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First Move with Julia Chatterley
MLB Star Speak Amid Allegations Against Ex-Interpreter; Raid At Home Of Rapper Diddy; Two Twists For Donald Trump; Appeals Court Reduces Trump Bond Payment; Trump Gets Relief On Bond Deadline; Boeing CEO Stepping Down; Trump In Court; Russians Mourn 130 Plus People Killed; Yoav Gallant Arrives In Washington; New First Between U.S. And Israel; Netanyahu Cancels Delegation To U.S.; Putin's Terror Response; Putin Speaks Out About Attack. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired March 25, 2024 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:57]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: It's 6:00 a.m. in Beijing, 7:00 a.m. in Tokyo, and 6:00 p.m. here in New York. I'm Julia Chatterley. And
wherever you are in the world, this is your "First Move."
A very warm welcome once again to "First Move." And wow, there's a lot to get to you today. We are live at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles where
Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani has spoken for the first-time following theft allegations against his longtime interpreter.
Rapper Diddy, raided by the feds, his homes in L.A. and Miami targeted according to a Homeland Security official.
Made a triumph and turmoil for Donald Trump, his assets are safe for now, his net worth may have doubled, but his hush money trial is set to begin in
three weeks' time.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The draft resolution has been adopted at (INAUDIBLE) '27, '28.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: -- and applause at the U.N., but anger in Israel after the U.S. declined to veto a draft resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. All
that to come and more.
But first, to a sporting scandal in the world of baseball, Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani is speaking out for the first time about those
allegations of theft and gambling against his former interpreter and friend.
The L.A. Dodgers fired Ippei Mizuhara last week. Ohtani's lawyers have accused him of stealing millions of dollars and using it to gamble and pay
down debts. Shohei Ohtani signed a record 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers back in December 2023.
Joining us now is World Sports' Don Riddell. Don, and I know we literally just heard from him, an emphatic denial of any involvement in gambling and
once again reiterating that he's the victim.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, this was emphatic and it was important, Julia, that we heard from Shohei Ohtani himself because ever since this
story blew up last week there's been silence, and that silence has only fueled rumor and speculation. And remember, this whole story began with
competing narratives and it was kind of hard to know who to believe.
But Shohei Ohtani has clearly come out today and spoken of his shock, his sadness that somebody he trusted would do this to him. He emphatically
denied that he had ever bet on any sport, never mind baseball. He denied betting or gambling on any sport. He said he never asked anybody to work on
his behalf with a gambler and he never directly liaised with a gambler. And he repeatedly said that Ippei Mizuhara, his former interpreter, had been
telling lies.
He now says Shohei Ohtani that he is fully cooperating with investigators. He explained how it all played out last week from his perspective and he
said it wasn't until he and Ippei Mizuhara got together in a room at the end of the day where he learned that this had been going on, that $4.5
million had disappeared from his account. And so, this is where we're at now.
But remember, when this all kind of blew up at the time last week, Mizuhara himself had spoken to ESPN, he'd given them an interview for about 90
minutes I believe where he explained that he had been gambling, he'd got into trouble, he owed more than $4 million dollars, he spoke to Shohei
Ohtani about it and Ohtani reluctantly agreed to pay his debt for him. But Ohtani today saying that is absolutely not the case. Obviously, he was
speaking through a new interpreter today.
[18:05:00]
The season will begin for many of the other teams shortly. Of course, it's already begun for the Dodgers because in Korea last week they played a
couple of games in Seoul against the San Diego Padres, but we will see what this has done to calm this story down.
But Ohtani's position is clear, he hasn't done anything wrong. He is surprised, shocked, saddened, disappointed that somebody he trusted would
do this to him. And it is worth saying that for anybody who has been following Ohtani for the last few years, Ippei Mizuhara was more than just
an interpreter. These guys were practically joined at the hip. They seemingly did everything together, went everywhere together. Mizuhara for a
while was even Shohei Ohtani's driver when he arrived in the United States.
And so, now, you have the scale of the deception and the fraud from Ohtani's point of view that this is how it played out and he really is the
victim here.
CHATTERLEY: And Nick Watt joins us now. Nick, and I know you were in that press conference, actually part of what Don is saying here, I think, is
vitally important. What we heard from Mizuhara in that interview was that he didn't know sports gambling was illegal in California, which is -- and
of course it is, which is why this is -- at least in part is so concerning.
