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New Day

Rare Access to Frontlines in Ukraine; Americans Face Rate Hikes; Kalee Kreider is Interviewed about Democrats Backing Anti-Trump Republicans in Midterms; Greatest NFL Player of All-Time. Aired 6:30- 7a ET

Aired February 02, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Don't have here are many layers of defense. Driving from the front we see just a handful of checkpoints. If the Ukrainian army can't hold this area, Russian forces could reach Mariupol, a port city of half a million, in hours.

Despite the threat, life here goes on much as normal. At the local market, stalls are open and the shelves are full.

WARD (on camera): I'd love to know if you think that there will be a war? (speaking in foreign language).

WARD (voice over): We don't want war. We have children and grandchildren, Natalia says. And there won't be war. We believe that.

Some, like Arjean (ph) say that America is exaggerating the threat.

No, there will not be a war, he says. It's only Biden who thinks this.

WARD (on camera): It's interesting talking to people here. Nobody seems to be remotely concerned about the prospect of an imminent invasion.

WARD (voice over): These people are no strangers to war. All around Mariupol, the hollowed out remnants of villages destroyed and abandoned by fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists.

But whether moved by denial or disbelief, these soldiers, and the people they're protecting, don't expect history to repeat itself. For now, they wait, and they watch, and they hope.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WARD: Now, the U.S. has been supplying a steady stream of weapons to the Ukrainian army. Among them, much coveted anti-tank javelin missiles. But one of the rules of the cease-fire, which as we saw as regularly being broken, but one of the rules of it is that those javelin missiles and any heavy weaponry can't be brought down to the front lines. That could potentially, if there is some kind of lightning offensive from the Russian side, put the Ukrainians at a distinct disadvantage.

John. Brianna.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Clarissa, I have to say, it's fascinating to hear the people from the front lines. And it's only by you going there that we do get that perspective. So, we're so grateful for that.

Just a few moments ago, we got our first look at some new satellite imagery from a private company that shows a troop buildup, even more than we realized, in, what, Belarus, western Russia and also Crimea.

WARD: That's right. So these are new satellite images that are coming from a company called Maxar. And what they appear to show is a significant increase in military hardware in Belarus, also in western Russia, and in Crimea.

And this is really starkly at odds, John, with the rhetoric that we continue to hear from the Kremlin. We heard President Putin yesterday saying, there's no intention of invading Ukraine. This is a sort of hysterical prophecy of America which is designed to try to goad us into the conflict.

But, ultimately, the proof is in images like this. We see a steady and consistent and, frankly, deeply concerning buildup of forces and heavy weaponry on multiple sides of this country.

BERMAN: And here are the images right here, just so people can see what we're talking about, buildup of equipment on three sides of Ukraine, which is what is so concerning I know at least to U.S. officials.

Clarissa Ward, again, remarkable to have you there on the front lines or what would be the front lines. Thank you very much.

So, first, inflation. Now Americans are bracing for interest rates to rise in the coming weeks. What this means for you.

And, former Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores suing the NFL for alleged racial discrimination. This could be a bombshell lawsuit with major repercussions. He is going to join us live in studio ahead on NEW DAY.

Plus, a huge brawl inside a Golden Corral. Look. Look at this. What set this off?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:28] BERMAN: This morning, as inflation raises prices, the Federal Reserve is signaling that interest rate hikes are on the horizon. It could mean Americans who have been struggling to pay more for groceries and gas will now have to pay more on their credit card and loan debt.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins me now with the latest on this.

Just a series of concerns, Vanessa.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. It's a little bit of a financial tossup here, right? You have these rising interest rates, which means that it may cool down everyday prices. But these rising rates also mean that you might be paying more on your loans. And if you're an American that fell into debt during this pandemic, it's going to mean that you're paying even more money. We spoke to one American who says that the anticipation of these rising interest rates is like a monster looming over her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH: What is that number?

JENNIFER MATARESE, CONCERNED ABOUT RISING INTEREST RATES: That is $78,012. The student loans are $58,028. The auto loan is $8,420. And then the credit cards are $11,564.

YURKEVICH: And all of those, I imagine, there's interest on.

MATARESE: Yep.

YURKEVICH (voice over): In the next few months, interest rates will likely be on the move.

YURKEVICH (on camera): How do you foresee those numbers changing?

MATARESE: I feel like they're just going to sit there and barely move.

YURKEVICH (voice over): Bringing Jennifer Matarese's debt to a standstill.

Goldman Sachs estimates the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by a quarter of a percent several times this year, likely beginning in March.

[06:40:01]

YURKEVICH (on camera): The reason that interest rates are going up is to try to cool down the economy so everyday things that you buy are not that expensive.

MATARESE: Yes.

YURKEVICH: So, will that help offset potentially paying these off?

