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Britain's Queen Elizabeth Marks 70 Years On The Throne; Biden: Nothing I Can Do To Bring Down Gas Or Food Prices Near Term; Warriors Making 6th NBA Finals Appearance In 8 Seasons. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 02, 2022 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:32:58]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the party's on in the U.K. You're looking at live pictures here as Britain celebrates the queen's Platinum Jubilee. That marks her 70 years on the throne.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: No other monarch in British history has served this long. Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning British royal back in 2015. And Buckingham Palace -- it is pulling out all the stops for this unprecedented anniversary.

Let's go to CNN's Max Foster, Bianca Nobilo, and CNN royal contributor, I should say, Emily Nash, live at Buckingham Palace for us. Good morning, guys.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

EMILY NASH, CNN ROYAL CONTRIBUTOR, ROYAL CORRESPONDENT, HELLO! MAGAZINE: Good morning.

FOSTER: Thank goodness it's not raining.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

FOSTER: Imagine. These events are always about the rain and whether or not they'll actually happen -- and it's not.

And we can tell you that right behind us we are -- you know, at the back of Buckingham Palace. The carriages have arrived. The royal limousines are here. And about 240 horses are arriving.

And it does feel like a party, which was what they wanted, wasn't it?

NOBILO: It is what they wanted and also what the country needed. You know, the support for the queen is not unanimous but she is a deeply respected and popular figure here in Britain. And the United Kingdom has been through a very difficult time with the COVID pandemic. Brexit's been extremely bumpy.

And it's also a cost of living crisis, which also means that some of this totally isn't going down brilliantly in all quarters but that's all reasons why the Brits do want a full-day party. And they want to get the bunting out. They want to have cake contests.

FOSTER: And look, that's the -- that's the mile -- isn't it, Emily -- we're just seeing there. That's where the procession is going to go down. Two hundred forty horses, more than 1,000 service men and women as well, all serving members of the military. A very traditional moment, this. It's all there to mark the birthday of the official birthday of the sovereign but it has deep roots, doesn't it, in the military history.

NASH: Well, that's right. This ceremony, as it exists, has been going on for 260 years in terms of the British monarchy. But it dates back to colours being trooped so that soldiers could recognize their battalion in the clog (ph) of war. And at the end of the day on the battlefield, the colour would be passed down the ranks and people would be able to recognize the people they were fighting alongside. So it has very ancient military connotations.

[05:35:12]

And, of course, we know the queen has this lifelong affiliation with the armed services. It's something that means a great deal to her.

FOSTER: And, indeed, horses. She likes her horses.

We're not going to see the queen at the main event today, which is other horse guards where you see the trooping of the colour, which is the flag. This year, the Irish guards. It's a real honor for any member of the military to show their colours to their commander in chief.

For the first time, she won't be there. It will be Prince Charles. She'll come out on the balcony, as we understand it. But this is all hugely symbolic and it speaks to transition.

NOBILO: It does, and that's what people will be watching out for. Because even though as we were talking about the queen is this revered figure who has shown duty and devotion throughout her 70 years on the throne, she is significantly more popular than who is to succeed her, which is Prince Charles.

So as we're seeing a more streamlined monarchy, which we're expecting to see on the balcony, and looking ahead to the future, it's on the one hand, a celebration of a significant and very long reign, but also throws up some question marks about the future of the British monarchy. Because there's definitely less support for the unknown and Charles' reign in there is for the queen.

FOSTER: Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently describing Queen Elizabeth II as Elizabeth the Great, which is a name that is really catching on, isn't it, Emily? Because this is arguably the greatest monarch the U.K. has ever seen?

NASH: I think certainly in terms of longevity. But in terms of her exposure, she is without a doubt the most famous woman in the world. You know, her silhouette is instantly recognizable. I heard someone this morning described her as the biggest non-commercial brand on the planet. And people around the world have a thought about the queen -- you know, this huge respect for her. And she has flown the flag for Britain for 70 years, so --

NOBILO: It's also interesting when you think about her namesake, Elizabeth I. They both took the throne at the same age.

And even though Queen Elizabeth II shot down comparisons really early on, saying that she wasn't a despot and family was very important to her, actually both of those monarchs have shown a remarkable dedication to duty. Queen Elizabeth I not marrying because she thought it would divide her country. And Queen Elizabeth II, on many occasions, always putting the country first.

FOSTER: Well, we can certainly say that the greatest monarchs were all women, arguably, because Elizabeth always compares herself to Victoria as well.