But they were also friends and there is skepticism that it's strange that someone wouldn't know that this was going on or in some way be at least
aware of it on some level. Do you think the audience, sports fans, viewers will be convinced by what we heard today in this press conference?
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, we'll have to wait to see what the reaction is, Julia. But listening to him speak, he was, of course, speaking
in Japanese, as Don mentioned, with a new interpreter. He seemed very calm. He seems very direct. He seemed very strident in what he's saying.
You know, part of the reason why we've had so much confusion over the past week is that nobody has heard from him. And we had these competing
narratives about what was going on, and we also had, you know, quite a fair bit of speculation that perhaps Otani himself was the one who was gambling.
You know, he put that to bed pretty definitively in that press conference.
You know, I was speaking over the weekend to the lawyer for Matthew Boyer who is the bookmaker, the former book maker at the center of all of this.
And Boyer's lawyer told me, listen, he never had any direct contact with Ohtani, but what kind of murky clouded the waters was that Boyer, this
bookie, was going around telling people that Shohei Ohtani was his client.
Now, his lawyer says that that was really just kind bravado. That was like a marketing technique for him to try and get more custom. Listen, if you
say that one of your clients is the biggest baseball star in the world, that certainly elevates your position. That's what she says he was doing.
And it's clear Shohei Ohtani wants to try with this press conference to just put this all behind him. He says his lawyers, investigators are going
to handle from here on in. He will cooperate, but he really wants focus on the start of the season, that they have a game here at Dodger Stadium
starting 6:00 p.m. local time against the Angels, his old team They call it the freeway series. And it's a kind of warm-up for the real season that's
going to start here on Thursday.
Ohtani, $700 million dollar, 19-year contract. Clearly, he doesn't want this betting scandal to be the headline. But clearly, the Dodgers don't
walk this betting scandal to be in the head line. So, the message was loud and clear, this was all the interpreter and Shohei Ohtani had absolutely no
idea any of this was going on until he had a one-on-one face-to-face meeting with his old friend, the interpreter, Ippei, and that's when he
says he found out what was happening.
He immediately spoke to his lawyers. He immediately talked to the Dodgers. And here we are today. He's trying to concentrate on baseball, put this
behind. To go back to your first question, what will the fans say? We'll see. Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. But you're right, Shohei speaks a definitive defense and he wants to focus on the sports, as do all, I'm assuming. We'll watch this
play out. Nick Watt there, thank you, and Don Riddell, of course, both, thank you.
And our other breaking news this hour, federal authorities have raided the Miami and Los Angeles homes of rapper and producer Sean Diddy Combs. The
Department of Homeland Security conducted the raid, along with local law enforcement partners. Combs has faced at least four lawsuits in recent
months. Some of the allegations against him include rape and sex trafficking, that last one by a woman who says she was underage at the
time.
We should note, Combs has repeatedly denied the allegations against him. And right now, there's no indication that today's raids are connected to
those accusations. Josh Campbell joins us now from Los Angeles.
Josh, good to have you with us. We know it's Homeland Security. Under what circumstances would a raid like this by them be conducted?
[18:10:00]
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a great question. And when people hear the Homeland Security Department, they typically think of
counterterrorism agents protecting the homeland here in the United States.
But the one agency in particular that is leading this investigation is called Homeland Security Investigations, HSI. And among their remit
includes a heavy focus on human trafficking investigations, both here in the U.S. HSI also has federal agents that are stationed in U.S. embassies
across the world working with foreign governments, again, in order to try to combat human trafficking.
Now, what's worth pointing out right now, we don't know that Sean Combs himself is a subject or target of a specific investigation. But what HSI is
confirming for us is that they are on location at homes owned by Combs, both in the Miami area, in the State of Florida, also here where I am, in
Los Angeles, California. We don't know why they are there, what specific criminal allegations may be at play here.
Typically, this type of posture where you see agents setting up the table there and doing paperwork, that's likely what's called a search warrant,
where a federal agent goes to a federal judge and asks for permission to search a particular person. They have -- or a particular location. They
have to convince that judge that evidence of a crime could be in these locations. And so, again, this is all very telling. Both the agency that is
leading this investigation, as well as what we're seeing on our screens right now.
Now, we have reached out to representatives for Combs, both his public relations person, as well as his attorney, we have not yet heard back.
Julia, we've also reached out to federal prosecutors. They are -- at this hour, they're not commenting.