MATARESE: Probably not. YURKEVICH (voice over): Interest rates have remained low throughout

the pandemic to help the economy recover. Now, as rates are set to rise, they'll impact credit cards, student loans, car loans and mortgage rates.

MATARESE: It's looming over me like a monster.

YURKEVICH: Matarese says she lost her part-time job doing social media for a dog camp for four months during the pandemic. She kept her full- time factory job in rural Pennsylvania, deemed essential, making $16.50 an hour, and earns a couple hundred dollars a month from a podcast she started.

MATARESE: Hello, everybody.

YURKEVICH: But in that time, she says she added about $4,000 more to her already considerable debt, falling further down the financial ladder.

MATARESE: I just started falling three rungs back. And you're just trying to catch up. I just look forward to maybe sometime before I die I might pay that off, or pay part of it off.

YURKEVICH: At Toyota of Scranton, CFO Pat Rodgers says the impending rate hikes won't have an immediate impact on car sales because there's such low supply and big demand.

PAT RODGERS, CFO, TOYOTA OF SCRANTON: It's not going to deter anybody from buying a car or not buying a car because the other side of the coin is, there's such a big demand for these vehicles.

YURKEVICH: And we saw it as we watched the last available new car roll off the lot with a sold sign.

RODGERS: The interest rate hike is going to -- maybe it will cool inflation for a little bit. It's going to take a while before that happens. There's so many other factors right now. It's a very weak weapon in my opinion to kind of tame this beast right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH: And it will take a little bit of time for these interest rates to bring down inflation. But something we might see right away is a little bit of a buying frenzy for people looking for homes, trying to capitalize on low mortgage rates. People looking for cars, trying to get good interest rates on new car loans.

But one thing that we've seen over this pandemic, John, if you have a savings account, maybe a CD account, you haven't seen that making much money. Now that these interest rates are rising, you could get a couple more dollars into your bank account soon.

John.

BERMAN: It's been a long time. I mean a generation or half a generation since Americans have had to deal with this type of financial situation. It will be very interesting to see how it hits people.

Vanessa, terrific report. Thank you very much.

YURKEVICH: Thank you.

BERMAN: So, how about this, political strategists suggesting Democrats can win the midterms by backing some Republicans.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, Donald Trump turning on one of his biggest supporters, calling Senator Lindsey Graham a rhino, a Republican in name only, after he said it was wrong to pardon Capitol rioters. We'll have more on that story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:47:07]

KEILAR: There's a really interesting new op-ed in "Politico" magazine that says Democrats should endorse anti-Trump Republicans in red districts in order to save democracy. That is the strategy that is being proposed by former top aides to Dick Cheney and to Al Gore. And one of them is with us now. Kalee Kreider who's senior adviser at Ridgely Walsh and former communications director to Vice President Al Gore.

Kalee, thank you so much for being with us to give us a sense of what you're proposing here along with Juleanna Glover, who was a top aide to former Vice President Dick Cheney. Can you explain how this political chess would work and what's at stick as you see it?

KALEE KREIDER, SENIOR ADVISER, RIDGELY WALSH: Sure. I'll just -- and good morning. Thanks for having me.

In 2022, democracy is on the ballot. And what we argue here is that in 2020 Republicans really helped make a material difference in some key states, which helped with the election nationally. And that Democrats really need to think about playing chess, not checkers, in this election.

So, we argue in the piece and today that Democrats need to look at some key elections. We talk about like Evan McMullin in Utah and then suggest some others, that Democrats should really consider investing in, in order to make a difference in the midterms.

KEILAR: So, what this would do in effect is make the primary election into a general election, right?

KREIDER: Well, voters already are making choices and thinking about these state and, you know, house races in a national level. I mean we've really seen that actually in the last couple of cycles. And so we're just making the argument that with democracy being on the ballot, we have to look at how we defeat really Trumpism in the midterms and think about broader and bigger choices.

And, of course, this would affect not only the Democratic National Committee, but also really how labor unions and others look at these elections to try to create a governing majority for democracy.

KEILAR: So you mentioned the Utah senate race where, as you point out, the Democrat, obviously not having a chance in Utah, shifted support to Evan McMullin over a pro-Trump incumbent. Then there's Arizona, which is where you saw anti-Trump Republicans like Cindy McCain and others supporting Joe Biden for president. And, obviously, Joe Biden won Arizona.

How do you convince Democrats to do this?

KREIDER: Well, honestly, I mean, we have seen independent-minded candidates win. You know, whether that's Bill Walker in Alaska -- actually, Alaska is a great example, right, because we've seen a number of independent-minded candidates win. We've seen that in Maine. So, I mean, there are examples.

