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NEW DAY
Trump's Border Claims; Soaring Drug Prices; Treasury Borrows $1 Trillion; Interview with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired January 30, 2019 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00] MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sequel starring Bonitzio Deltoro (ph) and Josh Rolin (ph) is a dark and violent take on the U.S./Mexico border, Middle Eastern terrorists, drug cartels and U.S. government efforts to disrupt them. It's fiction, right?
There are prayer rugs in the film. The president tweeted about prayer rugs found on the border from a story in the conservative "Washington Examiner," which quotes an anonymous New Mexico rancher who had no evidence of the prayer rugs. The film also features terrorists who paid drug cartels to bring them into the country, something else on the president's mind.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People are pouring into our country, including terrorists. We have terrorists. We caught ten terrorists over the last very short period of time. Ten. These are very serious people.
MARQUEZ: That claim appears to be the president accidentally or willfully misunderstanding a Customs and Border Patrol statistic that ten suspected terrorists, on average, are blocked every day from entering the U.S., mostly by flying, at locations worldwide.
And then there's duct tape. The president has that on his mind, too.
TRUMP: And they nab women, they grab them, they put tape over their mouth, they tie their hands.
They have tape over their mouths, electrical tape, usually blue tape as they call it.
MARQUEZ: Ten times this month alone counted "The Washington Post."
TRUMP: Grab them and tying up women, putting tape in their mouth.
They tie up women.
Taping them up.
Women are tied up. They are bound.
They have women in the backseat of the cars with duct tape all over the place. MARQUEZ: The president claimed women are duct taped, shoved into
vehicles, driven across the border and sold. Those who work every day trying to protect vulnerable immigrants from sexual exploitation say duct tape isn't a thing.
MARTINA VANDENBERG, PRESIDENT, THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING LEGAL CENTER: We have a database of 1,435 indictments. And we went through all the indictments and we found 26 cases that involved kidnapping. We did a search on duct tape and we found one case of 1,435 cases that mentioned duct tape.
MARQUEZ: And that case was an American, not a migrant. In looking at all federal trafficking cases, most victims are U.S. citizens. Only about a third of trafficking cases are foreign nationals. And the vast majority of them enter the U.S. with legal visas, no duct tape.
VANDENBERG: What Donald Trump is missing with this sort of fictional account, Hollywood version of human trafficking is the dire cases that do exist in the United States, including cases of forced labor and forced prostitution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eagle One, incoming on your right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) see nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Contact right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't see anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down, down.
MARQUEZ: One other highly dramatic possible Hollywood fascination the president has, those coming across the border have better cars and equipment than U.S. law enforcement.
TRUMP: They have the best vehicles you can buy. They have stronger, bigger and faster vehicles than our police have and then ICE has and then border patrol has.
MARQUEZ: It doesn't exactly fit the second Sicario (ph) film. CNN and many news agencies have asked the white House and relevant agencies about the president's claims on prayer rugs, fast cars, and duct tape. None have responded.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Now, one more odd twist here. "The Washington Post" ran a story detailing the president's repeated use of women being gagged and duct taped on January 17th. The news site Vox has now seen an e-mail from a top border patrol official asking field offices around the time "The Post" story came out for instances proving the president's claims. So two weeks after the president started talking about duct taped women, his own administration tries to be coming up with the facts to support the claim. So far, nothing from them.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my gosh, Miguel, that was really striking.
MARQUEZ: It's --
CAMEROTA: I mean I don't know what to say.
But, John, you've talked about the backfilling of the claim.
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure.
CAMEROTA: So first you make the outrageous claim. Then the people around you in the administration are tasked with running out to see, has anybody heard duct tape? Is duct tape anywhere? Can we get any duct tape?
AVLON: And you can see the e-mails where they're scrambling at the highest levels to try to backfill the president's back -- fear mongering.
What I think's so fascinating about what Miguel just did in this whole film is, it gives you a glimpse into what might be the moment of inception. Is the president watching too much TV rather than listening to the experts and the intelligence officials at his disposal.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The trucks, I mean, you can watch that and you can laugh when you put together all the duct tape things --
AVLON: Or.
BERMAN: But he's talking about women and he's talking about something so serious. And if he's making it up out of thin air, that's troubling.
AVLON: Or he's mistaking fantasy for reality, which is also troubling.
