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CNN This Morning

State of Emergency in Ecuador; Trump Chooses to Attend Hearing; Meta Adds New Protections for Teens; Rogers Gives Unapologetic Response to Kimmel. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired January 10, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:30:23]

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LUIS ARTURO BELTRAN, WAITER (through translator): All citizens are afraid. Today there are attacks in Quito, Cuenca, Quevedo, everywhere.

ZOILA LITUMA, COOK: We are deeply saddened to see this reality. What we are seeing now, and I know that innocent people have been attacked and we don't know how to react to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, chaos erupting in Ecuador after the country's president declares a state of emergency and authorizes the military to neutralize gangs amid a wave of nationwide violence. One of those terrifying incidents included a group of armed men storming a television studio yesterday, interrupting a live broadcast, forcing staff on to the ground. Police moved in. They arrested 13 gunmen and rescued the employees. But, overnight, explosions, kidnappings, and prison incidents just increased.

Patrick Oppmann following all the developments, and he joins us live this morning.

Stunning what has happened and how rapidly it has increased.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a country on the edge. And we've seen now for years Ecuador, that had been largely spared the drug violence that is present in so much of the rest of the region. The gangs there have taken control of the country. Gangs affiliated with powerful international drug cartels. And they are increasingly trying to challenge the government's authority. So, when one of the most notorious gang leaders walked out of prison and his escape was announced on Sunday, you saw the president of Ecuador announce a state of emergency and a massive manhunt for this gang leader known as Fito. The gangs responded with this wave of violence that included just the shocking scenes of armed criminals walking in to a TV station, forcing the staff to the ground, pointing guns at them. And some of the staff, after they were rescued, recounted what took place.

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JORGE RENDON, TC TELEVISION ANCHOR (through translator): They wanted to enter the studio so that we could say what they wanted, I guess their message. Then we settled in a safe place. But when they entered, they asked for us to go live. They insulted us, but we managed to get in a safe place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN: And those journalists who were held hostage for the better part of an hour or two said that while they were -- managed to be - to be rescued, at least one of their colleagues was shot. A cameraman was shot. Police confirming that ten people throughout Ecuador, at least ten people, were killed in this latest wave of violence. The president says he is not backing down, that they will neutralize these gangs, which he has labeled as terrorist groups. But, you know, there are curfews taking place. There is this manhunt with over 3,000 officers and military officials looking for this escaped criminal, sort of the Pablo Escobar of Ecuador. And this is a country now that is fighting for its very survival.

HARLOW: It really is. Patrick, thank you very much for the report for us.

Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, former President Trump warning of bedlam if he's not granted immunity from criminal prosecution. How his use of the courtroom to the campaign may be paying off in the primaries.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think they feel this is the way they're going to try and win. And that's not the way it goes. That will be bedlam in the country. It's a very bad thing. It's a very bad precedent. As we said, it's the opening of a pandora's box.

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HARLOW: Former President Trump with an ominous warning about what could happen if he is not granted immunity from criminal prosecution, but he did remain silent on whether he would do anything to help stop any potential, quote, "bedlam." Listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Trump, do you -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, you just used the word "bedlam." Will you tell your supporters now, no matter what, no violence? (END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now that silence, which was a decision, comes after he chose to attend a hearing in his federal criminal trial in Washington yesterday, rather than campaign in Iowa. The Iowa caucuses are just a few days away. But that choice was certainly also a campaign decision, not just a legal one. Trump has had his two biggest fundraising days when he had major proceedings in his criminal cases. He raised more than a million dollars the day he was arraigned in a Manhattan court, where he's charged with financial fraud, and he did it again when he was booked at Fulton County Jail on charges related to his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Remember, he didn't have to be there yesterday. He chose to be there.

Let's bring back in CNN's senior political commentator and former Trump campaign adviser, David Urban, as well as Ashley Allison, CNN political commentator and national coalitions director for the 2020 Biden-Harris campaign.

David, to that point, and the reason why I'm fixated on -- I get where the primary's at, tell me how this matters in the fall. If -- this has been effective in fundraising, it's been effective in rallying his people, it's been effective in a primary. Are they thinking through how this plays when he's locked in a courtroom, as he has to be, in a general election?