CHATTERLEY: No, and if we get any further details, we will bring them to you. And, Josh, thank you for that, because those were live pictures. So,
you were talking over live pictures at his L.A. home. Josh Campbell for now, thank you.
Donald Trump now has 10 days to post $175 million instead of nearly half a billion dollars. That was the decision from a New York Appeals Court this
Monday. The former president was facing potential asset seizures and frozen bank accounts as he struggled to pay up in his civil fraud case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, all of these things, so what they do is they do election
interference, which is court cases and let's try and tie them up and let's take as much of his money as possible. I respect the appellate division for
substantially reducing that ridiculous amount of money that was put on by a corrupt judge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: In further financial developments, Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, will begin trading on the NASDAQ Tuesday. The
ticker symbol, his initials, DJT, and by some estimates could mean paper gains of more than $3 billion for the former president.
And we're not done yet. Trump also appeared in court for his separate New York criminal case for allegedly covering up hush money payments. The judge
in that case ruling that the trial will now move ahead, starting on the 15th of April. Stephen Collinson joins us now.
Stephen, it's a sort of nuclear fusion of personal, legal, and political controversies this week, but it looks like he's going to end the week
financially, at least, far better off, one, because that bond amount was chopped so significantly, and two, as I mentioned, because Truth Social, at
least, on paper, when it starts trading yesterday, gives him a whopping great lift to his net worth.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: That's true. That reduction of the bond payment was hugely important for Donald Trump. It was
a famous legal victory, in fact. He was facing a deadline of today to come up with that near half a billion-dollar bond, or it looked like New York
authorities were going to start going after his cherished real estate portfolio in order to make them -- make good on the ill-gotten gains that
were exposed in his civil fraud trial.
You're right, that $3 billion boost, potentially, to Trump's net worth could take place as soon as tomorrow, when the new media company goes
public. One caveat here, though, it doesn't look like he'll be able to use that money to pay off this $175 million bond that he now faces, because he
can't trade those shares for six months. And even if he did so, he's so endemic to the identity of this new company that the share price might
crash if he started to sell off the shares.
The problem here, though, is as so often with Donald Trump, triumph was occurring at the same time as disaster. That date for the fraud trial means
that Trump will become the first ex-U.S. president to go on trial in the middle of a campaign to win back the White House. And he's going to have to
spend most of April, May, and potentially June sitting in a courtroom and not on the campaign trail.
CHATTERLEY: Do you think any of this dents his support, Stephen? Because you wrote a great piece about this this week, and what we heard from the
former president even today was that, again, these are all witch hunts, it's evidence of the fact that he's being persecuted. And even finding him
guilty, even the threat of asset seizures is effectively concrete evidence of that in his mind.
[18:15:00]
COLLINSON: Well, I don't think it dents his support among his most faithful supporters. They believe already that all of this is a witch hunt, as Trump
renewed the charge today.
The issue here is the people that would decide this election, people in suburban areas, in swing states, moderate Republicans, independent voters,
how are they going to view the spectacle of a president on trial? This endless drama over Trump's finances and his legal issues?
We're going into an election that could be, Julia, decided by about 100,000 200,000 votes in four or five states. It's very hard, at this point, to say
what exactly will swing that election. But certainly, this unprecedented circumstance of a presumptive presidential nominee who could conceivably be
a convicted felon by election day, that could really play into this.
There are some polls that really show that while some Republicans are willing to vote for Trump, the idea that he could be convicted of a crime
may put them off a little bit. So, it's still very much up in the air. I think we have to be humble and say we just don't know how this will play
out, politically.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. And for the average person, they focus on the economy and the things that they can control.
COLLINSON: Right.
CHATTERLEY: It can barely keep up with all this, quite frankly, as we struggle to do. Stephen Collinson, thank you so much for that.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
CHATTERLEY: OK. A deepening rift between the United States and Israel. In the past few hours, the White House has said it's perplexed by the Israeli
prime minister canceling a delegation's visit to Washington. It follows a U.N. Security Council draft resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in
Gaza, the first such resolution since the war began.
The United States abstained, in other words, declined to veto. The White House says it's disappointed by Israel's response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESPERSON: We still believe that we have learned some key lessons about how to dismantle a
terrorist network, how to decapitate its leadership, how to starve it of resources, how to put pressure on its fighters on the battlefield. And we
were looking forward to, and I think still are, looking forward to having the opportunity to share some of those lessons and perspectives with the
Israelis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Israel's defense minister has been meeting with the U.S. secretary of state over the past few hours too. Jeremy Diamond has more for
us. Jeremy, good to have you with us.
