Return to Transcripts main page
CNN News Central
2024 U.S. Election Race; Candidates Making Their Last Iowa Speeches 2 Weeks Before The Caucuses; During His NYE Speech In Iowa, DeSantis Takes Shots At Trump And Haley; Promise Of A Historic Election Year As The Year 2024 Starts; Interview With Politico National Investigative Journalist Heidi Przybyla; Several Important Senate Contests And Possible Seat Flips; Third Drug Maker To Hold Insulin Prices At $35; Insulin Costs Maintained At $35 Per Month By Sanofi, Eli Lilly, And Novo Nordisk; Cities Throughout The World Welcome 2024; Today Marks The Beginning Of College Football Playoffs; 2024 Summer Olympics In Paris Builds Anticipation; Powerful 7.5 Earthquake Hits Japan, Triggers Tsunami Warnings. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired January 01, 2024 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:29:56]
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Speaking of the trail, Governor DeSantis, he joined his family last night for a New Year's Eve gathering, where he suggested to supporters he would aim to outwork his opponents in the closing days here. John, he's really employed this all in on Iowa strategy, leaning hard on the critical evangelical voters in the state and racking up key endorsements like that of Governor Kim Reynolds. She was with him last night as well.
He's also traveled to all of the state's 99 counties, but Governor DeSantis and the rest of the field, they still trail far behind front runner, Former President Donald Trump. Take a listen to what DeSantis's closing pitch to voters will sound like as we approach January 15th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, let's get it done. We have 2024 ahead of us. We hold the future in our hands. We have it within our power to put this country on a totally new trajectory.
Donald Trump is running on his issues. Nikki Haley is running on her donors' issues. I'm the only one running on your issues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKEND: Now, Vivek Ramaswamy campaigning in Iowa aggressively. Nikki Haley and Chris Christie return to New Hampshire this week, John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: All right, Eva McKend, following it all. Thank you so much. Happy New Year to you.
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: All right. Joining me now is CNN Senior Political Analyst and Senior Editor of "The Atlantic", Ron Brownstein, and National Investigative Journalist for "Politico", Heidi Przybyla. Good to see you both. Happy New Year, guys. Let's start with the Iowa caucuses.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST AND SENIOR EDITOR, THE ATLANTIC: Good morning. Happy New Year.
SOLOMON: Good morning. Iowa caucus is fast approaching now. Good time, January 1st, to look at the calendar. When you look at the political calendar, guys, it is packed, jam packed. Take a look. We can show it for you there. Followed closely after the Iowa caucuses, by the New Hampshire primaries. And it's all happening at the same time that Trump is facing deadlines, closing arguments in several of Trump's cases.
So, Ron, let me start with you. I mean, is this the point when voters start really paying closer attention to all of these events? What are you watching in January?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think, in January we're going to see who whether Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis can clearly eclipse the other to emerge as the principal challenger to Donald Trump. You have DeSantis who is betting heavily on Iowa. Haley, who is, you know, putting her chips on New Hampshire. Trump is way ahead of them in both.
The question is, after those first two contests, is one clearly seen as the principal alternative to the front runner? I think the odds are in favor that Haley will do better in New Hampshire than DeSantis does in Iowa, and then she will be seen, kind of, in that -- you know, in that number two position. And it is, Rahel, setting up South Carolina as it almost always has been in Republican primaries as the state in February that will tell us whether or not we have a serious race.
SOLOMON: Again, Heidi, do you share that assessment that either of these two candidates, whether it is DeSantis or Haley, really have to show a strong showing in the next two contests, or by South Carolina, this might be over?
HEIDI PRZYBYLA, NATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, "POLITICO": Yes, we have been talking about this as if it's a real race. But so far, we haven't seen evidence that there is anyone who's going to be able to steal this mantle from Trump. And we're going to see whether that happens, like Ron said, in Iowa for DeSantis and in New Hampshire for Nikki Haley.
Now, we have seen her gain some traction, but like Ron said, it's going to have to come down to South Carolina. And that is only if she shows that she's able to push aside some of these other competitors in New Hampshire. And she had a major stumble the other day, allowing Chris Christie, potentially, to stay strong in the running there in New Hampshire.
