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CNN This Morning
Biden And Trump Make Competing Visits To Texas; Congress Passes Stopgap Measure To Fund Government; Hearse Carrying Alexei Navalny Arrives At Church. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired March 01, 2024 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we've got a live look at the White House just before 5:30 a.m. here on the East Coast. As you can see, still asleep -- still asleep there or not.
Good morning. Thanks for being up with us. I'm Kasie Hunt.
The border crisis is front and center in the race for that White House. Both President Biden and Donald Trump made trips to Texas yesterday -- Biden in Brownsville and Trump in Eagle Pass, about 300 miles north.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The United States is being overrun by the Biden migrant crime. These are the people that are coming into our country. And they're coming from jails, and they're coming from prisons, and they're coming from mental institutions, and they're coming from insane asylums, and they're terrorists. They're being let into our country and it's horrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Biden used his visit to meet with border patrol and immigration officials, and he extended an olive branch to Trump -- well. He asked the former president to join his efforts to get Congress to reconsider a bipartisan border agreement which, of course, Trump basically single-handedly killed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So here's what I would say to Mr. Trump. Instead of planned policy (INAUDIBLE), instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or I'll join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together. You know and I know it's the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country has ever seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: OK, a lot there. Joining me now to talk about it, CNN national political reporter Daniel Strauss, and Capitol Hill reporter for Axios, Juliegrace Brufke. Good morning to both of you.
DANIEL STRAUSS, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning.
JULIEGRACE BRUFKE, CAPITOL HILL REPORTER, AXIOS: Good morning.
HUNT: Thanks for being here.
Daniel, what did you make of what the president said?
STRAUSS: I mean, look, it's -- I think what was more telling was not so much what Trump said that there's -- that there is these threats of migrants coming, that this is Biden's fault, it's more that what Biden said, which is that he wants to frame the fault and the failure of a bipartisan agreement, which is very aware in this day and age in this Congress to Donald Trump. And he wants to stick that as an argument that despite any efforts from Democrats and even Republicans, Trump is behind any failure to secure the border, which is kind of flipping the script from what Democrats have had to -- have been trying to respond to Republican attacks on immigration so far.
HUNT: Yeah.
So, Juliegrace -- I mean, there sort of is this competing, right, I guess, set of impulses, right, that if we're talking about immigration -- if you're the -- if you're Democrats and the country is talking about immigration, Democrats are losing, right? However, it was clear that the president -- we're watching a split-screen of them both focused on this today. We're not just watching Trump all by himself.
What do you hear from your sources, particularly Democrats, about how worried they are about the issue? I mean, did they view this as a successful move?
BRUFKE: I mean, I think both sides kind of are going to make this a huge election issue. I think we're going to see Democrats definitely hammering vulnerable Republicans for kind of killing that bipartisan border deal. And I think they see that kind of as a winning thing that they can kind of hit those vulnerable members on.
HUNT: Right.
BRUFKE: And that being said, the border is kind of always kind of been a winning issue for Republicans. And we've a lot of -- Mike Johnson really pushing for HR2 and conservatives kind of trying to strongarm the Senate on taking that up, which isn't likely to happen.
HUNT: It isn't going to happen.
BRUFKE: A push for executive action to kind of bring back some of those Trump policies, which also isn't likely to happen.
But, I mean, I think that it's definitely going to be a huge thing moving -- as we get closer to November. HUNT: Right. And HR2, just for our viewers, is the very conservative House-passed -- House Republicans passed that package.
You had some reporting yesterday that was very interesting because Trump has really personally involved himself, right? Like, making phone calls to members of the House. I've been having flashbacks to when he was actually president and you thought the House was going to do something and then there was a Trump tweet and the whole thing fell apart, right?
But Mark Green is a congressman who led the impeachment inquiry against Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security secretary, over this issue.
Walk us through your reporting because he was going to leave. He was going to retire and all of a sudden, now he's not. Why?
