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Biden Preps for Face-to-Face Meeting with Putin Tomorrow; Vaccinated Americans are Returning to Normal Lives; U.S. Health Officials Sound Alarm on Rapidly Spreading Variant. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired June 15, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Brianna Keilar alongside John Berman on this NEW DAY.

[05:59:37]

Preparing for Putin. What both sides have planned for President Biden's high-stakes meeting with the Russian president.

And new president, same play. Mitch McConnell threatens to block another Supreme Court seat if Republicans win back the Senate.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Today the U.S. expected to hit 600,000 deaths from coronavirus as concern grows over a fast-spreading variant.

And the computer glitch overnight that grounded flights and triggered delays nationwide.

KEILAR: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Tuesday, June 15.

On the eve of this historic summit with Vladimir Putin, President Biden stands on the world stage this morning for talks with America's closest E.U. allies. He started out this morning by meeting with the president and prime minister of Belgium.

This gathering with E.U. nations follows NATO talks and, for the first time, China is a big focus. The 30 NATO members singling out Beijing's rising military power as a top challenge.

BERMAN: Later today, the president travels to Geneva for his highly- anticipated meeting face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin. President Biden said that the United States is not looking for a confrontation with the Kremlin, and he called on the Russian leader, a man he once described as a killer, a worthy adversary.

Jeff Zeleny traveling with the president. Jeff joins us now, live from Brussels. Another big day before, I think, the most anticipated moment of this trip, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

President Biden is holding that final series of meetings with European leaders here in Brussels before he makes his way to Geneva, but at every stop along this tour, tomorrow's summit with Vladimir Putin has loomed large.

Well, the president last night in a press conference pushed back on the criticism that he is elevating Vladimir Putin by having a summit with him. He said every world leader thanked him for holding that high-stakes meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's bright. He's tough. And I have found that he is, as they say, when you used to play ball, a worthy adversary.

ZELENY (voice-over): President Biden sizing up Russian President Vladimir Putin before their high-stakes meeting in Switzerland tomorrow.

BIDEN: I am going to make clear to President Putin that there are areas where we can cooperate if he chooses. And if he chooses not to cooperate and acts in a way that he has in the past, relative to cyber security and some other activities, then we will respond.

ZELENY: Stopping in Brussels for a day-long meeting with NATO allies, where Russian aggression was a critical subject of talks, Biden said he does not seek a confrontation with Putin when they come face-to- face in Geneva.

BIDEN: I shared with our allies that I'll convey to -- what I'll convey to President Putin, that I'm not looking for conflict with Russia, but that we will respond if Russia continues its harmful activities.

ZELENY: Tensions between the two countries are rising and nearing a boiling point not seen since the Cold War. From the rise in cyberattacks to election meddling and more, the possibility of finding any common ground is very much an open question.

BIDEN: We should decide where it's in our mutual interests and in the interests of the world to cooperate, and see if we can do that. And the areas where we don't agree, make it clear what the red lines are.

ZELENY: I asked Biden about Putin dismissing his reference to the Russian leader as a killer.

(on camera): In a weekend interview Vladimir Putin laughed at the suggestion that you had called him a killer. Is that still your belief, sir, that he is a killer?

BIDEN: I'm laughing, too. But look, when I was asked that question on air, I answered it honestly. But it's not much of a -- I don't think it matters a whole lot in terms of this next meeting we're about to have.

ZELENY (voice-over): The president has prepared for weeks in anticipation of Wednesday's meeting, practicing to fight some of Putin's tactics, raising questions about what's happening in the U.S. rather than talking about Russia's own bad acts. And Biden has asked his NATO allies for their input ahead of the meeting.

BIDEN: Every world leader here as a member of NATO that spoke today and most of them mentioned it, thanked me for meeting with Putin now.

ZELENY (on camera): Despite seeking Putin's cooperation, Biden emphasized it's up to the Russian leader to decide whether he wants to end his bad practices to rebuild the broken relationship.

Do you believe if he does agree to cooperate, then what kind of a challenge do you find yourself in? How would you ever trust him?

BIDEN: I'm hoping that -- that President Putin concludes that there is some interest in terms of his own interests in changing the perception the world has of him in terms of whether or not he will engage in behavior that's more consistent with what is considered to be appropriate behavior for head of state.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[06:05:08]

ZELENY: Now, President Biden is the fifth straight American president to hold a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He says that he will be different because of his experience in the foreign sector, and of course, he has met with him before, when Mr. Biden was vice president.

