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Quest Means Business
Biden Set To Hold Rare Solo News Conference; Biden Campaign Chaos Overshadows NATO Summit; US CPI Falls On A Monthly Bases, Slowing To Three Percent Annually; 12th House Democrat Calls For Biden To Step Aside; South Africa's CSI For Wildlife; Delta Air Lines Warns Of Summer Overcapacity; Biden And Trump Campaigns Target Youth Vote. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 11, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:10]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Closing bell ringing on Wall Street. Now, the market is bifurcated in a way as you're seeing a second or two.
We've got the Dow, which is up slightly, but the NASDAQ sharply lower as the gentleman hits the gavel -- one -- oh dear, that wasn't much of a
gavel. That's hardly going to get us off to a roaring start, is it?
But it is NVIDIA, it's Amazon, it is tech stocks like Tesla that are all lower. The NASDAQ is off.
Those are the markets, the events that you and I will chew over the next hour.
President Biden is about to give what could be the most important news conference of his life as calls grow for him to drop his re-election bid.
A landmark moment in the fight against inflation. Prices in the US are falling for the first time times since the pandemic.
And Delta Air Lines says the Olympics will cost the airline a hundred million dollars as travelers avoid the Paris crowds.
Well, I am in New York on Thursday, July the 11th. I'm Richard Quest. I mean, business.
Good evening.
President Biden is just roughly two hours away from giving one of the most important news conferences of his career. He will speak after a busy day of
meetings with NATO allies in Washington and he is proving or has to prove that his shaky debate performance, and his whole halting interview so far
are not the norm.
Fellow Democrats will be watching. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader, says they stand firmly behind the president's agenda. However,
Speaker Jeffries was less emphatic about their support for his candidacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): We have engaged in a process of talking to each other. Those conversations have been candid, comprehensive, and clear-
eyed and they continue.
Until that process has concluded, I am not going to address what any outside stakeholders may have to say about this matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: And that seems to be the rubric that people are saying. And now, the president will have a chance this evening to address growing concerns about
his age and stamina, which is no easy task after the long days of high- stakes meetings.
In other words, it is exactly what he has said he was going to try to avoid doing is what he has done today.
Look at the president's agenda. Early this morning, he left for the Convention Center where the Summit is taking place and participated in
working sessions throughout the day. He also met President Zelenskyy of Ukraine to announce new military aid for Kyiv, he used notes in that
meeting. And later in this hour, he is going to hold another meeting on the war in Ukraine.
Kayla Tausche is in Washington.
You know, I saw him sitting there with President Zelenskyy with his notes, and I saw him sort of shuffling from one chair to the next and we've still
got everybody saying he is sharp, he is acute. He is on the ball in the meetings, and what we are seeing suggests otherwise.
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is no question, Richard, that every three single last detail of the president's
demeanor and his behavior in a setting like that is now going to come under scrutiny given what we have learned as some of these details have unraveled
in recent weeks about the lengths that his aides and advisers went to, to shield him from public eye and try to keep the very apparent signs of his
decline and his aging from the public.
We've heard that from people who attended fundraisers, from lawmakers who attended meetings, and other events with him. And overseas diplomats who
said that at some Summits, he just seemed downright exhausted, but all of that took place in the leadup to the moment that we find ourselves in now,
where there has been a crescendo of Democrats and members across the party calling for the president to pass the baton and saying that he is simply
not up to the task of winning in November and for four more years.
To that end, the Biden campaign held two all-staff calls today to try to gin up morale after for what the team has been through in recent weeks and
the president's top campaign brass and White House officials visited Capitol Hill to brief Democrats on what they saw as Biden's potential path
to victory.
But people who talked to CNN about the contents of the meeting said that it was more like a listening session and didn't go far enough to actually
change hearts and minds on Capitol Hill.
[16:05:08]
So certainly, there is a lot of work to do and not a lot of time, Richard if the president does want to stay in.
QUEST: So we've got these rumors. Firstly, that the Biden campaign is now testing out Kamala Harris as to how she would run or how she tests and
we've got this, also this allegation that many in the party are annoyed with the White House for basically hiding what has been going on.
I mean, it sounds like they are now fighting amongst themselves. Civil war has broken out.
TAUSCHE: It does feel a little bit like that, Richard, but I think what is most notable about the decision as reported by "The New York Times" to
begin testing a head-to-head matchup of Kamala Harris, the vice president and Donald Trump is that this is work that the campaign purported to have
either done before or at least been relying on outside data for because in the immediate wake of that debate where President Biden gave halting
performance that led to the deterioration of support where we are now, the campaign sent out an e-mail to fundraisers and to donors saying this is why
we still have faith in our candidate and it is because he still polls better against Trump than Vice President Harris than say Pennsylvania
Governor Josh Shapiro and other prominent Democrats around the country, Gavin Newsom, the governor of California.
