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Now: Senate Democrats Huddle With Top Biden Aides; Rep. Hillary Scholten Calls For Biden To Drop Out Of Race; NYT: Biden Campaign Quietly Tests Harris Vs. Trump; Jeffries Takes Questions As More Dems Call On Biden To Quit Race; Now: Biden Meets With Ukraine's President Zelenskyy. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired July 11, 2024 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:31:11]

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, the Biden campaign is holding a lunch briefing with Senate Democrats about their path forward. And in just moments, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries will hold his first news conference since the debate as the number of congressional Democrats calling on Biden to quit the race keeps growing.

Joining me now is House Democratic Member Gerry Connolly of Virginia. Mr. Connolly, thank you for coming in. It's nice to see you here in person, not chasing you in the hallways.

REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): Right.

RAJU: So, I want to read to you about some news from one of your colleagues today, Hillary Scholten from Michigan, who became the 10th House Democrat to call on Joe Biden to leave the race. She says, "For the good of our democracy, I believe it is time for him to step aside from the presidential race and allow a new leader to step up."

She says, "Joe Biden has been that leader for so long, but this is not about the past, it is about the future. It is time to pass the torch." Do you agree?

CONNOLLY: What I agree with is that this is about the future, not about the past. And we need to be prepared to make hard, cold decisions about that future, what is the best for all of us. The country first, our political prospects, our own individual political situations.

And we need the White House to take that frame of mind. We need our colleagues in Congress. We need other stakeholders, including delegates to the Democratic Convention. And we need to make that assessment and quickly.

RAJU: How quickly? I mean, we're running out of time here.

CONNOLLY: Quickly.

RAJU: But he's -- but the president has said that he is running for reelection. Do you not believe him?

CONNOLLY: I believe him. But that's one -- I mean, the president has to be respected. A lot of deference has to be given to him. He's a friend of mine. I worked for him. I have great respect for Joe Biden, and I'm not going to engage in quick decisions that throw him under the bus. But I also believe we have to make some hard choices here, and the president has to be part of that process.

RAJU: But it sounds like you think that he could change his mind.

CONNOLLY: Well, there are other voices that get to be heard, not just the White House.

RAJU: And that could have influence, you think?

CONNOLLY: It better have influence. I mean, we're -- this can't just be the decision of a family or one individual, however much we respect them and want to give respect and deference as we should. God knows President Biden has earned dignity and respect.

And I would never want to, you know, violate that standard, but we also need to protect the country from an authoritarian figure like Donald Trump who will upend constitutional democracy. And that's got to be the real basic ethos that drives everything here.

RAJU: But how concerned are you that Biden could lose to Trump?

CONNOLLY: I'm very concerned that Biden could lose to Trump. I'm very concerned anyone could lose to Trump.

RAJU: But him in particular?

CONNOLLY: Well, polling data is not encouraging right now, and I hope the White House takes that into account as well.

RAJU: So speaking of polling data, the New York Times is reporting just now that the Biden campaign is conducting private polling, testing Kamala Harris, and seeing how she does in a matchup against Donald Trump. Good decision for -- would that be a wise course in your view if -- for Biden to step aside, Kamala Harris to run in his place?

CONNOLLY: I'm not going to make a judgment as to whether that's wise or not. I -- it's clearly an option that needs to be on the table.

RAJU: But from reading between the lines, it sounds like you don't want to go out and publicly call him to resign, to step aside because of your friendship and what you -- what do you believe he has done for the country and all of that, but you're concerned he's going to lose.

[12:35:11]

And the party would be better off, in your view, the country would be better off with the new candidate. Is that a fair assessment?

CONNOLLY: I didn't say that. I think it's fair to say I'm concerned and I have reason to be concerned, and I would hope the White House and the presidential campaign are also concerned. They're looking at the same numbers we're looking at. You know, you see the drip, drip, drip of people calling for the president to step out.