BERMAN: Which is also troubling.
AVLON: Yes.
BERMAN: All right.
CAMEROTA: I mean -- yes.
BERMAN: Miguel, John --
CAMEROTA: I have a lot -- I have a lot more to say about this, but I guess we're out of time.
MARQUEZ: Hard to believe that we are here is all I can say.
CAMEROTA: Yes. Thank you, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: You got it.
BERMAN: All right, it's a cruel reality of prescription drug prices in the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER TURNER, RATIONS INSULIN DUE TO HIGH PRICES: I have to ration my insulin.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Why?
TURNER: Because I can't afford it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: What some lawmakers are vowing to do about it, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:38:49] CAMEROTA: Congress is trying to tackle soaring drug prices. On Tuesday, lawmakers issued a warning to pharmaceutical companies, you will be held accountable.
CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with more.
What's the latest, Elizabeth?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning.
Yes, soaring drug prices are a problem for so many Americans, but especially for those with Type One Diabetes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (voice over): Jennifer Turner has diabetes. Without this insulin, she'll die.
JENNIFER TURNER, RATIONS INSULIN DUE TO HIGH PRICES: I have to ration my insulin.
COHEN (on camera): Why?
TURNER: Because I can't afford it.
COHEN (voice over): Turner has health insurance through her full-time job at a bank. But even so her insulin costs her more than $1,100 a month, more than her rent. So, for the past four months, instead of taking 10 to 15 units of insulin, she takes just five, drastically less.
COHEN (on camera): So every day you're giving yourself less insulin than you need.
TURNER: Yes.
COHEN: How does that make you feel?
TURNER: I'm a grandmother. And I work. And I love my family. And I know this isn't the way but -- the right way, but I don't have any choices. [08:40:02] COHEN (voice over): The price of insulin has skyrocketed,
nearly doubling between 2012 and 2016. These people with diabetes are believed to have died because they couldn't afford their insulin.
On Capitol Hill Tuesday, at hearings in the House and the Senate, lawmakers vowed to help.
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), CHAIRMAN, SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE: And I intend to specifically get to the bottom of the insulin price increase.
COHEN: Some lawmakers have called for federal investigations and in October the Minnesota attorney general's office filed a lawsuit against insulin makers. A spokeswoman for the pharmaceutical industry said health insurance companies get deep discounts on insulin but don't pass those savings along to patients. A spokeswoman for the insurance industry said that's not true.
Finger-pointing aside, Turner is suffering from her rationing, itchy skin and leg cramps.
COHEN (on camera): Those are not good signs for people with diabetes.
TURNER: No, they are not good signs.
COHEN (voice over): She's terrified her children and grandchildren might lose her.
COHEN (on camera): Do you worry about dying?
TURNER: Yes. There could be -- I'm hoping not a painful death, but, I mean, it's a real situation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: Jennifer says that she thinks she has enough insulin to get her to the end of next month. She said that's just the sad reality that she lives with.
Alisyn.
BERMAN: Sad reality.
I'll take it, Elizabeth.
That's a life and death problem people are dealing with there. Thanks so much for highlighting it for us.
The Treasury Department will need to sell a boatload of securities to pay America's bills. Our chief business correspondent, star of "EARLY START," Christine Romans joins us now with more.
Romans.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, guys. Some eye-popping numbers here. For the second year in a row, the U.S.
Treasury will borrow at least -- at least a trillion dollars to pay the bills. In a strong economy, the government's spending way more than it takes in. last year's budget deal increased federal spending, you know, by $300 billion, the same year a new tax law cut taxes for business, cutting into tax revenue. The U.S. deficit rose 17 percent to $779 billion last year, the highest in six years. Oh, yes, and we have to spend big to service the trillions in debt we already have.
So the U.S. Treasury borrowed more to make up that shortfall. The Treasury borrowed $1.3 trillion last year, the most since 2010, more than double what the government borrowed even in 2017.
And, don't forget, the U.S. is currently tied up in a trade war with its biggest foreign creditor, China. As of October, China held $1.1 trillion in U.S. Treasury Bonds.
You guys, Republican outrage over exploding debt and deficits, ubiquitous during the Obama years, is non-existent today. And Americans in general seem to care less than they have in the past. Look at this, according to Pew Research, just 48 percent of Americans say cutting the deficit should be a top priority for the president and Congress.