And the great tribute I hear to the queen is how she reigned over a period of tumultuous change and still remained relevant, using the media. T.V. wasn't even a thing. She invited the cameras in to allow herself to have a connection with the public.

She even invented walkabouts, really, or popularized them as a way to -- that we could see her amongst the people. Someone who can't relate to but someone --

NASH: Absolutely. I think she has struck a very fond balance between becoming more accessible than previous people in her role. But at the same time, retaining that mystique, which is so --

FOSTER: Yes.

NASH: -- vital to the monarchy. And she's managed it incredibly well.

FOSTER: So, over the next four days -- imagine that -- having a 2-day holiday in your honor because of your job, but that's how revered she is. And this display today will really speak to how revered she is. But four days of events.

Today is about this very military moment. Let's talk briefly Emily about the optics today because we're going to see the balcony moment. That's always so central. Every 10 years we see it. It's the queen's opportunity to present what she hopes to be a modern monarchy.

At the Golden Jubilee in 2002, we saw the full extended family. In 2012, it was just the core members of the family to reflect austerity. And this year, something completely different. Just described what they've done here.

NASH: This year, they're striking a happy medium between the two previous Jubilee appearances. They are limiting it purely to those members of the royal family who are officially working on the queen's behalf. And she said this is after careful consideration.

And what it means is that you won't have Harry and Meghan on the balcony. You certainly won't have Prince Andrew on the balcony. And it's a neat way of avoiding tense scrutiny of that family dynamic, which they don't want to overshadow this really special moment.

FOSTER: And we should talk about the Sussexes and Prince Andrew. We've always learned this morning that Prince Andrew won't appear, I don't think at any point during the four days. We will see the Sussexes this morning at the horse guards -- not on the balcony.

So they're making a distinction there. The Sussexes are now back in the royal fold to some extent, but Andrew's still out.

NOBILO: Well, there's been indications in the British press that potentially those symbolic gestures, which might indicate a thaw in the frosty relationship at times between the House of Windsor and the Sussexes.

[05:40:00]

Obviously, Prince Andrew is a very different situation because he is no longer a working royal as a result of the civil sexual assault case against him, which was -- which was settled.

And I think there's been definitely a real emphasis in the British press and in the public to make a very clear distinction between the two cases. Neither groups are working royals but for extremely different reasons.

I also think to your point about the modernization of the monarchy and what we see on the balcony if we compare what we'll see today to what we saw at the Golden Jubilee, even things like when the queen became queen herself. That was really an accident as a result of a few factors, including the abdication of Edward VIII. But girls were not naturally going to succeed their father if there was another boy in line.

FOSTER: Yes.

NOBILO: Whereas, now, when we see the children out there on the balcony, things have changed because now, succession has been changed and it's not gender specific. So if a girl is born first, then she has every right to become the monarch. So, so much history has shifted, which we've seen through the prism of the monarch, on that balcony over the decades.

FOSTER: They didn't exactly rush into that sort of process, did they?

NOBILO: No, they certainly didn't. They dragged their feet, yes.

FOSTER: It was around Prince George's birth, I think, wasn't it, that they changed that.

NASH: Absolutely.

FOSTER: Let's go to Anna. She's amongst the crowds, and there are certainly some crowds. And I was there last night Anna, and they were bedding in, and those people got the best positions -- apart from you, of course. ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Apart from me. I've got quite good luck from here, Max. It is getting incredibly hard to get in amongst the crowds because people have reserved their spot. People camped all night. It was pretty cold, I'm told.

But what's incredible is how many thousands turn out for this. And those people that didn't camp don't actually get a particularly good spot. Some people only see the procession go past for a few seconds.

And I have been asking people why on earth do you all come here for so many hours? It can't be that comfortable. I'm not sure you can see it particularly well, as you would on television, but they are very much here to pay their respects to the queen. And as you were all talking about there, the respect and love of the queen really transcends even royal fans.

So many people have come here from even overseas. From South Africa. I've met some people from Canada. They come here to show their respect and to really enjoy the atmosphere, which I can tell you is completely electric, and it's a real pleasure to see.

And I think after two years of the pandemic, of course, this is a real moment for people to get back to that feeling of unity, of national and commonwealth pride. So, a really electric crowd here.

We've already seen some of the military bands from the Household Division go past, heading towards Horse Guards. We are now waiting for the royal procession. So I feel like it's all gone a bit quiet now as everyone awaits the big moment -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Anna, down there at the party. We're going to be following this throughout the day. There are all sorts of celebrations taking place over the next four days, indeed. But we can tell you that the family is getting ready to get in their carriages, to get in their cars for this big military moment that's about to unfold, kicking off four days of celebration to the queen.