And they put those numbers in very stark terms for donors and fundraisers, just two weeks ago saying, our guy does better, but apparently now, they
feel like they need to run those numbers again.
QUEST: We will talk more. I am grateful. Thank you.
Now, some Democrats are accusing the president's advisers of hiding his apparent decline. He is far likely than his immediate predecessors to hold
formal news conferences or any kind, so Bill Clinton held around 24 of them every year. George Bush averaged more than 26, Barack Obama around 20,
Donald Trump, 22. Of course, there is the pandemic and some of them went on for hours, most of those concerns during the pandemic. President Biden has
averaged less than 11 news conferences a year.
The Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona is a CNN political commentator and is with me.
In addition, we do have this idea that they are starting -- I mean, the Democrats are almost doing sort of a round-robin shooting match at each
other about who is to blame.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I am glad you brought that up, Richard, because it is really unfortunate to see what is going on
within the party because I believe -- look, the concerns that Democrats have are very legitimate, as you can imagine. We all saw what we saw on
that night during the debate.
But the fact of the matter is, is that President Biden has already said that he is staying in this. He is our nominee. He got 14 million votes
during the Democratic nomination process, Richard, and those voters are still backing him.
And so --
QUEST: But Maria, Maria, I am going to jump in here, if I may. Forgive me. But if I may --
CARDONA: Sure.
QUEST: Because George Clooney answered that exact point and it is basically this, yes, he got 14 million votes, but the facts have changed. And as I
said yesterday, when the facts change, people change their mind.
CARDONA: Richard, with all due respect to George Clooney, right, he does not represent the Democratic grassroots voters who elected President Biden,
who voted for him during the nomination process.
You ask millions of them, Richard and nothing has changed for them. In fact, what they are seeing is this sort of Democratic war that you have
described and they are pissed off about it to say it delicately.
QUEST: Right.
CARDONA: Because you know what they say, Richard, they are saying, my vote matters.
For every single Democratic law maker who is saying President Biden should step aside, that is who I voted for and I will take President Biden on his
worst day versus Donald Trump because President Biden will not destroy our democracy, will not take away my rights to make bodily autonomy decisions,
will not mass deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country, will not destroy our life as we know it in this country.
So they are not happy with a lot of the Democratic lawmakers that you are seeing and hearing that are in this circular firing squad. And you know
what they say, which is also right, Richard --
QUEST: But -- go on.
[16:10:04]
CARDONA: They are saying, every time somebody comes out to say that President Biden should step aside, it helps one person, Donald Trump.
QUEST: Okay. So what about then those politicians in the circular firing squad who are saying privately and you must hear this, he can't win. And
not only can he not win the presidency, we are risking the House and the Senate.
Now, they are saying that privately and then publicly coming out and coming -- even Nancy Pelosi, who I am sure you would agree yesterday in what she
said, she could hardly be described as a foe of Biden, but even she is saying, make your mind up, knowing full well what he has already said.
CARDONA: That's right, Richard. And look, I am not diminishing the concerns of those lawmakers. They do have elections to win and we want them to win
those elections, but the fact of the matter is and Nancy Pelosi and Leader Hakeem Jeffries, they are doing what they need to do as well-respected
Democratic leaders, they are listening to the Democratic Caucus.
They are making sure that those conversations are open. They don't want to shut anybody up, nor should they. But what I am saying is that those
conversations should be kept private. They should go to President Biden himself. They should go to his advisers. They should go to his inner circle
and have those conversations and show them the data if they have that data.
But the fact after the matter is, Richard, my sense is and I have tried to look for this myself, while there is data that shows that President Biden
is behind in these swing states, there is also data that shows that he is ahead. There is data that shows that the debate did not really change
things.
And so, it is way too early to say that the debate is such that the bottom is falling out and that 14 million votes during the nomination process
don't matter.
QUEST: All right, we will talk more about it, a spirited discussion and I am grateful as always. Thank you so much.
Now, in the United States, prices have fallen on a monthly basis for the first time since the pandemic. The CPI declined a tenth of a percent from
May to June. It takes the annual rate to three percent, still above the Fed's but it is much better than it was.
Headline inflation dragged down while we had airfares fell some five percent, and energy, which fell two percent, and then of course you had
fruit, which was down a good half a percent.
Julia Chatterley, an orange, an apple or a tangerine. We forget had the airline ticket.
Julia Chatterley, so the inflation is down, it is still above target, but much better then where it was. Is this grist to the Fed cutting September?