SOLOMON: Ron, let's turn to the Senate races. What states are you watching most closely? And what states do you think might really become, sort of, the tipping point here?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, you know, the big trend in the Senate is that it has become almost impossible for either side to win Senate seats in states that vote the other way, typically for president. In the last two presidential elections, we've had a grand total of one Senator win a Senate seat that voted for the other side of a president combined in 2020 and 2016.
So, the key, obviously, in 2024 is that Democrats have to break that trend in order to get back to 50 Senate seats. They have three states -- they have three Senate seats in states that voted for Trump in 2020. One of them, West Virginia, is probably gone -- almost certainly gone. The second one in Ohio is critical, but you can see a pathway to victory for Sherrod Brown in the -- Democrat Sherrod Brown in the results of these two abortion initiatives last year that showed improved Democratic strength in suburban areas around the state.
And that, to me, leaves Montana as the tipping point state. The third state, Jon Tester, where Democrats hold a Senate seat in a state that voted for Trump in 2020. I think Brown, Tester are both going to have to win for Democrats to get back to 50 and then their ability to have the majority would depend on whether they hold the White House but those are -- I think, those are the two key states above all.
[10:35:00]
SOLOMON: And Heidi, I know you share the assessment, especially with Montana, say more.
PRZYBYLA: Yes, with Manchin's decision, West Virginia is pretty much gone. So, you're already talking about 50 safe or likely seats for Republicans. Democrats are really on the offense here. They're defending about two thirds of the seats that are up this cycle. To me, the big question here for Democrats is -- for Republicans is can they keep these problematic candidates like in Montana from winning primaries. Can they keep some of these picks that might be more attractive in a primary but not in a general election from winning?
And there you look at Montana, that's the most unknown because you have a candidate there that the Republicans are really trying to clear the field for a Former U.S. Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy. But Matt Rosendale, who is one of the freedom caucus members who -- one of the eight members who voted to oust McCarthy, who's agitating to run. Look, Republicans are doing a better job than they did in 2022, trying to nudge out some of these candidates early but Rosendale is making clear just recently that that's not about to happen, and he may actually run.
So, Senator Daines, who does run the candidates arm of the party that tries to help candidates get elected is doing a much better job here. They're using a path to try and force Rosendale and send a message to him, hey, don't get this race. But in the end that that may not happen. And Senator Tester has three times defied the odds that Ron outlined here.
SOLOMON: Yes. All right. All eyes on Montana. Ron Brownstein, Heidi Przybyla. Thank you both.
BERMAN: All right. Starting today, more Americans will be able to get insulin for just $35. We have details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:40:00]
BERMAN: This new year will bring a little extra help for more Americans who need insulin for diabetes now capped at $35.
CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell here with me now with the details. Meg, this is good news for a lot of people.
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it definitely is. I mean, these are initiatives that the drug makers, Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, and Eli Lilly started introducing last year, capping the co- pays, basically the out-of-pocket costs for people who need insulin at $35. Now, you can do this through coupons or various mechanisms for the uninsured. It can be a little bit different, for people with commercial insurance. But basically, this is expected to be good news across the board. And more than 8 million people in the United States rely on insulin to live.
And according to the American Diabetes Association, a quarter of those people say that at one point in time, they have had to ration insulin because of how expensive it is. And that can have severe health consequences. In addition to the $35 cap on what patients have to pay out of pocket, the drug companies, starting today, have also dramatically reduced the actual list price of the medications by as much as 70 percent. So, that's the actual price of the medication before insurance kicked in. And the reason they are doing that is this very complex system essentially that's ending up saving them money because of the way they pay rebates back to Medicaid.
BERMAN: That is interesting. I mean, the companies will do fine here. You don't have to worry about the drug companies, but these changes could be life-changing for a lot of people.
TIRRELL: Yes, that's the hope. And this list price change is really the real dramatic thing just from a surprise in the way the drug industry works. And it's because the companies have raised the price of insulin so much over time. We have a graph we can show you here. This is from a congressional investigation actually --
BERMAN: Wow.
