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Queen Elizabeth Cancels Virtual Engagements; Markets React to Russia-Ukraine Crisis; Biden Presidency and Russia; Howard Suspended for Post-Game Altercation. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 22, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:30:02]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Just in, we have learned that Queen Elizabeth has canceled virtual engagements as she is still experiencing mild Covid symptoms.

Let's go to CNN's Max Foster for the latest. He is live in London. A noisy, musical London, I will say, with more on this.

What can you tell us, Max?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: The changing of the guard currently taking place. So forgive the loud brass band behind me.

But the queen isn't improving basically. She's still got these cold- like symptoms. And she did -- she was expected to have some video calls today. They were in the diary (ph), but they've cancelled those.

She is, however, carrying on with light duties, as the palace calls it, which is effectively paperwork, the matters of state. So, she's still able to work to that extent, but they're basically taking it, Brianna, day to day.

KEILAR: It's the backdrop against which we're seeing these Covid restrictions lifted, right? Prime Minister Boris Johnson lifting Covid restrictions. And the backdrop is the queen having Covid, an outbreak there in the castle.

What can you tell us about that?

FOSTER: Well, you know, it's a divisive topic. A lot of people fed up with all the very tight restrictions in this country, effectively laws saying there had to be a lockdown when Boris Johnson declared it and you had to stay in after you tested positive. He's gone from that to the complete opposite and repealing all of those laws. So, you no longer have to isolate when you test positive. There will be no track and trace system in place anymore. You don't have to tell your employer you have Covid. They don't have to act in a particular way and protect other members of staff if you have Covid. It's a completely different system now.

And Boris Johnson basically saying if another wave does come along, a new variant, he's not going to bring those laws back in. He may increase testing, but they're going to rely on vaccination, basically. So it's a complete about turn, very controversial, and the opposition Labour Party saying it's not so much living with Covid, this policy, it's ignoring Covid.

KEILAR: Yes, Max, thank you so much for the update.

Max Foster in London for us.

Could Russia's economic -- or, pardon me, economy withstand the stiff sanctions promised by the U.S. and its allies? We'll have Christine Romans with us to break it all down.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I also -- I want a marching band like Max Foster.

KEILAR: I know. Me too.

BERMAN: All right, a doctor faces 14 counts of murder. Did he order deadly overdoses for his patients?

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[06:36:38]

BERMAN: This morning, with Vladimir Putin ordering troops into Ukraine, global markets are reeling. European markets down following a sharp selloff in Asia. Dow futures also down.

CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans here with a look at what could happen and why the world is really on edge.

Romans.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Russian troops on the move and so are global markets. Asia shares closing down sharply. Europe wobbling here. And stock index futures bracing. This will be the first chance for U.S. investors to respond to a weekend of worsening Russia headlines.

Putin's obsession with Ukraine sent stocks tumbling last week. The Dow alone lost more than 650 points last week. John, that's nearly 2 percent. The big reaction is in the oil markets. U.S. crude prices jumping more than 5 percent overnight. Global crude prices up to nearly $100 a barrel. Russia is the world's second largest producer of oil and natural gas. Any supply disruption from fighting or from sanctions would raise global energy prices. That means a direct impact on the U.S. Also, of course, higher gas prices. And higher gas prices are already here. A seven-year high. The

national average is more than $3.50 per gallon, up 20 cents in the past month.

But it's not just at the pump. All energy costs will spike, like home heating, electricity, airplane fuel and other business transportation costs, and that will drive all consumer prices higher. Energy prices driving red hot inflation at the highest level in 40 years.

One analysis estimates that if U.S. oil hits $110 a barrel, expect the inflation rate to top 10 percent. That puts pressure on the Federal Reserve to make more aggressive interest rate hikes to tame this inflation.

John, that raises borrowing costs for everybody, right? On mortgages, car loans and credit cards. So fixing the inflation problem will mean another problem, higher borrowing costs.

BERMAN: Romans, I have a question for you.

ROMANS: Sure.

BERMAN: So, can Russia's economy withstand sanctions, or harsh sanctions?

ROMANS: You know, they've been taking these steps. Russia has been taking steps to buffer itself from the economic blow. Russia's central bank announced measures overnight to support Russian banks and financial institutions, a response to both Russia's stock market and currency tumbling here.

And Russian banks already have been stockpiling foreign currency in case they're cutoff from accessing the U.S. dollar, the world reserve currency. Reuter reports Russian banks imported 5 billion worth of foreign currency in December. That's double the year before in December. So, making that move in December ahead of this move.

It has also diversified its trade partners. The EU is still Russia's biggest customer, but it's expanded trade with China, including opening a major gas pipeline between those two in 2019. And Moscow has been trimming its debt, according to "The Journal," "The Wall Street Journal." That could help the government keep funded if these big sanctions are imposed.

And, remember, as energy prices rise here, Russia makes money. The majority of its exports, of course, are oil and gas.

BERMAN: Christine Romans, look at that chart right there.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: Appreciate it.