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR, "FIRST MOVE": It is. And I was going to say to you, it needs more fanfare, but obviously you are way ahead
of me there.
We are not talking about price rises slowing, we are actually talking about prices coming down for the first time since the pandemic. So I think this
is a great big green tick for the February and they will certainly be honing in and looking at that September meeting as the possibility now, and
that's what the market has been saying as well.
So we've got a rate meeting happening in July, but no one expects anything to happen there. This is good news in the data -- shelter, housing, rent
was also much lower in this, which is I think something else that the Federal Reserve has been watching, but no ways about it, Richard, I think
this is a certain greenlight for the Federal Reserve to be able to do something in September.
All we need now is another slightly weaker unemployment number and it is probably a done deal.
QUEST: Are prices coming down because of a slowing economy? Or lower energy prices? What are the factors do you think that is leading to actually a
reduction in prices? By the way, these are very good.
CHATTERLEY: I would have taken the apple, so we are good there. It is a whole host of things.
I think you actually have to look at the unemployment rate. It is around half a percentage point higher. It is still great on historical terms, just
about four percent, but there are signs of slowing there. It is harder to find a job. People are less confident about quitting their jobs and going
to look for somewhere else. So you can see signs of softening in the market.
Now, I don't want to get ahead of myself because in a few weeks' time, we could get confirmation of a significantly stronger second quarter than we
saw actually in the first quarter.
And you and I both know that we are heading into earnings season. We've got some of the big banks reporting tomorrow. We will hear what they say about
the health of the US economy and the consumer as well. So I don't discount a whopping strong earnings season that perhaps gets us a little bit further
off track than perhaps we are today.
But there are signs of slowing and there is room to cut.
QUEST: NVIDIA down sharply, five, six percent. We've got Amazon. Look, I am not getting terribly excited. It is up 140 odd percent year-to-date.
CHATTERLEY: Precisely.
[16:15:10]
QUEST: But it is sort of a rotational obviously, in a sense, because you've got some of the old stocks that are up, but even if it comes off its top,
it is still where the game is for the future.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean, look at the S&P 500, it is up 18 percent year-to- date. Stocks are having an absolute blind. The AI stocks that you and I have talked about. When NVIDIA is up the way it is, seeing it down five
percent on one day is someone sneezing and taking a little bit of profit. We don't worry about those things at this stage.
This is an incredibly resilient stock market given what we've seen in terms of speed of rate increases, I think overall, they have hit the sweet spot
actually with the rate increases that they've done and holding steady and not doing what people wanted them to do with cutting rates.
The danger now and I think Jay Powell said it this week is perhaps they hold on too long rather than giving back a little bit and allowing some
easing into this economy to maintain the sweet spot that they found. Let's be honest, I think they've done a good job, the Fed.
QUEST: Julia, on your way back to your desk, do pass by. I have an apple for the teacher. Thank you very much indeed.
CHATTERLEY: You're very kind.
QUEST: As you can I continue tonight, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, Donald Trump, the only one of Russia's closest European allies in the hours ahead, Viktor
Orban what we are learning about the upcoming visit to Mar-a-Lago from the Hungarian prime minister.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: President Biden has announced a new security aid package for Ukraine as he met with President Zelenskyy. The two spoke a few hours ago. Have a
look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For the past few months, the battle for Ukraine has shifted, but Ukraine stopped Russia for Kharkiv,
number one, and you should be complimented for that. Number two, you've won at Russia's advances, you've imposed significant cost on Russia and you
made it clear, Russia will not prevail in Ukraine, will not prevail in Ukraine. Ukraine will prevail.
And I want you to know, we are going to be with you every step of the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now, Joe Biden is expected to be talking on Ukraine again in this hour.
Six people were killed in Russian attacks across the country in the last day. It includes a 13-year-old boy.
Alex Marquardt is in Washington. We are watching the pictures for this security compact.
There are two issues here. One is actually the issue of Ukraine and the other is whether or not -- how does Joe Biden get through each meeting and
everybody on tenterhooks as to whether he makes it to the other side without making a mistake?
And it is really sad at one level that you and I are talking about it like this.
[16:20:18]
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it really is style and substance, right, Richard. And in the lead up to this Summit,
which of course is in the wake of the CNN debate, which has completely upended the US political discussion and as all these domestic concerns, but
also concerns from the leaders here who frankly have told me that they were a bit disappointed, even aggravated that this is a distraction from the
business at hand.
