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Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) is Interviewed about Midterms; Court Ruling Wont' Slow Migrants; Voters Hit Polls in Five States. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 24, 2022 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Watching Republican voters to see what direction they want their party to go after Trump.

Joining us now is Republican Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland.

Sir, thank you for being with us this morning.

I know you, of course, in Georgia, endorsed Governor Kemp. And I wonder, are you thinking that the outcome of today's races could be a turning point for your party?

GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R-MD): Well, I really hope that it is. And I'm pretty confident that Governor Kemp is going to have a resounding victory today and likely avoid any runoff. And I think that will -- that will send a real statement.

But it won't be the first time. You know, we've -- we've -- we've won the governor's races in Ohio and Nebraska and Idaho and now it will be Georgia. So it will really be four in a row, I think, that, you know, President Trump was attacking some of those Republicans and they -- they're all are doing pretty well in their primaries.

KEILAR: Do you think Trump will look at the outcome and factor that into his decision about what to do with his future?

HOGAN: Well, I can't really speak for what -- how he makes his decisions, but I think, you know, his influence, while it's still very large in the Republican Party, I think is diminished and will continue to diminish as he makes, you know, bad decisions about attacking incumbent governors and, you know, endorsing primary opponents who are not winning. And I think it will become even more clear in November. And so I can't tell you how he's going to make his decision over the next couple of years, but it certainly is going to show that he's not as strong as maybe some people thought he was.

KEILAR: Defense secretary -- former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that Trump is a threat to democracy. He said that Trump would be emboldened in a second term, that he would be less restricted by a cabinet in a second term. And I know that you have some doubts as to whether Trump would run again, whether he should. Of course, it's possible, though. So, what do you think a second Trump term would look like?

HOGAN: Well, first of all, I don't think there's going to be a second Trump term and so I don't want to speculate on what it might look like. I've said for a long time, I don't think he is going to run. And even if he does run, I don't think it's any guarantee that he's going to win. So, I have been pushing to take the Republican Party in a completely different direction. And we've got a long time between now and the '24 elections and we ought to get through the 2022 elections first before we decide what the future looks like.

KEILAR: Doug Mastriano, for example, is the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania in governor as you're look, of course, ahead here in the election. He's someone who is an adherent to the big lie. He went to that Stop the Steal Rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol.

Are you worried if people, if candidates like Doug Mastriano win, that this could actually affect the outcome of the future presidential election?

HOGAN: Well, there's no question about that. I mean electing kind of, you know, candidates that are outside of the mainstream that are conspiracy theorists is going to have an impact, both in what happens this November and what might happen in 2024. Luckily, in most of the states, and in most of the races, that's not happening, but certainly that's going to be an issue that the Republican Party is going to have to contend with.

KEILAR: You, sir, are the co-chair of an organization that's called No Labels. And this is an organization that is dedicated to promoting collaboration across the political spectrum. Last week, as you're well aware, No Labels tweeted out a video with text that called the House January 6th committee a, quote, partisan exercise. Do you agree with that?

HOGAN: Well, I didn't approve of that and didn't know that that was going out. I thought that was a mistake on the part of the staff at No Labels, and I think they've recognized that.

But, look, I want to make sure that it is not going to be just a partisan exercise. I have had concerns about that. But I think that that tweet was probably unfortunate.

KEILAR: So how did it happen?

HOGAN: I have no idea. Some staffer at No Label sent out a tweet and didn't have approval of anyone, I don't think.

KEILAR: Is there a discussion about that? I only ask because if you're talking about an organization that you're co-chair of, that is dedicated to collaboration across the political spectrum, there are some Republicans, obviously it's not half Republican, for instance, on that committee, but for certain reasons. I mean, can you -- can you expand on that?

HOGAN: Well, our organization, you know, I'm the honorary co-chair, along with Joe Lieberman. Neither one of us knew anything about that tweet and neither one of us agrees with the tweet.

KEILAR: Yes.