BRUFKE: Absolutely. So I initially talked to him right after the Mayorkas impeachment and he was, like, Congress has been dysfunctional. It's hard to get things done. But was kind of proud of Mayorkas and impeachment and he --
HUNT: Backtrack true on the dysfunction, but --
BRUFKE: You have (INAUDIBLE) from Sen. Marsha Blackburn. He got phone calls from Trump kind of pushing him to keep moving on with this issue. So he decided to reverse course and hope back in there, and I think he's going to probably continue to lead that committee in the next Congress.
HUNT: Yeah.
What do you make, Daniel, of Trump's incredible focus here? And also, kind of curious big picture. Biden is trying to make this argument, right, that, like, it's Republicans that refused to fix the border problem because they wouldn't put this bill that I supported on the floor. Do you think voters are actually going to buy that? Because the numbers on trust on this issue for Biden are really bad. Like, voters just don't trust Democrats on immigration.
[05:35:02]
STRAUSS: I mean, polling suggests that Democrats have a disadvantage right now on the public view -- in the public's view on immigration.
I think -- one thing I've heard from multiple Republican strategists over the past few weeks is that if the election were today and if it were about democracy being on the ballot, and abortion, Democrats would win. If it were about immigration and the economy, Republicans could win -- or would win.
And, to me, that's very telling about the comfort zone for Republicans right now going into the next few months of this election cycle. They feel that immigration and the economy, but especially immigration, is their safe zone. And the more they can make this election about this, the more that they can put Democrats on the defensive simply because the public views Republicans right now as stronger on border security.
HUNT: Yeah.
All right, stand by for me for a second because we've got our next story up here.
Congress keeping the lights on for at least one more week. The House and Senate passing a stopgap bill to head off a partial government shutdown this week. The continuing resolution -- that is, the kick the can down the road resolution -- buys lawmakers a week to get something more substantive done. It is worth noting that the bill needs support -- needed support from House Democrats to pass.
Take a look at these numbers. Look at that on the 99 -- underneath the 99. GOP 97, OK? Ninety-seven Republicans voted to shut down the government. I think that that's just clear. That's them venting their frustration.
We also had them venting their frustration to cameras on the way out -- watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TONY GONZALES (R-TX): This is the fourth C.R. in a row that I've voted against, and I will continue to vote against C.R.s that don't have any meaningful border security solutions in there. And I think it's time for us to pass these conservative House appropriation bills that we've worked so hard on.
REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): We just keep printing more money. All these supplementals are printed money. Every dollar we're going to spend, printed dollars. We're not dealing with the border. We're not getting policy changes. So, you know, I've been outspoken about it. It is what it is.
REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-SC): And if we control the purse strings in the House --
REPORTER: But how is the --
NORMAN: -- what's so frustrating is not -- is not to use our leverage to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: All right, Daniel and Juliegrace are back with me.
Juliegrace, you're up on the Hill running around and covering these guys day in and day out. That second member, Chip Roy, a very conservative member of the House who has been very vocal on this. I feel like that number -- that 97 that voted against this really kind of encapsulates the problem that the House speaker has here inside his party.
Are they going to keep the government open here or is that frustration going to boil over and lead us into a shutdown? BRUFKE: Right now, I feel like -- I think they're going to need the help of Democrats. But appropriators are feeling good about where things stand with these minibuses of the appropriation bills.
But that being said, the House Freedom Caucus is not happy right now. They are pushing that -- they're arguing that Mike Johnson isn't fighting hard enough. That they're not using their leverage at all to be able to get some of these conservative provisions in there. So they're arguing that a shutdown is a better alternative. But, I mean, vulnerable Republicans in swing districts don't want that at all. They're arguing that Republicans always get blamed for a shutdown. So --
HUNT: Right.
BRUFKE: -- there's kind of a -- some tensions on that front.
HUNT: Yeah. That's, of course, the Mitch McConnell position that it's always bad, specifically for Republicans.
I mean, Daniel, what do you see in the big picture here? And Mike Johnson, the new speaker, is such a -- I talk to people who think he's in over his head. Is that what we're seeing here?
STRAUSS: Look, I think the public view is less that this is an unprepared speaker and more that this is a very, very conservative one and one that wants to pull any legislative discussion or any legislative push on Capitol Hill to the right.
