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CNN This Morning

Biden Hits Campaign Trail With Trump Stuck In Court; Israel Debates Response To Iran Attacks; A Year's Worth Of Rain Falls On Dubai, Flooding Roads. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 17, 2024 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:37]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: It's Wednesday, April 17th.

Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:

Seven jurors seated, five to go in Donald Trumps hush money trial. The former president stuck in court, while President Biden hits the trail.

The court votes articles of impeachment against the homeland security secretary delivered to the Senate. Will there even be a trial?

And for the first time in two years, top military officials from the U.S. and China are talking.

(MUSIC)

ACOSTA: It is 5:00 a.m. here in Washington. There's a live look up on Capitol Hill. Nice and quiet here in the nation's capital.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Jim Acosta, in for Kasie Hunt. It's great to be with you.

Up first, a tale of two candidates. Donald Trumps stuck in a courtroom while President Biden goes after him while out on the campaign trail. The president kicking off a multi-city tour of battleground Pennsylvania where he's calling for higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations, leaning into his Scranton roots to make as economic case against Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I look at the economy, I don't see it through the eyes of Mar-a-Lago. I see through the eyes of Scranton?

No billionaires should you pay a lower tax rate than a teacher, a nurse, a sanitation worker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Trump is in New York, of course, for his criminal hush money trial. Seven jurors were seated on Tuesday after court. The former president headed to a Harlem bodega where he aired some familiar grievances.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The whole world is watching this New York legal system. This is all a election -- were really election interference at the highest level.

The Hispanics are supporting me at a level that nobody's ever seen before. They're going to make a heavy play (INAUDIBLE) Africa American support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Africa joining me now is Stef Kight, congressional reporter and immigration expert at "Axios".

And, Stef, I mean, this location was significant, I suppose for Trump in a way it was the site of this fatal bodega stabbing, a case that was dropped by the same prosecutor in this criminal case, Alvin Bragg. Trump has tried to connect crime time to migrants over and over again. This is what he does. He did it yesterday.

Help us make sense of what we saw yesterday up in Harlem, if you can.

STEF KIGHT, CONGRESSDIONAL REPORTER AND IMMIGRATION EXPERT, AXIOS: Yeah. I mean, it was certainly Trump trying to turn the tables on District Attorney Alvin Bragg and kind elevating a case that was a very critical case for Bragg there.

And, of course, Trump is making crime a key part of his campaign strategy this year, he really has hit on the issue of crime over and over again, and also connecting it to your point to migrants. That's something we heard from him yesterday after his day in court. It's, of course, a little bit ironic to hear him coming out of a criminal court proceeding and then go after crime himself. But it's something that we've heard time and time again from him. It's something that he wants to keep a focus.

And it's also, you know, of course, this trial is going to impact his ability to campaign, to campaign in battleground states, but he is determined to make the best of it and bring the campaign to him there in New York.

ACOSTA: Yeah. He says he could possibly win New York state, where it's obviously that's pretty far-fetched. And he was pointing to his press coverage talking about. Lets listen to that. We have that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They want to keep me off the campaign trail, but basically what I'm doing I think there's more press here than there is if I went out to some nice lation.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yeah. I mean, you know, obviously, it's pretty hopeless for him to win New York and campaigning in New York City, up in Harlem, at a bodega where there was a fatal, there was a homicide. I mean, it seems to me it's almost he's not really trying to campaign in New York. He's trying to campaign on Fox. He's trying to campaign where his base might be tuning in to see what he's up to.

KIGHT: Yeah, we know his campaign is planning to kind of get out there and get as much attention as possible, even though this is a potentially negative story line for the former president. There's still trying to use this as an opportunity to get Trump on the airways to have Trumps speaking to the American people and to still draw attention away from President Biden, who does have the opportunity to go to Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, to pitch his own vision for a second term, as we're seeing that contrast there.

And, of course, we know the Trump team is not afraid of any kind of controversy, they have long operated on. Any news is good news kind of a strategy.

ACOSTA: Yeah, I would say that that's the case. The president is in Pittsburgh today where he's going to be speaking to United Steel Workers and Scranton yesterday.

[05:05:01]

He was talking about the ugly side of politics.

Let's talk about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've never thought I'd see a time when I'm going through a neighborhood or rural town in the west, I see big signs that have a Trump sign in the middle of says F Biden, and having a little kid standing with his middle finger seven years old, eight years old. Well, I promise it happens all the time its not who we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yeah. I mean, this has been a continuing theme for the president that it's -- this is a battle for the soul of the country, you know, the way he looks out at Trump is sort of drag the country into the political gutter and he's talking about these. I mean, you and I see this out on the campaign trail. We cover politics.