But one thing is clear. I also asked him yesterday how he would ever potentially take his word, and he said he would verify before trust. Of course, a turn on Ronald Reagan's old famous phrase, "Trust but verify" -- John and Brianna.

BERMAN: So Jeff Zeleny, first of all, terrific job yesterday at the news conference. I think you really elicited some significant, meaningful interaction with the president there on Russia.

I'm wondering what the vibe is with the traveling White House team, how they feel about heading into this meeting with Putin and on the issue of whether there will actually be a joint press conference? Is it a solid, definitive, no, no way at this point?

ZELENY: It does seem like it's a solid, definitive no, there will not be a joint press conference, and this is why. Just the image of Helsinki, of President Trump and Vladimir Putin on the same stage.

Of course, President Biden would act in an entirely different way, but they do not want to sort of have that level of equality there, with both the leaders speaking at the same time.

So every White House official we are talking to said they are absolutely not going to do a joint press conference. Something can always change, of course, during the course of the summit. They'll be meeting in a smaller group and in a larger group.

But, John, the mood here is one of anticipation and preparation.

And interestingly, President Biden was the last world leader to leave NATO headquarters last evening. I can tell you, the sun had gone down. It was after 10 p.m. local time he had met with virtually every world leader, talking about Putin. Really picking the brains of other Baltic leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others about his meeting with Putin.

So he's about as prepared as you can get. We heard the first lady say a couple days ago here he's overprepared.

So of course, the stakes are certainly high, but the expectations actually quite low of what tangible effects will come out of this summit. But he'll be making his way there really surrounded by every top adviser he has, briefing books and everything else. But by tonight, he'll be in Geneva and the big meeting tomorrow -- John.

BERMAN: Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much for your reporting. Terrific work.

Joining us now, CNN global affairs analyst Susan Glasser. Susan, great to see you. Look, you write or have written that, when it comes to Putin, Biden smells a trap. What is that trap, and how should he handle it?

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, look, as Jeff said, this is his fifth straight American president, so you know, Vladimir Putin is under no illusions and has a clear sense, I think, of what it takes to pin down Americans.

Putin is expert, I would say, at this point in showing up American hypocrisy, and he tends to meet all criticisms right out of the Soviet playbook, really, with criticisms of Russia with some sort of false equivalency when it comes to the United States.

Now, I wouldn't be surprised if you hear some reference from Putin to January 6, for example. The idea parodying, in some ways, the Trump line that these were just, you know, innocent protesters expressing their freedom of speech in the United States, for example.

So, who knows? But I wouldn't -- I would definitely expect some kind of disruptive move by Putin to unsettle Joe Biden in their meetings and to put him off his game.

KEILAR: I thought it was a really interesting response from Biden when Jeff Zeleny pressed him in that press conference. He was talking about Putin being bright, tough, a worthy adversary. And on the issue of his -- Putin being a killer, Mark (ph), he said I don't think it matters a lot in terms of this meeting that we're about to have. What do you think?

GLASSER: You know, I don't think that Vladimir Putin is, you know, going be weeping over insults from the American president. This is a, you know, sort of theatrical public thing.

You know, the Russian state TV has said all that and much worse about Joe Biden and they've essentially been parodying the notion that he's practically a sort of senile, you know, driveling idiot.

So, you know, the insults have flowed both ways in the advance of this meeting. I don't think either one of them is as sentimental or is going to care that much when they sit down in private.

And remember that Putin actually has a certain interest in both being seen as a statesman on the international stage. The idea of this meeting obviously is something the Russians welcome. They've tended, for that reason, as well, to welcome things like arms control discussions. So you might see maybe some renewal of a strategic conversation that comes out of this meeting.

Because it's not all just disruption for Putin. He also wants to elevate Russia's position on the world stage and to distract from his problems at home, which exist even though he's an authoritarian. They have politics, too.

[06:10:04]

BERMAN: Being there is an end, in and of itself, for Vladimir Putin. Because let me quote the famous Susan Glasser on this. "Whether or not Putin likes being called a killer," you write, "he surely likes being ignored even less." Explain that.