John Kirby, as we just heard there, reiterated earlier that nothing has changed in the U.S.-Israel relationship, that the stance was allowed to
abstain from this draft resolution because there was language both on a potential ceasefire, but also on the hostages. And arguably a deal on the
hostages could unlock everything. It always comes back to this. Where are we? The Israelis seem to think that they are willing to agree to terms.
Where are Hamas today?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly the language in that U.N. resolution wasn't strong enough for Prime Minister Netanyahu, because
while the language does talk about an immediate ceasefire, as well as demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages, the
ceasefire resolution, which the United States abstained from allowing to pass, does not condition the ceasefire on the release of the hostages.
And for the Israeli prime minister, that was the line that he was seeking to draw here. But of course, the context of his -- of the Israeli prime
minister's decision to cancel a trip by two of his top advisers to Washington to hear U.S. alternatives to a ground offensive in Rafah is
quite clear. The Israeli prime minister was trying to send a message after weeks of rising criticism from the United States directed at Israel.
And the fact that it was about the Rafah offensive is also quite notable, because while the Israeli prime minister made clear that he was open to
listening to U.S. alternatives, he also made clear that he wasn't going to change his mind, no matter what the United States presented. And so, that
leaves us with this latest move, which is likely to escalate tensions further between the Israeli prime minister and President Joe Biden.
Now, as far as those ceasefire negotiations, as we understand it, Israel has now agreed to the latest proposal from the United States to try and
bridge the gap between Hamas' position and Israel's position on the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange of some 40 hostages,
Israel now agreeing to release some 700 Palestinian prisoners, dozens of whom have life sentences.
But it's clear that there are still other major issues that remain. And Hamas this evening is indicating that this latest proposal from Israel
simply is not enough to bridge the gaps, and that Hamas is sticking to its position, not only on its ratio of Palestinian prisoners, but also on other
key demands, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the return of displaced Palestinians to Northern Gaza.
[18:20:00]
So, there has been momentum, there has been progress certainly over the last week or so, but now, in particular, in light of this latest Hamas
statement, very difficult to know exactly where we are going from here. Julia.
CHATTERLEY: No, and the Israeli is arguing that today's vote at the U.N. Security Council didn't help with that. Jeremy Diamond, good to have you.
Thank you.
OK. Coming up, political scientist Ian Bremmer will share his assessment on the Russian terror attack and President Putin's response. Bremmer's take?
Putin never wastes a crisis.
Plus, Boeing, Boeing gone. The CEO of embattled aerospace firm heading for the exit as its safety shake-up continues. We've got the details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." And for all our viewers around the world, we hope you're having a wonderful start to the new week.
In today's "Money Move," a softer start to the holiday shortened trading week. On Wall Street, the Dow, pulling even further away from that yet
elusive 40,000-point milestone. We've got red arrows, too, in Asia, with the Nikkei falling more than one percent.
Also, today, new concerns about the future of electric vehicle startup Fisker. The company, saying partnership talks with an established
automaker, have now fallen through. The New York Stock Exchange also announcing plans to delist the company, whose shares fell almost 30 percent
Monday before trade was then halted. Fisker has warned it might not have enough cash to survive the year.
And a big shake up for Boeing's top flight management. The company's CEO says he's stepping down by the end of the year along with two other bosses.
Boeing has battled a series of high-profile issues involving the 737 MAX for more than five years now. Our Richard Quest has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: This was Boeing trying to make major change, but not all at once. Losing three top executives in one go would
have been extremely destabilizing for a company that's already flying through turbulence.
David Calhoun, the CEO, is being ousted essentially because he has failed to change the culture between the MAX crashes two years ago and the Alaska
door blowing off earlier this year.
[18:25:00]
He had two years. And clearly, as the evidence has shown, there's not been much change, if any, at all. And so, he will go at the end of the year and
a new chairman will lead a committee to find a new CEO. Whether that comes from within, a good old timer from Boeing, or they go for a completely new
broom, we don't really know.
But the case is quite clear, that person needs to be able to put together an executive team that can affect real, meaningful, lasting change of
Boeing. The airlines are demanding it, passengers are worried, shareholders are annoyed for stocks down 25 percent this year. For the Boeing
management, time's running out.