Now, whatever were maybe going on in the US political sphere, that has not taken away substantively from the objectives of this Summit. The primary
one, of course to reinforce the support for Ukraine, but at the same time, everyone here and outside this building are watching Joe Biden very
carefully from the moment he got on stage to deliver that opening speech on Tuesday night to the meetings yesterday, to the one-on-one with Zelenskyy
that you just played there, and then of course, the press conference due to take place in an hours' time.
So this will be at the end of the day, a successful Summit. But, completely distracted and overshadowed if you will, Richard by the political
conversation about Joe Biden's fate.
QUEST: But Alex, I mean, just even watching President Biden's performance there complimenting the Ukrainian president, it is at best halting, it is
at worst excruciating that he is basically having difficulty getting through the most basics. He has to have notes or prompter.
MARQUARDT: Yes, and that's why what we are seeing here at NATO isn't really telling, right? Because everything is so scripted, everything is so
choreographed. Now, just to be fair to President Biden, when you look at President Zelenskyy, who is much younger, of course, he was also reading
off of cue cards, off of notecards. English is not his first tongue, but both of the men were speaking in a very, very scripted way, I think, a
large part of that is because of the sensitivity of what both men say on this subject.
And I just want to highlight one thing that President Zelenskyy said to President Biden and that was about lifting the restrictions on Ukrainian
soldiers, and was a very pointed remark towards President Biden essentially saying unshackle us.
Because right now, the US has very specific restrictions on how Ukraine uses their weapons inside of Russia. They are not allowed to use them
however they like and Ukraine is asking for permission to use every kind of US weapon wherever they like inside Russia, the US has not granted that.
But Richard, just before President Biden has this press conference that we are all waiting for, including everybody here at this Summit, President
Zelenskyy will also be giving him his own press conference. I guarantee you that within the first few questions, of course, he will be asked what that
meeting was like with President Biden, whether he has faith in President Biden to continue leading this alliance and what his fate may be in
November, because as President Zelenskyy said two nights ago, everybody is watching the November elections -- Richard.
QUEST: Alex, I am grateful. You'll be helping us understand the meeting afterwards. Thank you.
Donald Trump is expected to meet the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Mar-a-Lago in the next few hours. Mr. Trump often praises the Hungarian
autocrat on the campaign trail.
The two last met in the Florida resort in March. Prime Minister Orban is one of Russia's closest allies in the EU. He visited Moscow last week where
he met President Putin. The two have said that they discussed ways to end the conflict. The trip caused major outrage amongst other European leaders.
They were quick to point out that Viktor Orban was not speaking for the rotating presidency of the European Union.
Alayna Treene is in Washington. This relationship between Orban and Trump and yet, if you look at how Orban is treated within the European Union,
what message is Trump trying to send do you think?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, Donald Trump has long touted his relationship with the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban as you noted,
they had met last in March at Mar-a-Lago, that was more of a party. They had a concert that was there, Donald Trump remarked that Orban was a boss
during that meeting, referring to him kind of brooking political dissent within his own country.
But you're totally right, in Europe, he is not viewed the same way and I will remind you that just six months ago, Orban won his election yet again
and ran on a Make Europe Great Again message, which is clearly Trump branding that he is using himself and there is -- I think there is a lot of
reasons though that Donald Trump likes him, as you noted as well.
Donald Trump in the past and on the campaign trial have gone to nearly all of his rally sites and praises authoritarian leaders like Viktor Orban.
[16:25:22]
He often talks about him on the trail, talks about him being a strongman. So that is where some of this is coming from.
Now, just to give you some details into what is going to happen tonight. They are meeting at 7:00 PM at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
It is offseason. I am told this is going to just be a social meeting this week or this night unlike that party I was mentioning that they did in
March.
And I think the timing of this meeting is really critical to take note of, because one, it comes right off the NATO Summit. We saw Orban there in
Washington, DC this week. It also comes after Orban is meeting with a series of foreign leaders that includes meeting with Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month in Kyiv. He met with Russian President Vladimir Putin as you noted earlier this month, and he also met
with the Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.
So this is just the latest stop in many of Orban's global travels. I will also note --
QUEST: Let me just jump in here, but Viktor Orban currently holds the six months rotating presidency of the European Council or the European Union.
Other members within Europe are saying he does not represent the official position of the European Union just being -- now, this is sort of, if you
will, in the weeds of European politics.
But from Donald Trump's point of view, to have a European like leader like Orban on his side, is very significant.
TAUSCHE: It is absolutely significant, and I will also note that Orban has previously said he thinks Donald Trump is going to win the election. I
think there is a reason you're seeing him meeting with Donald Trump. He is not meeting with President Joe Biden and look, the two of them also share a
lot of similar views.
They have both been very skeptical of NATO and critical of it. They've -- Donald Trump himself has been critical of the European Union and so, they
share some of the same views on this.
