Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Fredricka Whitfield 2

Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Fredricka Whitfield 20190216

Trump visited about six times, and so senator Amy Klobuchar said out of the kate, that this is a critical state and she would be here on day one to kick things off and move it forward to try to make up for the democrat, the rural democrats that many people lost back in 2016. And so that was what she was doing at the bike and coffee shop. She was well received. A lot of enthusiasm. Eau claire. A democratic enclave within the state of wisconsin. So it was friendly territory. But this is where she is kicking off and launching things. She is setting herself apart from her other democratic rivals. In many different ways. Talking about climate change. Taking on cyber security. And also taking on the spending bill. This was the bill signed into law just yesterday by the president , keeping the government open, but at a cost. It was a negotiation process that she was a part of, so i asked her about that, her vision, her vote, very much different than senators warren, booker and kamala harris. Take a listen. You voted yes to the spending bill that would keep the government open, but it also allows 1. 3 billion for the president s border barriers and the legislation. There are some who say it is a waste of money for a vanity project. Why did you vote that way . Well, i have always supported border security. I just think we have to be smarter about how we do it. And that means some fencing. It means some barriers. And certainly, it means a focus on the ports of entry with what were seeing with the drug trafficking. And so i viewed that compromise as very similar to what we had suggested way back in the fall. The question is not really whats wrong with that compromise, because it is very similar to what we had at the beginning. I think the question is, why did he put america through a shutdown, the longest shutdown in history, 800,000 workers not being paid, tsa agents at the front line doing their job, workers furloughed with the doors shut to their workplace, thats a better question. So fred, i asked her as well about the border and the fact that the president called it, declared it a National Emergency. She pushed back saying of course that thats going to be facing legal challenges, going through the court system, but you can tell, fred, in many different avenues, many different issues, whether it is cyber security, whether its immigration reform, that she is not afraid to stand out in the pack here, to take that pragmatic role, to take that kind of position here. That is unapologetic and she says she is one of compromise, bipartisanship, and in many different ways proposing bills and legislation that she is working with republicans and hopes to work with this president in the next couple of years, and also convince voters that she is the one who is going to be able to get something done. Fred . Suzanne, thank you so much in eau claire, wisconsin. Lets talk further with me, with me Tara Setmeyer a cnn political commentator. And ken, a former Republican Attorney general for general. Good to see both of you. Immigration will be a hot topic. As will gun control already, turning out to be an item that many of these democrat candidates want to talk about now and i wonder, tara, is, you know, is it less risky to talk about gun control in the primary season, but a totally different season, issue, when it comes down to the general election . I would say that thats probably true for a lot of hot button issues. What you do in the primary is often very different than a general, just because of the nature of the electorate. Weve seen that, just look at the republican primary and what we ended up with. Listen, the issue of gun control is such a difficult one because it is multifaceted. It is an emotional issue. It is also a constitutional right that were talking about with the Second Amendment. So its the heart breaking tragedies that we see taking place over and over again, people want a sense of what can we do to stop this. Never again. But the problem is that theyre already thousands of gun laws on the books. And youre never going to be able to legislate evil. And youre never going to be able to legislate human error. And in a lot of these instances, its not anything that we could have done, or another law could have changed, a lot of times, its somewhere, the system broke down. Maybe theres things we can tighten up. But there is no one panacea to fix this, short of full confiscation, which is never happening in this country, nor should it. So it is a really difficult issue and i would just hope that democrat force their sake, they dont overstep with this, because it is going into a general election, people will rally around, you know, protecting your Second Amendment right and then nothing gets done and we keep going around in circles. So it is a tough issue but its complicated. Very complicated. Ken, how do you see the gop taking advantage of, or looking for, you know, vulnerabilities when the democrats do try to talk gun control . I think a different republican might sort of give them, give them time and space, but this president seems to want to attack immediately, but if you look at the states that are probability going to decide this election in the same way they decided the last one, pretty much from pennsylvania, to wisconsin, you have a lot of progun union democrats, in those states. And the primary, and i agree that this is true on both sides, but this time, its maybe, maybe a 20person democrat field, primaries drive candidates to the left. For the democrats. And you know, this is a dangerous issue in those states for democrats. Because there are actual progun democrats in those states in large numbers, literally, pennsylvania, you got a tremendous hunting population, ohio, no