And Democrats have been eager to peg him as, what they would say, a MAGA extremist. Someone who is very conservative on social issues.
I am interested to see in the next few weeks and months how that plays out on the campaign trail. If there -- if Democrats are able to sort of frame him the same way that Republicans, for years, framed Nancy Pelosi as sort of this liberal boogeyman.
I'm a little skeptical that the argument that this is just an incompetent speaker is something that the broader public will really care about simply because the view among Americans across the country is that Congress as a whole is inept right now -- not so much one particular leader.
HUNT: So let's hear a little bit from the speaker about kind of what's next in Congress -- watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): And our primary overriding responsibility has been, for the last three years, is to secure the border. And so, we're getting the government funding done and then we're going to turn to these other priorities. We can walk and chew gum at the same time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: So I have to say, Juliegrace, I see no evidence that they can actually walk and chew gum at the same time. They seem sort of barely able to stand up.
Do you -- what do you think?
[05:40:00]
BRUFKE: Like, I mean, Mike Johnson might have the least fun job in Washington. Four people can take things hostage right now. It's like -- I mean, I don't know. I mean, he's green but I'm not sure that anyone --
HUNT: No, it's impossible.
BRUFKE: -- as of right now -- he's working with impossible conditions.
But, I mean, I don't see a bipartisan border agreement even. I know the problem-solvers have talked about trying to put something together -- some more moderate members on both sides. But, I mean, I think a lot of this bipartisan stuff just -- given the current climate, I don't see a path for them to be able to get border stuff done and funding. I think they get funding done but some of these other big priorities, particularly in an election year -- I just don't see a path.
HUNT: Yeah. I mean, on that point, Daniel -- I mean, the fact that it is an election year, right? How do you see that -- I mean, Donald Trump clearly showed he can make a couple of phone calls and affect everything that happens down the street at the Capitol.
STRAUSS: Right. I do not see, on the campaign trail at least, any sort of proud moments of a lawmaker -- either Joe Biden or Donald Trump, or their vice presidential running mates -- Kamala Harris or the other one -- arguing that thanks to them -- thanks to their ticket, they moved some bills -- some legislative priority across the finish line in Congress. That is just not going to be the theme we're going to hear.
We're going to hear about congressional dysfunction. We're going to hear that the other side is the one at fault there. And that is going to be the response any time Congress and Capitol Hill comes up on the campaign trail until November.
HUNT: The blame game.
STRAUSS: The blame game.
HUNT: All right. Daniel Strauss, Juliegrace Brufke, thank you both very much for being here today.
All right. We're following this developing story in Moscow. Alexei Navalny's funeral is set to begin in just a few minutes. This is a live picture of the cemetery where he, we believe, will be laid to rest. We are on the ground in Moscow. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:46:12]
HUNT: All right, this just in. The hearse carrying Alexei Navalny has arrived at the church in Moscow where services are set to begin at this church in southeastern Moscow. Mourners and a large police presence have been assembling there for several hours. And later this morning, Navalny will be buried at a cemetery nearby. Both of these events close to the neighborhood where he lived.
Navalny aides, though, say that there are those who are trying to sabotage the events. His widow says that she's worried anyone who shows up today could be imprisoned.
Joining us now is Washington Post columnist and author of "Chaos Under Heaven," Josh Rogin. Josh, good morning.
JOSH ROGIN, COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST, AUTHOR, "CHAOS UNDER HEAVEN": Good morning.
HUNT: Always good to see you.
These reports have been pretty troubling that they had trouble finding a hearse that was willing to transport his body to the church. We're now seeing reports of police officers on the roofs of neighboring buildings to the church.
Can you kind of shed some light on what this moment means for Vladimir Putin and why we're seeing what we're seeing?
ROGIN: Sure. Well, first of all, it's a tragedy for Navalny's family. I was in the Munich Security Conference when the news came out and his wife was there and his daughter, a college student in California. So they're the most affected by this.
After that, his supporters who have built a movement around exposing Russian corruption. That was one of the main reasons Navalny was arrested, and detained, and killed.
