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tv   CNN Newsroom  CNN  February 20, 2023 6:00am-7:00am PST

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it is time for the morning moment. austin butler won the best actor award for hivis biopic. after the ceremony, butler told the press, i feel honored to have been welcomed into the family. sit a bittersweet time. and this one very close to home for us, another big win at the baftas, the cnn film navalny won best documentary following the assassination attempt on russian president vladimir putin's fiercest critic alexny navalny. it's an extraordinary film if you haven't seen it. >> i have seen it twice and cannot recommend it more. i hope it wins a lot more. that does it for us. cnn's coverage of president biden's visit to ukraine continues right now. ♪
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good monday morning to you i'm jim sciutto. a significant day in ukraine and europe as the u.s. president joe biden makes a surprise visit to the war-torn capital of kyiv as air raid sirens sounded around him. [ air raid sirens ] walking side by side there in the capital with ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy, president biden with this visit sending a strong message to ukraine and to russia, it is his first trip to the country since russia invaded ukraine nearly a year ago. cnn has learned the president made the final decision only on friday to make the unannounced visit, this after multiple invitations from zelenskyy. this morning, the ukrainian president says that biden's visit leaves ukraine, quote, closer to victory. calling it the most important visit to his country in the
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history of u.s./ukraine relations. during a news conference, president biden announced a fresh swath of sanctions against russia as well as pledging another half billion dollars in military aid, including weapons to ukraine. >> one year later kyiv stands. and ukraine stands. democracy stands. the america stands with you. freedom is priceless. it's worth fighting for for as long as it takes. and that's how long we're going to be with you, mr. president, for as long as it takes. >> as long as it takes. a frequent refrain from u.s. officials, including the president. cnn anchor kaitlan collins in warsaw, poland, just across the border from ukraine. clarissa ward is in that square where biden and zelenskyy walked in kyiv, ukraine. let's begin with you, kaitlan. biden left kyiv, this trip,
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understandably shrouded in secrecy. walk us through the decision making and security measures put in place for this. >> reporter: yeah. we believe he's on the train back. we'll get the full details until he is safely out of ukraine and the white house says they'll let us know everything that went into this behind the scenes. what we know now that this was a trip that was months in the making with the final call was not made to actually have president biden go to ukraine until he was huddling in the oval office with his aides on friday. and they made a decision. they weighed the concerns here. obviously the dangers of having a president go into an active war zone where there is no u.s. military presence. i can't remember until recent memory, jim, i don't know if you can either, of when that has actually happened. it was a manageable risk. they had president biden go and go into ukraine as he had those few precious hours on the ground with president zelenskyy and the white house said that he saw the emphasis of that and that he only had so much time with him. and so, they did notify the
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russians, we are told, in the hours before president biden actually showed up in ukraine. they did not want there to be any kind of miscommunication. they called it a deconfliction to make sure obviously his safety could be part of that consideration as he was traveling there. he was there for a few hours on the ground. he announced a new half a billion dollars of aid to go to ukraine. a lot is similar to what we have seen them send before when it comes to artillery and howitzer. you did not hear the long-range missiles that president zelenskyy asked for and f16 fighter jets he and his aides said they need in the next phase of the war. that is still a conversation that president biden will be having when he's on the ground here in poland, a vocal advocate for ukraine. just a notable in and of itself, though, president biden's eighth time in ukraine obviously his first as president, first since russia invaded nearly a year ago, jim. >> to your point, u.s. presidents visited war zones before. iraq, afghanistan, this one is
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different. the u.s. is not at war there. u.s. does not have full control over the security on the ground. quite a risk, i'm sure the security measures put in place notable. kaitlan, thank you so much. clarissa, you were able to see in the capital, kyiv, boyden meet with zelenskyy this morning. i wonder what is the reception in ukraine to this? boost to moral? how significant for ukrainians? >> reporter: i think it's definitely significant. there has been a lot of excitement across the city. the city was brought to a standstill in terms of traffic this morning. large parts of the center cut off to vehicles entirely. but the only thing you saw on social media were essentially messages of excitement that president biden was finally making this trip. we heard president zelenskyy come out and say with this visit or with this conversation with president biden, ukraine is now one step closer to victory. and as you just heard there, with kaitlan, this is something
