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Erin Burnett Outfront
Moments Ago: Biden Delivers Remarks As Divided Dems Weigh Future; Interview With Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH); Trump Holds Rally With Rubio With 6 Days Left To Announce VP; Harris Slams Project 2025 As Biden Simply Says "Google It". Aired 7-8p ET
Aired July 09, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:39]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Breaking news, Biden on the world stage, standing up against Putin as his campaign hangs in a balance, this as another House Democrat tonight calling for Biden to step down.
Plus, Nikki Haley releasing her delegates to Donald Trump, a huge move. But one Haley voter says that that is what is convinced him to vote for Joe Biden. And that voter is OUTFRONT tonight.
And Project 2025, it's what everyone's talking about, but what exactly is it? And why does Trump now claim he has nothing to do with it?
Lets go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news, the president of the United States just delivering some of his most closely watched remarks at the NATO summit in Washington, D.C. The real audience tonight in the U.S., though, is Biden's own party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We know Putin won't stop at Ukraine, but make no mistake: Ukraine can and will stop Putin. Again and again, at critical moments, we chose unity over disunion, progress over retreat, freedom over tyranny, hope over fear, again and again, we stood behind our shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous transatlantic community.
Here at this summit, we gathered to reclaim NATO is ready and able to secure that vision today and well into the future.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now the audience in that room applauded that, but were Democrats more broadly convinced? Now, many Democrats today did come out. They got in line and they back
their president. In fact, the efforts to ditch Biden off the ticket appear to be stalling and the president had largely stopped the bleeding.
Just before though Biden's NATO speech, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey called for Biden to step down saying, quote, the stakes are too high and the threat to real to stay silent. I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country. I am asking that he declared that he won't run for reelection.
And we're learning tonight that during the meeting of Senate Democrats, Senators Michael Bennet, Sherrod Brown, and Jon Tester, all three, senior, very respected senators, warned their colleagues that they don't believe Biden can beat Trump, who right now is campaigning in Florida, trying to take advantage of the revolt, chaos inside Biden's party.
Just listen to how one Democrat described their position on Biden staying in the race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Are you all on the same page?
REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): No, no.
REPORTER: What do you mean you're not on the same page?
COHEN: Not even in the same book.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Talk about being blunt.
Well, tonight, "The Cook Political Report", which has been a very reliable predictor of election outcomes, just moved five states toward Trump and away from Biden.
Now, I just want to show you those states because several of them are crucial swing states must win. You've got Arizona, Georgia, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Nevada on that list, shifting in that direction.
Kayla Tausche is OUTFRONT live outside the White House.
And, Kayla, you know, we talk about those -- those -- 'The Cook Political Report". You talk about the senators. You talk about Mikie Sherrill.
But the NATO summit coming at a very high-stakes moment for Biden. He gave a very big speech there. Does the White House believe that the effort to get rid of give him off the ticket has stalled for now?
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, I just spoke to a few white house officials to get their takeaways and their summation of the president's remarks tonight, and they described it as going as planned, smoothly, no stumbles, with a few high marks that they pointed to -- when he delivered that -- that point about Ukraine, standing up to Putin, he received a standing ovation in the audience, according to those who were there. He also had a surprise moment where he delivered the Medal of Freedom to Jens Stoltenberg, who's these out -- who is the outgoing secretary general of NATO.
And even the pool reporter David Sanger of "The New York Times" said that as he was in the room for this speech, she said it was a smooth, forceful delivery, reminiscent so some of the speeches that Biden delivered in Poland at the outset of the war in Ukraine.
Even so, White House officials telling me that they're hoping that after this speech, they can get back to business as usual, but it is hardly business as usual here in Washington. There are polls that will continue flowing in. There are many members of the president's own party who are still requesting that they see more evidence that he has the mental and physical fitness to serve another four years.
[19:05:05]
And then of course, there is a press conference that the president will hold on Thursday where he will have to take unscripted questions from reporters from around the world with no teleprompter, and that will be a true test for the president, Erin.
BURNETT: Absolutely. All right. Thank you very, Kayla.
And I want to go now to the Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. She has been vocal in her support of President Biden and she says -- she is -- and I quote, you, 100 percent with the president.
So I appreciate your time very much, Congresswoman.
I wanted to start with what I mentioned there, "The Cook Political Report", obviously, closely analyzes political races and we just got this update from them, making some changes to their electoral map and moving some key states away from Biden. I mentioned a few of them -- Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, and New Hampshire on the list.
