first, do you wish he can come?

CARROLL: Yes, I do.

HARLOW: And what would you have said to him?

CARROLL: I would have loved to have seen Robbie put him on the stand. Loved it. I just would have loved it. If you've seen any portions of the deposition, that was Robbie doing the questioning.

HARLOW: We have.

CARROLL: It would have been a glorious moment. However, he was -- I think he was frightened. I think he was frightened. I think he was frightened of her.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: What's next? I mean this has to be an all- consuming -- CARROLL: I'm going to go get a dog for my dog, because I've been - so,

he needs somebody to play with. So, I'm going to get a dog. I'm going to go to the pound. Get a nice dog for my dog.

HARLOW: $5 million. Are you going to see it?

CARROLL: Oh, I -- you know what, I was even unaware of how much it was. Robbie had to tell me. This is not about the money. It's not about the money. This is accomplishing something that I set out to do many years ago is to get my name back, and that's what we did.

KAPLAN: But you will see it, I promise you, E. Jean Carroll.

MATTINGLY: That's what I was going to ask - I'm going to ask you next.

HARLOW: Ask the lawyer.

MATTINGLY: (INAUDIBLE).

KAPLAN: I promise you that E. Jean will see each and every penny of that $5 million.

HARLOW: Can I end on something that I think is really important in all of this, and it's the fact that New York passed this law -

CARROLL: Yes.

HARLOW: The Adult Survivors Act. They passed it just a few years ago. Were it not for that law, you never would have been able to bring this case. And I just think it speaks to the importance for a lot of other survivors.

CARROLL: Exactly. This would never - I would never have this window, this year of having the ability to bring a lawsuit for rape. Robbie can explain it better.

KAPLAN: Well, E. Jean actually helped to get that law passed. It passed last year. We filed -- it was Thanksgiving Day. It was the first day you could sue. We filed just after midnight on Thanksgiving. And there are a lot of other women throughout the state and, hopefully, throughout this country that they will get other laws like this passed in other states. And New York women should use this law while it's still around, which is until next Thanksgiving.

CARROLL: Yes, because there's a reason women stay silent. They're ashamed and they're frightened and they're worried about their -- this law gives us that one-year window. It's a brilliant law.

HARLOW: E. Jean Carroll, Roberta Kaplan, thank you very much.

MATTINGLY: Thank you, guys, for coming on. Appreciate you sharing your story.

CARROLL: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

KAPLAN: Thank you. MATTINGLY: All right, new federal recommendations that teenagers undergo training before using social media. Plus, what a new poll reveals about how much children are already using AI and what parents -- that's terrifying -- and what parents should know.

HARLOW: I know.

MATTINGLY: The results may surprise you.

HARLOW: We're worried for our - for our kids.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:37:29]

HARLOW: Welcome back.

First on CNN, as AI chatbots become more powerful and a bigger part of our lives, a major new poll finds parents are lagging behind their children on technology. I know that's not a surprise, but we're going to tell you why it's concerning. The survey from Common Sense Media reveals that while both groups feel optimistic for the potential of AI, only 30 percent of parents say they've used ChatGPT. I have not. Have you?

MATTINGLY: I have.

HARLOW: OK, at least Phil has.

MATTINGLY: Not well, but -

HARLOW: Compared to 58 percent of students between ages 12 and 18. Now another key findings, kid are using it without their parents' or their teachers' knowledge. And students who use ChatGPT for school are already three times more likely to use it than a search engine like Google. Last week the White House announced a series of measures to address the challenges of AI as some lawmakers are calling for regulation. Listen to this from Democratic Senator Michael Bennet, what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO): We are having an epidemic of adolescent mental health issues in America today. I'm not saying that's all social media's responsibility, but a huge piece of that is, and they've gone completely unregulated here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Let's talk to Jim Steyer, CEO and the founder of Common Sense Media. They commissioned this survey about all of this. It's a national nonprofit and it advocates for safe technology and media for kids and their families.

Jim, it's good to have you. Good morning. JIM STEYER, CEO AND FOUNDER, COMMON SENSE MEDIA: Great to be here,

Poppy.

HARLOW: What's the big takeaway?

STEYER: The big takeaway is that ChatGPT and AI is coming down the tracks like a freight train. It's going to be a huge issue in our kids' lives. And we parents have to get to know what's going on here because it's really going to affect kids' lives, but also how they perform in school. And right now kids know a lot more about it than our - than parents like you and me know.

MATTINGLY: I refuse to knowledge that my children are better at technology than I am, as inevitable as it is.

STEYER: (INAUDIBLE).