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that took a lot of planning. they were standing right where i am here in the central square, that's st. michael's church. this is the square. it's a vast, open area. not an easy thing to secure. you can see perhaps in the background, those are some russian tanks that have been destroyed by ukrainian forces. beyond that, you can see the hotel where some of our live shot positions are. this is what we look at. well, this morning we had multiple visits from security officers saying, basically, you cannot be near those windows. you cannot film anything from those windows. at one point they asked us to shut the curtain. that's how much intensity there was around the security situation. when president biden and zelenskyy came out of the church, they followed behind two soldiers carrying wreaths. you can see over here and a lot of journalists here. it's been a very big day for international journalists from all over the world. but you can see here the u.s. wreath that was laid here at the
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wall of fallen defenders. those who have been killed in the russia/ukraine war. after that, president zelenskyy and president biden embraced warmly and then president biden got into his motorcade, which was a large size motorcade, at least a dozen vehicles and left from that direction there. what was interesting, jim, is that this whole thing didn't last -- this part of it, at least, didn't last more than ten minutes. they were inside the church for five minutes. air raid sirens started going off. again, that's a pretty regular almost daily occurrence here in kyiv. but it does take on an added level of importance when the u.s. president is visiting. then they had about five minutes out here on the square laying that wreath before they moved on. but certainly the overwhelming response from people we have spoken to has been to quote one woman, wow, amazing, the big boss came here. >> yeah. interesting clarissa watching you with faces behind.
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on previous visits they would have pictures visited in the protests in 2014. that death toll, those pictures numbering in the dozens. of course now a year into this war, the number of ukrainian dead numbering in the thousands. all those faces. clarissa ward in kyiv, thank you so much. joining me now to discuss, alexander vinman, former european affairs director for the national security council, i should note born in kyiv, ukraine, himself before immigrating here, becoming a u.s. citizen and joining the u.s. military. lieutenant colonel, good to have you on this morning. the president walked wartime, air raid sirens signaling behind him. what is the significance of this in your view to ukraine? >> i'm proud of the president for visiting. this is probably the most important visit that a president has paid to ukraine the fifth visit of a president since the independence 1991, bill clinton visited three times, george bush visited once, actually days
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before the nato bucharest summit which we offered ukraine joining nato but without any dates. this is a very, very important visit. this is a demonstration that the president of the united states, the leader of the free world, defending democracies against tyranny. this is a strong signal to putin especially president putin was informed of this visit ahead of time that the u.s. will be there. i would almost argue that this probably, several hours the president was in kyiv, were maybe the safest hours in kyiv since the start of this war. the russians were not going to launch an attack and threaten the president of the united states. especially when they were warned ahead of time. it's a very good demonstration of support and strength. i'm glad he did it. >> jake sullivan noted to reporters that the u.s. did message this to russia in advance, few hours in advance, for deconfliction to in effect make sure they didn't launch
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missiles while the u.s. president was there. i wonder what you believe putin is thinking right now as he watches this. things are not going well for the russian military in the east, even as they're willing to sacrifice troops by the thousands, it seems, on that front line there. do you think he's scared that he's losing this war? >> i think that doubt has to start creeping into his mind. putin's calculation thus far has been that the longer he goes, the more he stands the chance of waiting out the west. and that in a direct contest between russia and ukraine, that russia has a lot more resources. the country 140 million people, large industrial base. that is not the message he is getting. the message is that the west will be -- the u.s. will be with ukraine for the long haul. in this kind of scenario, there is really no chance that putin could win. he had his surprise strikes in the opening days of the war. he got as much territory as he could collect.
