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Johnson Picked as Speaker Nominee; Queen Rania on Gaza. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 25, 2023 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:31:12]

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REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): We don't deserve a leader like Mike Johnson. But dadgum it, we're going to get him. And -- and I think he's going to carry us over the finish line.

I think he'll be a giant. He's not very tall physically, but - but - but in the -- in these halls, he is -- you will stand in - in his shadow.

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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: That was Congressman Tim Burchett this morning on with us on his party's newest nominee for speaker of the House, Congressman Mike Johnson from Louisiana. Burchett was one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from his role in that historic vote after he worked with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.

In just a few hours, the House is going to try again. They're going to hold a floor vote.

Lauren Fox is on Capitol Hill.

There were so many smiles around Congressman Johnson yesterday. Does that mean this is a lock?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, obviously, the Republican conference is exhausted right now. This has gone on for longer than three weeks. And a lot of members are very hopeful that Mike Johnson might be the guy who can finally get the 217 votes needed on the floor of the House.

A couple things to watch for.

There were a couple of hold-out members who did not support Johnson in the closed-door vote last night. We're going to be watching very closely because there were three of those members. There were also some attendance issues last night. So, we'll be keeping a close eye on whether or not any of those votes or opposed to Johnson. But it's just important to note that there has been such division

within the Republican Party because every time they seem to get a candidate behind closed doors, what you saw with Tom Emmer played out with Steve Scalise just a week ago where there is a candidate who gets the most votes behind closed doors, then they cannot get 217. Then a more conservative candidate emerges. In the case of Jim Jordan, he couldn't get there.

But a lot of people are more optimistic about Mike Johnson. And one thing I thought was really interesting is Representative Lawler told our colleague Manu Raju that he clearly thought that ousting McCarthy was a very dumb decision for the Republican conference. But he said he did think he could support Mike Johnson. He says that it was time to move on. And I just think that that is the sentiment among so many members.

Now, so many things can change in the course of just four hours before members go to the floor for a vote at noon. But I just think there is certainly momentum, there is a lot of feeling that Mike Johnson is the guy for the job. And despite the fact he doesn't have a ton of policy experience, there is an expectation that he could clinch the speakership today.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: You know, Lauren, not to dump cold water on the u-n-i-t-y moment that Republicans appear to be having for apparently maybe clearing the absolute lowest bar for a majority to clear, there's a ton of work that needs to be done in a very compressed time window.

We spoke to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries a short time ago about Johnson becoming the next speaker. This is what he said.

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REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Yes, I don't know Mike Johnson well. Based on his track record, he clears -- appears to be an extreme right-wing ideolog. House Democrats will push back aggressively against that.

However, at the same period of time, we said from the very beginning of this Congress, and demonstrated that we are ready, willing and able to find common ground with our Republican colleagues in order to advance bipartisan solutions to solve problems for hard working American taxpayers. And all Mike Johnson will need to do is to meet us in a bipartisan way in that fashion and we'll be able to work together whenever and wherever possible.

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MATTINGLY: That idea of all Mike Johnson would have to do is the reason Kevin McCarthy is no longer speaker. So, how is this actually going to work?

FOX: Yes, I think that that is the huge question on the table right now, Phil, is, how is he going to legislate, because he has a government funding deadline coming up on November 17th. It's also not clear how he's going to handle that $105 billion supplemental request from the White House to fund not just Israel aid, but also aid for Ukraine.

[08:35:04]

He was pushed on whether or not he would bring that to the floor yesterday. He said last night that it was not a time to have a policy discussion. But just to remind people back home, there is not going to be a lot of time to learn in the job. You are going to really have to hit the ground running.

The other thing that I think is so important to keep in mind is that when you're a rank and file member, you don't have a large staff if you're in the House of Representatives. If you are in leadership, you are going to have to build out your coalition, your staff. That is going to take a little bit of time and there's just not that much time to avoid a government shutdown. So, that is going to be the big question moving forward, Phil.

MATTINGLY: A lot to do in 23 days.

Lauren Fox, as always, thank you.

So, the big question is, for a lot of people at least, who is Mike Johnson exactly? And that's a fair question to some degree.

He was elected to the House in 2016. He is a social conservative and has been that way since he was a lawyer before joining the state legislature in Louisiana and then becoming a member of the House, argued, in front, in front of the Supreme Court. Currently the vice chair of the House Republican Conference. Used to be the chairman of the very powerful and sizable Republican Study Committee.

But one of the issues that I think people may not recognize is the role he played in 2020 in terms of supporting Donald Trump's efforts to overturn Joe Biden's victory. In fact, it was a critical role. He was the one who actually drafted the House Republican legal brief signed by 126 Republicans that supported the Texas lawsuit to try and overturn the electoral results of four states. Not only did he ask members to play a role in it, he actually is the name on the amicus brief that was submitted.

But it wasn't just the fact that he was a lawyer and had constitutional law background that made him want to get involved in this. He was an actual lobbyist. From a personal email account of Mike Johnson sending an email to every single member to the House Republican Conference asking them to support the brief and also making very clear that Trump, quote, "said he will be anxiously awaiting the final list of Republicans that signed on to review." Something that infuriated some of the moderate Republicans at the time. But it was something that was very clearly driven by the former president.