So, the Ukraine crisis, the Russian invasion sending troops into Ukraine. It marks a pivotal moment for the Biden presidency. How will he respond? KEILAR: And it is verdict watch today in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery,

the case that these three men are involved in. Will the jury find these men guilty of hate crimes?

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[06:43:36]

KEILAR: With Russia planning to move troops into rebel-held regions of eastern Ukraine and perhaps rebel-held claimed areas of eastern Ukraine that they don't control, how would a full-scale war in Ukraine reflect on Biden's presidency?

Joining us now to discuss, our CNN senior political analyst and the author of "Lincoln and the Fight for Peace," John Avlon, and we also have CNN global affairs analyst and author of "The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III," Susan Glasser with us.

To you first, Susan. What is at stake here for Biden?

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes, I mean, this is undoubtedly the biggest international crisis of Biden's presidency and really of any in the last few years. It's an outright challenge by Russia as we heard yesterday from Vladimir Putin in that extraordinary speech basically defying international law, blackmailing a neighbor, blackmailing all of Europe with the notion that an independent country on his borders is not a real country because he thinks it should still be part of a Russian empire.

KEILAR: And, John, you say this isn't just important when it comes to Biden's presidency. It's also important for the trajectory of the 21st century. What do you mean by that?

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: What I mean is that, you know, Biden's been very clear that one of the challenges of our times is this issue of democracy versus autocracy.

[06:45:00]

Which way will the world trend in the 21st century? And if Putin is able to menace a democratic neighbor, and erase -- essentially erase its sovereignty through aggression, through friction (ph), through troop movements, that is an existential crisis for the international order. And that's why for Biden and Biden's presidency, this is so critical and why it's a real test of whether democracies and multilateral organizations can hang together as a counterweight to these autocratic and authoritarian bullies. This isn't just about Ukraine. This is about, you know, Taiwan in the future. But we're dealing with the here and now and that's why there must be a robust response by democratic nations to constrain this aggression.

KEILAR: And, you know, Susan, depending on how big this gets, you're looking at economic ramifications that are going to trickle down to Americans already struggling with inflation. It would be higher. Can you talk a little bit about that but also just the reputation of

Joe Biden coming off of a bad withdrawal from Afghanistan and what a bad situation in Ukraine could also mean for him?

GLASSER: Well, I think that's right. There -- this is enormously high- stakes decisions that the president is making now and in the coming days. And this crisis, by the way, is likely to go on for quite some time. For President Biden, first of all, the stakes are, what does it do to his fortunes inside the U.S. And I do think the economic consequences of what Americans largely view as a far away conflict that does not involve them, I don't know, you know, how prepared they are really for the idea that energy prices may further go up, for the idea that some sacrifices require, you know, foreign policy has not been at the top of the political agenda. Americans have understandably been inward looking, focused on the pandemic and all of the assorted enormous fallout inside our society, the unraveling of our own democracy in many ways. And so that's number one.

Number two, what about the extreme partisanship with which everything, including foreign policy, has become sort of transformed in recent years in Washington? Are Republicans traditionally willing to be tough on Russia but now have a leader and an enormous faction in Trump and his supporters who have essentially been pro-Putin in recent years. And so how is that going to affect Biden's ability to speak as the leader of a united country that is divided internally.

So, I think it's not at all clear, you know, what the upside politically for Biden is here, but there's enormous risk for him both domestically, politically, and internationally, keeping Europeans on the same page is very difficult. Although I must say, big news this morning, which is Germany canceling the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. That's something that Biden wanted, that Obama and Trump wanted. Never happened until now. So that's a big, big step forward in terms of allied unity against Russia.

KEILAR: Yes, no, it's a very big step.

What do you think, John? I saw you reacting there.

AVLON: Well, I mean, first of all, Nord Stream 2 is a huge pressure point. It does get to the fact that we need to wean ourselves off these sort of kleptocracies that have, you know, fossil fuel influence on other economies. It's yet another reason to move in that direction.

Look, I don't think that, at the end of the day, will there be economic -- additional economic pressure on Americans and people around the world if we stand up to aggression? Yes. But what the sacrifice that's being requested from people potentially, to defend democracy and the liberal international order that has brought in 75 years of peace and prosperity in Europe, something unprecedented in the wake of World War II, that America and its allies helped build, we need to remember that we are not fragile things, that we're -- as Churchill said, made of sugar candy. That dealing with a little bit of difficulty to stand down authoritarianism and autocracy is not too much to ask. We need to straighten and stiffen our spines. KEILAR: Can I challenge on you a little -- challenge you on that a

little bit, John? I just think that may be the case for some people, you know, but for other people, when they're making tough decisions about whether they can take a certain job because they can't put that gas in their car, or the price of groceries have gone up and instead of being able to feed their kids ground beef, they have to feed them beans or something else, you know, that is sort of a departure for them from what they would prefer to --

AVLON: Sure. Sure. Sure.

KEILAR: You know, that's a lot to ask. How do -- how are you expecting people to focus on democracy when the kitchen table issues are eating them up?