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everything since then has been a setback. so now within a contest of ukraine supported by the u.s., he's bound to lose. >> yeah. >> let me ask you this, secretary blinken over the weekend while in munich said in a number of interviews that the u.s. is now concerned that china is considering sending lethal aid to russia to help in its war against ukraine. they have not done so in the first year of the war. this would be a notable change. how significant would it be if china were to provide such lethal aid, and would that make an impact? might it lengthen the war in your view? >> absolutely. i think the fact is that this is going to steadily slide into a proxy war, supported by the largest economies in the world. and that could make ukraine a perpetual land of war with battles on going for years. i don't know if china is going to make this step, public step, then it would make this bilateral relationship between
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u.s. and china that much more difficult and further isolate china. that would be a major change in policy, but it's a risk the longer this war continues. thank you. >> final question for you, you served in the trump administration, became a target of the former president. would president trump made this trip to kyiv to support ukraine? >> absolutely not. the president trump made one trip to i think iraq and it was in late 2018. he did so kind of on the heels of some other incidents where he had to show some strength and muscularity. there's no chance that trump would have had the fortitude to travel to a war zone where he risks his own skin. and for that matter, he wouldn't be interested many provoking putin. he wanted to curry favor with putin. so no, it's a pretty far-fetched notion that trump made anything of this sort. as a matter of fact, we would have been in a situation where trump would be denouncing nato,
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backbone of support to ukraine. fortunate we have president biden in the seat. >> john bolton said, trump's national former security adviser, trump may have pulled u.s. out of nato. vindman, we appreciate having you on. >> thank you. joining us now, ron brownstein. ron, there, of course, is a message to putin, message to the ukrainians. i wonder what the cig nif kans of this visit is in your view here at home. political message here. you still have broad public support for u.s. support for ukraine, though it's dimmed a bit. is this intended in part to sure up that public support? >> yeah, i think so. look, first of all for president biden, ukraine in many ways is the counterpoint to afghanistan. right? afghanistan was chaotic. uncoordinated, abrupt. in ukraine, he has been much closer to what he promised voters in 2020, kind of the steady, senior statesman, unifying the western alliance
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against a global threat. and today was perhaps the most dramatic way to underscore that. yes, by being there and by making so clear the u.s. commitment in what colonel vindman points out threatens to become a proxy war between the force of democracy and forces of autocracy around the world, i think he does draw a line in the sand that makes it tougher for republicans to pursue what many of them have said they want to pursue, which is reducing, rolling back the u.s. commitment here. >> prior to the midterm elections, i spoke to republican lawmakers who support u.s. support for ukraine who said they were concerned that a republican majority, particularly in the house, might endanger that support or put some sort of limits on it. i wonder, our phil mattingly said in the last hour, republicans in positions of power that matter, they're still quite strong in their support for ukraine. do you see the next two years as one where it will be more difficult for the u.s. to send aid, military assistance,
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financial aid? >> i do think it will be more difficult. kevin mccarthy, the speaker talked about not giving a blank check. we have seen his general strategy, broadly speaking across the range of issues, has been pretty much to give the right of his conference what they want and expect the center the more moderate districts to fall in line. i do think there are enough in that camp it will be hard for the critics to significantly roll back the aid. there will be a different tone clearly from the republicans in congress than we have seen from president biden and the democrats. >> ron brownstein, good to have you on. we will have much more coverage of the president's visit to ukraine ahead, including a live report from moscow, as the kremlin reacts to biden's visit, his show of support for ukraine. plus, an update on the health of former president jimmy carter who has now decided to spend the time he has remaining with loved ones in his home in plains, georgia, opting for hospice care.