And then all of the people who have struggled to put on this event. Now, you look at that and if you take a step back you realize that the reason that Putin and the security services are harassing all the people trying to go to the funeral is because they don't want anyone to see this -- to see what we're showing on the screen right now, which is the fact that there are people in Russia who are struggling for dignity and democracy and a better life, and that contradicts all of Putin's propaganda.
It doesn't matter how many times Tucker Carlson goes to a supermarket in Moscow and says oh, isn't this amazing? This has pierced that sort of veil.
This shows you that these people -- all of these people at this church are risking their lives. They're all taking a risk with their future for one simple reason -- is they believe in what Navalny believed in, which is that Russia can have a better future. That Putin is not actually the legitimate leader. That when he gets reelected next month as president that doesn't actually represent the will of all the Russian people.
So this is a moment of sadness, but it's also a moment of bravery because it shows the resilience of people inside Russia who want the world to know that everything is not as copacetic as Putin would have us believe.
HUNT: Yeah. You know, I'm so glad that you kind of underscored that -- the bravery of these crowds that are seeing. Because it's not, of course, something that we in the West ever have to grapple with.
ROGIN: Exactly.
HUNT: What does it kind of -- what does it say about Putin's strength or lack thereof that Navalny is dead?
ROGIN: Right. Well, look, when a -- when a -- any autocratic dictator does this kind of thing, whether it's Putin, or Xi Jinping, or Mohammed bin Salman, they're trying to show their strength.
They're trying -- there's two audiences. One is to their domestic audience. Anybody who tries to buck the system is going to get killed. That's one message. And the other message is to us that they can do anything they want. It doesn't matter if we sanction them. It doesn't matter if we put them on CNN. They're going to do whatever they want.
So, of course, these autocrats always wanted to show their strength but what it actually shows is their weakness, in my opinion. Because look how much time and resources they have dedicated to preventing this guy from having a decent funeral.
All the hearse drivers in Moscow somehow couldn't -- were busy that day until they found one. Four hundred people were arrested in 32 cities in Moscow. That's a massive security operation. That's not a show of strength; that's a show of insecurity.
[05:50:03]
HUNT: Um-hum.
ROGIN: And so, I think what we have to do is understand that as much as these autocrats want to project the fact that they're in firm control, the desire for dignity, and self-determination, and human rights around the world -- especially in Russia, but not only in Russia -- remains because it's something about us.
It's something that's innate in all human beings that they don't like to live on their knees. And snuffing out that flame -- that spark of, sort of, freedom and human rights and self-determination is almost impossible. And today we see that it's impossible because of the brave people who have bared out the cold to attend Navalny's funeral.
HUNT: How do you see the role of his wife, Yulia, going forward in terms of being a figure that those people that we're seeing in the streets are looking to?
ROGIN: Yeah. She's a sign of courage, a sign of resilience. She's a leader of the movement and she will continue to be.
And she's made a great sacrifice -- her whole family has -- and all the people around them. And that sacrifice deserves to be acknowledged and honored. But it also means that their struggle is only beginning.
And I heard her at -- right there, in her speech. I was sitting two rows back. And she promised that she won't stop. And imagine if that happened to your family and you're still going to keep going. So that just shows you how strong that she -- that she is and shows you that they can kill Navalny but they can't kill what he stood for.
HUNT: Yeah. I think the thing that I keep coming back to is it -- almost in death, he's almost more powerful in some ways, which is really astonishing.
All right, Josh Rogin. You're coming back later on in the show. Thank you very much for that.
All right. One week after a lopsided landing on the moon the lights have gone out on Odysseus. The lunar lander Ody losing power and going dormant. But the Texas aerospace firm that built the spacecraft says Ody is programmed to come back to life and phone home in three weeks if it receives enough solar power to reawaken.
Odysseus landed in a sharply tilted position that severely limited its operations and its data retrieval. Still, Ody is the first U.S. spacecraft to make a controlled descent to the lunar surface since NASA's final crewed Apollo mission way back in 1972.
All right, keep going little guy.
All right, time now for sports. Iowa star Caitlin Clark has dominated college basketball. Now, she's setting her sights on the WNBA.