But, you know, whoever's going to be running in 2020, all the promises they're making, they have less wiggle room if you're running such a big debt and deficits.
CAMEROTA: I -- we couldn't stop talking about it in 2013.
ROMANS: That's right.
CAMEROTA: I mean and beyond. I mean 2010, 2011, there were so many Republicans who would come on and just talk about that. And now it is --
ROMANS: It was a moral outrage then. It's unremarkable today.
CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. Christine, thank you very much.
So lawmakers meet today to try to stop another government shutdown. What's their latest plan? Senator Joe Manchin here next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:47:17] BERMAN: Lawmakers have just over two weeks to come up with a solution to prevent another government shutdown. There is a bipartisan committee tasked with crafting a deal. They will meet for the first time this afternoon.
Joining us now to discuss all this is Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia.
Senator, great to see you on NEW DAY. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: Thanks -- thanks for having me, John. Nice to be with you.
BERMAN: So the president has weighed in on this meeting that will take place today by this bipartisan group -- bicameral bipartisan group shortly. The president says, if the committee of Republicans and Democrats now meeting on border security is not discussing or contemplating a wall or physical barrier, they are wasting their time. Do you agree?
MANCHIN: John -- John, this is the same committee, basically. These are appropriators. They know how to make a deal. They know how to compromise and work through a challenge. This is the same group that basically appropriated $1.6 billion, is what the White House had asked for, in the 2019 appropriations bill. And then it went to the House. The House changed it to $5 billion and here we go. So they know how to get to the end, if you will. And I think -- I've got all the faith in the world, I think they'll be able to make an appropriate deal.
I would hope it would be over a two-year period. Just a one-year, stop-gap thing doesn't seem to work here, but two years would give us some -- some basically, I think, some solidity to what we need to do. I think there's going to be a mix between a structure -- a secured structure, but also there's an awful lot more needed than just that. And I think that they both have recognized that.
So if you're looking at technology, more judges, more agents, all of these things need to be looked in to keep us safe and secure our borders.
BERMAN: To be clear, you voted for plans that would include new funding for the wall. You voted for plans that included an increase in spending for border security. But no new funding. You just wanted the government open. Those were where your votes were.
Senators Alexander and Shelby have said that maybe the president should stay out of the negotiations for now. Let the appropriators meet and have their discussions. Do you agree with these senators?
MANCHIN: Well, I agree that basically that we are a separate branch of government. Article One of the Constitution is very clear, we have equal powers. And if senators can agree representing a diverse group of constituents and come to an agreement of what they think would be acceptable when they go home and explain it, I would hope the president would work with them.
I think the president needs to open up and look at basically how about these -- DACA? How about these children that came in at very young ages with their parents, no matter if they came with their parents the wrong way, they had no challenge over that or they had no choice of that and now they've become productive citizens. They're in our military. They're in our school in education. They're in our economy. They're in our society. Shouldn't they have a pathway forward?
[08:50:00] So the president needs to look at that, too, rather than just basically a three-year protective status and give them a pathway forward to citizenship. And that's what needs to be done. That's really what's preventing us, John, from getting to a final deal. BERMAN: One of the architects of the president's immigration plans and
policies, not just towards undocumented immigrant, but also refugees, has been Stephen Miller, the president's speechwriter and policy adviser. There's this new book out by Cliff Sims, who did work at the White House, who quotes Stephen Miller as saying, I would be happy if not a single refugee foot ever again touched American soil.
MANCHIN: Yes. Well, I'm sure his ancestors would have had a different opinion of that, and probably do have a different opinion even today because all of us came here from some place, some way. Someone allowed us to come and contribute and be a part of this great -- this great experiment of democracy.
That's all people are asking for. I've said this, people come, John, for -- the wrong way for the right reason, they came the wrong way for the wrong reason. We want to get rid of the people that came for the wrong reason, that's basically committed crimes and taken advantage of our society and a threat to our people. But you have to have security on the border to keep them out.
But, on the other hand, can't there be a pathway forward? Look at the 2013 bill. It was an absolutely compromised bill between Democrats and Republicans that was a grand plan. It's still the best thing on the table. We would not be having this conversation. We could be working on many, many other important problems and challenges we have.
