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CNN This Morning
Trump Speaks At Christian Group Probation Officers On Same Day; Blinken Traveling To Jordan For Meetings With Arab Leaders; Four U.S. College Instructors Stabbed In China; 6 Million+ People Under Flood Watches in Southern Florida. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired June 11, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:39]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Tuesday, June 11th.
Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:
Donald Trump urging conservatives to fight for Christian values on the same day that he had to visit with his probation officers in New York.
Four American college instructors stabbed by an attacker in a public park in China.
And 12 jurors in Delaware set to decide the fate of Hunter Biden, the president's son, hoping to beat three felony gun charges.
(MUSIC)
HUNT: All right, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington. A live look in New York City on this Tuesday morning.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. Wonderful to have you with us.
Donald Trump juggling his conviction with his campaign. He held two remote appearances on Monday. One was with his probation officer, the other with a conservative Christian group.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can't afford to have anyone sit on the sidelines, now is the time for us to all pull together and to stand up for our values and for our freedoms.
And you just can't vote Democrat. They're against religion. They're against your religion in particular. You cannot vote for Democrats and you have to get out and vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The former president's probation interview, meanwhile comes one month ahead of his sentencing date. It's currently scheduled for July 11th. Meanwhile, President Biden held a Juneteenth celebration at the White
House last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, we remember the original sin of slavery and the extraordinary capacity to merge those powerful moments, painful moment with a better vision for ourselves. The day reminds us we have a hell of a lot more work to do. So let's keep marching.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Today, President Biden plans to speak at a major gun violence prevention conference. The appearance comes as the White House and Biden campaign tried to promote the president's work to tackle gun violence. His team believes that issue resonates with key voting blocs, including women, young people, and Latinos.
Starting us off this morning, Shelby Talcott. She's a reporter with "Semafor".
Shelby, good morning. Wonderful to see you.
Let's start off with what we heard from former President Trump at this event yesterday, with the Danbury Institute, which is a very conservative organization on abortion rights. And the bottom line seemed to be to keep from the left for showing up at all, but what he had to say wasn't good enough for the right.
SHELBY TALCOTT, REPORTER, SEMAFOR: Yeah. And I think this really just represents how difficult of an issue abortion is for Republicans, it's essentially a lose-lose situation, and we've seen how Donald Trump has struggled to grapple with that fact and figure out how to speak on it.
So he faced -- he faced backlash from the left because, of course, this is an extremely concerning derivative group that wants to ban all abortions and so their argument was, why is he showing up at all? And then he faced backlash from conservatives who argued that, you know, he sounded like a politician and his brief pre-recorded remarks. He didn't mention the word abortion at all.
He didn't take pride for overturning Roe as he so often does, but it encapsulates how the abortion issue is really, really hurting Republicans and how they've just struggled to figure out the happy medium and how to talk about this issue.
HUNT: Because again, I mean, this is the difference between a pre and post-Roe America, in a world where Roe v. Wade stands, Republican politicians can and would go into these groups -- talked to them and say definitively, life begins at conception. This -- we shouldn't be doing this, et cetera. Without any actual risks that those policies are going to become the law of the land? No?
TALCOTT: Yes. And I think the other thing is we've seen how Donald Trump -- Donald Trump in 2016 won a lot of support from the anti- abortion movement because he promised all of these things he delivered on them. And this time around, I talked to activists in this group all the time about this issue. And throughout this entire election, they've been really concerned that Donald Trump has left them by the wayside.
[05:05:00]
And so, to me, this -- these pre-recorded remarks is Trump's sort of attempt at saying, I'm still with you. I'm still here but also trying to walk that really fine, almost impossible line to get those moderate voters over to his side as well.
HUNT: Yeah. Lets talk a little bit about President Biden because we are starting to see, or at least it seems like were seeing a very small shift potentially in the polling in Biden's direction. We don't want to overstate it because this race is so incredibly close, right? And we're still kind of gathering data in a post conviction world. But I do feel like there are some I'm picking up some more positive vibes from Democrats shall we say, in the wake of this, I think they were a little reluctant to weigh in initially.
What is your reporting on how this seems to be playing out so far?
TALCOTT: Well, it's interesting because we still don't know exactly how the Trump conviction is going to affect voters long-term. It does as you said seem to have maybe shifted things a little bit four at least the short term, who knows, in five months what's going to happen?
