Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Biden to Announce Executive Order on Border; Biden Takes Aim at 'Convicted Felon' Trump at Fundraiser; Millions Facing Excessive Heat from California to Texas. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired June 04, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Tuesday, June 4. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING, President Biden poised to issue an executive order on the border crisis that is going to anger some members of his own party.

[06:01:13]

Opening statements about to begin in the federal gun trial of Hunter Biden.

And two passengers and a pilot injured after their hot-air balloon hit power lines. That's one of our five things you've got to see this morning.

And a Major League Baseball player facing a lifetime ban for allegedly betting on his own team.

All right, 6 a.m. here in Washington. A live look at the White House on this -- technically, it's still spring -- Tuesday. Sun is up and shining. Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.

If Congress won't do it, President Biden apparently will. As soon as today, the president expected to roll out an executive order that effectively closes the Southern border to asylum seekers. It will enable border officials to turn back migrants who illegally cross the border after border crossings meet a certain threshold, reportedly 2,500 per day.

The executive order relies on a regulation that was enforced under the Trump administration and was widely denounced at the time by Democrats. Now this move by President Biden is being criticized by Republicans as political.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): It's too little, too late. Now he's trying to desperately show the American people somehow that he wants to address the issue that he himself created.

Now he wants to issue some sort of executive order, I guess to show that, oh, no, he really does care about the issue. The only reason he's doing that is because the polls say that it's the biggest issue in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: And our panel's here: Farnoush Amiri. She's congressional reporter for the Associated Press. Jonah Goldberg, co-founder and editor in chief of "The Dispatch." And former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield. Good morning to all of you.

Kate, let me start with you, because this is something that the president -- you know, they've been talking about this for months. Why do it now?

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, he's got a debate coming up in a couple of weeks.

HUNT: Is it just as clear as that?'

BEDINGFIELD: Well, let's -- look, I think there are couple of things. First of all, yes. Of course. Look, does that factor in? He's going to be on a big national stage. He's going to want to be able to talk about everything he's done comprehensively to try to tackle this problem. Yes.

But secondly, remember, this comes after Republicans walked away from the comprehensive border bill, probably the most stringent and significant piece of proposed legislation on this issue in decades. And Republicans walked away.

So by, you know, taking executive action here, now Biden can now say, listen, I -- you know, I wanted to do a bipartisan deal. Republicans didn't want to come to the table and participate in the solution. And so my hand has been forced. And so I'm going to do everything that I can alone to take this on.

So I think it's important, you know, contextually to think about the fact that this comes after that bipartisan conversation fell apart. It's -- frankly, I think it strengthens Biden -- Biden's hand in this conversation, because he can say, we tried to get this done. They were all, well -- all talk and no walk. And so now I'm walking the walk.

HUNT: I mean, I think the challenge, though, Jonah, is that the president has otherwise said, well, I can't do anything about the border. I can't fix it. I need Congress.

So Congress tries, Congress fails. And then all of a sudden, he's now saying, well, actually. I think the argument Republicans are going to level at him is why didn't you do this, like, months ago?

JONAH GOLDBERG, CO-FOUNDER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "THE DISPATCH": Yes, it's a look. I'm actually sympathetic to the idea that the president can't give lawless, unconstitutional executive orders. I feel that way about student loan forgiveness. I feel that way about moratoriums on rent.

You know, President Biden said that, you know, the Supreme Court tried to stop me on student loan forgiveness, but I didn't let them. Well, maybe he should have let them, because it was unconstitutional, what it was trying to do. Similarly, I think that there's a colorable (ph), decent argument that he can't do this stuff at the border, that the Republicans were wrong about it. I think the Republicans in Congress should have passed, you know, the border legislation.

And so now we're just going to see both sides sort of reverse. And the left-wing base is now going to say this is an outrageous executive order, and he doesn't have the authority to do it. And the right is going to say he does have the authority to do it, but it's too little, too late.

