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Biden Arrives At Windsor Castle To Meet With King Charles. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 10, 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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[07:31:48]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, President Biden is arriving at Windsor Castle to meet with King Charles. This is their first meeting since King Charles took over the throne.

So let's bring in CNN political director David Chalian, CNN senior political analyst Nia-Malika Henderson, and national political reporter Axios -- for Axios, Alex Thompson. And Max Foster joins us from Windsor Castle. So a lot of people joining us and for good reason, right, because we've got a lot going on.

So, Max, as we look at these live pictures what should we expect?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, he'll travel a short distance from the helicopter into the quadrangle there at Windsor Castle where there will be a Guard of Honor. They'll play the National Anthem.

They'll inspect the Guard as well. You'll remember a few years ago it didn't go so well when President Trump was here. He got a bit lost going along the line. But this is King Charles' first moment like this, really, where he can guide the president along that Guard of Honor, so it will all be interesting to see.

The red carpet rolled out for the U.S. president as it always is. An absolutely crucial relationship to the United Kingdom. The most important alliance.

So you've got the Welsh Guards here. They're actually based just down the road here in Windsor. They were involved in the coronation, which President Biden didn't attend, of course, so some people suggesting there's some tension because of that. I think that actually, King Charles was very happy to have Jill Biden there. And he had the invitation but he wasn't able to attend.

But this is a moment where we can really celebrate the bilateral relationship between two countries and ignore some of the tensions between the U.S. and U.K., which undoubtedly have set in in recent weeks, really, over the strategy in Ukraine.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: You know, Alex, I want to ask you because you've covered the president so closely over the course of his time in the White House --

We're going to keep our eyes on this here. We're looking at Windsor Castle right now. As Max was saying, the Guard of Honor playing as we await the president coming in. You saw the two Chinook helicopters carrying staff and press landing just outside, so we should be seeing the president shortly.

The president on the international stage. I think when you talked to advisers they made clear this is something that kind of animates him. He certainly likes this part of the presidency.

What -- behind the scenes for moments like this, what kind of drives President Biden?

ALEX THOMPSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: I mean, this is not unusual for an incumbent president running for reelection because on the international stage you don't have congressional Republicans basically telling you no all the time, right?

So he gets to go -- and you saw this in the interview with Fareed Zakaria over the weekend, too, where he was just so much more comfortable talking about these issues. It also -- you know, he was the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, too. These are issues that really animate him.

I can tell you just behind the scenes when even aides will say you can tell that he is just like going through these briefing books looking for little things -- going and doing this meticulous details about the ammunition that they're sending to Ukraine, really getting in the weeds and ways that he doesn't always with other issues.

BROWN: You know, when you think about these two men meeting -- again, the first time that President Biden will be meeting with Charles since his coronation -- the two men -- they have a lot in common, right? They have waited a long time for the job that they have, right? They share a passion for climate change. No doubt that will be a centerpiece of the discussion today.

[07:35:00]

They've also faced some of the same challenges when it comes to winning over -- you know --

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right, yes. No, I think that's right. I bet their approval ratings --

BROWN: Yes.

HENDERSON: -- are similar. Biden's is something like 40 percent and some folks -- King Charles has been in public and booed off and people sort of questioning the worst of the royalty and the royal family at this point.

But as you said, I mean, these men have lots in common, waiting for decades and decades to get the big job. They both have it now so they'll meet for the first time. And this real interest in climate change, right? If you think about

Queen Elizabeth, it wasn't really clear what she was interested in other than those cute little dogs that she had. And we know here for King Charles that this has been a real passion of his for years and years and years. It's also a passion of President Biden's as well and the Democratic Party -- progressives, in particular. So I'm sure that will take up some time in their discussion.

And listen, this is just cool -- sort of the pomp and circumstance. And that outfits --

BROWN: Yes. I'm just captivated watching this, right?

HENDERSON: Yes.

BROWN: This is a beautiful entry.

But it will be interesting also for King Charles. I'm watching as well because he, of course, has been outspoken on climate change. But now he's in a new role --

HENDERSON: Yes.

BROWN: -- as king, right?

HENDERSON: So he is --

BROWN: And typically, there's the motto -- you know, right over politics and you don't -- you don't go there when it comes to politics. And so we'll have to see how he is.