Does that concern you, Congresswoman?
REP. JOYCE BEATTY (D-OH): Well, I think we're always concerned when we are this close or maybe I should say this far out from the race. We have time between now and November. I think we'll see an uptick. We're all out, his surrogates stumping for him. President Biden will also be out.
So we're watching the numbers. We're doing the same thing that you're doing, but we have a lot that we can say to those American people in those states, because President Biden has delivered and that's the good thing.
We know that Vice President Harris is out on the stump campaigning today while the president is delivering or delivered an amazing speech for NATO.
So things are on the uptick. We still have time. We're still going out.
There are a number of members who are out on the stump for this president because what we do know is electing this president is better than what we'll have with the options that we have with former President Trump, who lies about everything, who's out for retribution and revenge.
So we want a president who cares and who's going to protect our democracy and our freedoms.
BURNETT: I mentioned that there -- appear to be a sense earlier that President Biden had staunched the bleeding in terms of the internal chaos in the Democratic Party, of people trying to push him off the ticket. I know there was a big Democratic caucus meeting today.
After that, though, that's when your colleague, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, put that statement out in which, Congressman Beatty, she said, I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country. I am asking that he declared that he won't run for reelection and will help lead us to a process toward a new nominee.
And she had told CNN, Congresswoman, I should -- I should just be clear here that she waited until after that meeting because you wanted to hear what other people had to think but -- had to say, but nothing they said changed her mind.
Are you worried about her and more people like her that this is just going to continue?
BEATTY: Well, that's the seventh member as she just said, out of 213 members. I think people have a right to their feelings and to say what they want to say.
But I also know that 14 million people voted to make him our candidate. I also know that 86 percent of the delegates, 3,900 participated in that process. Now, we can't be the party that talks about people have the right to vote, and then suppress people's vote.
So it's not as simple as many people might be making it that we can just say, oh, we're not going to have him. We don't have congressional jurisdiction to do that. Certainly people can say what they're saying, just like I'm saying, you have to know how the DNC operates. You have to know the rules of engagement.
BURNETT: Yeah.
BEATTY: And it's not just what you want. It's what's best for the entire caucus and the country.
BURNETT: You know, I am curious about, you know, you raise a fair point, right? People voted. This is who they pick. So you're now going to have just a few people in Congress, right?
BEATTY: Seven, seven people.
BURNETT: To suddenly push him off and that they get to have the say. So I understand the point and it should concern anybody looking at this.
But it may come down to for some in your own party, a fear that Biden can't win, which I understand may not pure reason. I'm sure people have felt that way in prior elections, you can't just kick someone off the ticket.
But Dana Bash is reporting Michael Bennet, Sherrod Brown, Jon Tester, three senators, all saying they just don't think Biden can win, and Patty Murray today wrote, we need to see a much more forceful and energetic candidate on the campaign trail.
So do you think that President Biden has done enough to assuage these concerns, to make people in your party believe he can win?
BEATTY: Well, here's what I know versus what I think. I know that President Biden has a track record to run on. So when you go out and you campaign, people want to know what you're doing for them.
We can talk about what he's done in health care, which is a huge issue, $35 for insulin a month, putting a $2,000 cap on medical expenses.
[19:10:03]
We could look at that. He puts $16 billion into HBCUs. We could talk about housing. We could talk about climate control. A $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, a Chip Act that created jobs and research. This touches all of the individuals out there for what they want.
I've not heard one person say, here's a candidate, we don't want Joe Biden, but here's a candidate that can beat Donald Trump.
There's not a candidate out there, in this window of time. President Biden is our best candidate to be able to beat Donald Trump. And that should be our number one goal to beat Donald Trump.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Congresswoman Beatty, I appreciate your time and sharing your thoughts with us all tonight. Thank you.
And John King joins me now.
So, John, a lot to talk about there, but, you know, Biden was just giving that NATO speech. And you just heard Congresswoman Beatty referred to it, you know, that she thought it was outstanding, that that it did what it needed to do. What stuck out to you from his speech and performance today?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was a very strong speech. It was a forcefully delivered speech. It was in the president's wheelhouse, which is building alliances, which is a big contrast he wants to make with Donald Trump.