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I don't think we're there yet, right? I think they still want to make sure that he is that nominee and I think they're trying to get it wrapped up sooner rather than later. I think the campaign strategy thus far has been, let's get this primary over very quickly so that we can pivot to - to the - to the general election campaign.

So, I don't think that that's been a lot - has been - been high on the list, Phil, in terms of trying to expand the voter pool and move past the primary. I think they're going to try to - thought yesterday was going to go better than it did. I don't think it went particularly well. I think it got kind of sidetracked with some of the questions that were asked by the court, right? You know, can you kill somebody and still get - you know, got to get away with it was, you know, her -- the president's lawyer should have said clearly not, right? This is -- I think they should have stuck to the scope of the presidential duties argument.

I think that would have been a much better day for them and they could have come out and, you know, argued credibly that. And I think the president saw that tape there look kind of flat. He wasn't very - he's usually pretty robust in his comments and kind of combative, and it looked -- he was - he was - he was flat there yesterday. I think he looked like he knew he didn't have a good day.

HARLOW: What does this do to what the Biden campaign has chosen to focus on, which is, you know, saving democracy?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, well, it's interesting, Trump gets indicted and is able to raise a million dollars, but Joe Biden, after giving his speech in Valley Forge -

[06:40:06]

HARLOW: Right.

ALLISON: Was also able -- around protecting democracy, was able to raise a million dollars. So, I think it is an issue that the American public will pay attention to if it is a Biden-Trump runoff. And it's exactly what the Biden campaign wants to run against. Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy. That is not a fiction. That is not a campaign slogan. It is accurate. We saw what happened on January 6th. We saw the arguments his attorneys made yesterday that --

HARLOW: You just saw the silence after, will you -- will you ensure no bedlam.

ALLISON: Yes, there - he won't stop violence. This is the person that could potentially be the Republican nominee and could be re-elected. So, the fact that the Biden campaign is doubling down on their democracy argument is important. It can't be the only argument that the Biden campaign makes.

HARLOW: Are you worried it is?

ALLISON: No. I don't. I don't think it is. Because what we are going to see coming up in the next Supreme Court hearings will be -- we have two abortion cases around Mifepristone. We have other issues that are going to be around immigration that are going to be a part of the conversation. And, of course, the economy. So, we've seen cycle after cycle that American voters are no longer one issue voters. They are complex individuals who go and they want to have a comprehensive opportunity to talk about issues that affect many parts of their life.

URBAN: I was going to say, I know this -- with the - you know, that the Biden campaign is -- their democracy in hobbs (ph) is where they're hanging their hat moving forward. And, you know, the argument's been made and I think it will continue to be made. But we see poll after poll, right now, you know, in Michigan, and, you know, the president is lagging the former president. Trump is ahead in all these polls despite all these arguments being made -

HARLOW: He wasn't before he won (INAUDIBLE) --

URBAN: Listen, in 2016 and 2020 -

HARLOW: In 2016 he wasn't there.

URBAN: We were never - we've never been ahead in the poll.

HARLOW: That's right.

URBAN: Never one poll. Not once. Not one second. So, if I were the Biden folks, I'd be terrified at this point. I think it's - it's illustrative that, you know, President Obama -- you see everybody, Clyburn, saying, you -- it's not getting through. We're not breaking through the wall. We've got to do something better. We have different messaging. Pelosi. Everyone who is in leadership in the party is kind of shouting at the White House, you know, we've got to change, we've got to do something because it's not working.

ALLISON: I agree that, one, I don't think voters are necessarily paying attention to the 2024 election up to this point, and I think the people will start to pivot and really pay attention to what the Biden campaign and the -- whoever the Republican nominee is doing.

I agree with you, I think that -- that's why I don't think it can just be about democracy.

URBAN: Rare moment. Mark it down. What is it?

ALLISON: Yes.

HARLOW: 6:42 a.m. on a Wednesday.

MATTINGLY: A big day for us. A big day.