You're seeing polling data that is very discouraging. You're seeing donor drop off and people withholding because they have concerns about this. You know, I have a personal concern for Joe Biden himself as the person. This is somebody who's spent all of his life in public service and made an extraordinary contribution.

I don't want to see him going out, having his dignity compromised. And I would think the people who care about Joe as I do and I know his family does, would take that into consideration. I mean, there's an opportunity here to have a process that preserves dignity and respect for a president who, as I said, has clearly earned it and allows us to face the future with some options at hand that allow us to have some confidence about making sure Donald Trump is not anywhere near the Oval Office again.

RAJU: Have you made that case to him at all?

CONNOLLY: I've met with the president briefly yesterday at the NATO summit. I've had no contact from this White House and no contact from the campaign.

RAJU: OK. And you expect the Democratic leader -- do you think Hakeem Jeffries is going to express and relay those concerns directly to the White House? Do you expect him to do that?

CONNOLLY: I do. Hakeem Jeffries understands that his role here is not as cheerleader. It is to be a bridge, a communication bridge between our caucus, the White House and the campaign. And I'm -- I have every confidence Hakeem Jeffries knows how to do that superbly well.

RAJU: And last question before I let you go. Next week, will Joe Biden still be your candidate next week?

CONNOLLY: I don't know. Events are unfolding very fast. And, you know, I want to create space for the president of the White House to make a careful, reflective and patriotic decision.

RAJU: All right. Mr. Connolly, Gerry Connolly from Virginia, thank you so much for coming in.

CONNOLLY: My pleasure.

RAJU: We appreciate chatting with you here on set.

And coming up for us, Donald Trump says he knows nothing about the far-right Project 2025. But we have brand new CNN reporting on the dozens of Trump associates who helped write it.

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[12:42:05]

RAJU: All right, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill. Let's listen.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: -- as long as we are able to clearly communicate our agenda, of putting people over politics, lowering costs, growing the middle class, defending fundamental freedoms and democracy, and contrast that with the extreme MAGA Republican agenda which will destroy working families and the middle class way of life as we know it.

Thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe Biden's made a final decision about whether to stay in the race?

JEFFRIES: As I indicated, House Democrats are engaged in conversations with House Democrats. At this moment in time, those conversations have been candid, clear-eyed and comprehensive. And that's important for us to do as a House Democratic caucus family. And as long as those conversations are ongoing, I'm going to respect the sanctity of those conversations until we conclude that process.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much, Leader Jeffries. I want to ask about appropriations. The last time the speaker's job was threatened, it was your caucus that bailed him out, gave him the support to survive, and that was very important to him maintaining his job.

In that context, what are your priorities for the appropriations process that's underway? And do you plan to use your leverage over the speaker to get some of your priorities through? And if not, then why not?

JEFFRIES: In connection with the appropriations process, we've had no discussion about a theoretical or hypothetical motion to vacate. We take every issue and evaluated in a serious, substantive and sober fashion. That's before the Congress, and that's what we'll continue to do.

With respect to the current appropriations process, we've been very clear that in May of last year, House Democrats, Senate Democrats, House Republicans and Senate Republicans in partnership with President Biden reached an agreement connected to the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act.

That agreement in this upcoming fiscal year calls for a top line spending number of 1681. The Republicans in the House right now are marking up in appropriations bill at 1606. That means they are cutting $75 billion from their own agreement reached with everyone else under the Capitol Dome and President Joe Biden along with Vice President Kamala Harris.

That $75 billion cut will adversely impact the health, the safety and the economic wellbeing of the American people. Hurt Children, hurt seniors, hurt veterans and hurt many others.

[12:45:06]

It's unacceptable. It's not sustainable. We are not going to accept a dime less than the 1681 number that we all agreed upon. The behavior of the extreme MAGA Republicans right now -- and by the way, they're unable to pass their own reckless appropriations bills, which should tell you everything you need to know, suggests to me that they are marching the country to a dangerous government shutdown at the end of September.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And talking about this internal discussions are ongoing, do you have any timeline for that? Are we just going to see this internal discussion go on at any time?