HENDERSON: Yes. So he has to be a little bit more careful, right, in terms of how he talks about this passion of his, which is so important to the globe. The climate change that we're seeing here, obviously, in America with these record temperatures. And so we'll see what comes out of this meeting.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: David, I do want to ask -- we saw Marine One come down and land. We should be seeing the president coming off Marine One shortly.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Behind some trees, so we won't be able to see the president actually disembark from the helicopter. It'll probably need some very smart advanced work there.

MATTINGLY: The president running for reelection. Obviously, a major geopolitical moment as well given the fact the Ukraine war is still ongoing, and about to head to a very consequential NATO summit.

Frame what this means for the president now.

CHALIAN: Well, as Alex was saying, I mean, Joe Biden, if you want to follow the trajectory here -- I mean, he is president because of his stature on the world stage throughout his career. It's why Barack Obama put him on the ticket in 2008 as vice president was because Barack Obama was -- had no experience in that area, really, of world affairs and needed, he felt, to bolster the ticket.

Joe Biden becomes vice president largely because of his foreign policy credentials and his ability to work around the globe with a whole host of leaders. And so, there's no doubt this is one of his favorite pieces of the job.

I wonder when he used to visit with the queen he probably liked the age comparison better than now, meeting with the younger king.

BROWN: Seventy-four.

CHALIAN: Yes, exactly.

But there's no doubt -- and this is sort of the precursor to what you're discussing, which is the meat of this trip is going to be the NATO component to this given it seems that NATO is a particularly tricky moment given where the situation is with Ukraine and Russia and the length of time needed for continued investment and where that is. And you can start seeing -- while it's been an unbelievably unified alliance due to the president's work, you can start seeing the continued work that the president is going to need to do to keep it unified.

BROWN: And I want to go back to Max Foster there on the ground as this all plays out. Tell us what's going on here, Max.

FOSTER: Well, it's a Guard of Honor and they don't have the same protocols at Windsor in the same ways they do at Buckingham Palace, so these have developed in recent decades. But the queen would obviously not want to travel up to Buckingham Palace in her older years so she would hold a lot of these receptions -- these national events at Windsor Castle instead.

So we can see the king coming out now. A big test for him, really.

You were discussing the environment. We never found out what was discussed in the meetings with the queen. She always kept that absolutely confidential. We're seeing a new way this king is handling these moments.

Both the White House and the palace have told us that they're going to be discussing environment, which for many has become a political issue, which is something that monarchs are not meant to be getting involved with.

Here in the U.K., the environment minister recently resigned because he said Rishi Sunak didn't care about the environment, and that caused a real stink.

But we know that King Charles has always had an interest in the environment and he's refusing to let it go. He's told the world that he's going to discuss it in this meeting with President Biden and hopefully get some movement on that issue -- on something that they have common ground on.

But once the president arrives there will be this Guard of Honor and you'll see them inspecting the guards there, which is something that Charles has a lot of experience in. It's one of the advantages he's had for being one of the longest last -- longest-serving heirs to the monarchy here in the U.K.

And they're currently playing the British National Anthem and that will be followed a bit later on when the president arrives with the American National Anthem.

MATTINGLY: Max, can I ask you -- you know, we see, obviously, King Charles standing there and we're waiting for President Biden walking out as well. You mentioned this is at Windsor Castle. This is Buckingham.

[07:40:04]

And I think part of the reason -- you can correct me if I'm wrong on this. My understanding from White House officials is Buckingham Palace is going -- undergoing some rehabilitation at this moment -- some construction at this moment.

But the significance of this between these two men -- I think Pamela and Nia were talking about they have had some similar trajectories to some degree. What do you know about their relationship -- Prince Charles -- or King Charles, sorry, and President Biden?

FOSTER: Well, largely, my experience has been through the climate issue. So it was the COP summit in Glasgow when they had a meeting in 2021 on the sidelines there, and they got on really well on that issue. And this is the key issue for King Charles. So I think that's where they find common ground.

I think, as you say, in my experience of U.S. presidents coming to the U.K. and really enjoying these moments because they stand the test of time, don't they -- that image next to a British monarch. And the queen was the towering figure -- the longest-serving head of state. And I know that U.S. presidents would like to have that photo with the queen.

And this is a new era -- Charles' era. So it's a significant moment because he's obviously going to be in this role for many decades to come.