HOGAN: But, you know, our organization is working together. That's one of the biggest problems we have in America is the divisiveness in our toxic politics and the dysfunction in Washington. And, you know, that's what we're working to try to do something about, which is why we were so instrumental in getting the bipartisan infrastructure bill done and that's why we're here with the world, you know, economic and political leaders in Davos to try to, you know, talk about how we bring people together rather than continue the divisiveness.

KEILAR: You are talking to us from Davos, as you mentioned. connecting international business to Maryland. As you're looking at the economic forecast, are you seeing a recession coming?

[08:35:05]

HOGAN: Well, I think everybody is concerned about a potential recession coming. That's been part of the dialogue here with people from around the world. But certainly it's something that we're very concerned about. There's inflationary pressures and supply chain issues and, you know, it's -- it's a scary time right now and I think that's one of the major topics of discussion here with not just folks in America, but people around the world.

KEILAR: What are business leaders there saying to you?

HOGAN: Well, the business leaders here, I'll tell you, a whole lot of the focus here has been on the situation in Ukraine. And one of the positives I think out of this conference is both all of the political and economic business leaders from around the world seem to be united. So as terrible as this situation is, with Vladimir put in's aggression and Russia, most of the world is now focused to standing up to that and uniting in opposition.

So we heard from the secretary-general of NATO today and the president of the EU and many different leaders. We talked with the mayor of Kyiv, who was here. And I can tell you, there seems to be -- you know, one thing it has done is brought the -- both America and the world together in opposition to Putin's aggression.

KEILAR: Yes, as we understand it, it is a very different scene. Maybe you can tell us a little bit about that. There are no Russian financial leaders. There are no officials there, as you would be used to seeing.

HOGAN: No, actually, Russia was banned from the conference for the first time and kicked out. So there are no Russian officials here. And it's -- the entire world has pretty much united against them. There's a place that typically here they have a Russia house where they're, you know, promoting things. It's now called the Russia war crimes house. And it's really focused on support for Ukraine. So absolutely it's a different situation than we normally see here.

KEILAR: I know you're focused, Governor, on wrapping up business in Maryland, but I do want to talk to you about your personal future. And you are aware that your own state has a lovely state fair, right, that you don't have to go all the way to Iowa for one, right, if you want to find a wonderful state fair.

HOGAN: Well, you know what, I love the state fair in Maryland, and I plan to be there as well. But, you know, the Iowa state fair is pretty special. They've got, you know, pork chop on a stick and lots of great fried foods. But we've been invited to join some folks out there and we're looking forward to that one as well. But I'm not going to skip the Maryland fair, you can count on that.

KEILAR: All right, you're going to hit both.

What's your calculus right now on a potential run in 2024?

HOGAN: You know, I've said over and over again, I really want to focus on finishing out my term. I promised the people of Maryland that's what I would do this job until the end. And I have this day job until next January. And after that there's still plenty of time to think about what the future might look like.

KEILAR: If Trump ran, would you be more likely to run?

HOGAN: You know, I think I'm going to make my own decision independent of that. But it certainly wouldn't scare me off from running. I think a lot of people would not be running if Trump were to join the race. That wouldn't impact my decision at all.

KEILAR: Governor Larry Hogan, thank you so much for being with us. We do appreciate the interview, sir.

HOGAN: Thank you.

KEILAR: And still ahead, we're going to take you live to Mexico where migrants are waiting for Title 42 to expire, a Covid restriction. They're waiting for that to expire so that they can make their journey to the U.S. border.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And our special coverage of election day continues. The key races to watch, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:42:30]

BERMAN: This morning, desperate migrants are anxiously waiting in Mexico as the pandemic related restrictions on seeking asylum in the United States remain in place. Many have been in rundown shelters for months amid the legal uncertainty over Title 42.

CNN's Matt Rivers live over the border in the -- in Mexico, I should say, with the latest on this.

Matt, tell us what you're seeing there.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're here in Ciudad Juarez, John, which is just across the border from El Paso, Texas. And what we're seeing is what you can see all across the border, which his hundreds if not thousands of migrants who are simply waiting for the chance to try and apply legally for asylum in the United States, including one man who we met yesterday at a shelter here in Ciudad Juarez who says that he's going to try and apply in the next couple of weeks with the hope that they make some kind of exception for him at the border.