Back in December 9, 2020, Trump making clear that he wanted intervention into and support of the Texas case. He also was talking to Mike Johnson. Johnson tweeting Trump called him this morning, said that they were supportive of this, that this was the big one in terms of the Texas lawsuit. Obviously, it was not. It was thrown out by the Supreme Court.

Trump did not officially throw his support behind Mike Johnson, but he did say he was supportive of Johnson. Clearly not running against him, like he did with Tom Emmer. As for where Johnson stands now on these issues and where the Republican conference is, well, last night was a pretty good window.

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QUESTION: Mr. Johnson, you helped lead the efforts to overturn the 2020 election (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

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MATTINGLY: How dare you ask about that thing that you did.

HARLOW: They didn't like that question.

MATTINGLY: No.

HARLOW: A critical question.

MATTINGLY: It's where the Republican -- House Republican Conference is.

HARLOW: Can we get to some great news this morning.

MATTINGLY: Please.

HARLOW: We want to welcome a new member of the CNN THIS MORNING family.

Graham Silverman.

MATTINGLY: The best news.

HARLOW: The best news. Was born on Friday morning weighing six pounds, ten ounces. Clearly getting an early start to his day, which we can all relate to. His dad, Aaron Silverman, is one of our senior broadcast producers. He works late nights putting our show together. Mom Kate (ph), baby Graham doing well. And we are sending them all our love.

MATTINGLY: Huge congratulations.

HARLOW: The best.

MATTINGLY: At least you're used to not sleeping.

HARLOW: From two - two parents who know.

MATTINGLY: Yes. Yes, experience. Well, there are new details this morning about the off duty pilot

accused of trying to cut the power on an Alaska Airlines flight. He denied taking any medication, but what he says he did take, that's ahead.

HARLOW: And the queen of Jordan speaking to our Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview about what she calls a dangerous double standard in the west's support of Israel.

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QUEEN RANIA AL ABDULLAH, JORDAN: Yes, there was the shock and there is the condemnation. But why isn't there equal condemnation to what is happening now?

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HARLOW: Israel is rejecting calls for a ceasefire as it launches large-scale attacks on Gaza. The bombardment coming just hours after the head of the United Nations called Israel's airstrikes, quote, "collective punishment" of the Palestinian people and demanded an immediate ceasefire at a contentious Security Council meeting that was met with anger from Israel's foreign minister. The humanitarian crisis is deepening for the roughly 2 million civilians who remain trapped in Gaza. United Nations Relief Agency inside the territory says that it needs to shut down today if it doesn't receive more fuel.

MATTINGLY: CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour just sat down with Jordan's Queen Rania, who is of Palestinian decent, to discuss the situation in Israel and how it's being handled.

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QUEEN RANIA AL ABDULLAH, JORDAN: When October 7th happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself and condemned the attacks. We're seeing the last couple of weeks we have - we're seeing silence in the world as of stopped (INAUDIBLE) just expressing concern or acknowledging the casualties. But always with a preface of declaration of support for Israel. And, you know, are we being told that it is wrong to kill a family, an entire family, at gunpoint, but it's OK to shell them to death?

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MATTINGLY: Christiane Amanpour joins us now.

It's a fascinating interview. I think Poppy and I have been talking about this with one another and anybody else who's been on set for the better part of this morning.

What was your primary take away from it? CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The primary

takeaway is that she is expressing exactly what the rest of the world thinks. The world in which the Muslims and many, many other parts of the world believe that there is, as she said, a glaring double standard.

[08:45:01]

And that is what message she was trying to get ahead because she was saying, even as a mother, you know, of course it was unbearable to see what happened in Israel on October 7th, but it is also unbearable to see what's happening to some 2,000 children and many, many others inside Gaza under the air campaign right now.

And one other things. I also talked to, right after this interview, I talked to Gershon Baskin. He is the hostage negotiator, Israeli, who got Gilad Shalit out in 2011. And he said, and I'd just like to just read a little bit of it if I could because it was very important. He said, "we've arrived at such a horrific situation that this must be a wake-up call." Because he was reacting to Queen Rania. He came right after her. And he said, "Israel cannot keep another people occupied for 56 years and expect peace. You can't lock 2 million people up in open air prison and expect them to be quiet. And for the Palestinians it should be a wake-up call that if you support radical, fanatic leaders and refuse to recognize the other people living there, you also are going to be suffering because of this."

So, I found that whole conversation really fascinating.

HARLOW: Yes. I'm really glad you read that, Christiane. And one of the parts of the interview that is extraordinary, I'd urge people to watch all of it, is when she talks from her position as a mother.

Here's what she told you.

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QUEEN RANIA AL ABDULLAH, JORDAN: I just want to remind the world that Palestinian mothers love their children just as much as any other mother in the world.