Richard Quest, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Now, we might be several days into spring, but Mother Nature apparently didn't get the memo. The U.S. Midwest being hit by a powerful
snow storm threatening power outages and dangerous travel conditions. Chad Myers joins us now. Chad took us through it. What do we need to be aware
of?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, we still have blizzard warnings going on right now, parts of Nebraska and Kansas. But over the weekend,
almost the foot of snow in some spots, 14.5 inches, 37 centimeters of snow fell in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
And even Minneapolis picked up more snow since the beginning of spring than they picked up in all of winter combined. That's just an amazing stat. And
there are the warnings that are still in place right now. The air is still cold, it is still snowing in some spots.
On the warm side of the storm though, there's a threat of severe weather today, tonight, and even for some spots, a little bit tomorrow. But we're
just winding this snow storm down.
There still will be some spots with four to six inches still coming down and also the rainfall could be two to three inches on the warm side. But
here is the severe weather threat today. From about Memphis, maybe Nashville, all the way down toward the Gulf Coast, and in that red zone
there already tornado watch box is posted.
In the orange circle there that's the highest threat of any tornadoes for overnight. Even in the yellow there is still a risk of that. And those
overnight tornadoes are very dangerous, sometimes you don't hear the warning, you don't wake up and you don't get to your safe place.
Here's the rain, parts of Korea, snow as well. Very heavy rainfall into Japan. Heavy, heavy rain into even Tokyo for tomorrow and even for later on
today as well. And then the snow and the higher elevations, as we have been talking about now, Julia, for weeks it seems, the snow just will not stop.
But it does warm up for Tokyo, from the teens all the way into a delightful weekend of 21 sunshine. Maybe, maybe some cherry blossoms begin to pop up
here with temperatures like this.
CHATTERLEY: And we like that, stats no sunshine and daily sparkle from Chad Myers. One more (INAUDIBLE). See you tomorrow.
OK. Coming up, Donald Trump getting both the gift of time, and what one former prosecutor calls a highly unusual financial lifeline from a New York
court. We'll discuss with political scientist and author, Ian Bremmer, next.
[18:30:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move" with a look at more of the international headlines at this hour.
The Nigerian military has freed at least 137 school children who were abducted earlier this month. Armed bandits kidnapped the children on March
7th. They were demanding a ransom of more than $600,000. The initial report said more than 300 students have been taken. A state governor now says that
number was wrong and all the children have been released.
The U.S. State Department says it airlifted more than 340 American citizens from Haiti in less than 10 days, with additional helicopter flights planned
for this week. A department spokesperson said most were flown from the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, which has been besieged by gangs. The
U.N. estimates 80 percent of the city now controlled by those gangs.
The European Union is investigating Apple, Google, and Meta. Officials are suspicious that the companies aren't complying with the new Digital Markets
Act. The act is meant to increase competition.
And call it a Donald Trump trifecta, three big legal and financial developments for the U.S. president. A New York Appeals Court, giving Trump
10 more days to come up with a much reduced $175 million bond in his ongoing civil fraud case. That's actually 60 percent less than the initial
ask that could have resulted in asset seizures or forced sales.
Trump, in a press conference at 40 Wall Street, ironically, one of those assets being eyed up by authorities, claimed he will soon post the bond.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Greatly respect the decision of the Appellate Division, and we will abide by that. We'll put up cash or bond very quickly, securities cash or
bond, whatever it is. We'll put it up very quickly. And we'll win the case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And that was the Trump triumph of the day. Far less luck in New York's criminal court, where the judge in the hush money payment case said
no more delays. The trial will now begin on April 15th. Incidentally, that's also tax deadline day here in the United States. Taxing and perhaps
also stormy times for Donald Trump there.
And from the courtroom floor to the trading floor, Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, will begin trading on the NASDAQ. On Tuesday, the
ticker symbol, DJT, and by some estimates, that could mean paper gains of more than $3 billion for the former president. Ian Bremmer is president and
founder of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media, and he joins us now.
Ian, always fantastic to have you on the show. One of Bloomberg's headlines today, Donald Trump's net worth more than doubled Monday, making him one of
the world's 500 richest people for the first time ever. You often say that the media should pick its battles with the former president and at least
get the facts straight. What do you make of that headline?
IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, GZERO MEDIA: Well, that's Bloomberg, and it is covering financial wealth, and it's something they're capable of
covering, so it's not a place I'm going to be really critical.