AVLON: Well, I think two things about that, Bri. You're right, obviously, people are feeling a lot of difficulty, but that's also where government can take action to alleviate some short-term stress.

Second of all, I don't think we need to -- we run a real risk of taking democracy's gains over really living memory for granted. If people want to live in a 21st century that's dominated by autocrats and autocracies, I think they would -- they would very quickly realize that that is a dangerous trade that undermines all the liberties that they have taken for granted in the past.

[06:50:09]

So, government has a responsibility to alleviate some of that pain. That's one of the reasons that government exists. Susan points out the partisan divide in Washington is troubling. There are, however, a lot of Republicans who are less loud than the isolationist wing who are willing to back the traditional internationalist role that the U.S. has played. But don't underestimate the trajectory implications of this particular moment.

And I know folks are tried. I know they're frustrated. But what we're being asked to do, what we've been asked to do, is far less than other generations have been asked to do. So we should keep that in mind as well. The government should take action to alleviate some of the pressures and pain that people are feeling because it's real.

KEILAR: You know, Susan, what -- you know, obviously, Joe Biden can't control what is out of his control. What is within his control right now?

GLASSER: Well, I -- first of all, I think it's enormously on American presidential leadership. This is a moment. He said when he came into the presidency, America is back. That was his message to European allies and partners. And, interestingly I think after the struggles of the first year and, you know, both with Afghanistan there were some feeling among some Europeans that they had not been fully consulted despite having been with the U.S. for 20 years. There was the rift with the French over the new Aucus (ph) deal with the Australians. And so in a way those tests -- it's probably good they came before this big, all-consuming challenge for Biden. I think there's a sense coming out of the big Munich strategy conference last -- security conference last week that, you know, the U.S. actually is back at its seat at the head of the table.

There's been enormous effort placed into diplomacy and into being on the same page with allies, preparing these sanctions in advance, sharing intelligence to an unprecedented degree. And so, you know, the Biden administration has doubled down on the idea that America is still capable and willing and able to lead in a 21st century kind of challenge like this.

The test is going to be, a, can he keep it together? Putin is a very experienced adversary, and it seems that he's calibrating many of his moves to maximize the potential for disagreement among the allies. So, I think that's going to be a huge challenge for the U.S. is keeping its coalition together over what could be a very, very long run challenge.

KEILAR: Yes, look, what's clear is there is so much at stake.

And, Susan and John, I really appreciate you both being on to kind of distill that down for us. Appreciate it.

Vladimir Putin is ordering troops into eastern Ukraine. We are going to have the latest from inside the country, also from Russia, next.

BERMAN: And the college coach paying the price for sparking a brawl on the court.

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[06:57:42]

BERMAN: Nearly 35 million people under winter storm alerts this morning.

Let's get to meteorologist Chad Myers.

Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I'm about to say uncle on this map behind me here. So much weather going on today.

This weather is brought to you by Servpro.

So, let's get to it.

Two different systems, actually one that's going to make severe weather and another that's going to make very, very cold and arctic weather across the northern part of the country. And we are warm today across the East, but not so in the West.

There's the lightning already this morning popping up here across the mid-south. Some of these areas could pick up even some isolated tornadoes today. That's not out of the question. Not a widespread outbreak, but it's certainly possible. Look at what the radar's going to look like later on today. And then

to the north, that's where the ice and the snow will be. The weather does move to the east here by tomorrow and eventually some of this weather will move into the northeast.

But it's the next storm for you, John, that will bring you some snow. Not this one. This only brings you rain. The next storm system brings the snow. Most of the snow for the first storm here, for today and tomorrow, goes up into Quebec and Ontario. But the storm that moves into the Wednesday/Thursday period, all of a sudden that's where you're going to start seeing this colder weather for you.

John.

BERMAN: Well, you don't bring me flowers anymore, Chad. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

MYERS: Yes, I know.

KEILAR: Punishments from that ugly scuffle between Michigan and Wisconsin have now been handed out.

Let's go to Andy Scholes with this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Tell us what they are.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, the Big Ten suspending Michigan Head Coach Juwan Howard for the final five games of the regular season and fining him $40,000 for his role in Sunday's post-game altercation. Howard hit a Wisconsin assistant coach after being grabbed by Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard, sparking that scuffle between the two sides.

And during his post-game press conference on Sunday, Howard did not apologize for what happened, but he did yesterday, saying his actions and words were unacceptable, adding, I speak a lot about being a Michigan man, representing the University of Michigan with class and pride. I did not do that, nor did I set the right example in the right way for my student athletes. I will learn from my mistake and this mistake will never happen again. No excuses.

Now, the Big Ten also fined Gard $10,000 for violating the conference's sportsmanship policy. Three players also given a one-game suspension for their roles. Howard will be eligible to return when the Big Ten tournament begins on March 9th.

[07:00:02]

All right, Medina Spirit was officially disqualified as the winner of the 2021 Kentucky Derby yesterday.