JEFFRIES: There are 213 voting members of the House Democratic Caucus and three additional delegates. Every single one of those voices is important. Throughout this Congress, we've tried to engage. When we've been confronting unprecedented event after unprecedented event after unprecedented event in a process of maximum communication in order to arrive at an enlightened path forward. That's what we've done every single day of the 118th Congress and that's going to continue.

In the back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Mr. Leader. Can you just talk a little bit about what advice you have for lawmakers right now? Is there weighing this sort of moment for the party and for the president and they're deciding what to say and what should happen? I imagine many of them we hear are hearing from their constituents. What should they tell their constituents? And what advice you have for them as they weigh their own personal decisions on what they believe is the best path forward?

JEFFRIES: It's important for us to continue to engage with each other here in the United States House of Representatives, but even more important for our members, as they have been doing, to engage with their constituents back home on any issue.

This is representative democracy, and the House is the institution that the framers designed to be the closest to the American people to reflect the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations, the fears, the concerns, the anxieties. And in the words of the framers, the passions of the American people, that requires intimate engagement with the people back home that we're privileged to represent on any matter, but certainly on matters of consequence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Leader. If President Biden fails to deliver tonight at tonight's press conference, how will Democrats move forward?

JEFFRIES: That's a speculative question. And as I indicated, we're involved in an internal process that we take seriously. And until that process is concluded, I'm not really in a position to comment on external events.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much is at stake?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With respect --

JEFFRIES: I'm sorry, first row. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Leader. Among your frontline members of the caucus, the ones who called on the president to withdraw, do they confer with you, try to get your blessing, notify you in advance?

JEFFRIES: As you can imagine, there have been a lot of conversations that have taken place over the last several weeks. And those conversations are private until frontline members or other members of the caucus decide to make them public. Kevin?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After the last two weeks, even with all of that, there was at least one public poll today that suggested that Biden and Trump are still relatively neck and neck. Is there a case that you have made or that you can make for staying the course with Biden as the nominee?

And then on top of that, if you don't follow what the concerns are of some of these members that are coming on speaking and don't call on Biden to resign and he loses, you don't get the House, you don't become speaker, why should the members trust your political judgment going forward?

JEFFRIES: We're going to work as hard as we can to win back control of the United States House of Representatives in November. And I think at the end of any election cycle, people are going to evaluate what the performance of House Democratic leaders has been in achieving the objective.

That involves candidate recruitment, that involves how much resources the DCCC is raising relative to our counterparts on the extreme MAGA Republican side of the aisle, and it also involves what happens in any high profile special elections that may occur during the course of the 118th Congress, including ones that may happen to emerge in your own backyard.

[12:50:12]

The record will speak for itself. I'm not going to characterize it at this moment, but all of this information is in the public domain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a case to keep --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. If I may ask from you from president, you're meeting with --

JEFFRIES: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- with Zelenskyy yesterday, we talked about it a little bit yesterday, but if I may ask more specifics, have you been talking about lifting all restrictions from Ukrainian army and how Congress may help Ukraine with that? And also, have you been talking about securing aid to Ukraine in future, maybe next year?

JEFFRIES: We have not had any conversation about future appropriations, but we did have a very thoughtful and candid and comprehensive and meaningful discussion with President Zelenskyy -- RAJU: All right, we've been listening to the House Democratic Leader

Hakeem Jeffries at a critical moment. Many people wondering what his views are in the middle of this intense Democratic battle over what to do about Joe Biden at the top of the ticket. Jeffries there, striking a pretty neutral position, saying that they're going to engage in candid, comprehensive and clear-eyed discussions.

He -- I didn't -- I lost count of how many times he actually used that word. He's very good at alliteration, as we know. He said there would be a process where they're going to discuss all of this. He kept saying they were going to talk to all 213 members before they come to some sort of decision. But the members are all over the map on this issue. He's sort of punting on what everyone's waiting for -- should Joe Biden stay or go? He didn't say.