But, I mean, the news that you've just put forward does make pretty clear that it's unlikely that Trump's legal woes are going to be dispositive in
terms of the actual election, right? I mean, he -- just the fact that they decided to reduce the cost of the bond from $400 plus million to less than
$200 looks like amateur hour. It makes people that are already suspicious that these are politicized charges feel more so.
[18:35:00]
The same thing true, of course, in terms of the ethical issues around the Georgia prosecutor, which is by far the most -- one of the most serious
cases that Trump should be worried about, but in terms of the way it's playing out is going to be easier for him to deal with. And of course, the
delays in the Washington case. which are almost certain not to result in a conviction before Election Day.
So, lots of things are going to matter a great deal about this upcoming election, but the 91 indictments that Trump faces unlikely to determine the
outcome.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. And just for clarity, I wasn't pushing you to try and criticize Bloomberg. I just actually like the balance. Anyway, you wrote a
really punchy piece today called "The World According to Trump," looking at his actions, policy, and behavior, but through the eyes of his supporters,
which I also really liked.
And I've just pulled a quote from it because I do think it's important. "Trump supporters believe that everything Trump's enemies say about the
former president, and they're doing themselves, politicizing the Justice Department? Check. Trying to end democracy by bringing elections? Check.
Handing out gimmies to cronies like unions? Check."
I liked the article. And you said in the piece that you didn't think everybody would perhaps agree, and it wasn't your view, but you were doing
it from the perspective of supporters. And I do think the balance that you provided in this piece is important for those that look at the president
and look the political system, in particular, today.
BREMMER: I think it's not OK to just discount the very strong support base. It's not 50 percent, but it is a lot more than 30 percent, that as people
that have been hoodwinked or bamboozled or just stupid. It's very clear that there are serious policies that Trump promotes that they support. And
so, my interest was in writing the strongest possible piece I could from the perspective of a Trump supporter, that the average person that doesn't
support Trump refuses to listen to.
I think it's absolutely indispensable that you do that. You do it from a foreign policy perspective, from a perspective on his appointments in the
judiciary, from his perspective on how the economy is running, immigration, identity politics, and even the political system, precisely because so many
of the people that think that Trump is an existential danger to democracy, and I absolutely believe that, given his unwillingness to accept a free and
fair electoral outcome that he lost.
But I also know that a lot of Trump supporters believe that the United States is no longer a representative democracy itself. And that for decades
institutions that are seen as increasingly illegitimate, the establishment political figures and the media that supports them, refuse to do anything
about it. So, if Trump is the guy that's going to try to break that system, then they're prepared to support him.
And I think whether or not you agree with that perspective -- and again I want to make clear, I do not, but I actually respect the fact that a lot of
people have that perspective and they need to be engaged with on those terms.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and they see any judgments against him and conclusions as further evidence of the persecution that he talks about. It was a very
balanced article and I recommend people read it.
BREMMER: Thanks, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: I do want to talk to you and move on about Russia and the terror attack that we saw on Friday, just two weeks after the United States
had publicly warned Russia about a potential attack. Putin, we know, poo- pooed it.
I guess you could argue it says something about ISIS-K at this moment that they actually managed it. But surely, one could argue as well it's a major
embarrassment for Russia, a smack of a degree of incompetence.
Does that matter, Ian, at the moment in time for Putin and for Russia? And how might he use it?
BREMMER: I think it matters internationally because it shows weakness. But I don't think matters much inside Russia because Putin so controls the
information space. And so, if Putin says that these Tajik citizens who were Islamic radicals were trying to get to Ukraine and that Ukraine was helping
them, and he is still saying that today, the average Russian is going to believe him.
And I -- it should be clear that this is false on its face. The Americans had actionable intelligence that ISIS-K was trying to engage in attacks
like this in Moscow that they made public and they provided privately to the Russian government. ISIS took credit for the attacks and even promoted
videos from some of the people that were involved in the attack, during the attacked, and it's very clear that Ukrainians have never attempted to
engage in mass terrorism against Russian civilians.
[18:40:00]
So, I mean, on every level, it is ludicrous that Putin is trying to blame the Ukrainians. But of course, it fits the narrative of someone who has
blamed the Ukrainian regime as being a Nazi regime that needs to be exterminated, needs to be removed from the map.