But what I think is notable as every time I talked to the Biden campaign, they've been really focused on saying throughout this entire election that they're going to focus on touting his accomplishments, focus on trying to remind voters in a very tough election cycle what he has done. And so, this -- this gun speech is going to be one of those prime examples. It's an issue that a lot of voters care about, particularly his core base and we're going to see a lot from him about this issue.
And we've already seen how there also at the same time contrasting what Joe Biden has accomplished in office with Donald Trump's policies. And so, this -- this gun speech sort of represents how the Biden campaign is trying to run their campaigns.
One other message that the Biden campaign has been trying to really push, and if you know, anyone that works for Biden comes to the set, they will say -- they will make this argument that Donald Trump is out for himself, that he doesn't care about voters, which is why it stood out to us on the show when Donalds -- this is from over the weekend, Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas.
Here's what he said to his supporters there. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: By the way, is that breeze nice? Do you feel the breeze? Because I don't want anybody going on me. We need every voter. I don't care about you. I just want your vote. I
don't care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: I don't care about you. I just want your vote, from the man himself.
TALCOTT: Yeah. And I think the big thing when I talked to voters at these events, you have to remember these events are tailored for Donald Trump's core base of supporters. You're not often seeing. People maybe except for the New York events that he has held which are not technically large scale rallies, but at these large-scale rallies, these are as core base. These are the people have the memorabilia and they have the t-shirts.
HUNT: They were in line for hours.
TALCOTT: Exactly. So they -- they love those as of comments, the question is, how do those comments help the more moderate voters who are maybe on the fence.
HUNT: Unclear.
Shelby Talcott, thank you very much for that.
All right. Coming up next here, America's top diplomat in the Middle East pressuring Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal.
Plus, Miami apartment building engulfed in flames. Authorities say it was no accident.
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[05:12:46]
HUNT: All right. Any moment now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will land in Jordan ahead of meetings with Arab leaders. Blinken engaging in some intense shuttle diplomacy, meeting with multiple Israeli and Arab leaders in a push to secure an agreement for a ceasefire deal. On Monday, the U.N. Security Council backed a three- step plan to end the war in Gaza.
Here was the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Accept the ceasefire deal on the table. Israeli -- Israel has already agreed to this deal and the fighting could stop today if Hamas would do the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The Palestinian delegation remains skeptical.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIYAD MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Now, the burden is on Israeli side to implement this resolution. The proof is in the pudding. We will see who are the ones who are interested to see this resolution to become a reality and those who are obstructing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: All right. CNN's Max Foster joins us now live from London.
Max, it's rare to hear from him, from the Palestinian ambassador this deal, it seems like its going to be a three-phase thing. There's a six-week ceasefire with the release of some hostages and Palestinian prisoners. It's supposed to be followed by a full Israeli withdrawal, release of all the hostages.
And then in theory, there's a plan for a multiyear reconstruction of Gaza. It's a lot. The U.S. is saying, hey, were waiting on Hamas.
What -- where does this stand at this point?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not entirely clear, is it, that we're hearing a lot about in Hamas's court. Other people are saying its in Israel's court as well, hearing their from the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations saying Israel has agreed to it, but has agreed to it in its current form, the government that is currently in.
So you have now Benny Gantz has left the Israeli war cabinet and it's now become more right-wing. So will they agree to this deal within this broader deal, as I understand it, is the idea of a Palestinian state in future. And that is something that the right wing of the Israeli government won't agree to.
So I think clarity is needed on whether the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is right, is that Israel -- the current Israeli government, whether or not it actually supports this deal.
[05:15:07]
Then, of course, yes, the question about whether or not Hamas some supports the deal as well, and whether or not even if they get to the point of negotiation, whether it holds. But I think that that clarity on both sides is needed. But as you say, we don't often hear from that Palestinian ambassador in the U.S.
HUNT: Max, we're also getting some reporting in "The Wall Street Journal" about Yahya Sinwar is the head of Hamas. His correspondence with his compatriots, but also with mediators who are going back and forth trying to get this deal. And the way that he frames this, he says, quote, we have the Israelis, right where we want them, and then he goes on to say in another message that he cited civilian losses in national liberation conflicts in places like Algeria, where hundreds of thousands of people died fighting for independence from France.