[06:50:02]

I actually think it's possible that there will be more examples statewide. And then we think that they're -- of course redistricting is still underway, but we've seen in Tennessee, for example, where Jim Cooper's district was fractured into three separate districts. We name a number of house districts, potentially Madison Cawthorn or Lauren Boebert, Dan Bishop, Andy Biggs. I think we've really got to look at the map widely and pick a set of races and try to look at how we try to defeat extraordinarily pro-Trump candidates that aren't necessarily representing, you know, the kitchen table issues that matter to voters.

KEILAR: Lauren Boebert's vulnerable in this, as you see it?

KREIDER: Could be. Could be. You know, look, you k now, as we've seen when you target a list of races, and you may not win all of them, but I think over time and cycle by cycle you could see changes over the course of this 10-year redistricting cycle where there could be vulnerabilities.

I think -- and I think we will see that there will -- Trumpism will recede. And you have to challenge it in key districts where over time we will have a chance to take on these candidates.

KEILAR: It's a very interesting read that you and Juleanna Glover put together, Kalee.

Thanks for being with us this morning.

KREIDER: Thank you so much.

KEILAR: So, we're just moments away now from knowing whether we'll have six more weeks of winter, please no, or an early spring. But is Phil, the cute little rodent by some people's standards, really accurate in his predictions? Harry Enten has the numbers.

BERMAN: He's a fraud! A fraud!

Plus, a bombshell lawsuit that really has the potential to upend the National Football League. A former NFL coach accusing the league of running like a plantation. Brian Flores will join us live on the huge lawsuit he just filed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:56:17]

BERMAN: This morning, the GOAT and the groundhog. One is a provable legend. The other, a statistical sham.

Joining me now is CNN's senior data reporter Harry Enten.

And, Harry, I don't want to diminish this because I find this to be very, very important. I want to start with the greatest of all times, Tom Brady.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes. Yes, sir.

BERMAN: Retired now officially.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: How good was he?

ENTEN: He was really freaking good. Really good. And I don't even like Brady, right? I'm a Bills fan. But, I mean, look at this, first in all-time ranks. Super Bowls, seven. Pro Bowls, 15. Wins, 243. Touchdown passes, 624. I'm running out of breath here. Passing yards, nearly 85,000.

Whoo!

BERMAN: So, people ask, is he the GOAT, which means greatest of all time.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: You know, sort of in all things.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: You have a way of looking at this.

ENTEN: I do. So, you know, look, I took some GOATs across provisions. Tom Brady, seven Super Bowls. Michael Jordan, 6 NBA championships. Franklin Delano Roosevelt won four president elections. Katharine Hepburn won four acting Oscars, the most for any actor/actress. So, that seven, better than six, four and four. So across professions, Tom brady is the GOAT of GOATs.

BERMAN: And maybe the most important competition for Tom Brady is against, who, Kim Kardashian?

ENTEN: Yes. So, you know, cultural cache. You know, I never really watched "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" but I hear it was quite the groovy program. Tom Brady versus Kim Kardashian in Google searches. So, in the past year, Tom Brady led in 43 states. What I love about this is you can go over time, which gives you sort of this idea that Brady spans generations. In 2006 he had more Google searches than Kim Kardashian in 41 states. So both in the past year and 2006, Tom Brady, a GOAT of GOATs.

BERMAN: So, domination over generations.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Now on the other hand --

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: We have this annual fraud --

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Being perpetrated on the American people. It is Groundhog Day.

ENTEN: Yes. Yes. It is. We'll see if the groundhog sees his shadow or not. I don't really think he cares because how often is Punxsutawney Phil right about winter? He's only batting around 40 percent since 2011. If he was batting 50 percent, it would be a coin flip.

The groundhog predicting winter or how long winter more is going to go, he does worse than a coin flip.

BERMAN: That's right. A coin flip -- you would anticipate a coin flip. But his -- you know, his war, his win over the replacement player, is he has a negative war if you're measuring for Punxsutawney Phil.

ENTEN: He has a negative war. A cute little fellow, at least in my opinion. And great movie. But he's a fraud.

BERMAN: Now, there are people who still buy into it, though.

ENTEN: There are still -- this is the -- I love the Roper Center Archives because they find the strangest questions. Who do you trust more to tell you when winter ends? Seventy-eight percent are right, it's TV weather people, but 14 percent say the groundhog. Are they just messing with us? What is going on here?

BERMAN: Well, I don't know what the hell's going on there. And you can see people jumping up and down there. I mean, honestly, you know, it's like QAnon here, the people who believe in the groundhog. I don't understand it.

Now, you have another statistical analysis here. If we were to measure, statistically speaking, who is responsible for the most groundhog mishaps.

ENTEN: Yes. So, dropping a groundhog who dies a few days later by New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio dropped one groundhog who died a few days later versus the others, it was zero. So, Bill de Blasio is leading in this department. And I believe we actually even have some video of this that we were able to pull, which I will now play for you watching the potential action right here.

[07:00:06]