different, indiana, illinois, not that the republicans have a shot there, but wisconsin. Michigan, being the most obvious of them all. So this is a really difficult primary general balance for them. And i do think americans, people who are progun pay closer attention. Theyre more single issue people, gun owners, than there are on a lot of other issues. And that is going to cause the democrats problems in those rust belt states. The day after what happened in aurora, illinois, with that, you know, workplace shooting, take a listen to what beto or roark had to say, just moments ago. First of all, just a real tragedy, for the families, for the community, for the coworkers there, theyre in my thoughts, in our prayers, and also, theyre going to be in the actions that we take going forward, to make sure that we do more to save more lives. And do everything we can to support those families who have lost so much. So tara, does it become a real fine line, you know, none of these candidates want to politicize, but at the same time, want to address. Right. The rhetoric on this is pretty standard, right . You know what to say, you appeal to the empathy that people have on this situation, because its tragic, and again, that goes back to, okay, so now what are you going to do about that . I mean if nothing was done over arching since sandy hook, since las vegas, since parkland, those things did not really move the needle with any kind of sweeping gun control legislation. So what are democrats exactly proposing that would have changed these things . They have yet to define that. And when they start to, then we start getting into areas where, you know, for people who are lawabiding gun owners, which are the majority of this country who own gun, they will say oh, wait a minute, you wont come for my guns and the fear mongering starts. It is very difficult. To kens point about pennsylvania and progun almost, look at connor lambs race out there in pennsylvania. He was one of those people. If democrats run a National Candidate that has those kinds of viewpoints, that they can kind of express the empathy but respect the Second Amendment, they will attract more folks in the middle. It is a tough balance, though. I dont know if you get that in a primary. Quickly, ken, what did you mean by that expression . Well, i do think that, first of all, these things do get politicized. And it is very rare, very rare to actually find a new law that would stop an incident. Thats whats so frustrating frequently is all we hear is rhetoric, this is terrible, of course death and tragedy is terrible, but, and look, five Law Enforcement officers were wounded trying to stop this person, and the sixth injury and they gave us an update on six, actually. You dont hear that in the democrat primary right now. Well leave it there for now. Ken, tara, good to see you both. Thank you. Of course, if you want to join us monday night, as 2020 senator klobuchar and president ial candidate takes place in a New Hampshire town hall moderated by don lemon. Only on cnn. The u. S. Is urging american citizens to leave haiti amid growing unrest there. Several people have been reportedly killed in protests over the past week against the condition tris president. Tourists are reportedly trapped including a group of missionaries who have turned to go fund me, to try to raise money to leave the country. Miguel marquez is in haiti. Miguel, the president there still refusing to resign. What have people in general been saying and what are the options there . Reporter we are ten days into this crisis, right now, fredricka, and it is not very clear how it is going to play out. We know the Prime Minister is meant to speak tonight, to try to fill in some of the gaps that the president left, when he said he had a plan, to make things better for the people of haiti. But one thing is very clear, just being here for a short time. Gas, food, water. The basics of life are in short supply here and people are extraordinarily upset. This is a gas station. Most of the pumps are free of gas. Theres no gas to be had. But people pull up anyway, to try to wait and hope that gas comes. The people lined up here are waiting for kerosene. Cooking gas. So they can actually cook food if they can get it. The other issue here is water. Massive lines for water. Everywhere you go in this town, just clumps of people, crowds of people, hanging around a single spigot or a single hose, trying to fill a five gallon bucket of water, so that they can have some fresh water for the time being. The inflation rate here, over the last three years, is also a huge problem for people. You earn a buck today in haiti, and in a month or so, it is only worth 50, 60, 70 cents or so. So people who are up against it just cant survive in these conditions. They are extraordinarily upset. They want the president to resign. He has given zero indication that he will resign. But says he will offer up this plan, the Prime Minister says he is going to offer up more details of that plan later today. We will have to see what they are. Today is relatively quiet here in town. There may be some scattered protests, but nothing like weve seen over the last nine days or so. You dont have the roads blocked, tires burning everywhere. The town seems to be trying to come back it life right now but theyre a long way from it. You can see they went after banks, they went after any sort of government agency. Any of those sort of, those buildings of fiofficials, that where protests put most of their energy. It is very unclear how this is going to play out. Miguel marquez, thank you so much. Keep us posted there. In portauprince. Still ahead, President Trump declaring a National Emergency in this country in an effort to get more border wall money. But hes already seeing legal challenges. And a deadly shooting in illinois. Police are releasing new details as they piece together the