GLASSER: Well, that's exactly right. You know, again, Russia's tendency and definitely for the two decades of Putin's rule, he when it comes to foreign policy, he has seen the elevation on the world stage.

Russia still values very much being one of the Security Council powers at the United Nations. It uses its veto all the time to block American and other western priorities.

Putin needs this outward-looking focus. And he needs an enemy in some ways, frankly, like Joe Biden and an adversary in order to magnify his own power and to justify some of the repressions at home. So, you know, ignoring him would, in some ways, be the biggest insult of all.

KEILAR: Zeleny reported in this latest summit, Susan, that Biden has picked everyone's brain, that he's talked to all of the world leaders about Putin. What do you think about how he is preparing for this meeting?

GLASSER: Yes. I do think that, you know, he's again, in many ways, the un-Trump, and this is another example. Remember, Trump famously said, you know, I don't need to prepare for summits. I'll just show up. I think he said that before his meeting with -- his first meeting with Kim Jong-un.

Now, as far as Putin goes, Biden has talked with those, including Fiona Hill, who was in the room the last time an American president met with Putin. That was in, of course, Helsinki in 2018.

And, you know, Fiona I spoke with her the other day. She said to me, Vladimir Putin and the Russians, when it comes to summits, they're like the nasty boys in the school room. They insist on sitting next to the girls and then spend the entire time kicking them under the table at the meeting.

And I think that's a powerful image. And I wouldn't imagine that Joe Biden is going to be fully prepared for some kicking under the table.

KEILAR: We will see. Whatever happens, I think it's going to be very dramatic meeting that we get to see there.

Susan, great to see you. Thank you.

GLASSER: Thank you.

KEILAR: So today the U.S. could hit the grim milestone of 600,000 coronavirus deaths. Details on a new study highlighting the urgency of getting more people vaccinated.

BERMAN: Plus, a computer glitch delaying flights and grounding one airplane as more people pack onto planes.

KEILAR: And Marjorie Taylor Greene's halfhearted apology for comparing mask rules to concentration camps and Democrats to Nazis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BIDEN: I'm looking forward to talking with you all about what I'm about to do. And anxious to be here.

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Very warm welcome. We are excited to have you here. What an honor to have you here.

So the fact that you're coming so early in your mandate, I think, underlines your personal attachment to you, and we really appreciate that.

And indeed, the last four years have not been easy. The world has dramatically changed. Europe has changed, but we wanted to reassure you, we're friends and allies and we are very much looking forward to working together. So very warm welcome.

BIDEN: Well, we have great opportunities to take advantage. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, did you agree on -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in Afghanistan?

BIDEN: Did I agree on a what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Turkish presence in Afghanistan after you met with President Erdogan.

BIDEN: Did I agree on a Turkish --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you discuss or agree on any Turkish presence in Afghanistan after you --?

BIDEN: We had long discussions, and I feel very good about our meeting. I'll let -- let Turkey tell you about that. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, do you have an agreement on Airbus

and Boeing?

BERMAN: President Biden there on a photo op with the leaders of the European Union. This is sort of step three on his tour through Europe prior to meeting with Vladimir Putin.

First, it was the G-7. Then it was NATO. Now it's the European Union.

And Brianna, it's all -- they're all a little bit different, but it's the same basic theme, which is the United States back in the global community with a new focus outwards to China and also Russia.

And right there, we saw President Biden trying to once again galvanize with these European leaders and make the point that we are here, and we are moving forward.

KEILAR: He's really trying to turn the page or even maybe write a new book from the Trump years and how the United States relates to its allies in the region there.

And also, I think, the moment we're going to see of contrast is actually maybe a moment we're not going to see. We're not going to see this press conference side by side with Vladimir Putin tomorrow, but he is going to have this meeting.

And a lot of this has been preparation leading up to that meeting with Vladimir Putin as he's been talking, we heard our Jeff Zeleny report, with so many world leaders, doing his homework as he gets ready, right, to speak with Vladimir Putin ahead here.

BERMAN: We're going to keep our eye on this throughout the morning.

In the meantime, promising new developments on the vaccine front. New York is now the 14th state to have at least 70 percent of its adult population vaccinated.

Overall, more than 174 million people or 53 percent of the total U.S. population has received at least one dose. And nearly 145 million people, or 44 percent of the U.S. population, now fully vaccinated.