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3x better than detergent alone. guess the odor went bye bye. no, that's not us. sorry. rinse odor away with new downy rinse and refresh. this morning, the tiny town of plains, georgia, people embracing former president jimmy carter in love and prayer. the 98-year-old former president is now at home in hospice care after facing a series of health scares in recent years including cancer battles and 2019 surgery to remove pressure on his brain. we are live in plains, georgia, this morning. i wonder what the sense is there. let's 98 years old, already the oldest living former president. what's the outlook? >> reporter: well, good morning to you, jim. at this time, no updates on former president carter's health. so what we learned over the
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weekend that he is receiving hospice care here in his hometown of plains, georgia, that holds. the community response the very first thing we saw, jim, as we were driving into plains yesterday, was a man on a stepladder painting, repainting this giant peanut statue. this was a prop that was part of carter's 1976 presidential campaign. as many folks know, clearly carter, the former president, but he was also a peanut farmer. really he just is revered in this community. we are a stone's throw away of where he went to school here on main street, not far down is a train depot that also served as the site of his headquarters in the 1970s. so, people here deeply proud of the 39th president, but they also view him as their neighbor, a neighbor they are praying for at this time. take a listen.
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>> mr. jimmy, i mean, he's what plains is. i was always fascinated by how he could remember people's names from 30 and 40 years back and what those people did for trade and what they're doing now today. >> reporter: so michael dominic, who you heard from there, he described himself and the carter as believers. and gave me a sense that that is what they are leaning on at this difficult time, jim. their faith. >> they call him mr. jimmy there, evan mckend, thank you so much. still ahead, we now know the u.s. gave russia a heads up about president biden's surprise visit to ukraine, known as deconfliction to help ensure his safety there. what is vladimir putin's reaction to this trip? we'll go live to moscow next. >> putin thought ukraine was weak and the west was divided. as you know, mr. president, i said to you in the beginning, he
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during president biden's surprise visit to kyiv this morning, he pledged another half billion dollars in u.s. military assistance to ukraine, including weapons. president zelenskyy says the two even discussed providing his country with more advanced weaponry that could bolster their fight and their interest in coming offensives. -- counteroffensives against russia. >> the results of this visit
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will surely be seen and will surely have a reflection on the battlefield and in liberating our territories. we've also talked about long-range weapons and the weapons that may still be supplied to ukraine, even though it wasn't supplied before. >> cnn's alex marquardt is in kyiv, ukraine, this morning. alex, we frequently seen this phenomenon going back to the start of the war a year ago, the u.s. sends category of weapons and the focus goes to what's the next category. now that kind of shiny object are f16s. were there substantive discussions about this visit to ukraine increasing the range of weapons that the u.s. and nato will send there? >> reporter: i think this is one of the more interesting points or parts of this visit, jim. zelenskyy spoke today about negotiations. we heard a lot of niceties between the two men. there's clearly genuine respect and admiration and thanks for
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what the americans are contributing to ukraine. but at the same time, what we have seen out of the announcements made today doesn't necessarily move that ball forward in terms of the military aid that is being offered to ukraine. in the past month, we have seen larger military aid packages and the multibillions of dollars with new systems, like striker armored vehicles, bradley fighting vehicles. today's, jim, was half a billion, not a poultry amount by any stretch. sit smaller. there is nothing new in this package, howitzers, more artillery ammunition but not the long range rockets that ukraine has been asking for for months now. nor, of course, these fighter jets which is really the biggest ticket item on that priority list from the ukrainians. so that really is, jim, a sticking point. so if you read between the lines, that is still very much a conversation that is on going between the zelenskyy and biden
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administrations. the ukrainians saying, of course, all these russian targets that are much farther away from our troops that we cannot hit right now, that we need to hit that are out of range. the biden administration saying, essentially, we understand that. you can hit most of the targets with what we're giving you but we're also afraid of escalating the fight, of providing something that the russians see as too provocative. so, at the same time as this highly symbolic, unprecedented presidential trip took place here in kyiv, there's still a lot that needs to be worked out, that was not solved and that will continue as part of the conversations going forward, jim. >> yeah. that dynamic has been consistent for some time. alex marquardt in kyiv, thanks so much. let's go to cnn's fred pleitgen in moscow this morning. the u.s. says they informed russia of biden's trip before he departed for kyiv. what's the reaction been in russia? >> reporter: yeah, the russians are talking about that as well. the fact that apparently they were informed before president