And I do want to read for you, just pointing out that Orban is not meeting with Joe Biden, I want you to hear what the White House essentially told
reporters today. They said -- this is coming from White House National Security adviser, Jake Sullivan. He said that, ". they were not directly
aware of the meeting." He said, "I have not directly heard from anybody about this meeting. I have heard indirectly about it as many of you have."
So the White House wasn't even aware that this was happening. I will also say just from my conversations with Trump's campaign and talking to his
senior advisors, this came together very recently in the last few days.
And again, they are describing it as a social visit.
QUEST: Right.
TAUSCHE: It will be a dinner on his patio at Mar-a-Lago and really, they describe them as friends in many words, so I think that kind of gives you
all the insight you need -- Richard.
QUEST: Well, keep an eye out for Nigel Faraj's visit, it won't be long off as you may have heard part of it. Thank you very much, very grateful. Thank
you.
New polling shows that a majority of Americans think President Biden should drop his re-election bid.
More Democratic lawmakers are calling him to do exactly that, in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:32:20]
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. Together we have more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
We got an update from Capitol Hill as Democrats are calling for President Biden to set aside and those calls are getting louder. And Delta says the
Olympics will cost $100 million this summer. Why? Travelers are avoiding the Paris crowds. And of course, Delta's partner is Air France.
In a moment, all that but after the headlines. This is CNN and here, the news comes first.
Jurors in Alec Baldwin's manslaughter trial heard more testimony today from a crime scene technician. She said an actor on the set of "Rust" put a live
bullet in his holster. She also said there was no reason that the actor knew the bullet was real. Prosecutors argue that Baldwin's negligence led
to the deadly shooting of the movie's cinematographer.
Kenya's president is promising to form a new government after firing almost his entire cabinet. President Ruto has been at the center of a political
firestorm in recent weeks over a controversial tax bill. He withdrew the new law last month but protesters have continued to call for the
president's resignation.
The funeral is being held for a doctor who's killed in Monday's Russian strike on Ukraine's largest children's hospital. The 30-year-old doctor was
said to be taking children to a bomb shelter during the attack. One other person was killed in the strike in Kyiv and dozens of people have been
wounded.
The actress Shelley Duvall has died at the age of 75. According to reports, the star of "The Shining" passed away in her sleep from complications of
diabetes. Duvall was known for her roles in "Nashville," "Three Women," and "Popeye."
In the past few moments another House Democrat has called for President Biden to step aside. It's Greg Stanton of Arizona. And the president
himself will hold a rare solo news conference at the NATO summit. That's due in just two hours from now. During that he will hopefully convince
voters and his fellow Democrats that he is up to the task, not only of running for presidency, but will last four years.
More lawmakers are now saying he should step aside. Brad Schneider became the 11th Democratic representative to do so earlier. On last night the
first Democratic senator officially and formerly called for the president to stand down was Senator Peter Welch who said, "We cannot unsee President
Biden's disastrous debate performance."
A solid majority of Americans also believe the president should bow out, according to a survey from ABC and "The Washington Post." 67 percent of
those asked said he should step aside given his debate performance.
[16:35:08]
Even a majority of Democrats think the president should exit. That same poll shows Mr. Biden's campaign isn't exactly dead in the water. He's tied
nationally with President Trump amongst those are registered voters.
Sunlen Serfaty is in Washington and joins me now.
It is definitely -- look, I mean, we can go in circles on this with the -- the poll say this, this person says that, other person, but until he
decides he's off, nothing really happens.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I can tell you, Richard, that pressure on Capitol Hill is intensifying against President
Biden, but some are acknowledging that there's very little that they can do that he is the one that's going to make this decision. But there is an
effort for people, like the people who have his ears like former speaker Nancy Pelosi, like Jeffries, to potentially at some point present the
reality of the moment to the president.
And we know that Jeffries, the House minority leader, he has, you know, been speaking to members all week for the last two weeks since the debate.
QUEST: Right.
SERFATY: Hearing their concerns. And he has told our colleagues in the hill that he is going to take those concerns to the president after he speaks to
everyone.
Now today on Capitol Hill, there was this meeting where you had some Biden members come and brief Senate Democrats and they left, Richard, largely
dissatisfied saying they didn't plead their case at all.
QUEST: OK, but -- right, but now what about this business of the money? I was reading in an interesting piece in "The Journal" that suggests that one
of the problems is if Biden drops out 100 million in the Biden campaign, he can't just switch it over to somebody else.
SERFATY: That's right. And there will be very complicated machinations of what potentially needs to be done. That money is no small thing and it
potentially would fuel the next potential nominee for the Democratic Party. Those conversations are really happening largely behind closed doors here
in Washington as people from the White House, the campaign, and of course, those on Capitol Hill, try to figure out what exactly would happen.