[06:05:05]

BEDINGFIELD: But of course -- I mean, of course, it would've been better to do it through Congress. And I think Biden would say that. I mean, you know, you saw this executive order challenged in the courts under the Trump administration. I mean, he -- this was not his first choice.

But you know, again, absent Republicans playing ball on this, he's left with no other option. One thing that struck me, this was not his first choice. But again, absent Republicans playing ball on this, he's left with no other option.

HUNT: One thing that stuck out to me in this, Farnoush, is that they actually seem to have cut down the threshold for asylum seekers in this executive order. We're reporting that it's 2,500 a day. "The New York Times" reported, when this was going through Congress, that the level was actually set at 5,000 over excuse me, over the course of the week. Exceeded 5,000 over the course of a week.

So this number seems to be lower than that. This 200 -- 2,500 a week is my understanding.

But this is already also getting criticism from the left. And AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, tweeted this when we broke this news at CNN. She says, "Doing Trump impressions isn't how we beat Trump."

How is this going to be received on the left?

FARNOUSH AMIRI, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, ASSOCIATED PRESS: I mean, you're already saying, right? Like, you talked about earlier in your show about who's going to show up to the announcement of this executive order, right?

Even, you know, tough district Democratic -- Democratic senators are not going to show up, because they both see -- as much as they need border to be off the table for Democrats this election year, they know that the way that Biden has gone about this, they have not approved it.

So Biden is now facing difficulty and criticism from those in tough districts and those on the progressive left who have said that this is not the humane and American way to go about immigration.

I mean, those are some people who had a huge problem with the bipartisan -- bipartisan border deal to begin with. But obviously, they don't see that Biden needs to do this.

HUNT: Well, and Kate, I mean, this was how the president talked about it initially when he was first elected. This was Biden in 2020 on asylum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the first president in history of the United States America that anybody seeking asylum has to do it in another country. That's never happened before in America. That's never happened before in America.

You come to the United States, and you make your case that I seek asylum based on the following -- on the following premise, why I deserve it under American law. They're sitting in squalor on the other side of the river.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: "They're sitting in squalor on the other side of the river." He's now essentially going back to that.

BEDINGFIELD: Well, I think you have to look at the reality of what has happened over the last four years at the border. He's acknowledging that. He's acknowledging that there has been an increase, and he's doing everything in his power to try to mitigate that.

I think -- but I think the other thing to think about here -- well, I think there are two things. First of all, you know, remember, he doesn't have to win voters who say that the border is their top priority. He has to mitigate some of the damage. Right?

I mean, he doesn't -- he -- the majority of voters who say that the border is their top issue are Republican voters who are going to vote for Trump.

There's absolutely a cohort of swing voters who are concerned about it. But you know, he's not -- he doesn't have to actually win those voters. He has to limit his damages here.

Secondly, I would say don't forget, Donald Trump is not absent from this narrative. The way Donald Trump talks about immigration is also incredibly alienating to some of these moderate and swing voters: talking about immigrants poisoning the blood of the country, calling them vermin.

So as this conversation unfolds over the next five months, Donald Trump and the -- and the kind of grotesque way that he talks about immigration is going to be a factor here, too.

GOLDBERG: Yes, I agree with that entirely. At the same time, I do think this is kind of indicative of a larger pattern with Biden. Biden was never actually a centrist in terms of the idea of being, like, in the midpoint of American politics. He was always trying to position himself as the midpoint within the Democratic Party. And we can see on this, we can see on Israel. We can see a whole bunch

of things, he -- as the party moves in various ways, the center of gravity moves, and so does Biden.

And I think that this sort of reinforces trying -- this image of him just sort of trying to chase this political compromise that will please everybody in his coalition. And it ends up reinforcing the image that he's -- he's kind of indecisive and vacillating. And I'm not sure it's going to have the political valence that he thinks it's going to have.

HUNT: Does it play into this weakness --

GOLDBERG: I think it does.

HUNT: -- plunge (ph) that the president has?

BEDINGFIELD: But I also think that there's a -- there is a power in recognizing, acknowledging when circumstances change.