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biden came here. sort of a two-fold reaction. we have been looking at state-run kremlin-controlled media and they're essentially saying that president biden went to kyiv at the mercy of vladimir putin, that putin allowed him to go there. but there's also quite frankly some commentators, military commentators out there quite angry about this, say that vladimir putin should never allowed this to happen. and believe it's a weakness or sign of weakness on the part of vladimir putin. but, those are the technicalities of things. obviously a lot of that is commentary. we really haven't heard anything from the kremlin directly. and we believe that's because, of course, vladimir putin is soon going to hold an extremely important speech, less than a day from now, to the federal assembly where many people believe and i have been speaking to a lot of folks here, jim, on the ground who are part of politics here in russia, they believe there will be a big, strong message coming from vladimir putin in that and that message certainly is going to be that russia is not going to back down and, in fact, russia is going to continue to escalate
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the war in ukraine and stay with it. so certainly right now the message that we're getting from on the ground here in russia is that vladimir putin shows no sign of backing down. in fact, one of the interesting things that we just heard, spoke on the a pollster, one of the most important pollsters in russia said that vladimir putin's approval ratings have gone up since he started what the russians call the special military operation. so it seems, as though, despite the fact that things aren't going well for putin on the battlefield, people here in russia still by and large are buying into vladimir putin's message. and i think that president biden's visit on the ground is kyiv is very important to that messaging. one of the things that russians have been trying to sort of point out or point to is the fact that they believe that right now they're not only in a war with ukraine but essentially in a war against nato and especially the united states, with all of those weapons coming. obviously the fact that russia not doing too well on the battlefield, they're trying to say, look, we're not just fighting the ukrainians. all these arms coming in from other countries as well that's
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making it difficult around certainly the russians at this point in time are saying it's not going to stop. they do believe they still believe they can outlast not just the ukrainians but also western and u.s. support for ukraine as well, jim. >> of course, point of fact, russia did start the war. they invaded ukraine. when you speak of escalation, any detail provided as to what escalation would mean specifically? >> reporter: well, yeah. one of the things of course they have been talking about is this offensive that the ukrainians also say they believe is going to come. the russians are saying, look, they have all these mobilized people, some of which have going to ukraine but really haven't hit the battlefield just yet but they certainly do believe there is more to come. and i spoke to an analyst this weekend who said that the russians still have a lot of people that they haven't mobilized yet. one of the interesting points that he pointed out is he thinks the issue isn't really manpower for the russians at that point in time but it's actually getting these people the weapons that they need. you're not just talking about assault rifles but modern by
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russians standards weapons as well and that's really where russia is lacking. i think one of the things that military analysts have told me generally analysts have told me is they believe that that offensive by the russians is not something that's necessarily going to be something that's fast. not where they'll try to make fast gains but where they'll try to overwhelm and suffocate the ukrainians on a lot of battlefields by continuing to bring in more manpower and more of the military hardware, some of which they still have from the soviet union. look for that to be a slow-moving thing. but the russians definitely sending the message that they're in it for a long run and that they also believe that to them this is an existential war they're fighting, jim. >> i should note the u.s. military view of the russian offensive is skeptical. u.s. official said they view more aspirational than realistic. thank you so much, fred pleitgen. still ahead, florida gone ron desantis speaking in new york this morning as speculation continues to percolate over his possible 2024 presidential run. next, why some republicans worry that his policy moves in florida
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this morning florida governor ron desantis is in new york where he spoke at a rally there supporting law enforcement. >> we support strong policies to keep our communities safe, and we back the blue and we support their mission. and we back it up with money and all kinds of stuff to be able to do it. the reason why you have what you have in some of these other jurisdictions is because they're putting woke ideology ahead of your safety as new yorkers or as people from illinois or wherever you have this type of policy
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taking place. >> well, u.s. police nypd say they need better gun safety measures as well to fight crime. the governor not announce head is running for president. he seemed to be courting new york voters as visit comes some conservatives are concerned how desantis is using his government power in florida and his fight what he calls their wokeness. we are joined now, steve, what specifically are republican leaders worried about? >> reporter: jim, a couple factors at play here. first, you have conservative donors and organizations that generally believe that government shouldn't be in the business of businesses. and that some of the steps taken by governor desantis have inflicted his conservative ideology on state institutions, on businesses and sometimes even punishing businesses that run afoul of his point of view. we have seen obviously that has played out publicly in his fight with disney over the so-called don't say gay bill, but we have