I mean, this is -- this is the ugly side of politics and it has been dredged up to a large extent by the former president and the president is going to -- he's going to point his finger at that.

KIGHT: Yeah, of course. I mean, President Biden has made this the theme through this campaign and also it was a theme in 2020 as well, trying to show himself as the American who just wants its to be just like everyone else. He wants to unite the country. The question is, you know, whether we can actually see improvement there.

And, you know, Biden's also speaking to a sentiment that we see over and over again in the polls that Americans are frustrated by politics. They're frustrated by the tone. They're frustrated by the anger that they see. Whether it's through the media or just hearing from politicians directly, so that is certainly something we're seeing Biden focus on.

ACOSTA: Yeah, but he's not really spending as much time talking about and this has been sort of hotly debated as to whether or not the president should go after Trump on these legal issues. He's not doing that a whole lot. He's hitting Trump on other -- other parts of the ugly side of our politics. I suppose. And the way he thinks that Trump is lowered, the lowered the conversation, but he's not going after Trump so much on this -- on all these legal troubles.

KIGHT: Yeah. I mean, we have, you know, Biden as well as Democrats at large have tried to leave this to the courts. That's their -- that's their line. They went to allow the justice system to work things out on its own. I think they are nervous at making these cases look political.

This is something that Trump has used himself. He likes to paint the Justice Department as weaponized against him, that that he has been leading the charge on with many of his Republican allies in Congress as well.

And so, Democrats are having to walk that line, right? They don't want to make the case -- these cases look even more political, especially actually, among some Republican voters who do see these cases as political as it is.

ACOSTA: Yeah.

All right. Stef Kight, thanks for coming in, early this morning. Really appreciate it.

All right. Coming up next, Israel debating its response to Iran's attacks, the options on the table. We'll talk about that according to U.S. intelligence.

Plus, how Senate Democrats are expected to handle impeachment articles against the DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

And why USC says it canceled its valedictorian speech. It's coming up.

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[05:12:24]

ACOSTA: At least 13 people are dead, including seven children after Israeli strike hit a refugee camp in central Gaza. It comes as Israel is still debating its response to Iran's weekend attack. U.S. intelligence suggests Israel is considering a narrow and limited strike inside Iran, but the Israelis have not given the U.S. an official warning about what their plans may be or when that might be implemented.

CNN's Nada Bashir is live in London for us with more. Nada, what can you tell us?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Look, there are suddenly mounting concerns over what a potential escalation could look like more broadly in the region. We've seen how quickly it can spread across the region. And there have been mountain calls from members of the international community for Israel not to strike back at Iran, for there to be restraint at by the Israeli military.

Now, of course, this is coming from some of Israel's closest allies, including the United States. And here in the United Kingdom as well, we've heard from the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He spoke with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday calling for calm, calling for restraint, also expressing support and solidarity with Israel.

Today, the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, is in Israel. He spoke to reporters. He said that the UK is calling for restraint, and that if Israel is to respond to do so in a way that is limited and does not cause escalation beyond the region.

And this is certainly being felt by regional leaders who have for some time now held concerns that these proxy development between Iran and Israel could spread to more direct engagement. That is certainly what we have seen now, Iran engaging directly for the first time in an attack against Israel.

We heard yesterday from the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. He is, of course, a key player and ongoing mediation between Israel and Hamas. He told CNN that he had spoken to both the Israeli and Iranian foreign ministers conveying his wish not to see an escalation, warning that this for tat reciprocal targeting between Israel and Iran would no way and would be not conducive to any longstanding efforts to bring about peace in the region.

And that is also being felt of course, within Israel by many politicians, but also by many in the country who want the Israeli government to focus more so on trying to bring back the hostages that will certainly expressed today from the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He spoke to Israeli media. So this would not be in Israel's interests and while that Israel should be focused more so on trying to strike a deal to bring the hostages home.

ACOSTA: All right. Nada Bashir, thank you very much for that update. We appreciate it. Coming up, just ahead, how Donald Trump defines a fair juror in his criminal hush money trial.

[05:15:03]

Plus, dangerous storms devastating parts of the Midwest. Your forecast is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: A developing story right now in the United Arab Emirates. A years-worth of rain has fallen in just 12 hours in Dubai, flooding out roads and causing delays at the city's airport.

Let's go live now to CNN's Eleni Giokos, who is live in Dubai.

And a -- wow, that is a lot of rain. What can you show us? What can you tell us?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Yeah, it absolutely is. I mean, look, these are the cleanup team that gets to pump the water from the street. They tell me that it's already half of what it was good morning.