MATTINGLY: But it raises an interesting question in the sense of the velocity of the take up of ChatGPT is unprecedented. I mean you're talking like 100 million people. Kids are obviously involved in that.

When it comes to school, which, I think, was my first immediate concern, what are we seeing in terms of the ability to utilize this in the near term immediately on assignments, on studying, on cheating to some degree?

STEYER: Well, Phil, it's a great question because seriously ChatGPT and other forms of AI will transform your kids, my kids, Poppy's kids' education in the coming years. It makes them able to write essays, to do research much more quickly, even than current search does.

[08:40:05]

So, it's going to change the way they get educated.

But the - but as you mentioned, parents are really concerned kids can cheat with it, could become too dependent on it as opposed to doing the work themselves. And so we are going to have to make sure that as these major new AI platforms, like ChatGPT, come into massive use, that there are clear rules, that schools know how they're being used, and, quite frankly, that parents like you and me and Poppy also manage this in occur kids' lives. And we have to get comfortable with ChatGPT and other platforms, period.

HARLOW: I think - I think we have to manage it. Parents have a big responsibility in this. I totally agree. Schools, to an extent. I also think companies have a responsibility. And I'm interested in what you think about what Sam Altman, the CEO and founder of OpenAI, told my friend Rebecca Jarvis. She sat down with him for ABC News. And here's what he said to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM ALTMAN, CEO, OPENAI: I think it doesn't work to do all this in a lab. You've got to get these products out into the world and make contact with reality. Make our mistakes while the stakes are low. I think people should be happy that we're a little bit scared of this.

HARLOW: He said, you can't figure it all out in a lab. You've got to release it to the world. What do you think?

STEYER: It's a really good question.

So, I met with Sam this week and we've been meeting - I've been meeting with the people who run Google, who are the other major players right now, with chatbots. And I'm saying the very top people in the company. Number one, I think the realized this is going to have an incredible impact on society and particularly on young people. Number two, as Senator Bennet was saying in that clip earlier, there's -- our government is going to have to step up and regulate this. They failed to do that with social media, and we can see the results. But there's clearly going to have to be government regulation and leadership here. And right now they're behind the eight ball again.

But I do think it's going to be incumbent upon OpenAI, that's Sam's company, and on Google and a couple of the other major players to rein this technology in and not to experiment with it too much. And that is going to be relying, therefore, on the goodwill of large corporations. So that's why people like Common Sense Media are around, because we have to hold them accountable. And, quite frankly, this is a major experiment on our kids' lives, on their education, and right now it's being completely conducted by large companies. So, we have to get involved as parents now.

HARLOW: Look, you were the one who was in the room with Sam, with the Google execs. Did they tell you they would rein it in? Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, told me in 2019, if AI gets too far ahead of us we may have to pull it back despite how profitable it could be. Did they make any commitments to you?

STEYER: You know, they did in a broad sense, Poppy. And, honestly, I've - we've known Sam and also Satya Nadella, who runs Microsoft, who's the big funder of OpenAI, and Sundar and James Manyika, the head of AI at Google, I think they actually care about this. I feel more optimistic, honestly, that the folks who are running these big AI platforms are concerned about the potential downsides and consequences than, for example, 15 years ago when social media was introduced and you had Mark Zuckerburg running Facebook and buying Instagram.

I do think there is a greater sense of corporate social responsibility, and that's really important and we need to hold them to that. But at the same time, our government cannot continue to just live in a vacuum where they don't issue any kinds of regulatory structure because that leaves it essentially to the good will of corporations and then to parents like you and me and Phil. And I think that ultimately this could be an extraordinary benefit for society, but the downsides are also extraordinary. So, all of us have to get involved in this AI debate and our government has to finally take the lead.

MATTINGLY: I'm a little skeptical of us having a lot of eggs in the Congress doing things basket, but, Jim, this is fascinating. STEYER: I agree.

MATTINGLY: There's so much to learn and it's super important for every parent, every person. Thanks so much for being on.

HARLOW: Thank you, Jim.

STEYER: Thanks for having me, guys.

MATTINGLY: And released just moments ago, a key report on inflation. Our business team crunching those numbers. We'll tell you what they found, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:48:09]

MATTINGLY: Well, just moments ago, a key report showing inflation slowing again in April.

Let's get right to CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans.

Christine, how much?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: What went up fast is coming down very slowly. But this is more deceleration in the inflation story here. And 4.9 percent, that is the CPI, the Consumer Price Index, over the past year. It was 5 percent last month. So you can see a little bit better. And then month on month, 0.4 percent. This is pretty much right in line, maybe even a little bit lighter than economists had been expecting.