And he said, quote, these are necessary sacrifices. And quote, so he's kind of -- he's talking about these people who are dying in Gaza as a way to pressure the Israelis. It's a pretty stark and difficult way of looking at things and this is something that when people who are supportive of the Israeli is trying to recover their hostages, et cetera. They point to this and they say, look, Hamas uses its people this way.
FOSTER: Well, I think a lot of the quotes open to interpretation on such a divisive issue. And I know the article makes the point, but his ultimate goal is to appear to win a permanent ceasefire that allows Hamas to declare victory by outlasting Israel.
So I think there's a real awareness within Israel in many parts of Israel that, that might be the strategy here. On the Hamas side, there will be people saying that this is a fight we can't -- you know, we have to outlive it and then you have these quotes which do seem ruthless.
Another one says you'll remember when the political leader, Ishmael Haniyeh, his sons were killed. And there's a message apparently, you know, these messages are coming from people have different views on Sinwar as we said. He wrote that the deaths and those of other Palestinians would infuse life into the veins of this nation, prompting it to rise up -- rise to his glory and honor. Was he making the best of a bad situation there or is it as you suggested within this article that the bloodshed actually works for the Palestinian cause?
I think a lot of its open to interpretation. A lot of people would have issues with this article. Lot of people who are also say, this says an awful lot about the current leadership of Hamas, obviously.
HUNT: Yeah, very -- bottom line is, it's very difficult, reality for Palestinian civilians who are caught in a horrible across fire at this point.
Max Foster for us in London -- Max, thank you. I really appreciate it.
Coming up next here, four American college instructors injured in a stabbing attack in China. Plus, more arrests on the campus of UCLA.
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[05:22:48]
HUNT: All right, 22 minutes past the hour.
Here's your morning roundup.
Four U.S. college instructors stabbed in a public park in China. They're from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. A motive for the attack and the identity of the assailant still unclear.
A suspect who allegedly fired a gun and started a three alarm fire at a Miami apartment building is in police custody this morning. A man with a gunshot wound was found at the scene. And this hospitalized in critical condition.
Pro-Palestinian protesters clashing with police at UCLA. At least 25 people were arrested for trying to set up another encampment on the campus.
A new Alzheimer's drug is one step closer to approval. An independent advisory panel to the FDA voting unanimously to endorse Eli Lilly's drug. It slows cognitive decline, and maybe given the green light later this year.
And time now for whether. A flood threat is ramping up for parts of southern Florida this morning, while in a oppressive heat dome settles down over the West.
Our weatherman, Derek Van Dam, tracking all of it for us.
Derek, good morning. What are you seeing?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Tuesday morning.
The heat wave because of this heat dome is all located across the southwestern U.S.
So parts of Texas into the great basin and the central valley of California, more on that in just a moment. But notice this line here. It's a mixture of a warm front and a cold front that's a stalled, stationary boundary. And that is going to produce our rainfall threatened the flood threat across the southern Florida peninsula. In fact, it already is so because the radar is just basically lighting up like a Christmas tree. Pulses of rain that has lots of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, just moving in South of Tampa, impacting places like Fort Myers and Naples Region. That's where we currently have a flood watch that last right through Wednesday evening, including the Miami Dade region.
Look at this. There's a stalled boundary. Look at the several rounds of rainfall that will move across the southern portions of Florida right through Thursday and then it continues on from there. Just cant showed because are forecast radar doesn't go that far.
So, Weather Prediction Center has a slight risk of flash flooding. This includes Fort Myers, Miami, through a better part of the workweek. So do take care. Keep in mind, it doesn't take much to flood some of those roads very low elevation part of the state.
[05:25:00]
Some of our rainfall totals exceeding a foot over the course of the rest of the week, especially over southwestern Florida.
Now there is a bright side of this because 41 percent of the state experiencing drought conditions, but with that amount of rain in such a short period of time, of course, that piles up too quickly and we could see the rain.
There's heat dome. This heat will be dangerous. In fact, some of the authorities in Phoenix recommending that you avoid sun exposure from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. today -- Kasie.
HUNT: All right. Our weatherman Derek Van Dam -- Derek, thank you. I really appreciate it.
VAN DAM: All right.
HUNT: Coming up next here, we've got new details about Donald Trump's demeanor during his first interview with a probation officer that he had as a convicted felon.
Plus, Kevin McCarthy looking to oust his ousters.
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