[05:20:02]

In fact, I just walked about a meter from where I'm standing right now and I was submerged knee deep. And it just gives you a sense of just the amount of water that Dubai experience yesterday, pummeling down across the UAE as a whole.

The numbers that we have in certain parts of the UAE, there were on 250 millimeters of water, but frankly, they've been torrential rains across the region.

Now, in Oman, in specific we saw over 17 people losing their lives. One 70-year-old man has lost a life here in the UAE. We're still waiting for more information from emergency services. But in terms of what it means for getting around the city, it's been almost impossible to drive and leave your home.

The main artery feeding through into the airport, Sheikh Zayed Road, one of the most its important streets in Dubai, was completely shut down. People were trapped on that street for over around six hours.

And you see cars submerged and crashing into each other. It was incredible sites, frankly, pretty horrific stuff. And now, you've got cleanup teams coming through today to try and assess the damage. And importantly, to see what's happened to infrastructure.

Now, many would say this isn't a lot of water in relative terms, and parts of other parts of the world that we see. But it is a desert area. The water has no way to go. There aren't enough drain water systems to get the water flowing from the streets. And you've got so this reality playing out.

The Dubai International Airport has shut down, all flights leaving from Dubai because people cannot get to the airport. So overall, the last 24 hours have seen the city shutdown.

ACOSTA: All right. Wow, that's going to be a big cleanup for Dubai. I'm not sure that they're totally accustomed to all that rain. It's going to be a big task for them.

Eleni Giokos, thank you very much. Really appreciate it.

It is 21 minutes -- 21 minutes past the hour. Here is your morning roundup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASNA TABASSUM, VALEDICTORIAN, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, CLASS OF 2024: Leads me to consider whether the decision to revoke my speech was on the made -- was made on the basis of safety alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: That is the valedictorian of USC's graduating class, Asna Tabassum, telling CNN she now questions why her speech was canceled. The school cited, quote, substantial risks relating to security, but Tabassum says USC refused to provide her with details regarding the alleged threats.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that scales back some book ban rules in the state. State residents without children in a school district are now limited to one objection per month.

And Boeing's safety standards under the microscope. In a pair of Senate hearings today, it will be the first time the public hears from a whistleblower who says Boeings manufacturing process put really 1,500 777 and 787 jets at risk.

And meantime, 50 million people under severe storm threats from Mississippi to Michigan today after powerful winds and tornadoes brought down trees and power lines all across the Midwest.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is tracking all of it for us.

Its that time of the year, Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, that's right, Jim.

We saw the extreme weather in Dubai, here on the home front in the U.S. We have our own set of severe weather that were contending with. This happened yesterday in Central Iowa.

Look closely, there is a tornado, right about there. This trooper capturing the moment that it touched down. That is called a rope tornado.

And you may think, hey, that's a really skinny looking tornado. That's why they call it a rope tornado. Maybe it's not so powerful.

Well, actually, on the contrary, sometime these rope tornadoes can get more powerful the smaller and more rope-like they become. Think about an ice skater as he or she turns quicker and quicker as she brings, their hands in towards their body, that centrifugal force will actually increase their speed, their rotational speed. And that's what happens sometimes with a wins of a rope tornado.

This is what happened in Kansas. You can see the damage left behind by the numerous tornados that spun up yesterday, nearly two dozen, in fact. You can see them spread across parts of the Midwest and the Central Plains.

The system right now losing a bit of its punch from yesterday. So not as much of a severe weather threat today, but nonetheless, there are chances of tornadoes this time across the Ohio River Valley, damaging winds and large hail. The main threat and isolated tornado can't be ruled out and check that out. Kansas City also under an elevated risk of severe whether for the day today.

This cold front advances eastward, and we see another round of severe storms tomorrow. Here it is from St. Louis, stretching southward towards central Texas, large hail and damaging winds.

When we're talking about temperatures, it's springtime, folks. The clash of the seasons, you get used to the warmth and then the cold air starts to come in behind it. Let's enjoy the 80s while we can from Atlanta all the way to the nation's capital -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Man, 86 degrees in Atlanta. It's way too early for that, isn't it?

[05:25:02]

I mean, that is -- that is warm.

VAN DAM: I know mine has already started.

ACOSTA: Yeah, mine has been cranked up to here in D.C. little.

All right. Derek Van Dam, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

VAN DAM: OK.

ACOSTA: Coming up next, what we know so far about the seven jurors selected for Donald Trump's hush money trial.

Plus, the options for Senate Democrats after House Republicans delivered articles of impeachment against the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. That's coming up.

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