Joe Biden tonight quoting Ronald Reagan. Donald Trump is not in the same place as the president is on Ukraine is on Americas role in the world, and President Biden wants to make that point. He made it quite well tonight, Erin, and he made it in front of an audience of global leaders who were looking to hear what he said.
He was also on the teleprompter. And so it will it will help him, but it will not stop this because what Democrats want to see is him out on the road doing three or four campaign events a day without a teleprompter, talking to voters and taking questions. So it will help, but it's not going to stop this.
BURNETT: So Democrats on the Hill obviously largely fallen in line behind Biden. There was this, they were out of session. They were coming back. Was there going to be this mass revolt that has not happened, right? That has not happened.
And as Congresswoman Beatty let out, you know, you've got seven or eight out of 200. But Mikie Sherrill calls for him to step aside today, obviously, Democrat from New Jersey.
So from what you are seeing, John, do you think that there is still some dam to break or no?
KING: There's still a problem. Is there a damp to break? The congresswoman just put it just right. Joe Biden will have to make this decision.
There are a lot of people trying to get him to make this decision. They have yet to say have not succeeded yet to do that. And the president shows absolutely no sign that he's ready to listen to them.
But the bleeding has not stopped, the bleeding perhaps has slowed and the volume might be down a little bit, Erin, but the patients been bleeding for 12 days. That has been the dominant political story for the 12 days since the debate. And the Democrats did not make peace today.
And you heard Congressman Cohen on the way out, I'm going to excuse my language. This is from a Democratic member, very prominent Democratic member from a battleground state who was in that meeting today, who said, quote, it's a shit-show circular firing squad.
Look, the majority of the Democrats I have spoken to by far, the vast majority thinks the president is in trouble. They do not see a path for the president to recover and they are worried, they're going to not be able to take back the House and lose the Senate because of that.
Seventeen weeks to election day, can the president change it? Yes, but what the Democrats are saying is in the rearview mirror, they've seen no evidence of the vigor and energy, unscripted, impromptu campaign moments in the past six months that they think are needed in the next 10, 12 weeks.
BURNETT: Right, right. The timing, of course, as Congressman Beatty says 14 million people have voted, people voted, and now you've got people in Congress and power who want to undo that, and they're in tough spot.
But as you say, you've got 17 weeks from the election, 17 weeks. And by the way, not even really because you've got early voting started well before that. You got a deeply wounded candidate on top of the Democratic ticket, you have a convicted felon on top of the Republican ticket, who does not have a running mate yet, so -- is there any sort of historical comparison to such a moment?
KING: This is my tenth, Erin, and they've all been interesting. None like this, not like this. Everyone is different.
You know, I always thought like the Perot race in '92, well, that was going to be it. Bush versus Gore, well, that was going to be it. Trump in 2016, not going to get any better or more dramatic than that.
Here we are in a race that is still very close, for all the Democratic anxiety and angst, and I get it. If you look at the data, no candidate has ever done what Joe Biden will have to do in the next 17 weeks to win the election. If you look at the battleground state polls, it's never been done. And that's why Democrats worry because they say, look, he clearly is diminished.
But, you know, some say they don't think he's up for the job four more years. Some say he's just diminished. Maybe he could do the job for four years. They don't see him out there on the road doing what's necessary to change this.
Trump is not a well-liked candidate. That's what stunning. For the small slice of Americans in the middle, they hate both of these choices, but they have to decide where to go and that's what the Democrats are worried about. The Democrats worry the debate performance turned away, say, Nikki Haley voter, or an independent voter, someone who was maybe Trump 2016, Biden 2020, who they wanted, they need to stay Biden again, that person now has huge doubts because of that debate.
[19:15:01]
BURNETT: Yeah, yeah this is -- it is an incredible moment.
All right. Thank you so much, John King.
And next, another development, much more to come. And on that front, Nikki Haley has now formally said, get my delegates to Trump. But I'm going to talk to one of her supporters after this, who says so what, we will not vote for the former president, and I'll tell you who he is going to vote for next.
Plus, pay off. We are outside Rudy Giuliani's $6 million apartment in New York as angry creditors are now coming after him demanding to be paid.