So I think they can look to the long-term relationship between the two nations, whereas this morning we saw a shorter-term discussion of relations between the U.S. and the U.K. when President Biden met with the prime minister.

But these are very important moments because they go down in the history books. These images last forever. And King Charles will use it, showing how many U.S. presidents he's met in many years to come. And this is the first serving president he's operated with so it's interesting to see how that will play out.

BROWN: Yes. And just help us better understand, Max, the difference between the queen's meetings with the -- the late queen, we should say -- meetings with former U.S. presidents and what we expect between this meeting with King Charles and President Biden today. The difference there.

FOSTER: Well, the difference is just that we never -- you know, the queen's policy was to never, ever discuss what happened in those meetings. And we would be told that we would never have found out what happens in those meetings. Because the idea of those meetings was the presidents, just as their own prime ministers here in this country, could have a completely free discussion without any concern about it leaking and not having to hold back in any way.

And this was something that U.S. presidents -- I know that President Trump would talk to the queen about historic moments because she's had so much experience. She had so much experience.

But Charles has also had a lot of experience. He met President Eisenhower -- his first serving U.S. president -- back in 1959. He's been often in those meetings with the queen. So I think that he's got a lot of history -- just not as a serving monarch.

They'll go inside, as the queen would have done, and have tea. You know, that's the British tradition and I think presidents always enjoy that.

The one difference is they are then going to go into a discussion about a conference that's being held here about climate change. So, President Biden will be drawn into that. It will be interesting to hear if you guys hear from the White House what was discussed in there. I don't know how much we'll hear from the palace.

But I think it will be very telling to see how Charles will handle his monarch -- if they really divulge a lot of information about that meeting. He's a bit -- a bit more political -- this monarch -- than the -- his predecessor and it shows how he's changing the tone of British monarchy, really.

MATTINGLY: Yes.

BROWN: I just have a quick follow because President Biden did not attend King Charles' coronation. He sent his wife and his granddaughter. I wonder if King Charles has any sore feelings from that at all?

FOSTER: You know, they would have loved to have been there, I'm sure. The key ally -- the key head of state that would have flown in away from the Commonwealth leaders. I haven't been given any suggestion but certainly, it's been -- there's a lot of talk in London that it would have been nice to have the president here. But I think that the most important thing is that they seem to get on very well and that's what today is all about, and showing those images.

This is the Quadrangle, by the way. This is the part that the public is never allowed in. This is the private part of this huge, 1,000- year-old castle.

Interesting to see how Charles is using these properties now as well. He hasn't moved into Windsor in the same way that the queen was there. It was her favorite property. She was always there. She had her horses there. He hasn't done the same.

But we're being shown here that he will be using it for state events and we'll wait to see how this private part of the property is used in the future because there's a suggestion that Buckingham Palace will just become a public space and perhaps Windsor Castle should be as well. He's trying to cut back on the cost of the monarchy to try to show that he's in tune with the cost of living crisis and the world going forward, which often has quite an awkward relationship with the monarch, frankly, and all the privilege they have.

MATTINGLY: That's a fascinating point. It's illuminating kind of the new dynamics of the newly -- of a new king.

Alex, I want to ask you and I want to get to Max with this, too -- but I want to ask you as we bring the panel back in while we wait for President Biden. Every time President Biden heads to the U.K. there's a kind of a fascination with his Irish roots.

[07:45:04]

You're seeing the president's motorcade. It looks to be rolling in right now.

I would love going on foreign trips with him to the U.K. and reading the British media's response to sometimes what they would perceive to be a level of coldness to the U.K.

Tell people about that.

THOMPSON: There was this one really fascinating exchange several years ago where a reporter from the BBC asked him a question and Biden responded, "BBC, I'm Irish." And you could always --

MATTINGLY: Which we laughed at. But in the U.K. --

BROWN: Right.

MATTINGLY: -- it was like a very significant thing.

THOMPSON: Exactly.

And I think you're going to see, I'm assuming, a different sort of tone. A different sort of energy than when the president was in Ireland just a few months ago, which honestly, is probably the happiest I have ever seen him as president. The guy was just having a great time. He was doing selfies out in the public. He was staying out late, which he doesn't do all that often, especially out in public.