I mean, we have seen the numbers change at the border over the last four years. He, as president, is trying to grapple with that. And I think that's a reasonable case to make.

GOLDBERG: I understand. But circumstances changed. But if your principles are -- you state these bold principled positions, and then you change because the facts, the political facts on the ground shift, whether it's on Israel, whether it's on the border, it reinforces this image that he's just sort of trying to chase the sweet spot rather than actually stand his ground. And I do think it's an image problem.

BEDINGFIELD: I think there's elements of pragmatism there that actually, a lot of American voters want to see. But I hear you.

HUNT: All right. Well, we're going to continue this conversation at -- for the next hour, but coming up next.

[06:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Do the American people deserve to be abused like that, Mr. Fauci? Because you're not "Doctor." You're "Mr. Fauci" in my few minutes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Dr. Fauci fending off Republican attacks. His former colleague in the COVID fight, Dr. Deborah Birx, is here, joining me with her reaction and a warning about the virus.

Plus, Democrats struggling to come up with a strategy after Donald Trump's conviction.

And the moments after a deadly bank explosion caught on bodycam. One of the five things you have to see this morning. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:15:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, can you tell us, sir, Donald Trump refers to himself as a political prisoner and blames you directly. What's your response to that, sir?

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC'S "THE TONIGHT SHOW": It looks like me when I use the FastPass at Disney World. My kids want to go on the ride.

Looks like a guy who just made eye contact with his wife in a Cialis commercial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Oh, dear.

More fallout from the conviction of Donald Trump as President Biden makes his first comments about his rival's criminal record on the campaign trail.

He told donors last night that, quote, "It's the first time in American history a former president that is a convicted felon is now seeking the office of the presidency," end quote. And warning of Trump's, quote, "all-out assault on the American justice system."

Some Democratic lawmakers, however, are advising the president to not make Trump's conviction a major focus on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): I think the president needs to campaign on his record and what he's delivered for the American people.

REP. KWEISI MFUME (D-MD): I think people see it. They feel it. And in their heart, they've internalized it. So you don't have to go out and beat the drum on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right. Panel's back.

Kate, who's right here?

BEDINGFIELD: Well, I think actually, the way Biden and the Biden team are handling it so far is right.

Which is to say it is not the central focus of their message. They have not pivoted the entire messages of the campaign to be about this verdict.

But they've made very clear they're not going to shy away from something that we are seeing in the data, post-verdict, is -- is a hurdle for people to sending Donald Trump back to the Oval Office.

So I don't think that they need to be shy. I don't think they need to be afraid to say he's a convicted felon, to say that a jury of his peers found him guilty of crimes. That is a relevant piece of information if you're deciding who you want to be president of the United States.

However, it's not the entire ballgame. It is not -- it is -- the outcome of this trial is not something that is going to impact people's lives day-to-day, and Biden has to keep driving the contrast on the things that are going to impact people's lives day-to-day, like abortion, like the economy, like, as you're seeing them do today, the border.

So, you know, I think this is one piece of the puzzle. It's not the entire puzzle.

HUNT: Yes, Jonah Goldberg, here was Thom Tillis talking about this from the Republican side. He says, quote, "Those kitchen table issues are the key issues that are driving voters on November. Why on Earth would we shift our attention away from that for any sort of quick fix on this decision? It doesn't make sense to me."

So he's coming at it from the other direction. Is he right? Because certainly, there are a lot of Republicans who are out there seizing on this. You know, I mean, I think a lot of them were performing, probably, for Donald Trump.

GOLDBERG: Yes.

HUNT: But what do you make of that?

GOLDBERG: Yes, I think he is onto something. I think -- you know, I just wrote my "L.A. Times" column about this.

I think that the impact of this with voters is going to be minimal over the next 150 days. It is going to seem like ancient history at some point. And the fact that Donald Trump's a felon is sort of going to be just priced in as part of the chaos of Donald Trump.

The real impact of this is how it changes candidate behavior, not voter behavior. And I agree with Kate: if Biden makes this the centerpiece, that would be really bad.

