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CNN Gets Access to Southern Gaza; Bombs Dropped in Gaza are Imprecise; Trump Calls out Biden; House Takes up Defense Bill. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 14, 2023 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I mean, Clarissa, tell us what you saw.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we've been trying for weeks and weeks and weeks now to get into Gaza. It has not been possible for us. We've been relying on the heroic and courageous work of journalists inside Gaza who have been dying in record numbers in order to tell the stories of what's happening there.

We were finally able to cross the Rafah border crossing from Egypt and get into southern Gaza. On Tuesday we traveled with a team of medical volunteers who are working at a field hospital that the United Arab Emirates, the UAE, has recently set up. Already this hospital is almost at capacity. They are being inundated with patients who are flooding in from other hospitals in the Gaza Strip that have simply stopped functioning.

And within moments of us arriving there for this visit there was a big strike nearby, casualties were brought in.

I want to play you just an excerpt of our story that will be playing throughout the day.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Used to be a stadium.

WARD: Right.

WARD (voice over): Arriving at the Emirate field hospital, we meet Dr. Abdullah Alnakbi (ph).

No sooner does our tour begin when -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, our ambulance - that's the real life.

WARD: And this is what you hear all the time now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. At least 20 times a day.

WARD: At least 20 times a day?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe more sometimes. Which I think we get used to it.

WARD (voice over): One thing none of the doctors here have gotten used to is the number of children they are treating. The U.N. estimates that some two-thirds of those killed in this round of the conflict have been women and children.

Eight-year-old Janan (ph) was lucky enough to survive a strike on her family home that crushed her femur but spared her immediate family.

WARD: (Speaking in foreign language).

She said she's not in pain. So, that's good.

WARD (voice over): Her mother, Hiba (ph), was out when it happened.

I went to the hospital to look for her, she says, and I came here and I found her here. The doctors told me what happened with her. And I made sure that she's OK. Thank God.

WARD (voice over): They bombed the house in front of us and then our home, Janan tells us. I was sitting next to my grandfather and my grandfather held me. And my uncle was fine, so he is the one who took us out.

WARD: (Speaking in foreign language). Don't cry.

WARD (voice over): But Dr. Ahmad Al-Mazrawi (ph) says it is hard not to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I work with all the people, like adult, but the children -- something touching you heart.

WARD (voice over): Touches your heart and tests your faith in humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD (on camera): And just -- and just moments after that heartbreaking moment talking to Janan, hearing from that doctor, the other doctor came back in to say that casualties were arriving as a result of the strike that we had just heard. They brought in a man who had lost his leg and a 13-year-old boy who was moaning in agony, John, who also had lost his leg.

And they said this is what we are dealing with every single day, amputees, people dying, people being crushed. And they are doing everything that they can. But with the collapse of the health care system, it is simply impossible. And the situation keeps getting worse. And there is no safe place for people in any part of Gaza to go now, John.

BERMAN: Clarissa, so important that you and your team were able to get in there independently without escorts and report on this. And we're going to hear so much more of it throughout the day. Thank you so much for everything you've done.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, John, we also have this just in, the Israel defense minister now telling U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that the war in Gaza will last, quote, "more than several months."

Now, this is coming in just now as Sullivan is in Israel for meetings with the Israeli war cabinet as part of a new push to minimize what President Biden has called the indiscriminate bombing in Gaza.

Now, the meetings also come as new intelligence is revealing nearly half of the Israeli munitions dropped on Gaza are so-called dumb bombs.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand is live at the Pentagon with this exclusive reporting.

[09:35:03]

Natasha, tell us more about what you're learning.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, this is an assessment that was compiled by the intelligence community that outlines just how many of the munitions that Israel has dropped on Gaza have actually been unguided. In other words, they have been dumb bombs. They are far less precise than guided munitions and they also pose a greater risk of civilian harm to people on the ground there.

And this is really significant because the Israelis have made a point to say that they are doing everything that they can to minimize civilian harm on the ground in Gaza and the U.S. has also come out and said that they believe that the Israelis have the intention of trying to protect the civilians as they undergo their operations in Gaza.

But experts that we spoke to said that the fact that Israel is using these unprecise, these unguided munitions, roughly 40 to 45 percent of the 29,000 munitions Israel has dropped on Gaza have been these unguided dumb bombs really undercuts the Israeli argument that they are doing everything that they possibly can to try to protect civilians.

It is important also to note that, look, precision guided munitions are not perfect either. But in a densely, densely populated area like Gaza, every kind of precise munition that you can use matters because missing a target by a few feet can really determine whether someone lives or dies.