And you can see the trend. I love to show, the trend is your friend, in all of these numbers. Never take just one of these numbers. Take a look at them together and you can see that we've seen peaking in the inflation story.

This is the smallest 12-month increase in two years now. That's good news. Ten months in a row of just a little bit of deceleration.

So, these prices are still too high, no question. And when you look within these numbers, shelter was 60 percent of it. Shelter, that's a sticky -- we call it sticky inflation. You also saw gas prices. Used car prices were up. So those are some of the biggest categories that we saw. Still have a lot of work to do. The Fed would like to see 2 percent inflation. So, 4.9 percent is still too hot, but slowing. Slowing. Slowing slowly. I think it shows you that the Fed's rate hikes are working, but again coming down much more slowly than they went up in terms of price increases.

MATTINGLY: Faster, faster.

HARLOW: We'll take it.

ROMANS: I know. MATTINGLY: We'll take it.

HARLOW: We'll take it a little.

Thank you.

ROMANS: I know. Just -

HARLOW: Thank you, Christine.

MATTINGLY: Well, Donald Trump found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. That's just one of the negative headlines he's seen in recent months. But new polling suggests Republican voters might not care. Harry Enten is here with this morning's number.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:54:02]

MATTINGLY: Well, as we've been reporting, a federal jury in New York found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. And that's just one bad headline. In the last few months, he's also doubled down on what he said on the "Access Hollywood" tape, federal investigators have escalated their probe into his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, he's facing growing legal scrutiny over his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election. Oh, also, he's been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

But, this should be familiar, polling suggests Trump is still the GOP frontrunner. And we're going to need to know why, and that's why we have this individual who's going to tell us exactly why, senior data reporter Harry Enten.

What's up?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: All right. So, this morning's number is three. Why? Because Trump has led Biden nationally in three ABC News/"Washington Post" polls this cycle. He led in zero national polls that are - that CNN would put on air during the entire 2020 cycle.

[08:55:05]

So Biden clearly in a weaker position versus Trump than he was four years ago. Yet, you know, I have to point out something, I don't like to just look at one poll singularly, I like to look at a lot of them. So, Biden versus Trump nationally recently, this ABC News/"Washington Post" poll got a lot of play with Trump up 6, but look at these other ones, IPSOS, Biden plus 5, "Wall Street Journal," Biden plus 3, Quinnipiac, Biden plus 2.

But on the whole, I think the picture should say that if you thought that Joe Biden was going to run away with the 2024 election, that's not the case. At this point it looks very, very tight, guys.

HARLOW: And at the top of his party for Trump.

ENTEN: That's exactly right. So, take a look at this trend line. The top choices for GOP nominee. And look at what's going on here. We've got Donald Trump. We've got Ron DeSantis. Back in January, look at that, Trump was up by only 11 points. And he was only at 43 percent. Jump ahead to March, 45 percent to 28. Look now, on average, Trump has a 30-point advantage, over 50 percent.

And I want to give you an indication of how strong that is looking forward, right, because polls are just a snapshot in time. Well, look at those who polled near or better than Trump's level at this point in non-incumbent primaries. Bob Dole in '96, won the nomination. George W. Bush in 2000, won the nomination. Al Gore in 2000, won the nomination. Hillary Clinton in 2016, won the nomination. So, people polling in Trump's position have generally gone on to win the nomination.

And I'll point out one little last nugget. Members of Congress or governors endorsing Trump, so far in the 2024 cycle, more than 60. In the entire 2016 primary season, just 15. So the fact is Trump has very good polling. He has the backing of a lot of members of his party. At this point the Trump train looks very difficult to stop. But, of course, we still have many months to go until the primary.

MATTINGLY: It's very early.

Can I just point out one thing, though?

HARLOW: Oh, someone's competing with you on the magic wall, Harry.

MATTINGLY: Look at - what is it? Can we zoom in on this source. Harry's aggregate. Is this like a secret internal system that we don't know about, because I saw that. I was like, whoa, I kind of want to know what that is but I also don't want to know what that is.

ENTEN: A chef never reveals his recipes.

HARLOW: OK.

MATTINGLY: Harry Enten, you're the best, as always, and your aggregate.

ENTEN: Thank you. Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Thanks so much.

HARLOW: Thanks, Harry.

A reminder, Kaitlan will moderate an exclusive CNN town hall with former President Trump. That airs tonight live from New Hampshire, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Thanks for joining us. We'll see you here tomorrow.

CNN NEWS CENTRAL is right after this.

Good job. Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:00]