BERMAN: Do you think the president is being pulled in an anti- immigrant direction by advisers like Stephen Miller?
MANCHIN: I sure do. I absolutely do. I respect their opinions and their position. I just don't believe it's basically the opinion of the majority of Americans. The base is going to stay with the president. That base is not going to leave the president.
When I've spoken to the president one on one, he seems to have that compassion and empathy for people that basically want to have an opportunity for the American dream. We talked about the 2013 bill. He liked a lot of things in it. Why can't we work and tweak that?
They cannot get over the hump. And what Stephen Miller has taken basically is saying that any way you got here, if you came here the wrong way, even if it was for the right reason, even if you're contributing, but the wrong way, then basically there is no way you can stay in this country and become a legitimate citizen. That's amnesty and we cannot tolerate that.
I'm sorry, that's just not the real world we live in. And there's been a lot of people that's in this country right now that really do contribute and help us and can really be, I think, value to our economy and our society.
BERMAN: Senator, the shutdown is over, at least for the time being. During the shutdown, I'm not sure I had ever heard you sound as discouraged as you did.
MANCHIN: I'm -- I'm always optimistic. You know that. But I know, when I speak to the president, and I leave his office, and I feel good about that. I says, you know, he gets it. He understands. We have these DACA, the dreamers, that came here that are contributing. They've got education. They've got basically value. They're in our military. He gets that. He has empathy for them. And then at some reason or some way, the next day or so it changes. And I don't know who's getting to him. I would assume Stephen Miller and Stephen Miller and Jeff Sessions.
Jeff Sessions is a friend of mine. We just totally disagree on immigration. I think there should be a pathway forward. I think we should secure our borders.
BERMAN: Senator --
MANCHIN: But I also think that basically it's impractical and unreasonable to think you can round up 11 to 15 million people.
BERMAN: Right.
MANCHIN: We could concert our efforts, John, to the people that shouldn't be in this country that have committed crimes, get them out of here.
BERMAN: Senator, you're no longer on the Intelligence Committee. You were.
Yesterday, though, they heard from the intelligence chiefs --
MANCHIN: Right.
BERMAN: Who reported to them what they see, their assessment of situations around the world. Among things they said is that ISIS is not gone, North Korea doesn't want to denuclearize and that they said Iran is abiding by the nuclear deal. Basically they said, without saying in the direct words, is that a lot of the claims the president has made, you know, aren't borne out by their intelligence.
The president just wrote this. He goes, the intelligence people seem to have an extremely passive and naive view when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong.
Take a step back, not necessarily about Iran, but about this concept that the intelligence chiefs are saying one thing, the president is saying another. Do you wish he would listen to them?
MANCHIN: Absolutely. I was on Intelligence last year. I'm back on Armed Services now. So I've been able to see with my own eyes and go out and visit different parts of the world. And what I have seen and what I do know is very real and is very concerning to all of us.
I trust our intelligence agencies. Gina is absolutely fantastic. I think Chris Wray does a tremendous job. These are all good people. Dan Coats was my fellow colleague in the Senate. We have all the upmost respect for Dan. Dan's not going to flower anything up. He's not going to make something up or say something he doesn't believe. [08:55:09] The president needs to trust the people around him because
they truly have the American interest and they truly have the American people in their hearts. And I know the president does, too. But he cannot continue to let his feelings overtake basically the facts.
I've said this, we're all entitled to our opinion, we're just not entitled to create our own facts to support our opinion. None of us, including the president, me and everybody else in society.
BERMAN: Well, Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia, thanks for waking up, thanks for being part of NEW DAY this morning.
The sweater, I got to say, America needs your sweater this morning as this cold spell hits millions of American.
MANCHIN: I like it, John. Yes, sir. It's a little dress down right now, but it's as cold as can be.
BERMAN: All right, senator, really appreciate it. Thanks very much.
MANCHIN: Thanks, John, appreciate you.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
BERMAN: Well, you heard it from Angus King. You heard it from Joe Manchin, which, in some cases, supported the president. He wishes the president would listen to the intelligence chiefs.
CAMEROTA: I think that it is fair to say that, at the end of these three hours, yes, that is a consensus, that it would be helpful to hear that.
All right, everyone, thanks so much for watching NEW DAY. Much more coverage of all of this continues next with Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:00:01] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Top of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto.
