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CNN This Morning
Milton On Track For Landfall As A Major Hurricane; Today: Biden & Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu To Speak; Harris Stays Loyal To Biden While Campaigning On Change. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired October 09, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:27]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Kasie Hunt.
Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. The breaking news, the National Hurricane Center out with a brand new update it on Hurricane Milton. Milton continues to be a dangerous category five hurricane, expected to bring life-threatening storm surge and dangerous winds along Florida's gulf coast.
Practically all of Central Florida remains under a hurricane warning with landfall expected as early as tonight, with evacuation orders clogging Florida's major interstates, a new problem growing fuel outages as of late last night, 21 percent of gas stations in Florida are out of gas.
This storm coming right on the heels of Hurricane Helene that brought record storm surge flooding to the Tampa area where debris from that storm now poses a whole new threat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR TYLER PAYNE, TREASURE ISLAND, FLORIDA: There's still a lot of debris out there that could become really dangerous in these wind conditions. We didn't have the wind conditions with Helene just the storm surge. So this is going to be both things potential threat to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: All right. Let's get straight to our meteorologist, Derek Van Dam.
Derek, we have this brand new update from the hurricane center. What are they telling us?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Still a category five hurricane. National Hurricane Center giving this update here within the past minute or so talking about a very compact symmetrical powerful inner core wall. And that is very visible on our satellite. We are less than 24 hours away from a devastating economic and
societal storm that I wish we could say that we've never seen the likes of decades, but unfortunately happened two weeks ago with Hurricanes Helene, adding just misery to the pain that we've already experienced across Florida.
The storm has 160 mile per hour winds, because it has maintained a strength overnight. They have increased the winds at landfall, which are still believed to occur late tonight into early Thursday morning, but you can see explicitly a category four as it makes its final approach into the west central coastline of Florida.
What we've been watching so closely with a magnitude and strength of a storm like this, is the wobbles, comparing them to where that center of the storm is with the forecast track, it is so imperative and I want to show you that this map, there's the eye. There's the forecast track, the center, of course, being the cone of uncertainty. But notice how the eye is jogging a little bit to the east, that has downstream implications on who receives that front right quadrant. The most powerful part of the storm with the most intense storm surge and the most its intense winds, even though there will be intense wins on the northern side of the storm as well.
This is one computer model, the European model. This still indicates a St. Pete Tampa Bay landfall again early Thursday morning. This is just one computer model, so were still looking for that windshield wiper effect.
We will bubble up and down as is common with these types of storms. But one thing's for sure, catastrophic winds will not be contained to just the coastline. We will experience hurricane force winds from the coast, the gulf coast, all the way to the Atlantic coast we have seen the radar poppy and I already from Key West, and there have been tornado warnings in Miami-Dade in advance of this storm, that is continuing as we speak.
Storm surge, the forecast here has not gotten any better, Kasie. This will inundate homes and it will inundate businesses.
HUNT: All right. Derek Van Dam for us -- Derek, a busy day ahead. Thank you very much for that update. We'll be back with you throughout the next couple of hours.
As Milton closes in on Florida, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is declaring a public health emergency in the state. This is the second time the department has made that declaration in Florida in just the past two weeks.
Joining us now to talk about the impact, were going to see during and after the storm is Dr. Ben. Abo. He is an emergency physician and a rescue team doctor.
Doctor, thanks very much for being up with us this morning as residents, continuing to evacuate here.
You've responded to these types of disasters before and you know, what happens when people don't leave as officials recommend. What would be in store for folks who don't leave at this point?
DR. BENJAMIN ABO, EMS & DISASTER PHYSICIAN: Right now, we have a number of issues going on at this point. I just hope that they have enough supplies to deal with the aftermath power water, their medications if they're going to be without power or water for a bit because we're less than 24 hours away.
[05:05:08]
And so its really hard to get anywhere else, not to mention just even as the storm comes approaches and right over us, we have tornado spin- ups. We have highway and we have the surge and we just went through this. And with all that extra debris and buildings that may have been injured so to speak, you know, are they going to be able to take these winds and the surge?
I don't know. It really depends on what people are experiencing.
HUNT: What kind of situations have you been in the past when you've tried to convince residents to leave before one of these storms?