And the leader of the biggest democracy in the world getting the red carpet treatment in Moscow with Putin as he was footing the bill for the war in Ukraine, like no one else, despite being a top American ally. A special report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:20:09]
BURNETT: You're looking at live pictures from Miami where former President Trump is set to take the stage in just a few moments. Senator Marco Rubio, a VP contender, is there, and he's taking a swipe at President Biden's debate performance and adding a new warning tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): You're watching this thing in Beijing. They're watching it in Moscow. They're watching it in Moscow. They're watching it in Havana. They're watching it in Caracas. They're watching it in Iran. And they're saying, that guy's the president, that guy? We're going to invade tomorrow. That's what I would do -- you know, if you're thinking that's the danger that we're in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Rubio's appearance in the home state of Rubio and Trump comes just six days before Trump is required to formally locked in are running mate in time for the Republican national convention, has to do it by Monday.
Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT at that rally right now.
So, Kristen, you're hearing all this. Obviously, we're days away now from the convention. The VP decision has not yet been announced. Who has the edge or do you understand that this has been a made decision and the person already knows?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, when it comes to has the edge, honestly, Erin, it determines -- it's determined by who you talked to. Remember Donald Trump talks to a lot of people. Everybody has their own allies they are advocating for. We know there are people out there pushing for Senator Marco Rubio. There are people out there pushing for Senator JD Vance, and there are people pushing for North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who we understand all three of whom are in the final three.
Now, the scuttlebutt here on the ground, the buzz is that it's going to be Senator Marco Rubio. I will give you a big caveat to that, we are in Marco Rubio's home territory, but his family is here and he is the only senator and only person on the top three list who is here tonight, and obviously just spoke.
Now I talked to a senior adviser who said they don't believe the announcement is coming tonight. Another senior great said that it could happen at any time.
We are obviously going to be watching the speech very carefully. We're also going to be watching to see how Marco Rubio and Donald Trump interact. There are just days now until that Monday start of the convention. Now, one source told me it could come as late as Monday morning, but Donald Trump wants to have the narrative around him, have all of that media spotlight. So he is going to determine when the best time for him to announce
this, because obviously this is one of the biggest divisions he will make as a candidate for president.
BURNETT: Absolutely and now, you are also learning more about the convention, Kristen. So what can you tell us?
HOLMES: Erin, actually, you know, I'm really glad you asked me this because I think that you will appreciate this more than anyone. Tech investor, David Sacks, we just report it, we were the ones who've broken nose and actually going to speak on Wednesday of the convention about the economy.
That is a critical move for Donald Trump because he has been courting Silicon Valley for a long time. Obviously, Sacks has endorsed Donald Trump, but this is somebody who has a lot of power over other big donors. And it is notable that he's going to be out there not only having endorsed him, but speaking. We obviously also have reported yesterday that celebrity TV star model Amber Rose was going to speak.
But what I really am told by the campaign is that a lot of this convention is going to reflect every day Americans of what they say are Americans that are hurt by Biden's administration.
So expect to hear people who are struggling because of inflation, or people whose family members were victims of migrant crime, they want to highlight the things that Donald Trump holds ahead of Joe Biden on. So when you look at that, that's likely the economy, immigration, and crime, and you're going to have a lot of speakers around those topics -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Kristen.
So, Nikki Haley, tonight, ahead of the convention that Kristen's reporting on, has released her delegates to Trump. Now, of course, that may come as a surprise to that mean everyone knew it was going to go this way.
But when you consider things that she said on the campaign trail like this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We can't have someone who sits there and mocks our men and women who are trying to protect America.
There is no way that the American people are going to vote for a convicted criminal. They're not.
You got to acknowledge the fact he can't win a general election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And yet -- yet she has released her delegates now, formally to him. We understand she will not be speaking at the convention, though.
OUTFRONT now, Chris Rauen. He's a Republican from California, a member of the Haley Voters Working Group, which is a coalition of conservatives who backed Haley when she was in the race.
So, Chris, I really appreciate your time.
And, you know, for so many months after Nikki Haley got out of the race, we kept watching as she kept getting 20 percent of voters in state after state of people who still wanted to make that their voice heard. You know, you heard Nikki Haley said Trump can't -- shouldn't be president, couldn't win. She said Trump cant assume her supporters are going to go with him.
[19:25:08]
Now, she's released her delegates to back him. Are you going to go along? What's your reaction?
CHRIS RAUEN, HALEY SUPPORTER NOW BACKING BIDEN: My reaction is disappointment, not a total surprise, but just real disappointment in this because we worked really hard to get those 97 delegates for. A lot of us who volunteered on the campaign, some have worked on the campaign that I know personally were giving there -- you know, they had day jobs and they're giving all their hours to support her, and because of what she was campaigning against, all the things you just played in the previous segment.