So I think you're absolutely right. This -- it is going to be some really interesting body language to watch.

BROWN: Yes. He was tracing his family roots. He was really soaking it up, engaging there.

All right, so I want to bring in Sally Bedell Smith, as we see President Biden approaching there in the motorcade. Sally, what is the significance, in your view, of this meeting today between President Biden and King Charles? We should note to our viewers no one covers the royal family better than Sally Bedell Smith.

Bring us --

SALLY BEDELL SMITH, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Well, thank you.

BROWN: Bring us there.

SMITH: Well, I think it's going to be very congenial. I think they are of absolutely like mind on climate. This is an issue that has been animating Charles for 50 years. He gave his first speech on the environment in 1970. He is no stranger to convening British businessmen, British philanthropists.

And he has a good -- you can see he has a good chemistry with Biden. He has met him a number of times over the years. And the last time he was at Windsor Castle was two years ago with Biden's mother, and it was a really congenial meeting. He said later that the queen reminded him of his own mother. And so, I think there's a lot of warmth between the two of them and they and --

BROWN: Do we need to go the Anthem?

(U.S. National Anthem playing).

BROWN: A poignant moment there as we see King Charles and President Biden listening to the National Anthem.

Sally, continue if you would, please.

SMITH: Well, also, I think what's going to be really interesting about today is that unlike previous meetings that monarchs have had with presidents, at least in the case of Queen Elizabeth II -- her meetings with the Bidens two years ago, with the Obamas, with President Trump and Melania. They were all sort of ceremonial occasions.

This is very different. This is going to be a meeting of substance. This is going to deal with climate and he has -- and the people he has invited -- philanthropists, and financiers, and industrialists -- people who have already been on board the climate bandwagon. And the purpose -- and I think it is really interesting it is a meeting with a purpose -- a very specific agenda. So that will be a real departure from what we have seen.

CHALIAN: You mentioned, Sally, that there would be sort of collegiately between them and a warmth between them. I thought it was interesting when we saw them first meet, guys. Did you see there was some physical touching?

SMITH: Yes.

CHALIAN: Do you all remember when Michelle Obama had the gall, apparently, to put her hand on the small of the back of the queen in 2009 and there was all this outrage in the press. The queen, of course --

[07:50:04]

SMITH: It was --

CHALIAN: -- said it was no big deal.

SMITH: She was totally cool with it.

CHALIAN: Totally cool with it.

SMITH: And by the way, they had their arms around each other and I thought the two people who were right in front of them and said they it really started when they were comparing their shoes.

CHALIAN: (INAUDIBLE)

BROWN: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

CHALIAN: President Biden gets out and immediately just grabs the king by his arm and --

SMITH: Yes.

BROWN: That will likely not generate the same --

And we always look at the body language though, right, and how they present. I mean, with Biden -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- he did not bow to Queen Elizabeth.

SMITH: No, he didn't. And to be fair, bowing is optional --

BROWN: Right, right.

SMITH: -- or it has been. But he had a very warm exchange with him.

BROWN: He said his mother told him not to bow to the queen.

SMITH: Yes, yes.

BROWN: Right.

SMITH: But I think --

MATTINGLY: Which fed into what Alex was talking about and the perception of whether or not Biden is -- because of his Irish roots was not --

BROWN: Right, exactly.

SMITH: Yes.

MATTINGLY: (INAUDIBLE).

SMITH: But I think he's putting that aside.

MATTINGLY: Yes.

SMITH: I think this is much, much more important.

MATTINGLY: Max, I want to ask you, as we -- as we watch President Biden and King Charles, walk people through what we're seeing right now. People might have some memories of what President Trump did something similar in a different location, obviously. What are these two actually doing right now?

FOSTER: Well, this is just an inspection of the Guard. It's just a tradition that they have there at Windsor to invite a foreign head of state to inspect the Guard that's there to protect a head of state. So it's seen as a big honor.

As you say, Trump struggled with that because he didn't quite know how to walk along the line. And the queen wasn't guiding him properly, to be fair, because it was always Prince Philip previously who had done that and he had passed on at that time.

But it's interesting hearing your debate about Ireland because certainly, here in the U.K. Biden is being touted as an anti-British president because he spent so much time focusing on the -- on Ireland, which is, of course, legitimate because he identifies as being of Irish descent.