ABO: So, we just had with Hurricane Helene, which ahead up north up in the bend and all way down the coast, we saw a surge down to where I live in southwest Florida. People end up thinking that they can go through things and I always say the Nile is not just a river in Egypt. I see them without power, without water, without their medications able to call certain medications again stuck, and then all of a sudden, you know, they're without communications with their loved ones and they become -- honestly, they become a liability to themselves and to others.
HUNT: Doctor, we're also, of course, looking at whether hospitals will be able to continue to operate during the storm. We've been looking at one major general hospital in Tampa that's installing a floodwall. Others are evacuating patients.
What impact does that have on the response?
ABO: For one, if any of responders at my fire departments or the search and rescue teams, whether they have two legs are four legs, you know, if we get hurt, we have to divert efforts in anyone that were rescuing or even evacuating, we're going to have to send them even further. Just a couple of years ago, my fire department suite had (INAUDIBLE) and we actually had the only major trauma center in the area which isn't even by the water lose power, they lost water and they lost plumbing in pressure.
So we did actually evacuate the hospitals when we were trying to already evacuate a new search and rescue in the areas and that wasn't even on the water.
HUNT: Wow, really remarkable.
All right. Dr. Ben Abo, thanks very much for your time. We'll be thinking of you heading into this. I really appreciate it.
ABO: Thank you.
HUNT: Straight ahead here on CNN this morning, we continue -- continue to bring you the latest on hurricane Milton as thousands flee with a catastrophic storm barreling toward Florida.
Plus, in a matter of hours, President Biden is set to speak with Prime Minister Netanyahu as new deal details emerge on the blunt interactions between those two.
And a new book's revelation on just how far the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin apparently goes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For many of you here, this one makes my blood boil. We were trying to get whatever materials we could, COVID testing, whatever we could get. It turns out now that Donald Trump was sending COVID machines to Vladimir Putin that we couldn't get in our states.
(BOOS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:12:55]
HUNT: Welcome back.
In just a few hours, President Biden is expected to speak by phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel's plans to retaliate against Iran. There are eye-opening new details this morning about the prickly relationship between these two leaders.
In a new book from journalist Bob Woodward called "War", it's out next week, Woodward writes that Biden's anger toward Netanyahu boiled over in the spring of this year when the president concluded the Israeli prime minister's interest was not actually in defeating Hamas, but in protecting himself politically.
According to Woodward, Biden told advisers, quote, that's son of a bleep, Bibi Netanyahu, he's a bad guy. He's a bad effing guy.
All right. Let's go live to London and bring in CNN's Max Foster.
Max, good morning to you.
This book is full of revelations. So there's this Netanyahu question. What we're also learning in this book by Bob Woodward about Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin and one of the things that's really stood out is that Trump reportedly gave Putin COVID tests -- test machines back in 2020 when those were apparently -- were incredibly difficult to access, right? He sent them for Putin's personal use, and they also report that -- Woodward also reports that Trump has spoken on the phone to Vladimir Putin multiple times since he left the White House. Now, Trump it is denying both of these reports to ABC News. Lets watch
that clip briefly.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS: He said, was that you've had a number of conversations with Putin. Is that -- is that true? I mean, I mentioned that could be --
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No. That's false.
KARL: Oh, really?
TRUMP: That's false.
KARL: So you haven't spoken to him since you left the White House?
TRUMP: No, I have not. That's false.
KARL: And the other thing he said is that you had provided some Abbott test machines to Putin back during the COVID pandemic.
TRUMP: False.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HUNT: The Trump campaign also out slamming up Bob Woodward in general.
But, Max, these obviously very pressing questions with the election looming in terms of how all of these relationships are going to be handled, moving forward.
[05:15:07]
What do you make of it?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, you know, it's interesting, isn't it, people don't shift their opinion on Donald Trump much when they hear these things. If you heard it in previous generations, it would have been the most extraordinary thing ever, because Russia, you know, is arguably, you know, enemy number one for the United States. And yet you hear former president having this close relationship with the Russian leader.
You know, Bob Woodward, highly credible. I mean, no one's got a record like he has had on a big story. So, we're looking at this, but the Kremlin and Trump's campaign both denying it.