If Trump makes it the centerpiece, where he uses it as an excuse to do 20 minutes at rallies, where he just gets reinforced from his fans about how this is the most important thing that's ever happened. And he listens to all the people who say you're a political prisoner, which is such an unbelievably stupid -- he's not a prisoner. I mean, whatever, I mean, he's just not freaking prisoner.

But if he -- if he takes from this, they can start talking about himself again, rather than sort of stay disciplined about the economy, that could be a big impact.

HUNT: Absolutely. I mean, this is the thing, right? This is fundamentally an argument about Donald Trump on both -- I mean, on both sides, for Trump and for Biden focused on this, too.

I mean, it's ultimately about Trump. It's not about the voters, which in some ways, it's sort of like a crazy thing to say, that somebody who's a former president of the United States, who was convicted of multiple felonies, and that is somehow removed from our politics. That's a completely wild statement about the state of things right now.

But I do think for -- for Biden and for Democrats to sort of -- to take their eye off the ball and let this argument subsume all of the other important things that they're talking about and all the ways in which Donald Trump is going to have a negative impact on your life, if you're a voter in Michigan or Wisconsin, I do think that would be a mistake.

And Jonah is right. This is -- it is all because it is through the lens of Trump. And the -- a successful campaign is about making an argument to people about what you're going to do for them, not --

HUNT: Right.

BEDINGFIELD: -- what the candidate's doing himself.

HUNT: All right. Coming up next here, Senator Joe Manchin's next move after switching from Democrats to independent.

Plus a hot-air balloon crashes into power lines in Indiana. It's one of the five things you have to see this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:24:18

HUNT: All right, 23 minutes past the hour. Five things you have to see this morning.

The FAA is investigating why a hot-air balloon crashed into power lines in Indiana on Sunday. Two passengers and a pilot were taken to the hospital with burn injuries.

Evacuation orders are being lifted for some people living near an eight-alarm fire at a construction site outside of San Jose, California. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. No one was hurt.

A warning: this next video may be disturbing. Police in Ohio releasing bodycam footage of the moments following a deadly gas explosion at a bank in Youngstown last week.

A Chase Bank employee was killed, and several others were injured.

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupting. It's happening in an area within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park that last erupted in 1974. Officials say it does not pose an immediate threat to human life or critical infrastructure.

And this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANIA TWAIN, SINGER (singing): Man, I feel like a woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Shania Twain laughing off an onstage faux pas, sharing video of herself at a recent show, accidentally singing into a drumstick instead of her microphone. She is calling the incident hilarious. Who could disagree with that?

All right. Time now for weather. Parts of the central U.S. under severe storm threats this morning while millions cope with excessive heat from California to Texas over the next several days.

Our Weatherman van Dam tracking all of it.

Derek, good morning. What are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Is this thing on? Is this -- oh, this is my clicker. Sorry. Not a drumstick. Love that video. OK, that's great.

So this is the time of year. We're talking about the heat that is going to impact the Southwestern U.S. It's all about this heat dome. That's just an area of high pressure that suppresses cloud cover, brings maximum sunshine, but also allows for the Southwest to just bake other excessive heat.

And that's what's going to happen for the next several days right through the rest of the week. A hundred record temperatures could be potentially set. Get this: the mercury in the thermometer, if you're heading to Vegas, yes, it could reach 120. That's just incredible. That would be the feels like temperature as you step outside. But the actual temperature there right around 110 degrees, just incredible.

So that heat dome, of course, provides that opportunity for severe storms to develop on the Eastern side of it. So over 60 million Americans today from Minneapolis all the way to Dallas. Chance of severe storms -- Kasie.

HUNT: All right.

VAN DAM: Back to you.

HUNT: Our Weatherman van Dam, Derek. Yes. The -- the microphone, it's right here.

VAN DAM: Oh, yes. That's what that is.

HUNT: Still to come here, opening statements about to begin in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial.

Plus, a Nebraska woman pronounced dead in hospice, found still breathing at the funeral home. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]