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CNN This Morning

Now: Law Enforcement Enters UCLA Encampment; Trump Campaigns In Michigan, Wisconsin On Trial Off Day; University In Iran Offers Scholarships To Expelled Students; Storms Threats From Southern Plains To Upper Midwest. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired May 02, 2024 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:34]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Thursday, May 2nd.

Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:

Breaking news, protesters at UCLA refusing to leave. A standoff on campus as police have moved in.

Donald Trump back on the campaign trail and two critical states, before heading back to New York for his hush money trial today.

And Marjorie Taylor Greene daring Democrats to stop her from forcing a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson.

Five a.m. here in Washington, this is a live look at the UCLA campus where it is 2:00 a.m., the middle of the night, basically.

Good morning to those of you who are here on the East Coast. Good evening to those watching out west. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's great to be with you this morning.

We do have breaking news right now. Police have now entered the makeshift pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, and there's been a standoff between police and protesters, going on all night long after demonstrators were ordered to leave and refused. Police have been surrounding the encampment for hours now, all of this developing one night after violent clashes between the two protest groups.

CNN's Nick Watt is on the campus of UCLA. He's near the encampment.

Nick, what are you seeing at this hour?

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: OK. As you mentioned, the police have gone into the encampment, which is behind me and then we have a line of California highway patrol, and then we have a line of LAPD facing the group that I'm with.

This is a group of pro-Palestinian protesters were gathered over the past six or seven hours since the rumors swirled that there was going to be an incursion into the camp. This crowd has gathered.

Now, obviously, it is 2:00 in the morning the law enforcement I assumed was hoping that a lot of this crowd would have dispersed by now. They have not. It's little thinner than it was, but it is still big.

So the geography here is, I'm on the east side, lines of police, the encampment, and then another group of pro-Palestinian protesters on the other side. Now, what we have been hearing from inside the encampment, a lot of these people are watching live streams. It appears that some, for some reason, law enforcement has gone in and then moved back slightly and that has been and cheered by people as some sort of victory, unclear exactly what is going on.

So I'm not going to make any conclusions about it. But people here are, they are saying that this is a victory. Now, this encampments been there for about a week after some violence last night where counter-protestors through firecrackers sprayed chemical there were physical altercations since then, the very hands off police presence completely changed.

Today, this campus swarming with LAPD and California highway patrol building up to this, which is the move into the encampment. The encampment has been illegal all along, but the university has put up with it not wanting to create a flashpoint. Last night, that all changed. Tonight, we see them moving in.

And now, they're concerned. That encampment has been there for a week. They're concerned a lot of human waste in there. They're concerned that some of those protesters have bear spray.

So I was told by a source, this is going to be a slow and methodical process for a few hours now, there have been buses, L.A. sheriff buses parked about a mile away waiting to take those people arrested away?

The operation is underway, as I say, slow and methodical. So expect this to last for some time. We will be here watching it play out. Back to you.

HUNT: All right.

Nick Watt on scene for us with that great reporting, Nick. Thanks very much for starting us off this morning. I really appreciate it.

All right. Now this, also today, just a few hours, it's back to court for Donald Trump, but before his criminal hush money trial resumes, Judge Juan Merchan will hold another hearing on Trump's gag order.

The Manhattan D.A.'s office will present four more alleged violations by the former president. Trump has already been held in contempt and ordered to pay $9,000 in fines for violating the gag order.

Meanwhile, the presumptive Republican nominee used a day off from court yesterday to hold rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin, critical states this fall. It was Trumps first time back on the campaign trail since the hush money trial started last month.

[05:05:03]

And as he often does, he railed against the proceedings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I got to do two of these things that day. You know why? Because I'm in New York all the time with the Biden trial, from being forced to sit for days on end, and a kangaroo courtroom with a corrupt and conflicted judge, enduring a Biden signed show trial at the hands of a Marxist district attorney source back, who's taking orders from the Biden administration. I have a judge who gagged me. I'm not allowed to talk about things, and nobody seen anything quite like it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right. Joining me now to discuss is Matt Brown. He's national race and politics reporter for "The Associated Press".

Matt, good morning to you.

MATT BROWN, NATIONAL RACE AND POLITICS REPORTER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Good morning.

HUNT: This has been something that Donald Trump has done repeatedly as he has faced other legal proceedings, but this is the first time where it is true when he says trial is keeping him off the campaign trail, right? He is required to be in court. The days the court is in session.

Now, he seemed to I know he played golf at least one day that the trial was off our earlier, but this time he tried to use the time that he had to go out and do these rallies on the campaign trail.

What you heard there from him was fairly typical complaints. But the reality is the gag order question is a serious one that were going to see again today. The judge has threatened Trump with jail if he keeps doing it.