And we thought that's what she believed in. And with the statement that she came out with today to basically have all those delegates support Donald Trump, vote for him at the convention. That's giving away the four-and-a-half million voters that she earned across the country, especially in those primaries that you've mentioned that she was telling actually relatively well against the incumbent president during the primary season, even after she dropped out. And to give all those away and just I have no other words.
BURNETT: So what are you going to do? You're going to vote for Biden?
RAUEN: Well, I was leaning that way before and now just looking at Trump and also the fact that, you know a convicted felon running in my party, the nominee of my party who is pushing in our third authoritarian and populist agenda, I saw the platform come out from the RNC yesterday reviewed it, and it looked like it was written the president himself. And I just can't get behind that.
I'm a Reagan Republican, a Romney Republican, a Bush Republican and I know what the classic Republican platform in the motto stands for. And this is not it. I can't get behind that.
So the next thing for me is to protect democracy and the only person I see doing that right now is President Biden. And I would -- if the election were held tomorrow I'll vote for President Biden.
BURNETT: All right. So let me ask you about that and by the way, you point out it sounded like he wrote the platform. Our reporting is in fact that he did a lot of it in terms of President Trump and the Republican platform that you referred to. But he said it was held tomorrow. You'd vote for Biden.
So, Chris, just in this context of what's going on in the Democratic Party, right? This, this, this chaos did the, debate give you any pause in terms of voting for him?
RAUEN: Briefly, it did. I was obviously concerned like the rest of America and wondered if something was really going on and I think that a lot of that has been put to rest myself, at least for me anyway, seeing the president -- President Biden, some of these rallies post- debate seems like he's fine.
And the doctor, presidential physician issuing that letter, stating that his condition is probably in better health than most rest of us and we're a lot younger than he is that I'm confident now. But it did give me some pause briefly for a moment.
BURNETT: All right. Well, I appreciate your taking the time and explaining all of this to us. I think a lot of people want to hear what you think. Now that you speak for all Haley voters, I don't pretend to say that, but to hear from those people who made the choice to vote for her throughout that primary process.
So, Chris, thanks so much. I appreciate it.
RAUEN: Thank you very much for having me on, Erin. I appreciate it.
BURNETT: And next, Biden -- all alright. Great.
And Biden telling supporters tonight to Google Project 25. And a lot of you have and you just look at the searches people are curious and we wanted to do a little bit more in depth here to answer some of those questions. What is this controversial playbook written by Trump allies and what does Trump really have to say about it? Not just now, but before anybody heard about it.
Plus, a live picture of Rudy Giuliani's $6 million abode. Just one of his many assets that angry creditors want to get their hands on, after Giuliani declared bankruptcy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:33:10]
BURNETT: Breaking news, taking on Project 2025, Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail focusing her attacks on Trump and Project 2025.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Trumps advisers have created a 900-page blueprint they're calling Project 2025, detailing everything else they plan to do in a second term. Project 2025 outlands -- outlines a plan to limit access to contraception, and for a nationwide abortion ban with or without an act of Congress. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right, this came just hours after President Biden with a cryptic post on X, told voters to Google Project 2025.
So the controversial document that they're referring to was written by conservatives as a blueprint for how those conservatives wanted Trump to act, extreme policies that they wanted him to enact if he wins a second term.
Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As much as the attack on the Capitol, as much as a Donald Trump rally, Project 2025 has become a call to arms for Republicans.
KEVIN ROBERTS, PRESIDENT OF THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.
FOREMAN: And for Democrats --
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): But I see this is basically a continuation of the work of January 6. They're basically picking up where the insurrection has left off.
FOREMAN: Project 2025 is the Heritage Foundation's plan for implementing strictly conservative policies as soon as the next GOP president is elected. In more than 900 pages, hundreds of conservative contributors propose, putting the Justice Department entirely under the president's control, which critics fear could unleash Donald Trump's open desire to take revenge on political foes.
[19:35:15]
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, when this election is over, based on what they've done, I would have every right to go after them. And it's easy because it's Joe Biden.
FOREMAN: The plan calls for even further restrictions on abortion rights, wanting every elected Republican in state or federal government to, quote, push as hard as possible to protect the unborn in every jurisdiction, a notion President Joe Biden is tagging hard onto his challenger.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This project 2025 plan will restrict access to birth control, restricting access to birth control? I'm fighting to protect reproductive freedom.