I want to bring in Harry Enten, CNN senior political writer and analyst.

And Harry, the thing you're looking at this morning is that at last you're seeing these vaccinated people behave differently.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER/AN ANALYST: That's exactly right. So, you know, let's look at one of these things right here.

When you leave your home, are you always wearing a mask? If you look back in early May, the vaccinated folks, 65 percent said, considerably more than the 46 percent of the non-vaccinated folks.

But now in early June, look at this. The percentage of those leaving the home always wearing a mask among the vaccinated, just 37 percent. A nearly 30 percentage point drop, and it's basically caught up to the non-vaccinated with 36 percent. So the two groups now equally wearing -- always wearing a mask when you go home.

Obviously, unvaccinated folks should be wearing mask 100 percent of the time pretty much. But look at that. I think that's -- that's comforting insofar as people are listening to the CDC, basically understanding, hey, if you're vaccinated, you don't always have to wear a mask.

BERMAN: It's interesting. In one month, nearly twice as many people were still wearing masks as are now. Now people who are vaccinated beginning, I think, to maybe spread their wings and understand what they can do, like maybe go out to eat.

ENTEN: Maybe go out to eat. That's exactly right.

OK. Here we go here. Have you gone out to eat in the last week? In early May, it was just 53 percent of the unvaccinated. That's up 10 points to 63 percent.

But again, what I think is so interesting is comparing to the nonvaccinated group. Back in early May, the nonvaccinated group is actually slightly more likely to go out and eat. But now, it's actually the vaccinated group that's slightly more likely to go out and eat. The nonvaccinated group, no movement. Big movement here among the vaccinated group, a 10-point jump from early May to early June.

BERMAN: What about traveling?

ENTEN: So traveling. Look at here. Airline passengers, we know that there are more airline passengers last Sunday, 2.1 million compared to a month ago from Sunday, at 1.7 million.

[06:20:12]

Why might that be the case? Well, part of the reason why is take a look here. Air travel is a large risk. Back in early May among the vaccinated group, 32 percent of them said it was a large risk. That has dropped, nearly dropped in half, 17 percent now.

And again, back in early May, the nonvaccinated group were less likely to say that air travel was a large risk, at 26 percent, but that number really hasn't changed. Now at 25 percent.

Again, the vaccinated group much more likely to say that air travel is, in fact, not a risk or at least not a large risk. The non- vaccinated group hasn't moved.

The message is getting through to folks who have taken a vaccine, folks. And basically, what they're hearing is, if you're vaccinated, you can do a lot more, which is actually a good thing. It's a reason to get a vaccine.

BERMAN: What about summer plans? People now getting ready to do, I think, more things this summer, yes? ENTEN: That's exactly right. And again, it's this same trend that

we're seeing. So make summer plans, book a trip, kids' camp, et cetera. Whatever you're doing this summer, get out and enjoy yourself.

Back in early May, look, just 31 percent said that they had made summer plans in the last week among the vaccinated. That's now up to 39 percent among that vaccinated group. Again, around that 10-point jump. It's eight points in this particular case.

Among the nonvaccinated group, in fact, there's been a drop. It was 31 percent back in early May. Now, it's at 25 percent who have made plans in the last week.

So again, the message is getting through. Vaccinated folks are feeling a lot more comfortable getting out, which is exactly what they should be doing insofar as, if you get a vaccine, it's your secret to success to be able to go out and enjoy at least normal-ish type of life.

BERMAN: If you're vaccinated your world is changed.

ENTEN: That's exactly right.

BERMAN: And should change. If you're not vaccinated, nothing has changed.

ENTEN: Exactly. If you want to get your life back to normal, go out, get a vaccine. And people are hearing that message. And hopefully, some of those folks in that non-vaccinated group, which is still around 35 percent of all adults, will hear that message, too.

Go out and get a vaccine. It makes you safer and allows you to actually enjoy your life, like John and I.

BERMAN: Like we're doing right now. A lot.

I will note, "The Washington Post" -- we can talk about this another time here. But "The Washington Post" has noted, in areas with large numbers of unvaccinated people, cases are going up.

ENTEN: That's exactly what we're seeing, which shouldn't be a big surprise. And especially in the hospitals, what they're saying is the large percentage of folks who they're seeing now are in this non- vaccinated group. Very few people in the vaccinated group are being seen in the hospital.