What is your expectation for what were going to see in court today, and how Trump seems to be handling how he talks about the trial in the wake of the gag order punishments?

BROWN: Well, Kasie, so what I think we saw yesterday was especially striking given that Trump was not backing down, if anything, doubling down on his group claims of grievance and frustration with the judge. So given that what were going to be seeing today is a debate over the potentially holding Trump in contempt of court for his various comments attacking the judge directly, attacking witnesses, and the entire process here.

We're really seeing campaign candidate Trump and the political incentives that he has here to lean into his brand of grievance running up against the legal fact that he as you said, could be thrown into jail if he has continued to be hold into contempt. So, we'll make that make a lot of sense for illegal defendant to be taking this stance in court. It makes a lot of sense to lean into Trumps brand here as a political figure. HUNT: Yeah. Well, certainly I mean, I think my question remains, what

is the difference between a general election and a primary election campaign on this question? Because obviously these are swing states in a general election, Wisconsin and Michigan, it's going to be very, very close whether this helps him there with a general electorate. He is going to need independents, is a question.

Trump also weighed in on the campus protests, which is something that is unified Republicans. And the current president, Joe Biden, has not said anything about it on camera yet. I think underscoring during the challenges he has.

Here's what Trump said about the campus protests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The radical extremists and far-left agitators are terrorizing college campuses as you possibly noticed, and Biden's nowhere to be found. He hasn't said anything. But they're his political base.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: They're his political base, he says.

I mean, it does seem to throw into sharp relief the challenges that this poses for President Biden.

BROWN: Yes, I think that this shows this campus protesters kind of sidestep the issue of Israel-Palestine itself. We're not talking about what's going on in the Israel-Palestine conflict at the moment. We're talking about what's going on in these campuses, which is a situation that conservatives are -- have been talking about for decades now, saying that left-wing, you know, activists on college campuses are a site of disorder, are a site of weakness. This is something that conservative feel very comfortable leaning into and something that they have a lot of experience focusing on.

And it's something that Democrats feel that they need to play defense on. I mean, this is why mike Johnson, who is facing a lot of challenges in Congress himself at the moment, has visited Columbia University and called for the president's resignation there because this is something that can unite his conference at a time when they're very, very fractious, otherwise.

HUNT: Very, very -- it's indeed, yes.

All right. Matt Brown for us this morning, Matt, thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

We're keeping an eye on Los Angeles where protesters at UCLA have been ordered to leave and police have now entered their encampment.

Plus, police in Wisconsin kill a minor student who apparently tried to bring a gun to school.

And the Biden administration putting the blame for Florida's near total abortion ban on one man, Donald Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:13:45]

HUNT: Welcome back.

Now to our breaking news out of Los Angeles. Police have now entered the pro-Palestinian encampment on -- on the campus of UCLA. The protesters were ordered to leave late last night, but they have yet to move out.

And now, even more pro-Palestinian demonstrators have gathered behind the police line. Demonstrations are now spreading outside the U.S. We've seen protests popping up in Europe and Canada. And now, there's a university in Iran trying to involve itself by offering scholarships to any students who are expelled during these protests.

CNN's Max Foster joins us now, live from London.

Max, I'm going to set aside the fact that if you went to the university in Iran on a scholarship, I don't think you'd be allowed to protest something that the government didn't want you to protest. So there's that. But let's talk about the international response and sort of how these protests are being perceived overseas as well.

What are you seeing in Europe and across the rest of the world?

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's that. You know, if you're not following the sun, a lot of detail, you know, you and I know what the complexity with this, you know, just the protests happening in UCLA, but there's the other university protests and the wider protests as well, and the challenges there have been for law enforcement, local government, national government in allowing, you know, a fundamental belief in the right to protest with the right of other students to go about their studies as well.

[05:15:11]

I think if you just zoom in on it though, from outside, it feels hypocritical. You just mentioned how other countries clamp down on protests. They're seeing America clamping down on pro-Palestinian protests at the same time, a supplying Israel with arms is an oversimplified approach. We know there are many more layers to it than that but the overall optics, what's coming out from this, it doesn't always feel positive for the U.S.

Here in Europe, obviously, much more understanding about what's going on over there. But again, in the same time how there's a concern, how this will be interpreted in the Middle East, for example.

HUNT: Right. You know, I mean, I just I keep flashing back to protests in Iran over headscarves in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini and kind of what happens there when protests against things that the government doesn't want protested happens quite different, even as students on campuses are objecting to police arrest and presence on these campuses, it's worth -- worth keeping in mind.

Let's talk different picture --

FOSTER: Yeah, big difference.

HUNT: Yeah, let's talk big picture, Max, about sort of the geopolitical realities that are driving, obviously, the protests here. The Biden administration is pushing hard at -- for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, who they're fighting against. And the obviously Benjamin Netanyahu is a critical piece here.