FOREMAN: But there is much more. Project 2025 would expand the military in the name of defense and dismantle the Department of Homeland Security in the name of savings. It calls federal civilian employees largely underworked, overcompensated and unaccountable, and wants thousands of those nonpartisan government jobs given to Republican loyalists.
REP. TED LIEU (D-CA): This document is creepy as a takeover of American form of government, and it's a collection of extreme MAGA ideas that's going to ruin our way of life.
FOREMAN: The plan pushes tax breaks for churches and church schools, goes after health agencies which backed, quote, un-American mask and vaccine mandates, and says pornography should be outlawed. And while it does not define porn, it says even librarians caught with it should be registered as sex offenders.
PAUL DANA, PROJECT 2025 DIRECTOR: We are historic movement of the conservative coalition coming together to make sure that the next conservative president is ready to hit the ground running day one.
FOREMAN: Well, now, Donald Trump is keeping Project 2025 at arms length, calling parts ridiculous and abysmal.
But he hasn't said which parts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (on camera): Part of the political problem for Donald Trump is that there are members of his own team who contributed two writing this whole thing. So it's kind of hard for him to say, I don't know what it's all about, but I will say here, not a partisan statement at all, if you're interested in this for it or against it, yeah, Google it. It is quite read -- Erin.
BURNETT: Yeah, it certainly is. And I second, that everyone should have a chance to go through it for themselves.
Tom, thank you.
And also tonight, a development on the Rudy Giuliani's situation, angry creditors are saying that Giuliani has a lot of cash, even as he's declared bankruptcy, says he's got nothing. They prepare to face off with Giuliani in court tomorrow, and they say that Giuliani is treating his case like a joke, and that even though he owes hundreds of millions of dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars, they do say he has some major assets and that he's now making money by selling everything from coffee beans to pillows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: I'm thrilled to introduce you to something I'm incredibly proud of. My own brand of organic specialty coffee, Rudy Coffee.
I can do a happy birthday greeting. I'm a little teapot short and stout. This is my handle. Here's my spout.
I've been sleeping on my pillows for some time. I love them. Yes. Simply the very best pills ever made.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: It's sad.
All right. I want to go straight to Katelyn Polantz. She's live outside of Giuliani's New York City apartment.
And, Katelyn, you've done extensive reporting on Giuliani's financial problems and obviously hundreds of millions of dollars owed, assets don't add up to that, but there are still a lot of assets, including one that you are standing outside of, right now, apartment in Manhattan, worth an estimated $6 million.
I mean, what do creditors want to see happen?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Erin, they want this place sold and they want their money. The creditor is a large group. It includes Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, those two Georgia election workers he defamed and now $148 million to. But in this bankruptcy proceeding, it hasn't been moving forward and the creditors, including the lawyers representing Freeman and Moss, they're quite angry that Giuliani hasn't done more, and the things aren't getting sold, that they aren't seeing money, and that he hasn't been fully forthcoming with what assets he has, the money in his bank accounts and also the spending and things that are taking place with companies he owns as well.
So they're having a pivotal hearing tomorrow in New York to see exactly what is going to happen next. Lots are going -- is going to take place at that hearing, especially with the asks before the judge.
BURNETT: And, you know, it's amazing when you talk about that hearing, just that clip we just played of Rudy Giuliani. I mean, making talk about, but I'm a teapot and trying to sell pillows and coffee.
[19:40:02]
And I said it's sad, it is sad. You know, how does all that play into this hearing tomorrow?
POLANTZ: Yeah. Erin, Rudy Giuliani is on the precipice of potentially losing control of all of his assets, all of his money, his ability to spend money. That's because some of the creditors, the large collection of them, they want an independent trustee to come in and take control of everything, liquidate places like this co-op apartment on the tenth floor behind me, and another place that he has in Palm Beach.
There are other people like Freeman and Moss who they what him out of bankruptcy courts so they can go after his assets as well. But Giuliani, he's still fighting, even disbarred, even fighting criminal cases separately. He's still fighting in bankruptcy court and he's hoping just to reorganize things a little bit one more time -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Well, that hearing tomorrow, we'll be watching that.
And, Katelyn, thanks so much for your reporting. And next, Putin fully embracing the leader of the world's largest
democracy, a man who is almost single-handedly paying for Putin's war in Ukraine. A man who is supposed to be a top American ally.