Not everyone is a monarchist in this country. I'd say most people are supportive of this event. But even those that aren't bit monarchists -- they're going to be partying today. And it's a big moment for the U.K. and many parts of the commonwealth.

We'll be back in just a moment.

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[05:46:55]

FOSTER: -- are going to turn up until the last moment. But we're seeing them. And actually, a big tribute to the queen and a very big moment for those three children.

NASH: Absolutely, it's a huge moment. And, you know, absolutely lovely scenes. The queen's great-grandchildren and, indeed, her youngest heir who is going to be king one day, out there representing her at this spectacle that she has taken part in for so many years but this year is merely watching from Buckingham Palace. So it will mean a great deal to her to see that continuity already starting to take place.

FOSTER: Look at those crowds, Bianca. This is what they all came for. They're not just watching here in the U.K., they're watching around the world.

NOBILO: They are. Obviously, the commonwealth nations -- it's 54 countries -- and the queen is still head of state of another 14 apart from the United Kingdom. So, people are tuning in.

Although the celebrations are more muted outside of Britain. There are obvious republican movements occurring all over the world. We've had Barbados officially removing the queen as head of state last November. And there are definitely currents pushing for that.

And, indeed, you have people discussing after the queen's reign ends -- somebody who is so respected for her duty and her service. Is that going to inflame republican tendencies in the United Kingdom? We don't see much of that today because it is definitely all of those noises are stifled because of the respect that people want to pay.

FOSTER: And I have -- I have to say, Christine, if there's one thing the British monarch understands it's branding and rebranding, and longevity and continuity. And this is all part of that process where we see the queen reminding the world what monarchy is really about. It's not just about a few family albums.

ROMANS: Oh, yes, Windsor, Inc.

All right, thank you so much. Nice to see you. We'll be watching all morning long.

Meanwhile, back here, inflation is issue number one for this White House, but President Biden admits there's nothing he can do to immediately bring down record gasoline prices and the soaring cost of food. The president acknowledged to reporters those prices are going to remain high for some time.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a lot going on right now but the idea we're going to be able to click a switch and bring down the cost of gasoline is not likely in the near term nor is it with regard to food. We can't take immediate action that I'm aware of yet to figure out how we could bring down the price of gasoline back to $3 a gallon. And we can't do that immediately with regard to food prices, either.

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ROMANS: Instead of direct action and gas and food prices, he's now looking to lower other costs like drugs and childcare. We'll hear more from him on this later today.

All right, let's bring in Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. Do you agree with the president that these -- you know, the prices of basic goods could remain high for some time?

MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY'S ANALYTICS (via Webex by Cisco): Yes. I mean, a lot - a lot of it goes back to oil prices and, of course, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the disruption to Russian exports to the rest of the world.

And you've had to fill that void left by the sanctions on Russian oil and that's not easy finding that other oil. Some of it's going to come from here in the U.S. -- fracked -- some from Saudi Arabia, some from the UAE. But it's going to take a while to fill that void. And as long as we have that shortfall, prices are going to remain high.

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And it's not only about how much we have to pay at the pump, it also goes to food prices because a big chunk of food prices is the diesel cost. Getting --

ROMANS: Yes.

ZANDI: -- the food from the -- from the farm to the store shelf.

ROMANS: I mean, the messaging is hard, though, to say I feel your pain, inflation is a real problem. But, you know, though --

JARRETT: He can't do anything about it.

ROMANS: -- there are limits to what -- to what I can really do about. The Fed is really the inflation fighter.

And by the way, if you want low gas prices -- I mean, that -- a recession is what you -- when you get low energy prices. You don't want a recession either. So it's a tough spot to be in.

JARRETT: Hey, Mark, Jamie Dimon laid out this ominous warning that shook everyone up yesterday. He called it a hurricane -- we just don't know how big. Do you think he's got this right?

ZANDI: Well, I thought we've been in a hurricane for two years. I mean, it's been a pretty (INAUDIBLE). I mean, the pandemic has been highly disruptive to supply chains, and to the labor market, and to the economy, and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In my -- you know, obviously, it's hard to know how things are going to play out here but my sense is that we're past the worst of the hurricane and that our prospects are good. But having said that, it's prudent to be cautious because who knows what path the Russian invasion is going to take and what it means for oil prices and commodity prices in the economy more broadly.

And the pandemic is not over. We could see that in China with the no- COVID shutdown. So as long as the pandemic and the Russian aggression continues, I think the risks are high. But my sense is that the worst is behind us.