And that's the argument that a lot of people we know, according to sources, are trying to tell the Biden team and Biden himself is that potentially
this could be done in an orderly fashion. We don't know the reality of that, and that's something that remains to be seen, certainly causing a lot
of consternation on all of those candidates in the House that are in very tough reelection races, though.
QUEST: How does this end? I mean, I got a rhetorical question in a sense because we just don't know. But as an observer, as a journalist, and just
watching this, this is, this is excruciating.
SERFATY: It's excruciating, it's pretty extraordinary as a political observer, someone who has covered the hill and the White House for many
years. It feels this moment is a very anxious, precarious moment obviously for the White House. But for the hill, too. Privately lawmakers, their
aides have for weeks now told us how they believe it's over for Biden and that in their assessment.
QUEST: Right.
SERFATY: And that something needs to be done.
QUEST: So --
SERFATY: And it's interesting that there's this whole other conversation taking place in the public sphere. We're finally seeing some lawmakers
standing up and saying what they truly believe.
QUEST: So, just to finish on that point, do you agree with the Clooney point that basically there isn't anybody he has spoken to that doesn't say
he can't continue, he'll lose if we do, but then goes out and immediately said something publicly that's either wishy washy or the opposite. Is that
what people are doing with you as well? They're making it clear they don't think he should stand and can win, and then saying something else.
SERFATY: Yes, it's hard. You can sense this tug, especially among people who have worked with Biden over the years. There is a strong loyalty. They
feel very protective of his legacy and they -- but they also know that this is not just about his legacy.
QUEST: Right.
SERFATY: But the future of, they believe, American democracy and the fate of the nation. So you've really sensed this push and pull, people's
heartstrings, their head, and that's why I think this is not an easy answer for a lot of people to admit some things that they see have been happening,
but also politically, they don't know the right direction here.
QUEST: Thank you. I'm very grateful. Thank you very much.
(INAUDIBLE) in Washington, the president will be speaking in about two hours from now.
And now CNN visits a first of its kind facility in South Africa that is teaching the skills to catch the animal poachers. In other words, the
gatekeeper turned poacher after poachers themselves. You get the idea.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:42:26]
QUEST: Around the world wildlife crime including animal trafficking and poaching is on the rise. And in doing so, it poses a major threat to
biodiversity.
Today, on "Call to Earth," we're going to visit a facility in South Africa that's aiming to reverse the trend. And it's doing so by giving students
the skills they need to put more poachers behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Within landscapes like this all across the continent of Africa, poaching persists as a serious problem. But
inside this building, sitting in the middle of a game and nature reserve, about an hour north of Cape Town, there is new hope in ending the crisis.
GREG SIMPSON, CO-FOUNDER, WILDLIFE FORENSIC ACADEMY: The Wildlife Forensic Academy is a unique facility focusing on the training of individuals that
come across a wildlife crimes scene.
ASHER: The animals in this first-of-a-kind facility are real and were preserved through the taxidermy process. The blood is fake.
SIMPSON: Wildlife crimes often are processed initially sleep by individuals that don't necessarily have training around law enforcement from a legal
perspective. So they often don't collect evidence correctly or they don't even notice this evidence. So what is really important is to give people
skills that they can collect evidence so that the evidence can be used in an investigation, and hopefully down the line that will end up in a
prosecution.
LEITAH MKHABELA, RANGER, BLACK MAMBA ANTI-POACHING UNIT: This is something that we can come across every day. We have higher rate of rhino poaching
and we have so many poachers that walked free in court because rangers didn't collect evidence enough or they don't know how to collect evidence.
So it is important for ranges to get this knowledge.
ASHER: Co-founder and veterinarian Greg Simpson first encountered the issue while training veterinary students.
SIMPSON: We noticed more and more poachings and then I would take my students to these events and help them process them, find the bullets, et
cetera. And I realized that we didn't get that kind of training as veterinarians. We didn't really get forensic training. And so we saw the
need to try and capitalize improvements and improve biodiversity protection.
ASHER: There are also simulations of a poacher's house and truck, and an inflatable boat which could be used for poaching marine life.
SIMPSON: Historically, wildlife forensics has not had the profile that it needs. With increasing crimes particularly certain animals like rhinos and
elephants, it's got a much better profile. So it's becoming more important and people are seeing the value of forensics in a wildlife crime scene.
[16:45:07]
ASHER: The training is led by crime scene and legal experts like Petro Van Der Westhuizen, who spent 21 years as an investigator for the South African
Police Service.