And so the White House is saying that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who is, of course, in Israel today and tomorrow meeting with counterparts, he is going to be focused, among other things, on emphasizing to the Israelis that they need to be more surgical and precise in their operations in Gaza.

Here's what the White House said yesterday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESMAN: Jake will also discuss the next phase of the military campaign and efforts to be more surgical and more precise and to reduce harm to civilians. That is an aim of ours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERTRAND: Now, of course, this comes just two days after President Biden said that the Israeli campaign amounts to indiscriminate bombing. And so this U.S. intelligence assessment that suggests that Israel is deliberately using these dumb bomb really reflects what President Biden said just a few days ago, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and we know Jake Sullivan meeting with the Israel war cabinet as we speak. Let's see what more comes out of those meetings.

Thank you, Natasha. Great reporting.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, coming up, the economy's looking up, but Donald Trump invoking the words of President Reagan, asking, are you better off now or four years ago as he goes on the attack against Joe Biden. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:05]

BERMAN: We have a live look at the stock markets this morning, up about 48, 49 points so far. This is after hitting record highs yesterday. All the economic numbers that have been coming in have looked good. Inflation is cooling. Unemployment is low. Retail sales numbers just came in a few minutes ago beating expectations. Gas prices are sinking. Growth is resilient. Yet Donald Trump says the economy is sinking into a depression.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Biden administration is running on the fumes of the great success of the Trump administration. Without us, this thing would have crashed to levels never seen before. And if we're not elected, we'll have a depression the likes of which I don't believe anybody has ever seen, maybe 1929.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, CNN's Alayna Treene joins us now with the sort of new messaging from Donald Trump, Alayna.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: That's right, John. He had a very clear message last night I'd argue. I mean I attend nearly all of Donald Trump's campaign events. And I'd argue this is some of the most clear messaging he had while on stage talking to these Iowa voters last night.

And the message was this. It's that this isn't just about the caucuses or the primary elections. This is about the general election. And he was trying to use Joe Biden's unpopularity to galvanize these voters to come out in big numbers for him on January 15th.

Here's some of that messaging from last night.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: During this holiday season, families all across America are struggling under the brutal weight of Bidenomics. You know, Bidenomics. It means a lot of bad things. This year alone the typical American family is $7,500 poorer because crooked Joe's globalist blunders and greedy betrayals have really hurt us badly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, John, the economy clearly he's focusing heavily on that in that speech last night. I'm told he's going to continue talking about this in the leadup to the Iowa caucuses, which are in just - less than five weeks really.

But this is something that the campaign thinks could help them, not only in the primaries, but in a general election. And they know that even though the economy, as you mentioned, gas prices are going down, we're seeing the stock market do well, voters still are worried about the economy in many respects. And that's something that Donald Trump and his team recognize and are leaning very heavily into.

Now - and also just very quickly I want to bring up some of the other attacks that Donald Trump made last night. He went after Nikki Haley in, again, one of the most explicit language he's used yet. He normally saves those attacks for Ron DeSantis. But he spent a lot of time on stage last night going after Nikki Haley. And from my conversations with Donald Trump and his team, I know that her rise in New Hampshire and her gaining ground in New Hampshire has really been a concern for them. And, of course, the New Hampshire governor, Chris Sununu, gave her his endorsement the other day.

[09:45:01]

Another thing that is definitely worrisome to the Trump campaign.

BERMAN: All right, Alayna Treene for us in Washington.

Alayna, thanks so much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Hey, John.

I'm joined now by CNN political commentator, and former Ted Cruz communications director, Alice Stewart, and Republican strategist, and former RNC communications director, Doug Heye.

Good to see both of you.

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Good to be with you.

SIDNER: So, I'm going to start with like -

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Sara.

SIDNER: I'm going to give you a softball this morning. You're welcome. Gas prices, inflation, unemployment, all down. The Dow rocketing up. Despite his bombastic style, and I'm speaking of Donald Trump, is it fair to quote James Carville from the 1990s and say, yes, it's still the economy, stupid, when it comes to voters?

I'll start with you, Alice.

STEWART: Thank you, Sara, I love a good softball. So I will I will catch that and run with it.

Look, yes, the economy is a big factor. And while you can talk about the numbers and John just mentioned some of the good economic barometers, the numbers might be good but the perception of the economy is not good. And voters' perception trumps everything else.

And when you have six, seven and ten Americans feel they're not better off economically than they were four years ago, that's going to have an impact. And they say, many of them, trust a Republican candidate on the economy more than they do a Joe Biden and the Democrats. And that's going to be a very important and difficult hill for Joe Biden to climb. And it's another component of that is how they tell this. It's -- you can't just tell people things are great. You have to say, I understand how you are feeling, but this is what we are going to do to try and turn things around. And that's the most important thing they can do messaging wise because with all of the other things going on, look at immigration, foreign policy, safety and security, pocketbook issues are top of mind for voters, especially as we're heading into the Iowa caucuses just over 30 days away.