And "The Wall Street Journal" writes in the paper this morning that Netanyahu's poll numbers have stabilized in the wake of Iran's drone and missile attack on Israeli soil of a couple of weeks ago and the Biden administration, of course, is under pressure as these protests have expanded. They say Biden needs the Israeli leader deliver a halt in fighting that could ease domestic pressure over the conflict. And yet it doesn't seem as though Netanyahu is under as much pressure to do that as he might have been. Or maybe, maybe the fact that these poll numbers are stronger actually, take some pressure off, considering it's the right-wing that is demanding that he go in to Rafah.

How do you understand how the situation in Israel is putting pressure, Netanyahu's domestic political situation is putting pressure on the ceasefire negotiations?

FOSTER: Well, when you say stabilizing, I think a lot of his critics would say they've just dropped to the point where they can't jump anymore effectively. He's still very weak so when we see the poll numbers increasing, then that would reflect, I think Israelis starting to believe in his strategy.

I mean fundamentally the problem with a strategy is he had these two outcomes that he wanted destroying Hamas, releasing the hostages, neither what she's achieved and the longer it takes, the harder it is for him to keep that support. But, you know, there -- if you're an Israeli, you feel under fire. And the fact that you felt under threat by Hamas at one point now feel under threat priestly from Iran, it does -- it creates fear and you're looking for strong leadership.

And in many ways, you're seen as a strong leader and we've talked before, we are, we should never underestimate Benjamin Netanyahu, but he still hasn't got the result that he needs. And he also needs America supports and Americas very frustrated about the complete lack of aid still getting into Gaza. You know, that's the red line for them. And it's, you know, there's no resolution to it. Another Erez crossing being opened up, but we haven't seen anything substantial coming in on land in terms of aid, and that's a big problem for Netanyahu in terms of his wider support.

HUNT: For sure.

All right. Max Foster for us in London -- Max, thank you. Always grateful to have you.

All right. Come on up next here, police in Wisconsin shooting and killing an armed minor near a middle school.

Plus, Marjorie Taylor Greene's next move to force out or try to force out the House speaker.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:29]

HUNT: All right. Twenty-two minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.

Wisconsin police shooting and killing an unidentified minor student who allegedly brought a gun near a middle-school yesterday. The student never entered the school and no one else was injured.

A fifth body has been recovered from the site of Baltimore's Key Bridge collapse. Authorities identifying the victims as 49-year-old Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez from Glen Burnie, Maryland.

The United Methodist Church, making a historic shift on homosexuality. In 692-51 vote, the church overturned its ban on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriages.

All right. Time now for weather. After seven days in a row of tornadoes, the severe storm threat finally easing up. But parts of the Southern Plains to the Upper Midwest could still see some scattered severe storms today.

Our weatherman Derek Van Dam tracking all of it for us.

Derek, good morning to you. What are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, good morning, Kasie.

So the severe weather threat is waning, but we are now honing in on a flash flood threat. We'll get to that in just a second all in all yesterday, we had 26 tornado reports, so were now officially above average for the year to date and there still a slight risk of severe storms today, large hail, damaging winds cant rule out a tornado or two.

Abilene to Dallas, that's where we have our greatest risk today. Now, a lot of weather on the map at the moment, but lets focus in on what's happening across central Texas and eastern Texas as well, just north of Houston, we have flash flood warnings that are ongoing.

Some impressive rainfall totals here over the past few days just north of West Livingston, there's Houston right there.

[05:25:01]

We've had over ten inches of rain and guess what? There are some river crests that are really starting to ramp up this. We were investigating yesterday. This is the Trinity River at liberty. So in Liberty County, this was just northeast of Houston. It is in major flood stage and it's expected to peak literally this week, right? Thursday and a Friday at 30.7 feet.

Guess what? That is the highest levels since hurricane Harvey back in 2017. So that's saying something that will certainly flood businesses and homes and low-lying areas with additional rainfall in the forecast upstream from there. We'll see that crest for some of the major rivers here. Just know north of Houston.

So that's why we have a moderate risk of flash flooding in and around the area. Slight risk extends northward including Shreveport, Dallas, Little Rock, Springfield, all the way to Des Moines. It's all because of the storm system producing the wet weather. We focus in on the flash flood threat, but severe weather threat re-enters the equation later this week -- Kasie.

HUNT: All right. Keep an eye on that.

Our weatherman Van Dam, Derek, thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

VAN DAM: OK.

HUNT: Coming up next here, Marjorie Taylor Greene, daring Democrats to block her attempts to force a vote on ousting the House speaker.

Plus, is Donald Trumps setting the stage for another violent uprising if he loses to Joe Biden?

And live pictures of an ongoing standoff between protesters and police on the UCLA campus. We're keeping an eye on that brief story and will update you as it develops.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:00]