ALLISON: First and probably last but I think that he is going -- the Biden campaign, the Biden administration and the Biden campaign are going to have to present a theory of the case for the future.

HARLOW: Yes.

ALLISON: We want to protect our democracy so that we can improve the quality of your lives in a transformative way for all Americans, for black Americans, for white Americans, for young people, for old people.

So, you know, I think they're going to begin to start rolling some of those things out. I think you're going to start seeing some things come from the executive branch.

And then also, you know, talk about the lack of effectiveness of Congress and that if you give me a trifecta, which is going to be pretty hard, this is what I can do for you.

HARLOW: Still bumping up against the courts, though, for a lot of things he's been trying to do.

ALLISON: Yes.

HARLOW: Thank you, guys.

URBAN: MATTINGLY: Thanks, guys.

HARLOW: Moment of agreement. We'll take it.

MATTINGLY: A big day. A big day for us.

Well, up next, the new features Facebook and Instagram's parent company is rolling out to protect its younger users.

HARLOW: Also new this morning, jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has made his first court appearance from the Siberian penal colony where he was moved late last month. There have been concerns about his wellbeing after his team could not locate him for a couple weeks. He is currently suing the prison authorities over conditions of his detention.

Back in a moment.

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[06:48:14]

HARLOW: So, a big development on this front overnight that Meta says it is adding new safety features for teens on Facebook and Instagram. These include content restrictions, hiding search results related to self-harm or suicide. And this comes after months of Meta facing fierce scrutiny over the impact of their products on teenagers.

Meg Tirrell with us now.

Is this a significant change that will help kids?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it sounds like it is a pretty significant change. Meta has already had a lot of protections, they say, in place for teen users, but a lot of pressure has been mounting on them recently. And so what they're doing is they're adding even more protection. So around search terms like self-harm and suicide and eating disorders, they're going to hide even more kinds of content, even among people that teens follow on these platforms. They're not going to show them if somebody posts about those things.

They're also automatically setting teens in the most restrictive content setting. So, right now it's when you sign up they put you in that setting. Now they're going to do it for all teens automatically. And they're also going to be sending notifications to prompt teens to update their privacy settings with a single tap.

So, all of this, of course, comes amid this backdrop that really started a couple years ago with the Frances Haugen Facebook papers coming out which blew the whistle, including on things like young girls self-image. So, that was one thing that was really focused on there.

Of course, in the middle of last year, the surgeon general put out an advisory about kids' mental health and social media. States have now sued Meta alleging harms to children. And then a second whistleblower coming out at the end of last year saying that Meta executives -- alleging that they knew about these kinds of harms and weren't acting on them. And so there's also federal legislation pending. So, these companies are under a lot of pressure.

MATTINGLY: One of the elements of what's being announced is they're going to direct teens to more resources. What does that actually mean?

TIRRELL: Yes. So now, when somebody either posts about these topics or searches for these topic, instead of showing them results, they'll actually see a page -- you can see it here -- that will direct them to resources. [06:50:09]

Also when somebody posts about something like this, they'll also be directed to resources. And so it's really trying to make sure that kids are seeing things that will help them instead of things that will just sort of perpetuate these things that really put them in a downward spiral.

HARLOW: Really important. Hope it is helpful for a lot of people. Thank you, Meg.

TIRRELL: Yes. Thanks.

MATTINGLY: Well, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was given the opportunity to clear the air with talk show host Jimmy Kimmel after claiming he was associated with Jeffrey Epstein. What he did and what he did not say that's getting new (ph) and more (ph) pushback this morning.

HARLOW: And it is a make or break night for two White House hopefuls. Tonight, CNN hosts the Republican presidential debate. We are live in Des Moines, Iowa, with a preview.

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AARON RODGERS, QUARTERBACK, NEW YORK JETS: And I said that a lot of people, and I'm quoting myself here, a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, are really hoping that doesn't come out. End quote.

I totally understand how serious an allegation of pedophilia would be. So, for him to be upset about that, I get it. Did you watch the quote? I'm not stupid enough to accuse you of that with absolutely zero evidence, concrete evidence. That's ridiculous.