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also seen him punish visits for their vaccination in mask policies. seen him put restrictions how businesses can train their employees around issues of race schism. we have seen him now say he wants to go after banks that lend in ways that he doesn't agree with. so, there's that part of it, but there's also republicans, including his supporters, who are worried that he might be flying too close to the sun with his war on wokeness. this most recent spat with the college board over this ap african-american studies class, i mean, he is now talking about potentially pulling ap classes out of florida entirely. finding alternatives to the s.a.t., these are things that parents around the country use to help their students get into good colleges, save money on their higher education and there are concerns that they don't know how this is going to play out nationally when he starts campaigning in a national campaign. and what we're seeing is republican candidates starting to seize on this a bit
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especially those who want to turn the page from these trump-era politics. we have seen governor sununu of new hampshire, former governor hogan of maryland, governor hutchinson of arkansas have all raised concern with how desantis has been so heavy handed with businesses. now, jim, governor desantis remains very popular in florida. he's growing popularity across the country. he has quite a bit of support among those who want to see him challenge president donald trump. but these are the questions he is going to face from republican voters and his potential competitors if he does jump into that race. >> steve, thank you so much. joining us now, national political point for time magazine, the conventional wisdom which i generally hate had been to some degree that desantis was the anti-trump candidate, someone who could get the maga voters to back him, but not be trump in effect. you would hear that from some republican. to hear some conservatives that
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desantis's positions in florida might be too out there. what are we seeing within the republican party right now? >> well, i think a lot of it is without an official candidacy by desantis, a lot of this is just filling a vacuum with sort of speculation and rumor. look, a lot of the things that republican voters really like about governor desantis are the similarities with trump. chiefly his willingness to use the force of the state, state coercion in some cases, to punish businesses and to enforce the sort of culture war initiatives that he has his eye on. so that is, i think, viewed as a strength by many of desantis' fans. it's a similarity with trump. he's been able to -- and i think this is also a sign of how the republican party has sort of realigned itself id logically around the trump access since trump first became a candidate now nearly a decade ago. these concerns about the size and scope of government and the
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ideologic that underlie republican doctrine is not as much on people's minds as it used to be. a lot of the candidates who are more overtly against the sort of legacy that trump has left in the party are, of course, going to object to that. but i think that is one of the things that for many republican-based voters is a strength for desantis. >> yeah. interesting you noted, eight years since that ride down the escalator for trump. i want to play something that nikki haley, already announced her candidacy for 2024, said during her travels through iowa this week regarding social security and medicare. have a listen. i want to get your reaction. i think we have to address entitlements. however, i don't think we takee promised things to. i think we focus on the new generation coming into the system because they already know they're not going to get anything from it. and we need to get in front of that. and that means you go and you look at the new ones coming in and you keep your promises to those that have already been in
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the system. >> i listen to that, that sounds a lot to me like saying, okay, you're already receiving medicare, social security, you won't be touched but the promise to those of us paying right now may not be kept. right? that sounds to me like entitlements are on the table and this is a candidate for the republican nomination in 2024. >> well, again, i feel like i'm having flashbacks to 2015, right? this is exactly sort of the paul ryan line of the old republican party which was very determined to enact some sort of entitlement reform. and it is still the case that a lot of fiscal conservatives, party donors, old school republican types do believe that the spending on these programs is unsustainable and there does have to be some reform. and it has always been the case these sort of plans to reform entitlements targeted future beneficiaries, not current beneficiaries who are potentially about to receive or already receiving these
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benefits. but it is obviously something that trump made a litmus test for the party and made a dividing line in the party and that we have seen become a source of tension in the party between, for example, mitch mcconnell and rick scott because these entitlement programs are incredibly popular. 80, 90% of voters do not want to see any changes to social security. they're just viewed as a guarantee and something that many americans feel like they've earned. so, you know, that was a big part of trump's success in 2016. and i think it's something that again the party has sort of realigned itself around to the point where it's become -- well, it's always been a third rail and become something that is seen as sort of untouchable. so this is going to be, i think, a live debate in the primary in the primaries this year. >> not describing it as untouchable. by the way, we're all paying into it right now. just watch your paycheck every two weeks those contributions still go in, whatever the discussions. molly ball, thank you so much. still ahead, michigan democrats introducing now a wide slate of new gun safety
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legislation just days after a gunman killed three students at michigan state. we'll speak with state's senate majority leader who also has a daughter attending michigan state. ♪ with upwork the hiring process is fast and flexible. behold... all that talent! ♪ this is how we work nowow ♪ all across the country, people are working hard to build a better future. so we're hard at work helping them achieve financial freedom. we're proud to serve peopleverywhere, in investing for t retirement they envision. from the plains to the coasts, we help americans invest for their future. and help communities thrive.