The silence is deafening. And to many in our region it makes the western world complicit, you know, through their support and through the cover that they give Israel, that it is just - it's right to defend itself. Many in the Arab world are looking at the western world as not just tolerating this, but as aiding and abetting it.

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HARLOW: Those words "complicit" and "aiding and abetting," striking.

AMANPOUR: Striking, but true in that part of the world. And in many parts. Even on campuses in the United States, there's a much more nuanced view. It is very difficult to, you know, to try to convince people that two things can be, you know, can -- that there can be two thoughts, that the savagery of what happened inside Israel on October 7th, but also the death and the killing of children and civilians inside Gaza. That inflames the world and makes them think that there is a double standard.

And even you can hear the United States saying there needs to be a humanitarian pause, the secretary of state has said that, for humanitarian supplies. And Gershon, the Israeli, the Israeli negotiator, said that it's ridiculous this argument about fuel. They can have U.N. people, they can have, you know, Red Cross, they can have all sorts of people escort these fuel trucks or whatever to where they're actually needed for the civilian population. They don't have to go into Hamas' hands if that's the fear.

MATTINGLY: Christiane, I do have to ask, California Governor Gavin Newsom just met with China's leader, Xi Jinping, which, of course, means you just spoke to Gavin Newsom, because of course you did. I'm interested in his assessment of the U.S. relationship with China at the moment.

AMANPOUR: So, it's a very important trip because it is a sort of precursor to what is going to be a very important visit to the U.S. next month. The Apex Summit is happening in his home state. It's going to be in San Francisco. And everybody holes that Xi Jinping will come and he and President Biden will have a meeting.

Governor Newsom wouldn't tell me if Xi had pledged to him that he would come. He said that's up to President Xi to say. But he said that he got the impression that everybody was trying to lower the temperature.

Listen.

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AMANPOUR: Did you get a sense from him that this relationship is hurdling towards even a hot war in the next few years, over Taiwan or whatever it might be, or what sense did you get from him of a relationship that he wants to have with America going forward?

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): And the fact that we had access to these high-level meetings, I'll be meeting with five provincial governors tomorrow, another extension of this visit. I think it's suggestive that we're in - we're entering, I hope, a new phase, a bit of a thawing. The last few years have been very stressful. I think it goes to your question. And we've got to turn down the heat. We've got to manage our strategic differences. We've got to reconcile our strategic red lines. Those are well established between our two countries. But I want to applaud the Biden administration, and on the basis of the engagement I had today with members of the Xi administration, President Xi himself, I want to applaud his willingness to reconcile those differences, people to people exchange, the fact he's meeting with a governor of California at the sub-national level I think is indicative of a thawing.

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AMANPOUR: So, I think that's really important and clearly the U.S. administration had actually been turning their prime focus towards China. So, that's an important message that Governor Newsom can bring back. And then, of course, he did weigh in on U.S. politics as well because, as we were talking the whole, you know, conundrum around a House speaker was out -- playing out and he tried to assure the Chinese, do not take us for patsies.

[08:50:11]

We are not, you know, weak in any way. This is a clown show, as he said, but the U.S. is strong.

HARLOW: Christiane, thank you on both of those interviews.

And you can see Christiane's full interview with Governor Newsom, it is tonight on CNN "NEWS NIGHT" at 10:00 p.m.

Christiane, thank you.

MATTINGLY: Well, as Christiane referenced, the House has been speakerless for more than three years - three years -- three weeks.

HARLOW: We're not there yet, Phil.

MATTINGLY: It's felt like three years. That could change in just hours as the chamber heads to the floor for a vote at noon.

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HARLOW: All right, we have new details about the off-duty pilot accused of attempting to shut down the engines on that Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight. Court documents show Joseph Emerson said he took magic mushrooms 48 hours before that and thought he was dreaming. He is now facing 83 counts of attempted murder.

[08:55:02]

Once the crew quickly subdued Emerson and took him off the plane, he also tried - out of the cockpit, he also tried to open the emergency exit during landing. Emerson says he was having a nervous breakdown and had not slept in 40 hours.

MATTINGLY: Well, also this morning, Hurricane Otis has made landfall in Mexico as a powerful category five storm. The National Hurricane Center says Otis slammed into Mexico's west coast near Acapulco overnight with sustained winds of 165 miles per hour. Catastrophic damage is expected around the point of landfall. Now, according to NOAA, Otis is the first category five hurricane to ever make landfall on North America's Pacific coast.

HARLOW: A significant deal just announced from Bud Light. The beer, sold by Anheuser Busch, will become the official sponsor of the UFC. Financial terms of the deal not revealed. But according to "Bloomberg," it is the UFC's biggest sponsorship yet. It follows a sales slump for the company thanks to some backlash following their partnership with a transgender influencer. MATTINGLY: And a legend has passed away. Actor Richard Roundtree has

died at the age of 81. He is best known, of course, for his performance as the tough-talking private eye in the 1971 movie "Shaft."

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shaft's his name. Shaft's his game.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Captain say you're going to be here.

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MATTINGLY: His career spanned five decades with over 150 screen credits. One of the best.

}CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right after this break.

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