And now, the Kremlin is saying that Russia is in a state of war. It's the first time they've said that, on the back of ISIS attacks on Russian
citizens, that the Kremlin is saying was really facilitated by the Ukrainians.
So, what are we going to see? We're going to see more attacks against Ukraine. And it wouldn't surprise me, not only these missile attacks
against Kyiv and Lviv, we've seen in the last couple of days, but I also think this provides more political cover for Putin to mobilize hundreds of
thousands more Russian civilians to throw into the front lines. None of this is good for the future of the war in Ukraine.
CHATTERLEY: Israel now, Ian, and what we saw today, U.N. Security Council draft resolution that the United States abstained from, the Israeli
government clearly very upset, canceling a meeting, a delegation that was set to come to Washington to talk about alternatives to some form of Rafah
operation.
Where does that leave negotiations, the hostages, of course, that remain in Gaza and hopes for a ceasefire?
BREMMER: It doesn't change state of negotiations from the Israeli perspective, who are still working with the United States and Qatar to try
to come to a deal that Hamas so far has been unwilling to accept. They're still hung up on a permanent ceasefire, which the Israelis are not prepared
to give them.
You know, the United States right now did have Benny Gantz, who is likely to be a future prime minister if Netanyahu was forced to step down. He's
part of the war cabinet. They invited him to the U.S. Everyone met with him, and Netanyahu refused to provide Israeli government support, wouldn't
let the cabinet -- the embassy send anyone to attend those meetings.
So, Netanyahu just canceled the trip for the delegation to be made to Washington. He wouldn't allow the government to support the trip by a
cabinet member that occurred a couple weeks ago. This speaks, first and foremost, to the profound dysfunction of the top level of the Israeli
government and the political disagreements that they're having inside the top levels of that government.
It also points to the fact that the Biden administration has very little operational leverage over the Israeli prime minister or the functions of
its government right now. And they're angry about that. It's hurting them internationally. It's hurting them at home. And that's why you're seeing
this break. Not with Israel, they're not taking money off the table, defense off the table, but they are embarrassing Netanyahu personally.
And let's watch very carefully what happens with this invitation to address Congress, which would be an extremely politically divisive move by the
Israeli prime minister and the Democrats, I think, would respond. Some wouldn't show up, some would boo pretty loudly. It would be very, very
interesting to watch that, with America's top ally in the Middle East.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and you can understand why the U.S. administration is putting so much emphasis on the hostage deal to try and change the dynamic
here. Ian, I've run out of time.
BREMMER: Absolutely.
CHATTERLEY: Ian Bremmer, thank you for that. President and founder of GZERO Media and Eurasia Group.
OK. Still ahead, Vladimir Putin speaks out about the suspects in last week's deadly attack. We'll have a report on their court appearance, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:46:36]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." Russian President Vladimir Putin is blaming Friday's deadly concert hall attack on "radical Islamists." He
also says it fits into what he calls a series of attacks by Ukraine against Russia.
Eleven people have been arrested so far. The Kremlin has sidestepped questions about whether they were acting on behalf of ISIS, as the terror
group claims. Four of the suspects appeared in court on Monday. Matthew Chance has more details. And we'd like to warn you, some of these images
are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blood shed at the concert hall near Moscow. Gunmen running amok before setting
the crowded building ablaze, killing more than 130 people inside.
Now, the suspected attackers from Tajikistan in Central Asia have appeared in a Moscow court, looking battered amid reports of a brutal interrogation.
The Kremlin is refusing to comment on allegations of torture. But disturbing video has emerged of the suspects being run down by Russian
security forces and ruthlessly beaten. What appears to have had part of his ear cut off on camera during questioning, electrocution and beatings have
also been shown.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses are recounting the terrifying ordeal they endured last week. They didn't scream or tell anyone to take cover, recalls
Anastasia. They were just walking around and gunning everyone down, methodically and in silence, she says.
It's an outrage that's left many here shocked and questioning just how safe in this country they really are.
CHANCE: Well, as Russians mourn the victims of this attack, the Kremlin is defending its own security services. Amid criticism, it failed to heed
intelligence warnings from the United States and others. And while ISIS has repeatedly said it carried out the attack, the Kremlin is still trying to
implicate Ukraine, raising concerns it may use this tragedy to rally support for its war.