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three of those injured remain in critical condition. as the community tries to process that trauma, michigan democrats are moving swiftly to enact gun control, including new measures. those measures would require the secure storage of firearms and ammunition, universal background checks for gun purchases also create an extreme risk protection order, also known as a red flag law. when democrat state flag law and when it was introduced when her daughter was a student at msu.
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>> i called my daughter at msu every hour and scared she would pick up and scared she wouldn't. throughout our state, tens of thousand of parents were living that same nightmare and no matter how many drills our kids have been through, it could not have prepared them. >> thank you for coming on this morning. as a parent myself, i cannot imagine making a phone call like you made last week, harrowing and frightful, your daughter is safe, and how was your daughter and resooving that phone call. >> yes, not sure how that experience was and tens the
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th thousands of kids there. >> and i am afraid that people will become almost numb when shootings like these happen, and why are you confident that these measures are going make a difference? >> we are seeing the tide turn when it is a political liability to be against these reforms to keep our kids safe. we are hearing from the students day after day. they are exhausted. they are tired of being prepared for disaster instead of having the adults in their world create an environment that is actually safe. we know these bills make a difference. >> the adults in the world. and it is a great way to frame
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that. and you are talking about a change in the political winds that are taking place in the political halls, but thins on bans on assault weapons don't seem to make a difference, and do you think that it would make a difference in national legislation? >> i would like to see the leaders take a strong stand on this, but in absence of that, i know that we can make a difference on that state by state and here in michigan for the first time in 40 years, we have have both chambers controlled by people who are interested in making a change and committed to listening to the students and those across the state to prevent incidents like these and preventing all gun violence.
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so we have the power to do that and we intend to act. >> so, let's look at the measures that you are plan to propose here, and if you apply to look at the circumstances is around the shooting here at michigan state, would this have made it harder for him to get a gun? >> well, i don't know all of the details as the investigation is still ongoing, but if someone is known to be dangerous and known to possess a weapon, there could be a way to insure they don't have access to the weapon and cause harm like this. 15 months ago, there was a shooting at the oxford high school here in michigan and we believe that the safe storage law could have made a difference there. there was a weapon available to a child in the home, and it was used in that shooting, but if it
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had been locked up or requireded to be locked up, it could have made a difference. it is important to note that no one bill is going to solve these situation, and we have to take a comprehensive approach. >> noted last week that there some students who survived the oxford shooting and had to get through this. than you state senator winnie brinks. >> thank you. >> we are live in ukraine and poland and following president biden's surprise visit to kyiv and more pledges of support for the peoplele of ukraine ahead. hair stylist and cheerleader.. so adding a “ststudent” title might feel overwhelming. but what if a school could be there for all of you? career, family, finances and mental health. it's coming along. well, it can.
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the 10g network, only from xfinity. one giant leap for mankind. top of the hour. i'm jim sciutto, and this morning an unprecedented visit
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to the war zone. president biden made a