Here's a little bit of what we had -- about what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: Are you nervous that the authorities are not going to allow you to enter the country?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes, very much so. More than the nerves is the uncertainty of not knowing how long we will have to be here. Especially for the baby. He's only a year and a half old. So, yes, it's difficult.

RIVERS: Well, thank you so much for your time.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

So, his story there, very similar to other stories that we have heard in this shelter. This shelter is called (INAUDIBLE), the Good Shepherd Shelter, and it is completely full at the moment.

The majority of migrants are right now are actually Haitian. But as you just heard from our interview there, he is Venezuelan. There's people from Honduras here. And this shelter, which can hold 80 people, is now completely full.

You can see just how completely full this dormitory is. It is just bunkbed next to bunkbed next to bunkbed. There are dozens of people that are living in this facility. Most of whom are spread out throughout the facility. They've asked us to respect people's privacy here. So that's why you're seeing empty beds. But there are people who are sharing bunkbeds here.

And we spoke to the director of this facility earlier today who told us that things can't continue like this. He's building another facility just across the street that he says can house more than double of what he can hold right now. And yet, when that is finished, in two months' time, he says he already knows that there won't be enough people, enough room, rather, to handle all of the people that he says are still going to be in this area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS: Now, I also asked that director if he thought that the fact that Title 42 has been extended will stem the flow of migrants that are arriving to the border every day and the numbers of hundreds if not thousands of people arriving at the border.

[08:45:02] He said, absolutely not. He hasn't heard that from anyone who's been arriving. Word of mouth continues to be the key driver bringing migrants from other places here. And also you have to consider, John and Brianna, that not only do you have people arriving here from other countries, but you also have people trying to go to the United States who are being turned away. So it's basically two waves of migrants arriving here in these overrun border towns on a daily basis.

BERMAN: You know, all the other countries of people you're meeting there, from Haiti, Venezuela, Honduras.

Matt Rivers, thank you so much for giving us that look. Appreciate it.

Voters in five states heading to the polls this morning. John King joins us next with the key races to watch.

KEILAR: And perhaps John will weigh in on this video, the guy who didn't have to move an inch, or his beer, to catch a foul ball.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:05]

KEILAR: Voters in five states are going to the polls today with plenty of attention focused on Georgia, which is where the incumbent Republican governor has former Vice President Mike Pence rooting for him to win, while his primary rival has the support of former President Trump in his corner.

Here on what to watch for tonight is CNN chief national correspondent and anchor of "INSIDE POLITICS" John King.

John, what are you watching in what's kind of shaping up to be a proxy war, especially in Georgia?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. The thing that's most fascinating to me on the days that people vote, it's, let's listen to the voters and not have the predictable Washington conversations. In the sense that, what are Republican voters telling us in this case because there are mainly big Republican contests. What are they telling us about what they want?

In Georgia, I think they're telling Donald Trump, this is still your party, but it's not a cult. You cannot tell us to vote for David Perdue if we, Republican voters of Georgia, think our Republican governor has done a pretty good job, whether that's on the economy, whether that's on Covid, whether it's his position on other issues.

Now, Georgia Democrats are already ready to throw things at me because this state is very polarized from the last governor's election, never mind our presidential politics. But if you're a Republican and you look at Brian Kemp, you think, OK, this guy's been a pretty good governor. So, Donald Trump, thank you, but no thank you, I think, but let's let them vote and see.

And one of the dynamic on a primary day like this, yes, the polls show David Perdue way behind. This is a grievance match for Donald Trump. He's the Festivus (ph) politician in America. Every day he airs his grievances. And the 2020 election is his biggest grievance. Brian Kemp did not help him cheat. Brad Raffensperger, the secretary of state, did not help him cheat. Trump is still mad about that. The voters of Georgia appear to be ready to say, sorry, but we'll see.

BERMAN: If it is Festivus, I'm curious to see what the feats of strength will be, John.

So, let's continue the scene. Who are you looking tonight to come out particularly strong in this -- in this primary Festivus day?