ROMANS: Yes. The Russian issue I think is -- I mean, I think people really need to understand that there are food issues here -- I mean, right down to the sunflower oil and all these different complicated, interlaced global food markets, right, and energy.

This is still going to -- if we're going to have a prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine, how worried are you about what that's going to mean for inflation?

ZANDI: Well, it's going to keep prices up. We talked about oil and that's the most direct link to us here in the U.S. But there's natural gas. Natural gas prices are high and that goes into lots of things -- electricity. A lot of our electricity is powered by natural gas.

You mentioned agricultural prices. The most important is wheat -- you know, kind of the most basic type of agricultural commodity. All kinds of metals and gases.

So, in the -- you know, it's been a problem up until now but you're right. The longer this thing drags on the more problematic it becomes. And probably most concretely, it means that prices aren't going to come back down --

ROMANS: Right.

ZANDI: -- and therefore, we're going to have this high inflation.

ROMANS: Mark, just quickly, jobs. Still a strong job market in the U.S.?

ZANDI: It is rip-roaring. I mean, we need it to slow, right? So, we've been traveling at 500,000 jobs per month on average since the beginning of last year. That's a lot of job growth. It brings down unemployment very quickly.

But now the economy is at full employment. Unemployment is 3.6%. That's very low. So we need slower job growth.

I think we'll get somewhat slower job growth when we get the report on Friday --

ROMANS: Yes.

ZANDI: -- so something around 300,000. But we need to get down to about 100,000 a year in the next few months.

ROMANS: And that would be a good sign. Slowing down the jobs growth would be a good sign.

Mark Zandi, thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

ZANDI: Sure thing.

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[05:56:30] JARRETT: All right. The Warriors host the Celtics in game one of the NBA Finals tonight. Andy Scholes in at the Chase Center and has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Laura.

Yes, we're the first ones here on the court here at the Chase Center as we get ready for game one of the NBA Finals, and this should be one awesome series between the Warriors and the Celtics.

Boston back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. And what a road to get here, knocking off the Nets, then beating the Bucks and the Heat in a 7-game series. The Celtics trying to win their 18th NBA title, which would break the tie with the Lakers for the most all- time.

But it's going to be tough to beat the Warriors, especially here in San Francisco. Steph Curry and team 9-0 at home in these playoffs. This will be the Warriors' sixth NBA finals in eight years. But it's certainly been a long road back since losing to the Raptors in 2019.

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STEPHEN CURRY, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS GUARD: Everything that we've all went through with this as the ultimate goal of betting back on this stage. The chance to play for another championship. Like Klay coming off of unreal rehab journey. I broke my hand. Draymond was injured with a bunch of different stuff.

So all that stuff is just built into the context of what's happened since game six of the '19 Finals and we're back here. So it's pretty special.

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SCHOLES: All right, game one tonight at 9:00 eastern.

The sixth edition of The Match, meanwhile, taking place in Las Vegas yesterday. You had Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers taking on Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. And the trash-talking got started early.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS QUARTERBACK: (INAUDIBLE), let's go. (Bleep).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy's pretty good at golf. That's what happens when you don't go to OTAs -- you just sit around and play golf all day, huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little chunky. I call that a little Josh Alleny.

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SCHOLES: Yes, there were some good shots and a lot of really bad ones. Charles Barkley joked that the safest place for all the fans would have been standing in the middle of the fairway.

Mahomes and Allen actually had a lead with three holes to go, but Brady and Rodgers rallied with Rodgers making a 15-footer to win it on the last hole.

It was a fun event and it helped bring in more than 10 million meals for the Feeding America charity.

All right, and finally, Ukrainian soccer players draping themselves in their flag as they took the pitch for their World Cup qualifying playoff game in Scotland. The entire crowd singing along as their national anthem was played.

They put on a show for their fans back home as well. A brilliant goal from Andriy Yarmolenko gave them an early lead. And then they got a header in the second half that turned out to be the winning goal. Ukraine ends up winning 3-1. They'll make the World Cup if they can beat Wales on Sunday.

And guys, if they do that, they'll end up being Team USA's first opponents in the World Cup in Qatar come November.

ROMANS: So emotional. Russia wasn't allowed to play, right?

SCHOLES: That is correct.

ROMANS: All right.

JARRETT: Thanks, Andy. Have fun there.

ROMANS: Thanks, Andy. Nice to see you.

SCHOLES: All right.

ROMANS: All right, thanks for joining us this Thursday morning. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

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