SIDNER: Yes, I mean, it affects you directly and strongly, if you will.

Doug, I want to ask you about this. Trump, in Iowa, sort of fine tuning his message, but he's gone after Nikki Haley, which - which seemed interesting since he is such a frontrunner when it comes to the polls.

Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They've been talking about the Haley surge. So, she goes up two points. I go up, I think 10 points. Nine or 10 points. And they say, that's a Trump surge. But they don't want to say that. They said she's surging against him but he's gone nowhere. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Doug, what do you think this tells you about Donald Trump and his thoughts on Nikki Haley's surge?

HEYE: Well, I think what he said is largely true. We've been talking about a Nikki Haley surge for weeks now and we haven't really seen much of one. We've seen some endorsements. Obviously, the Sununu endorsement is the best one to get in New Hampshire. We don't know what that effect will be yet.

But we know that also Donald Trump's campaign is concerned and that Donald Trump likes to punch down. I'd argue that what we saw last night, we saw Donald Trump attacking Nikki Haley more than we've seen Nikki Haley go after Donald Trump in this campaign thus far. And so many times we've seen Donald Trump get indicted and two weeks - two weeks later wonder why the polls haven't moved. The polls didn't move because Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis and most other Republicans running against Donald Trump in theory instead of in practice reinforce Donald Trump's messaging. If you don't give voters a place to go, they're not going to go anywhere. And we're getting to this point where we're sort of running out of time now. We're talking about the Iowa caucus as far - being as far away in the number of days, not really the number of weeks, and certainly not in months now. We're getting to crunch time. And once we get past Christmas, all bets are off at that point.

SIDNER: Doug Heye, Alice Stewart, always a pleasure to have you on.

HEYE: Thank you.

STEWART: Thanks, Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, Congress in action. Sort of. The Senate passed the sweeping defense spending bill overnight and the House is set to take it up today. That's progress. What they are not doing, though, as they head out of town for the holidays soon is anything on the fight on Ukraine funding, border funding and border policy. Deadlines looming and jet fumes in the air. We'll take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:53:18]

BOLDUAN: Very soon House lawmakers are going to be taking up an $886 billion defense spending bill that just cleared the Senate last night. It's called the NDAA. It has to be reauthorized by Congress every year. In it really includes things that directly impact the nation's military readiness and the lives of the country's military service member. This one includes the largest pay raise for service members in over two decades.

Now, after the House passes this, they're expected to head out of town for the holiday. And with that any chance that they'll all be figuring a way to cut a deal on the fight over more funding for Ukraine, more funding for Israel, because that is still being blocked in a battle over U.S. border policy.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is at the White House with more on this for us.

So, Priscilla, what is the White House saying about these long, stalled negotiations today at this point? Any progress?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the president has said repeatedly that he is willing to compromise on this. But the mood here is definitely get the deal done. And these major border concession that the White House has showed an openness to is really creating concern among the president's own allies. These are some of the most vexing political issues that this White House is having to navigate. And at the center of it is border policy. And on that front, the White House is willing to, for example, include an expulsion authority, that means expelling migrants without giving them the opportunity to seek asylum, raising the credible fear standard for asylum seekers, more deportations, expanding detention of immigrants. All of this has echoes to the Trump administration and it's put Democrats in a very delicate position where they're having to embrace or support policies that not long ago they were condemning and tying them directly to the former president.

[09:55:07]

Now, just yesterday, we heard from the Democratic senator, Chris Murphy, who has been a negotiator in these talks, and he signaled that there had been some progress. Take a listen.

Now, Murphy, in this quote says, "it's really helpful to have the White House and DHS in the room. We're not there yet, but we continue to head in the right direction and I think it's more reason for everybody to stay in town, get this done. No shock," he says, "this is hard. This is a real complicated set of law, but there's still no reason that we can't finish this by the time we wrap up for the year, and we should."

Now, that is pretty optimistic. This is still an ongoing negotiation and there are still points in the discussion that remain points of contention. That includes, for example, one authority that the White House has leaned on repeatedly, that's humanitarian parole, which allows some migrants to live in the U.S. So, clearly, a lot of work still to be done here. And those negotiations will continue today.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Priscilla Alvarez for us from the White House.

Sara.

SIDNER: Still ahead, a courtroom win for Donald Trump's legal team after a judge pushes pause on the federal election subversion case against him. What it could mean for that March trial date. We'll discuss ahead.

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