PETRO VAN DER WESTHUIZEN, LECTURER, WILDLIFE FORENSIC ACADEMY: Today, we created a scenario of a rhino poaching for them. We've divided them into
teams and now they have to investigate the scene and see if they can find the evidence linking the suspect to the scene.
We use at a wildlife crime scene evidence that we know of that has previously been supplanted in court.
ASHER: The courses ranged from one to four weeks long and welcome students from all over the world. From vehicle searches to evidence collection to
properly handling documentation, the lessons culminate with a courtroom scenario where students learn how to defend their case.
PHIL SNIJMAN, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, WILDLIFE FORENSIC ACADEMY: The purpose of cross-examination is to test the credibility, the trustworthiness of
evidence. And unless you can survive that cross-examination, it might mean that the court can -- well, might not accept your evidence.
ASHER: Arresting the criminals is a crucial first step in this global fight, but without conviction, the cycle is likely to continue.
SIMPSON: Illegal wildlife trade, wildlife crimes is a real priority. It's a threat to biodiversity, it's a threat to human health. And if we can
improve the knowledge around this, an awareness, that will be really, really valuable. So teaching people skills of how to document evidence is
really important from a law enforcement perspective. And we really need to improve our law enforcement around wildlife and the environment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: I'd like to know what you're doing to answer the call, the hashtag is CalltoEarth.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Now the last minutes another Democrat has called for President Biden to exit the race. The second that we've heard from in this hour. It's
Ed Case of Hawaii. He said in a statement, "Our decision on president, on who will embody and lead that choice, should be made on the merits with no
questions as to basic capacity to discharge responsibilities over another term." Thirteen representatives and one senator have now said that
President Biden should quit.
Delta Airlines says over capacity may cause its third quarter profits to come in lower than expected. The shares were down 4 percent of its
learnings call.
[16:50:04]
Transatlantic may be holding up, but the CEO Ed Bastian said young Americans are heading to Europe to catch Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour." On the
other hand, the Paris routes are underperforming. People are avoiding the city out of the Olympics, which could cost Delta $100 million this year.
Anna Stewart is in London.
Not the first, I mean, Air France has already warned that the Olympics is going to cost France. Basically people are avoiding Paris.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Unless you really want to go and see the Olympics.
QUEST: Right.
STEWART: I think it is putting a lot of people off. And you're right, Air France, I think they actually announced that it could hit them by almost
double, $175 million to $195 million for them. And that's as a result, as you say, of tourists being put off.
The "Eras Tour," though, is a great boon for travel as it turns out, and actually I believe, Richard, several members of the QUEST MEANS BUSINESS
team have taken a transatlantic trip to London to see Taylor Swift.
QUEST: They did. I haven't seen the pictures of it and I think they're explicated if one wants to be frank. Not for family viewing. But the Delta
Airlines question, Delta is performing extremely well. It's just on its deal with Riyadh Air for the future. It's its partners of course with Air
France, KLM, and SkyTeam., and on the JV, so they will be hit by Paris. I always feel it a bit sort of a bit mealy mouthed to be saying that when
people are talking about the Olympics.
STEWART: Because that's what it means, doesn't it?
QUEST: Yes.
STEWART: And also the results aren't all bad. I mean, they're slightly disappointing from what the market expected. But the margins are so tight.
If you just look at some of the costs that have increased over the last year, Richard.
QUEST: Right.
STEWART: You have, you know, salaries up 9 percent, aircraft fuel up 12 percent, landing fees up 24 percent. You add all that and then look at
those very small margins and then you have the issue of capacity, almost the opposite issue, I think of last summer, too many seats, particularly in
the U.S. domestic market in that main cabin. So lots of ticket discounting going on.
QUEST: Right. Which is why we saw inflation coming down in the U.S. because air travel is, but I'm still guessing that by the time we get to the
Olympics in a couple of weeks, obviously the planes are full and people are thoroughly enjoying it. Are you going to Paris for the Olympics?
STEWART: I'm not, and I was hoping I might get some CNN invitation to the Olympics, Richard, but it hasn't yet come. I'm not much of a sports
correspondent, though, so it's perhaps not that surprising.
QUEST: Have you covered off -- not the Olympics, I'm sorry. After the election? It felt like an Olympics, isn't it?
STEWART: I mean, it really felt like the Olympics, but elections in Europe as well because of course it wasn't just the U.K. but Paris as well. So
it's been a long few weeks, doesn't it, Richard? Time for you and I to take a holiday, right?
QUEST: Now let's clarify. Is that you and I to take a holiday or you and I? In other words, are you inviting me on a holiday, is what I'm saying.
STEWART: I think --
QUEST: No?