Whether it changes anything, does it change the conversation? I don't think it does very much, but it is fascinating in terms of what might come out of this if Donald Trump does become the next U.S. president, will he build this close relationship he appears to have with President Putin, another strongman? It does feel like that, doesn't it? HUNT: Right, for sure. And, of course, on the flip side, we -- you
had Tim Walz we showed before the break criticizing the COVID machine tests and what we're going to see, of course, what -- what comes out of that Netanyahu meeting, or phone call excuse me later on today.
Max Foster, never a shortage of thing thanks to talk about with you -- thank you for being here. I appreciate it.
All right. Coming up next on CNN this morning, Kamala Harris trying to stay loyal to her boss, while also differentiating herself from the commander in chief as she tries to show, shell be the candidate of change.
Plus, we track the latest on Hurricane Milton as it strengthens to a category five ahead of its landfall in Florida.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:21:12]
HUNT: All right. Less than four weeks to Election Day, Kamala Harris is still struggling with just how much distance to put between herself as the candidate at the top of the ticket and the Biden administration.
Here was her response when asked on "The View" what she would have done differently from President Biden over the past four years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There has done a thing that comes to mind in terms of -- and I've been a part of most -- of the decisions that have had impact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: She was later asked a similar question by Stephen Colbert, what would a Harris administration look like compared to Biden's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I'm obviously not Joe Biden. And so that would be one change in terms of -- but also, I think it's an important to say with 28 days to go, I'm not Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Her decision to not break with Biden's policies drew criticism, of course, from her opponent, Donald Trump.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
TRUMP: She just did "The View" and they asked her a question, what would you do different from Biden? Oh, essentially nothing. Well, what about these 325,000 kids that will probably never be seen again, they're probably dead, or they're sex slaves or something? (END AUDIO CLIP)
HUNT: Okay. Joining us now, CNN political analyst, Washington bureau chief for "The Boston Globe", Jackie Kucinich.
Jackie, good morning. Thanks so much for being here.
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.
HUNT: Thanks so much for being here.
We're going to set aside -- there are some serious issues with that claim that Trump was making on the on the back half of that comment. That said, it seems like Harris should have been prepared for this question.
KUCINICH: It is striking that she didn't have -- it's particularly the second time she was asked that day of what -- even -- even though it was phrased a little bit differently, listen, they've been trying to walk this line the entire campaign over many weeks, months, its been at this point to try not to get -- not to get crossways with Biden, not to walk away from everything that they have done as a unit, but also plow her new a new path.
And you've seen -- it's surprising. She didn't talk about some of these policies that just had a different emphasis the perhaps you've seen in the Biden campaign, she's talking a lot more about the sandwich generation. What is she talking about "The View" yesterday, she's talking a lot more about childcare, even though the Biden administration has addressed these -- has proposed fixes for some of these problems. She has -- there has been a different emphasis, but you didn't hear that. You just heard what she said there.
And perhaps they don't want to upset the base. Perhaps they don't think they need to separate themselves as much from Biden because of the former president. But its certainly it was a head scratcher there and you saw immediately that that was going to be a Trump ad. It's like -- I mean, clipped and put out into the world.
HUNT: And it basically already is. I mean, it does seem to be -- it seems to illuminate just the level of sensitivity from the sitting president and his team. No?
KUCINICH: I think so because otherwise why wouldn't you have an answer at this point when its such an obvious question. And particularly, the sensitivity around the economy and inflation and they'll acknowledge that this is something she talks about grocery prices all the time. There's acknowledgement that there is need and there is concern and that people are blaming the Biden administration for this, but not a willingness to depart from anything that the current administration is doing to try to alleviate some of these issues.
HUNT: Yeah. All right. Jackie Kucinich for us this morning -- Jackie, very grateful to have you. Thank you so much.
KUCINICH: Thank you, Kasie.
HUNT: Alright. Still ahead on CNN THIS MONRING, Florida bracing for impact from Hurricane Milton, on track to make landfall as a major pagers storm. We're going to bring you the latest updates on when the biggest impacts could hit Florida's gulf coast.
Plus, the storm already turning political on the campaign trail as misinformation and continues to spread about the response to Hurricane Helene.
[05:25:04]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Squeeze people, puts people in circumstances where they're really, really worried and they think they're not been taken care of.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUNT: All right, 5:29 a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look at Clearwater, Florida, on Florida's west coast. That city bracing for the impact of Hurricane Milton.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