Plus, an OUTFRONT exclusive tonight. We'll take you on board what is known as American's biggest gun in the sky, as it conducts military drills in North Korea's backyard.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:45:27]
BURNETT: New tonight, President Biden just now announcing that Ukraine will get critical new long-range air defense weapons. This coming just a day after a brutal Russian aerial bombardment that killed at least 43 people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: All told, Ukraine were receive hundreds of additional interceptors over the next year, help to protect Ukrainian cities against Russian missile, Ukrainian troops facing air attacks on the front lines.
Make no mistake: Russia is failing in this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: This comes as Vladimir Putin is rolling out the red carpet in Moscow for the leader of the world's largest democracy, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India's spending tens of billions of dollars buying Russian oil, paying for Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine, even though it's a top American ally.
Ivan Watson is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Warm hugs between the leaders of India and Russia. Their display of friendship ashore for contrast to the ongoing cleanup of what's left of a children's hospital in Kyiv.
Ukraine accuses Russia of a deadly cruise missile strike here, a charge the Kremlin denies. It's a huge disappointment and a devastating blow, Ukraine's president announces, to see the leader of the worlds largest democracy hug the worlds most bloody criminal in Moscow.
Moscow has been no close partner with India for generations, supplying the Indian military with weapons since the days of the Soviet Union. More recently, Russia has become an Indian gas station of sorts. India has been scooping up billions of dollars in Russian crude oil, which most Western countries stopped buying after Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, blooming bilateral trade that's helping fund Russia's war machine.
In Moscow, the two leaders announced plans to expand Russian energy deliveries. But on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his most critical public statement to date about the war in Ukraine, appearing to lecture Putin on the heartbreak of seeing innocent children killed.
NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): As a friend, I have always said that peace is necessary for the prosperity of future generations. But I also know that on the battlefield, solutions aren't easy to come by between guns, bombs, and bullets. We have to adopt a path to peace through dialogue.
WATSON: The visit comes as Modi is increasingly concerned about Putin's blossoming alliance with India's giant rival Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Competition with China also driving U.S. overtures towards India in recent years.
Last year, President Biden and the first lady rolled out the red carpet for Modi wining and dining the prime minister during a state visit.
BIDEN: Cheers!
WATSON: The Biden administration strengthening defense and trade ties with the world's most populous country, and avoiding, harshly criticizing Modi's mission to Moscow.
MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: India is a strategic partner with whom we engage in a full and frank dialogue. And that includes on our concerns about their relationship with Russia.
WATSON: But Modi's visit gives Putin a chance to demonstrate at home and abroad that Western efforts to isolate Russia are failing now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON (on camera): Now, Erin, the Indian prime minister, I think he's showing that he thinks he can have it both ways. He can deepen relations with the U.S., one of India's largest trading partners. And at the same time maintain historic relations with Russia.
One of the points of friction here between India and Russia has been Indian officials say that dozens of Indian men have been fooled into joining the Russian military and end up getting sent to fight in Ukraine. That issue likely came up in the closed doors meetings, Indian officials say, and they say that practice has to stop -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Ivan, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, retired Army Lieutenant General Ben Hodges. He's attending the NATO summit in Washington.
[19:50:02]
And, General, it's great to see you tonight. So you've got Modi, the leader of the world's largest democracy, had
the red carpet rolled out for him by Biden is now helping fund in a huge way Putin's war, buying so much Russian oil.
I mean, how crucial is India to Putin's war right now?
LT. GENERAL BEN HODGES (RET.), FORMER COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMY EUROPE: Well, first of all, Erin, it's incredible that the day that Russia launched a multibillion-dollar precision weapons to destroy a children's cancer hospital in Kyiv, Modi is there hugging him in Moscow? But, of course, India is important to Russia because that's where Russia gets there finances to keep their war effort going. India is one of the biggest maybe the largest consumer of Russian oil and gas. And that's what helps pay for the Russian war machine.
BURNETT: I mean, it is a real, I mean, it's not -- it's not a stab in the back. I mean, its a punch in the face to the U.S. and the Biden ministrations put a lot of effort into the relationship with Modi. It comes, General, though, as Russian-backed proxies we understand are considering launching sabotage attacks against American military personnel directly on American personnel in Europe, on bases in Europe, and Russia has been linked to a series of arson attacks, bomb plots across the continent.