KING: Let me flip the question in the sense that, you know, so if Kemp is renominated in Georgia in a big way, if Brad Raffensperger by any chance, can avoid a runoff, I think the secretary of state's race most people think it will end up going to a runoff. But how strong -- how strong do the candidates that Trump is vehemently, personally, viscerally against. Trump gets involved in some races, he picks a candidate, his heart might really not be in it or he's kind of in it. This -- these ones he's in it because of what happened in Georgia. So what do the voters tell us about that.

I think the bigger question is, you know, Trump said yesterday at this tele rally for David Perdue that he thinks Kemp can't win because people won't vote for him. Early voting is setting records in Georgia, including Republicans, even though Donald Trump has attacked early voting for years. Another signal that the voters are saying, sir, you might lead our party but we're not going to follow everything you say.

So, what do the voters tell us here, number one? How weak is Trump in Georgia is a perfectly good question to look at. If -- it depends whether you're looking, John, at this November or beyond because Georgia's one of the five or six states that is going to help determine our national politics for the next ten years, including the 2024 presidential election because of how close it is. So that one will be studied more than the others, but there are a lot of interesting things on the ballot tonight.

KEILAR: There's also this GOP runoff in the Texas attorney general race, right? So you have George P. Bush, Jeb Bush's son, who is trying to unseat Ken Paxton. And I wonder what you're looking for there as he's trying to continue the Bush dynasty.

KING: A, can you sell the Bush name in today's Republican politics in Texas, which are becoming increasingly conservative. And, again, people will use the world Trumpy (ph). Set it aside. Set it aside.

Greg Abbott was there before Trump. You know, sure, Trump has some influence on it. But just what are -- grassroot Republican politics in Texas are moving more to the right. Can a ush succeed?

Now, George P. has moved with there. The most fascinating thing for me is, however this goes for George P. Bush tonight is, what is Thanksgiving dinner like in the Bush family when Donald Trump savaged, savaged Jeb Bush.

KEILAR: Such a good question.

KING: His son, George P., running in Texas, has given Trump a big hug. That's got to be an interesting dynamic in, you know, that dynasty family. But it is -- it would be interesting for people who study these things, you know, we've had the Kennedys. You know, we haven't -- you know, the Bushs on the Republican side. Do we have a cycle where there's no Bush in office, and there's no Bush on the ballot, and what does that mean?

One of the thing it means is the Republican -- both parties are going through these transformational changes right now. And sometimes they take 10 or 15 years to go through them. The Republican Party is in the middle of one, was not started by Trump, but it was put on steroids by Trump, and we're watching it play out. Can a Bush -- what does a Bush have to do to fit into that party? It's one of the tests.

BERMAN: John, we need your magic wall-like analysis of something that happened at a baseball game last night. I believe this was in Cincinnati. A foul ball --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, he's looking -- oh, money. And the whole thing just went on the video board and egged on by the crowd. He chugged it!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Yes, our banner covering it up there, but catching a foul ball in your beer cup, and then drinking from said beer cup, John. How would you break that down?

KING: Think about the wine notes (ph), right? It has a leathery bouquet with the hops as it go down.

[08:55:01]

Look, if you're a Reds fan, I don't blame you for having a beer no matter what time of day the game is. You've had a very tough start to the season. You might want two. And at $16 a pop, John, you drink it. I'm sorry, that's what a -- that's what a kid from (INAUDIBLE) will tell you.

BERMAN: That's (INAUDIBLE). It's so expensive. It's so expensive. Have you ever caught a foul ball at a game, John?

KING: A foul ball? No. I caught a David Ortiz home run once on the green monster.

BERMAN: You did?

KING: I don't want to say I caught it. I hockey goalied it. I, off the chest, picked it up. It was his 500 -- 300 home runs as a member of the Boston Red Sox. It's on the YouTube thing. You can see it.

BERMAN: You know --

KEILAR: I think that counts.

KING: It was not graceful, but I got it.

KEILAR: That counts.

BERMAN: It's worth it. Worth every, every cent.

All right, John, thank you very much.

KING: Thank you.

BERMAN: And, of course, it is election day and will soon be election night in America. Join CNN for our live coverage. It all begins at 7:00 Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)