investigation. Audible members know listening has the power to change us, make us better people. With audible, you get more. Two Audible Originals exclusive titles you cant find anywhere else. Plus a credit good for any audiobook and exclusive fitness and wellness programs. All with our commitment free guarantee and always ad free. The most inspiring minds. The most compelling stories. The best place to listen. Download audible and start your free trial today. But how do i know if im im getting a good deal . I tell truecar my zip and which car i want and truecar shows the range of prices people in my area actually paid for the same car so i know if im getting a great price. This is how car buying was always meant to be. This is truecar. Welcome back. President trump is already facing some big legal hurdles, less than 24 hours after declaring a National Emergency across the southern border. Three lofts lawsuits have already been filed by Government Watch dog group, one of the suits include three texas land owners who are worried the wall will be built on their land. As cnns ed levendera reports, theyre not the only ones who have concerns over Eminent Domain. Along a quiet stretch of the rio grande in south texas, there is a place what is just home to butterflies. Hundreds of different species. And mariana write has spent two last two weeks, fighting to keep President Trumps border wall from cutting through the 100 acres of the National Butterfly center. They will be starting here. Last Year Congress approved the construction of 35 miles of border barrier in the Rio Grande Valley and construction is about to begin in the coming weeks. Part of the wall was supposed to cut through the Butterfly Center, leaving some of the property south of the border wall, and some north. The government used Eminent Domain to seize the necessary land to build the wall, much to the dismay of the centers executive director. They are seizing the land of tax paying citizens, and pushing the boundaries of mexico north of the rio grande river. Something general santa ana was never able to do. Trump is making america smaller. Not greater. Reporter but the congressional spending bill offered a lastminute reprieve to the Butterfly Center and four other specific locations. For now, no border wall in the Butterfly Center. But wall will come right up to their property lines and leave a quarter mile stretch of the centers property wide open. But Butterfly Center Officials Say theyre worried the Trump Administration will use the National Emergency declaration to keep trying to close the gap, and theyre worried about what its doing to the other land owners who havent been spared. This is a shame. This is a national disgrace. And the idea that its going to happen, and produce none of the purported benefit, i mean thats like going and buying a new car and driving it into a building. Why would you do that . The Butterfly Centers legal Battle Points a poignant picture of what lies ahead, the congressional spending bill compromise allocates 1. 4 billion to construct another 55 miles of border barrier in various locations in the valley. We got to get rid of drugs and gangs and people. It is an invasion. We have an invasion of drugs and criminals coming into our country that we stop but it is very hard to stop. With a wall, it would be very easy. Much of the construction is on private property which means the federal government will likely have to sue land owners to acquire the land. Down the road from the National Bitter fly center, fred and h hisly ahis, and his family are trying to stot barrier. The family owns 70 acres that will be left south of the border barrier in a nomans land. They have been tied up in Eminent Domain litigation but are losing hope they will stop the wall from being built starting in the next few weeks. Youre running out of time. What can you do . You cant fight the government. Well try. We will try to stop them and stall a little bit. We cant stop the government. Theyll do what they want to do. So the Rio Grande Valley braces for what most residents here say is the unwelcome wall. Ed levendera, cnn, mission texas. For more on the growing list of legal obstacle, we wring bri steve, a law professor from texas. The fight over Eminent Domain expected to be a big hurd number court. Do the people who are trying to protect their land stand a chance . The last gentlemen, who said, fighting the government, it is pretty hard. I think in the context of Eminent Domain case, the litigation would boil down to whether the government has a justifiable public use for taking these peoples land. And you know, i think for everything we might feel, for everything we might think about, the border, about the wall, about the National Emergency, i think the government is going to be on slightly stronger footing. Arguing there is a public use justifying the taking of the land in this context, as opposed to to those places where how so . Well, i think if building a border wall does have at least some public use from the perspective of, you know, the National Security implication, from the perspective of making it harder for those attempting to enter the United States, to do so outside of ports of entry. I think the real question is whether courts are going to be more skeptical of the public use justification in this context, given the baggage. Given that the president went to congress, tried to get money from congress, got, you know, less than what he asked for. And is now trying this end run through the emergency declaration. Except youre going to have homeowners similar to hnida alvarez, who was on cnns air, who was part of one of the lawsuits who says in the 40 years that she has owned and lived on her property, which is on the border, she is actually never seen anyone who is legaill who has been crossing, so wont that

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