But at a time when there was a huge row about Brexit and the exit agreements between the U.S. -- between the U.K. and Ireland and it were -- you know, they were concerned that President Biden was favoring the Irish side rather than the British side in those debates. So that's certainly a tension here in the U.K. -- one of the many tensions, frankly, in the U.S.-U.K. relationship right now.

So this body language -- what we're seeing here very important to show in images that the two heads of state do have a good chemistry and are getting on.

And to be fair to Biden, he has a very good chemistry as well with Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister, but they have some quite fundamental differences of opinion on how to handle the war in Ukraine, currently. But I'm thinking they're not going to go there in these discussions. They're going to keep it, as Sally says, to environment.

MATTINGLY: Max, can I -- you know, it's interesting because the president also has English roots, which --

HENDERSON: Yes.

MATTINGLY: -- which the English -- British politicians often try and point out when they get a little frustrated about his very close ties and very publicly close ties with Ireland.

But you mentioned the body language -- the relationship between the two. You and Sally have both been talking about the substance of this discussion and this meeting itself.

Do you see this as an opportunity for President Biden to try and kind of utilize this meeting for political or policy purposes? And I don't mean that in a pejorative sense or on a surface-base sense but actually on trying to move the ball forward on climate goals -- or trying to move the ball forward perhaps given what's coming in terms of the substance of the Ukraine issue as they head into a NATO summit.

FOSTER: Yes, certainly in terms of climate, having traveled with Charles around the world, he's certainly seen as a legitimate pioneer on that climate issue, and he's hugely well-connected with that world. He's very close to John Kerry. I've been told that they speak regularly about climate issues.

And this is something that -- you know, this is an opportunity for President Biden to show I am in tune with the climate issues with one of the world's leading pioneers. And for Charles, frankly, someone that can do something about the climate issue is President Biden. So he can also show that he's working with a key player in that space.

King Charles raised some eyebrows when he talked about the unprovoked attack on Ukraine from Russia because King Charles wouldn't normally get involved in an issue like that when he's meant to represent U.K. around the world and one day will have to (INAUDIBLE) the U.K. and Russia as well if those relations get back to normal.

And there's fundamental problems there with that Ukraine issue and they've only bubbled up in the recent weeks. And they are that President Biden reportedly rejected Britain's choice for the head of NATO. The U.K. wants Ukraine brought into NATO more quickly than the U.S.

And in Britain, cluster bombs are illegal. They cannot -- would never, ever sell them. And it's pretty clear that Rishi Sunak disagrees with President Biden on that issue. And you look at King Charles' humanitarian work. I can't imagine he would ever support the use of cluster bombs.

I think the best way of dealing with that in a monarch situation is to avoid the topic altogether and stick to climate --

[07:55:04]

SMITH: Greatly.

FOSTER: -- which is risky enough. I think as many people see it, it's political anyway.

BROWN: All right. Thanks so much, Max. We're going to circle back with you right after this quick break as we watch the pomp and circumstance at Windsor Castle play out on this Monday morning. We'll be back.

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MATTINGLY: Well, good Monday morning, everyone. I'm Phil Mattingly here in D.C. Pamela Brown is with me.

There is a lot of news happening right now. We've been following a lot of it live. We're going to keep following it live.

President Biden meeting right now with King Charles at Windsor Castle on the eve of the high-stakes summit with NATO leaders in Lithuania. We're going to take you live to England.

BROWN: And the Kremlin is now claiming that Vladimir Putin personally met with the mercenary leader accused of staging a rebellion in Russia. This is surprising news this morning. This meeting allegedly happened just days after the mutiny. But the mercenary chief's fate and his whereabouts -- that's still a mystery.

MATTINGLY: And deadly flash flooding drenching New York but the threat -- it's not over yet. More than 25 million Americans are under flood alerts as the slow-moving storm pushes north.

This hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

MATTINGLY: And good morning, everybody.

It is happening right now. President Biden is in the midst of his meeting with King Charles at Windsor Castle. You saw them meeting just a short while ago. This meeting happening on the eve of a critical summit with NATO leaders which we noted --

BROWN: Yes.

MATTINGLY: -- just moments ago.

BROWN: And the warm embrace there between the two men. The president arrived and inspected the Honor Guard. It is the first time the king and President Biden.