Andy Scholes has this morning's Bleacher Report. Andy, good morning.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah, good morning, Kasie.
So just a day after becoming the all-time leading women's scorer, Caitlin Clark says this will be her final season at Iowa. In a post on Instagram, Clark saying, "While this season is from over and we have a lot more goals to achieve, it will be my last one at Iowa. I am excited to be entering the 2024 WNBA draft." Clark will more than likely be heading to the Indiana Fever who have that top pick in April's draft.
Now, Clark's going to play her final regular season home game on Sunday against Ohio State. She's just 18 points away from breaking the NCAA's all-time scoring record held by Pistol Pete Maravich. And according to TickPick, Clark's home finale on Sunday, where she could break that record, is the most expensive ticket in women's college basketball history. The cheapest ticket just to get in the building is going to cost you more than 500 bucks.
All right, to the NBA where a night after scoring 19 in the fourth to beat the Clippers, LeBron was back in action against the Wizards. And the 39-year-old scoring 31 points in this one. He's now nine points shy of becoming the first player ever to get to 40,000 career points. And LeBron will for sure do that Saturday against the Nuggets.
He's scored at least 10 points in every game since January 2007. That's more than 1,200 straight games, which is just an absurd streak.
And LeBron coming through in the clutch in overtime in this one. Watch him chase down Jordan Poole for the block here. LeBron is 15 years older than Poole, by the way. Then LeBron hit a big three to tie this game. Then he comes up with a big assist to Anthony Davis. He slams it here to put L.A. for good. A.D. had 40 and 15.
The Lakers won that one 134-131.
Elsewhere, the NBA's top two rookies squaring off as Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs taking on Chet Holmgren and the Thunder. Wemby going to knock down this three from way downtown to put San Antonio up nine with under 3 1/2 to go. Then check out this defense from Wemby on Chet. Stuffs him. Wemby, 28 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks.
The Spurs won that one 132-118.
All right. Finally, a great moment from last night's NBA tipoff shown on our sister channel TNT. Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal welcomed his 17-year-old daughter Me'Arah on the broadcast to celebrate her being selected for the 2024 McDonald's All-American Games.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL First of all, I want to say I'm so proud of you and I love you.
ME'ARAH O'NEAL, SELECTED FOR 2024 MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICAN GAMES: I love you, too.
S. O'NEAL: And we want to present you with this since you're All- American. Check it out.
M. O'NEAL: Oh, yeah.
KENNY SMITH, FORMER NBA PLAYER: Yes.
[05:55:00]
S. O'NEAL: 24 McDonald's All-American.
M. O'NEAL: Thank you.
S. O'NEAL: And you think you can beat Kenny in the 3-point shootout?
SMITH: Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
S. O'NEAL: (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yeah, probably a good decision by Kenny not to compete because Me'Arah drained a 3-pointer right there on live TV.
She's going to graduate from Episcopal High School in Houston this spring and going to play for the Florida Gators, as you can see by those big banners, next season.
And Kasie, I'll tell you what. Always fun to see legends' kids playing their sport and how they do. And Me'Arah is six foot-three as you can see. Those guys were not towering over her at all.
HUNT: That's literally what I was saying off-camera to the guest who's sitting there. I was like, man, these people are so tall.
And look, Andy, can I say big picture, I love how many -- how many women's sports stories we're doing now. And I love the fact that it's going to cost that much money to try to get into that game. It is wonderful to see these women athletes finally getting the recognition they deserve.
SCHOLES: Yeah, it is certainly cool. It will probably be one of the biggest sporting events in Iowa history this Sunday, right, Kasie?
HUNT: For real. For real.
All right, Andy, thank you so much.
SCHOLES: All right.
HUNT: Have a great weekend.
SCHOLES: You, too.
HUNT: Coming up next here, thousands are gathering in Moscow for the funeral of Alexei Navalny. It is set to begin in just moments. And CNN is live there on the scene in Moscow ahead.
Plus, a Florida judge ready to set a trial date in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. What's behind the change of heart from Team Trump?
(COMMERCIAL)