Now, General, you were the commanding general of the U.S. Army Europe. So, for you, this is tangible, you know what this literally could mean. What types of attacks do you think Putin is considering?
HODGES: Well, of course, we need to -- we need to realize that Russia is at war with us and they see that we, not just the United States, but the West, we are not responding to their GPS jamming, the disinformation efforts, the threats against people and now of course the intelligence that told us that perhaps they were going to be sabotage attacks affecting American installations in Germany, and in other parts of Europe.
So we need -- we need to be serious and understand that the mean business, that they are a real threat. And we have to respond.
Now, of course, this also highlights the benefits of having good allies. This intelligence comes from sharing with other countries in Europe, without which we would have difficult time identifying these threats.
BURNETT: Well, part of the reason for that relationship, of course, is NATO and that's a relationship that has strengthened -- strengthened significantly under President Biden. And I know you spent a lot of time talking to NATO allies. What do they make of the situation right now with President Biden, that he is fighting against members of his own party to keep his candidacy alive?
HODGES: Well, I think they all -- all the allies know that Mr. Trump would never have been able to give the speech that Joe Biden, that President Biden just gave. They will all remember that during the Trump administration, for the first time in my life, the American president questioned NATO's -- America's commitment to NATO. But -- so, they're looking at President Biden. I think, unfortunately,
everybody also was kind of gritting their teeth a little bit, hoping that he would do well, that's -- that's a fact of where we are.
BURNETT: Yeah, and there -- their bottom line takeaway, you believe was that he did?
HODGES: Well, I think what the president did tonight, he did exactly what he needed to do. Very clear, strong message, amplifying the importance and commitment of the United States to the alliance, while the alliance has been so successful. And, of course, emphasizing the importance of support for Ukraine.
I wish she had said it's in our strategic interest that Ukraine wins, but he came closer to it tonight than I've heard him.
BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you very much, General Hodges. I appreciate your time tonight.
HODGES: Thank you for the privilege, Erin.
BURNETT: And next, we're going to take you on board America's biggest cannon in the sky.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:49]
BURNETT: Tonight, North Korea sending an elite military training delegation to Russia, and America is taking note, conducting its own drills with South Korea.
And tonight, OUTFRONT is getting exclusive access on board what's called America's biggest gun in the sky, flying over the Korean peninsula.
Mike Valerio is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of the latest unmistakable displays of U.S. firepower high above the Korean peninsula; America's biggest gun in the sky down onboard a U.S. Air Force AC-130J, the Ghostwriter. It's a 105 millimeter howitzer cannon loaded in a matter of seconds with brass 43 pounds shells, power has percussion, part of a strategic symphony between the U.S. and South Korean militaries.
U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command granted CNN unprecedented access inside the Ghostwriter and what we witnessed, Americans in the air talking to Korean service members on the ground, some of them working together for the first time, spotting practice targets below and opening fire.
We're a few minutes into a blank, can you talk to us about what is going to happen and what we're looking at here? JOE GIBSON, U.S. AIR FORCE AC-130 LEAD AERIAL GUNNER: Absolutely. So (INAUDIBLE) 105 millimeter howitzer. So we are rolling into our live fire range over South Korea right now.
VALERIO: Today is a training mission so there are smaller low yield explosions. But the sound heard thousands of feet away is echoing thunder.
Why is it important to have an AC-130?
On the ground, we spoke with Major John Burris, once an accountant, now mission commander.
And why is it key to have an aircraft like the AC-130 able to deploy here to Korea as quickly as possible.
MAJ. JOHN BURRIS, U.S. AIR FORCE AC-130J MISSION COMMANDER: The unique thing about the AC130 is the amount of fires that we bring, the amount of munitions, the diverse amount of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could send in the box.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Next setting, zero, sub zero, gun two.
VALERIO: The Air Force says its continued message here is deterrence. And with this aircraft, power.
So when the cannon starts to open fire, the tail where I'm standing recoils a full six feet this week. You know your heart really skips a beat when this all starts to happen. And the entire plane feels it.
The Ghostwriter, just one piece of the U.S.-Korean strategic symphony as the tempo of these exercises continues, and North Korea watches across the horizon.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Osan Airbase, South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And our thanks to Mike Valerio for that report.
And thanks, of course, to all of you for being with us.
"AC360" starts now.