You know, I think it's impressive that a man who went to Arizona State and has ten joke writers can read off a prompter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: It is the apology that wasn't. New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers went back on the Pat McAfee show yesterday.

MATTINGLY: It was his chance to clear the air with Jimmy Kimmel after he clearly and baselessly, at least implied, the comedian was associated with Jeffrey Epstein. Instead, Rodgers took digs at Kimmel, claimed he was being censored, railed on the woke establishments, spread Covid conspiracy theories, and made disparaging comments about Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Joining us now to discuss is CNN's senior media analyst Sara Fischer.

Sara, look, I'm not surprised, as somebody who follows Aaron Rodgers and his appearances on the show. I think what I'm more intrigued by is, this was like a half hour deal on a sports show that people listen to for sports. How is -- like from a business perspective, I don't understand how that's something that can work?

SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA ANALYST: People don't just listen to it for sports, Phil, that's the thing. Remember, when EPSN paid Pat McAfee to license his show, they were looking to tap into zeitgeist. They were looking to tap into young, internet culture. And part of that is taking big sports celebrities and athletes and putting them on your show and getting their opinion about whatever it is in their life.

Now, obviously, that presents a problem for ESPN, and its parent company Disney, if the person that you're having on is spewing anti- vaccine conspiracies or blaming one of your fellow, you know, pieces of talent for something he didn't necessarily - there's something he didn't do. It's not proven that he did. But, at the end of the day, this is zeitgeist for them, right? This is bringing more eyeballs for ESPN. And at a time when cable is really threatened, this actually isn't the world's worst problem that they have.

HARLOW: That's a really interesting point. And they don't produce this show, ESPN, they license it, right? And they, as you were saying so smartly yesterday, it's not held to the same editorial standards at all as a news show or ABC News, which is part of the bigger company. Because you think this is potentially good for business, do you think we see more of this?

FISCHER: Yes. Like, Pat McAfee, I don't think, is going to fundamentally change. I don't think he's going to stop having Aaron Rodgers on. If it means that they're going to get engagement and eyeballs, I don't think this ends.

However, Disney is a family brand. And so I think that they are going to try to draw the line at some point. Most likely with things like vaccine misinformation or, you know, making allegations against someone that could threaten a lawsuit or things like that. They don't want to get into that territory. I don't know how they're going to handle that with Pat McAfee. Like the whole agreement is setup so that Pat McAfee can remain independent.

Remember, when he went to ESPN, his fans were outraged. You know, they didn't want him to be censored. They didn't want him to have to bow to corporate media. And so my question would be, how do you handle this with Pat McAfee without isolating him and putting him in a position where he might not renew his contract.

HARLOW: Interesting.

MATTINGLY: I think the most fascinating thing in the last couple days is the power dynamic between talent, if you want to use that, Pat McAfee, and ESPN. He's calling out an actual ESPN executive. Like, the difference between what talent at ESPN did where they kept everything in-house and they couldn't really say anything about the parent company, couldn't do anything, he's directly attacking one of the longest serving executives at ESPN right now. It is a different power dynamic at that company than I've ever seen before. FISCHER: Yes, but, Phil, they're backed into a corner. I mean ESPN is

the most expensive channel in the cable bundle and suddenly people are cutting the cord at a rate that we've never seen. And unless ESPN can tap into a younger audience, a more digital audience, they're not going to be able to sell people subscriptions in the digital world. And so, yes, this is a new dynamic, but we're also in a new landscape and they can't afford to play by the old rules.

HARLOW: He clearly knows his power, especially in a moment like this.

Sara, thank you so much for the analysis.

CNN THIS MORNING continues right now.

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GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to maximize every opportunity we have between now and caucus night to get the job done.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN hosts the last Republican presidential debate before Monday's Iowa caucuses.

NIKKI HALEY (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't complain about what happens in a general election if you don't play in this caucus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taking his campaign to court makes his polls go up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Christie can't exist anymore if your goal is to get rid of Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Flooding, high winds and power outages.

[07:00:00]

Tens of millions of Americans under the threat of severe weather.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sustained winds with gusts that will be over 70 miles an hour. When you get over 70, it's a very dangerous situation.