CHANCE (voice-over): And divert attention from the fact that Russia these days feels deeply insecure.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: More "First Move" after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:51:22]
CHATTERLEY: Call it perhaps the dating app trap. Millions of people around the world have found love on apps like Match, OkCupid, and Tinder. But a
new generation of users say they're ready to go back to the basics, which means meeting IRL. I had to Google that. In real life. Vanessa Yokevich has
more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody on the apps is faking it. Listen closely, no one on there is real.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's like a game.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you like talk to people, but like you're not actually ever going to see them. It's just like for funsies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do feel like we are shifting more towards meeting people organically. And like it's more fun that way.
CARRERA KURNIK, CULTURAL STRATEGIST, SPARKS & HONEY: I think there truly is a push away from dating apps. We can think of technology as this tool for
access, or we can think of it as a crutch. And I think a lot of people are sick of walking with the crutch because all of a sudden, they notice that
they no longer know how to strike up a conversation with someone that isn't in a DM or online. So, there is this shift to try and meet in person.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dating apps are in trouble lately. Millennials, many of whom first adopted apps like Tinder,
Bumble, and Hinge are getting older. To keep their businesses afloat, matchmaking companies need to attract the next generation of users looking
for love, Gen Z. The problem? They might not be so enthused about using dating apps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're not ideal to meet people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're going to die soon. That's my psychic prediction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think people just don't take it seriously. That's probably why it's like that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's kind of just like casual.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the best Tinder opener I have ever seen when we tested it --
KURNIK: So, here's the issue. For Gen Z, we're seeing that they do you want to meet in person but what's happening is that they're too shy to talk to
anyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here is the correct way to approach a girl in a bar or club.
KURNIK: There's a whole trend in TikToks about what to say when you go to the bar, like different advice on how to introduce yourself to someone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here's a really good line to use if a cute girl or for my ladies a cute guy accidentally bumps into you at a crowded bar or
nightclub or wherever.
YURKEVICH: Gen Z can figure out almost anything from the palm of their hand, their phone, but they can't figure out dating. What do you make of
that?
KURNIK: It's that difference between hard skills and soft skills. So, they are so adept at reading the digital landscape, but the social landscape, I
mean, for many of them it is new.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people like my age basically lost our entire high school life to COVID. So, we've been isolated forever, like we want to
be having as much human interaction as possible.
YURKEVICH: Is there anything that social media dating apps can do right now to capture the experience that Gen Z truly wants to have?
KURNIK: So, we've seen dating apps experiment with IRL events and seen a lot of success there. So, that could mean an app like Bumble hosting speed
dating or speed friending and they have and that has been a success for them.
YOKEVICH (voice-over): Whether it's in real life or online though, getting Gen Z to shell out money to find love, these brands' ultimate goal, may be
a hard sell in this economy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And do you know anyone, anyone in your generation who would pay for dating apps?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pay? I don't because I feel like if they do, they should keep that to themselves. But good luck to them, I guess.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like with this I can -- I pay money on it, I'm just going to be like, was this worth whatever -- however much money one
roses like --
KURNIK: The economics of dating is a huge tension point for Gen Z. Some of our research points to the fact that the average date is $100 or more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm literally like, how much money can I possibly pay? I need to pay for the date.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is just kind of like the loneliest generation that we've had in a while. And especially with social media and everything,
I think a lot of people from my generation become -- or like feeling a lot more lonely than ever and don't really know how to reach out and break out
of their shelves as older generations have been blessed with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[18:55:00]
CHATTERLEY: Oh, my goodness. Never mind extinction by A.I., we're going to go extinct because we don't know how to talk to each other anymore. Wow.
OK. A Soyuz spacecraft has successfully docked at the International Space Station. The capsule arrived with three new crew members, an American, a
Russian, and a Belarusian. The NASA astronaut, Tracy Dyson, is due to spend the next six months in space. The other two will leave on April 6th along
with Astronaut Loral O'Hara. O'Hara will have spent six months in orbit by the time she returns.
Now, good news if you live in the United States, you have two sky high lottery jackpots to pick from. The Powerball has climbed to $800 million
for Monday night's draw. Sound good? Well, stick around for Tuesday. That night's Mega Millions drawing has now topped $1 billion dollars.
Now, I try to avoid giving forthright investment advice on this show, but I am confident enough to tell you that you're not going to win and you
probably save your cash. But that won't stop me.
That just about wraps up the show. Thank you for joining us. Kristie Lu Stout will be with you tomorrow. And I'll see you Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