Go out, get a vaccine. It saves your life and allows you to enjoy your life.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, as always, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BERMAN: Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, vaccinated people should feel safer. They are safer. And unvaccinated people have something to worry about. We're going to talk about that.

Because as we see this optimism in the U.S., there are health officials who are warning about the danger of a particular variant. The U.K. is actually delaying its reopening for a month because of the spread of this so-called Delta variant which was first discovered in India.

And we have seen what happened in India, right? With a new study that finds the variant leads to double the number of hospitalizations.

So let's look at this now with the co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital and the Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Peter Hotez.

Dr. Hotez, it is great to see you this morning. It's been a while. And I love chatting with you and getting your perspective on this, because we're concerned. We're looking at this Delta variant. The trend is not great. How worried are you about it?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Yes. Brianna, I'm extremely worried, because the Delta variant is so aggressive in terms of transmission.

If we remember when we first talked about the U.K. variant, the B.1.1.7 variant, across the British isles that started out of southeast England, we were horrified about how aggressive it was in infecting people. It was a much higher level of transmission.

This one, the Delta, is even higher than that. And so essentially, what's happening is anyone who's unvaccinated is at very high risk now of getting this Delta variant.

And now it's accounting for the majority of virus isolates from the United Kingdom. And guess what? Mother Nature is telling us what's going to happen. This is going to happen in the United States, as well. This one is going to dominate.

And essentially, I think anyone who's unvaccinated right now is at very, very high risk, especially in the South this summer.

KEILAR: OK, so especially in the South. And just real quick, if you're vaccinated, you're good here? Is that the takeaway?

HOTEZ: If you've been fully vaccinated with two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, it looks like it's functioning really well at protecting. A single dose, unfortunately, does not. Only about 33 percent protection.

So this is why -- this is the crunch time now, because if you remember, this time last year, we saw this massive surge across the South starting around after July 4th holiday. So we looked really good in May and June, and then it really accelerated. And that caused that horrible wave in July and August.

I have to believe this -- with this new Delta variant, the same thing is going to happen again with anyone who's either unvaccinated or only a single dose of vaccine.

[06:25:07]

And so this is the time for everyone to get vaccinated, because even if you want to get yourself vaccinated tomorrow or your adolescent child tomorrow, it's still going to take five to six weeks to get both --

KEILAR: Sure.

HOTEZ: -- of those doses of vaccine and for another week after that.

KEILAR: Let's look at these states that we're talking about here that are especial -- especially concerning you right now. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi. They're the states, of course, with the high instances of vaccine hesitancy.

So you're worried. You're worried that you're going to see an increase. Are you worried that you would see a full-blown surge in those states?

HOTEZ: That's correct. A surge, maybe not quite as dramatic as last year, because you do have older Americans in those states getting vaccinated.

But if you look at the young adults or you look at the adolescents, vaccination rates are really low. I mean, especially the adolescents in those states you just mentioned, under 10 percent are vaccinated.

And so, we are seeing a lot of young people in the U.K. get hospitalized with this Delta variant. Well, the same thing is going to happen this summer in the United States. And -- and this is why it's so important to talk about it now, because we still have an opportunity to vaccinate all those adolescents and young adults.

KEILAR: Yes, OK. So school re-openings, because by the time we get to the beginning of school, you'll have a lot of kids who still are not -- can't be vaccinated. Will this jeopardize school reopenings?

HOTEZ: I hope not. It's -- certainly, in the northeast, the new England states, mid-Atlantic, also in California where vaccination rates are really high, I'm really optimistic about the school year, not only for the middle schools and high schools for both the students, and the teachers and staff are vaccinated, but transmission will be so far down, I think, in the northeast that the little kids will do really fine in the elementary schools.

But now we're facing the prospect of two COVID nations, where things will look great in the northeast and California but down here in the South, were -- it's going to be a very rocky, bumpy road in school this fall unless we can figure this out.

KEILAR: Yes, you're there. You're living it. We'll keep checking in with you, Dr. Hotez. Thank you so much for being with us.

Still ahead -- HOTEZ: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: A grocery store cashier gunned down after a dispute over masks turned deadly.

BERMAN: And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pledging to block another Supreme Court nominee if Republicans win back control in the Senate. So how should Democrats respond?

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