STEWART: Richard, I don't know that that's a good idea, but we do travel together a lot, don't we? So maybe we should go on our separate holidays.
All right?
QUEST: All right. I'll see the pictures afterward. Thank you.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump both know that the election will be won by convincing a small sliver of persuadable voters. And on their last
campaign, most of those persuadables are young voters.
CNN's Danny Freeman went to the swing state of Pennsylvania to see how each camp is courting the youth vote.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As President Joe Biden worked the rope line in Harrisburg, Sunday, trying to fight off questions
about his age, a younger face in the crowd was creating content.
Did you ever think that you'd be influencing for a presidential campaign?
KENNY SCREVEN, SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER: Definitely not.
FREEMAN (voice-over): Kenny Screven is a social media influencer in Pennsylvania, one of many the Biden campaign has recently partnered with to
try and reach younger voters.
SCREVEN: Things can get much harder if we don't vote.
FREEMAN: In addition to makeup tutorials and LGBTQ advocacy, Screven now posts about the importance of voting for Biden.
Do you feel young people are energized right now to vote in this election?
SCREVEN: Truthfully, no. I feel like a lot of people are discouraged. But I think that's where influencers come in. We can really help motivate them,
encourage them to vote.
FREEMAN (voice-over): In 2020, younger voters overwhelmingly supported President Biden over former President Trump. But recent polls show the two
candidates running about even among this key demographic.
Twenty-four-year-old Jahnavi Rao runs a group out of Chester County. The goal, to register young voters in crucial swing states and motivate them to
vote.
JAHNAVI RAO, PRESIDENT, NEW VOTERS: There are more than enough people in this country who don't want you to vote as a young voter. All we're doing
is giving you the tools and the resources so that you can.
FREEMAN: But resources are one thing. Enthusiasm is another.
[16:55:02]
We asked several young voters on a scale from one to 10 how excited are they to go to the polls in November.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd say like a five.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a seven right now, seven or eight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd say probably a five.
SARANYA SINGH, 18-YEAR-OLD PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I mean, I would put myself at a one, like I'm not excited at all.
FREEMAN: 18-year-old Saranya Singh said she will 100 percent vote for President Biden because reproductive issues are so important to her. But
she worries about the president's appeal to other young voters.
SINGH: A lot of my friends and a lot of people in our age group are really hesitant to vote this year at all because, I mean, Biden is not the ideal
Democratic candidate in any way.
FREEMAN: Anish Garamidi is a rising sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania. And while he's also all in for Biden, he's nervous about the
lack of enthusiasm, too.
ANISH GARIMIDI, 18-YEAR-OLD PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: The Biden campaign should definitely be seeing that as, like, if the youth vote slips away, like,
Pennsylvania slips away.
FREEMAN: Here, former President Trump's campaign season opening. Though his team did not provide examples of state-specific youth outreach, the
campaign points to their recent launch on TikTok as a sign of its youth voter push.
TREVOR TAYLOR, ADAMS COUNTY YOUNG REPUBLICANS: When we talk about, you know, the economic issues, that resonates more with the youth vote. And
that's my advice to engage with them. And we're having success.
FREEMAN: Trevor Taylor leads the Young Republicans in bright red Adams County. He says the past few weeks have been pivotal.
TAYLOR: Especially seeing Biden's debate performance, I think that the trend is definitely moving towards not only Biden losing support but Trump
gaining support, and momentum.
FREEMAN: The Biden campaign hopes volunteers like Lauren Kuntz will be able to change that momentum.
LAUREN KUNTZ, BIDEN CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER: I couldn't sit by and not participate in a campaign that's so essential to keeping America how we
know it.
FREEMAN: The 26-year-old mom from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, started volunteering with the Biden campaign earlier this year, and she understands
the youth challenge.
What's your pitch to younger voters to say you should be excited about this election?
KUNTZ: I think it's going to be less about the candidate itself and more about the policies that are going to help us as a generation. I mean, it's
becoming more expensive to just live. And there are a lot of policies that the Biden administration has put in place to make it more affordable, which
we should be excited about.
FREEMAN: Danny Freeman, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And we will take our "Profitable Moment" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." I have a dirty little secret to tell you. The reality is that the issues concerning President Biden and his
fitness and health, his mental acuity, are not going to get better. George Clooney summed it up. The president is battling against age and time, and
both will continue to be unkind to him. There is not going to be a day in the near future where suddenly this issue is put to rest. There simply is
not.
It will rumble on. Some days will be better, others worse. But there will not be a moment when people will be asking, how is he doing or not how is
he doing? He is fighting the ravages of time. And the truth is time is not on his side.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable.
END