LEIGH ANN CALDWELL, CO-AUTHOR, THE WASHINGTON POST'S "EARLY BRIEF": Yes. So every single member that I've spoken to who has spoken to Leader Jeffries, I ask what Leader Jeffries response is, and they mostly say he's in listening mode. He's really good at not giving any -- playing his -- showing his hand, I guess.

RAJU: Even before reporters have asked him multiple questions, same answer.

CALDWELL: Same answer. And so, but the reality is that there's a growing number of members who are more and more concerned with President Biden. He has his frontliners who he has to think about. He -- who, as we know, are the ones who are probably maybe the most worried. He has others who are also expressing concerns.

You have the CBC leadership who have come out in support of President Biden, which also puts Jefferies in a difficult position. And so he's kind of constrained from this -- in this position of leadership from having to do anything for the moment. But people are becoming very impatient. And they're going to want some direction and they want some decision making soon.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. But we should make clear what we're witnessing here. Again, this is not unlike what Nancy Pelosi said yesterday. The fact that Hakeem Jeffries is talking to the public and to reporters about an ongoing process that is comprehensive and candid about President Biden's future atop the Democratic ticket is in diametric opposition to where Joe Biden is publicly right now, which is that he is decided, done, case closed.

No decision to make, already made it. I'm staying. That's where he is. So the fact that the Democratic leader in the House is saying that's not the case over here is remarkable in this moment, even if we don't have a full sense of where he is personally on, if he wants to go or not, or if he thinks that's the right play for his caucus. The fact that he thinks the right play right now is to keep the president in limbo like this, even though the president has decided, tells us what we need to know.

RAJU: David, I am going to have to interrupt right now because we're going to go actually to Joe Biden speaking with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- defense equipment to Ukraine. Today I'm proud to announce new security systems package for Ukraine. This will be the eighth package I've authorized since we've signed a national security bill. The Secretary of Defense, we can talk about what the details of all that are. I signed it yesterday -- last night, I guess.

And we're working with our NATO allies to ensure Ukraine is flying F16s this summer. And we show the world that we stand with Ukraine now and in the future. So, Mr. President, thank you again for being here. We got a lot of work to do together. And I yield the floor to you.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, Mr. President. Thank you very much for invitation to summit. And thank you for such strong news about security -- new security package. And I'm grateful to you, your team, your administration, of course, Congress, both parties, both chambers, and all Americans for their vital and your strong support of Ukraine and Ukrainian people.

Together we are saving lives of our people. You mentioned about Kharkiv. Thanks to your support and thanks to our soldiers, really. It was tough work, but they did it. And together we are preserving Ukraine's independence and freedom. And these are historic actions that will protect the world from similar wars.

[12:55:13]

And I especially want to thank today President Biden for his support and personal statement following the Russian strike on the children's hospital in Kyiv.

BIDEN: I see (ph).

ZELENSKYY: Yes. This is our largest children's hospital and it was direct hit by Russian missile. That is why we are I greatly appreciate your decisions to strengthen our air defense, the five new patriots and other dozens of other systems. And we have -- and I want to also to speak today how we can continue the support.

And I also want to discuss with president how we can quickly and decisively stop Russian terror. With this big problem for us, it's guided bombs. And of course we need some quick steps, some to lift all limitations for our Ukrainian soldiers. And of course we are thankful for -- that you helped us to save our energy.

It's tough period for people without energy. But, anyway, we are thankful to you and partners. And, of course, we will discuss achieving a just end to the war. We must end this war justly and for peace to return as soon as possible. We need a second peace summit this year.

Thank you for participation. And we are counting heavily on America's support in this. God bless America. Slava (ph), Ukraine.

BIDEN: We will stay with you, period. Thank you, press.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President.

ZELENSKYY: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, President.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, is your decision final?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is your decision to stay in the race final?

(CROSSTALK)

RAJU: All right, we've been monitoring President Biden meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. We'll continue monitoring for more information in the hours ahead. But thank you for joining Inside Politics on this very, very busy hour.

CNN News Central starts after a quick break.

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