TIRRELL: -- showing you how those list prices have gone up over the decades. And because of that, they have had to pay bigger and bigger rebates back to Medicaid. Starting today, a change in the law would have actually made it so that they would be paying Medicaid for insulin if they hadn't reduced the prices. So, reducing those list prices is going to save them hundreds of millions of dollars a year. But what's really most important is that folks should be able to better afford their insulin.
BERMAN: All right. That is good news. Meg Tirrell, a happy new year to you.
TIRRELL: Thank you.
BERMAN: Thank you very much.
TIRRELL: Thanks.
SOLOMON: And 2024 is here and the world is buzzing with celebrations. Maybe you're just waking up this morning from your celebration. Right now, nearly 200 sanitation workers in New York City are tackling 100,000 pounds of post New Year's Eve litter and party favors and confetti, all left over by the thousands of people who gathered in Times Square for the iconic ball drop. Here's a look now at how people around the globe bring in the new year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Three, two, one. Woah.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: It's 2024 already in New Zealand, fireworks there at the Sky Tower lighting up Auckland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are right almost underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It really fills your heart to be here, to see the sky exploding in color. 2024 is off to a very, very good start.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in a foreign language).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, what I saw tonight here in Seoul, over the top. I'm almost speechless.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, it's not quite midnight here in Tokyo yet, but on these red lanterns, they have all these different New Year's resolutions that they have written. Things like good health, hope and happiness for the new year.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you cruise liner. Happy new year to you. Not only the biggest fireworks countdown show in Hong Kong, but the first such show to take place here in Hong Kong in five years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's together and everybody's got a smile on their face, and what a great way to start the year.
CROWD: (Speaking in a foreign language).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy New Year.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think I could feel the heat from the fireworks, they were, like, right on top of us. It was so unbelievably awesome and cool.
[10:45:00]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR: Because this is absolutely spectacular. That is the night sky over the United Arab Emirates. This is Dubai at two minutes past midnight. The Burj Khalifa. Fireworks there at the Sheikh Zayed Festival. Hoping to break four world records. There's no point in me competing with that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the Times Square of Tbilisi. Happy New Year.
CROWD: (Speaking in a foreign language).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy New Year. Kali Chronia from Athens everyone.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's impressive fireworks display going on just behind me there above the Arc de Triomphe. Tonight's fireworks display, there was a course about the Olympics that the French have been preparing for Paris. This was really about giving the world a little taste of the show that the French can put on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:00]
BERMAN: All right. I know what I'm doing this afternoon, and I bet a whole lot of you do as well. Number one, Michigan takes on number four Alabama. And who will the winner of that game play? It's all decided soon as the biggest college football bowls of the new year kick off later today -- the college football playoffs kick off later today.
CNN's Sports Analyst Christine Brennan joins us now. I got to say, this first game is what has all of our mouths watering, Christine.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST AND SPORTS COLUMNIST, USA TODAY: Absolutely, John. Happy New Year. And yes, it's the Rose Bowl. There are some traditions in college football and college sports that still exist. It is the Rose Bowl and it is Michigan. Obviously, traditional Big Ten school against Alabama, that's not so traditional, but this is the college football playoff. This is what everyone's been waiting for. This is the big game. Michigan is the number one ranked team.
And congratulations, Michigan, you get to play Alabama, Nick Saban with three weeks to prepare. This is going to be really tough for Michigan to finally overcome the hurdles of trying to win a national title in this format. Alabama has done it many times, and we will see if Michigan can hold it off. Michigan, of course, lots of controversy this year. As you know, John, the sign-stealing scandal. Jim Harbaugh suspended, he's back. Nick Saban against Jim Harbaugh, Michigan, Alabama. It doesn't get any better than that.
BERMAN: No. Big schools, big names, big matchup. I do have to say, sort of, the controversy that went away over the last few days was once undefeated Florida State, not looking like they have a real claim to the national title anymore.
BRENNAN: No, and this is the other story. The other part of the story in college football in particular, and that is the optouts, the players who understandably want to be careful and protect their status as future professionals, their draft status. They've got so much to lose, so much money to lose as they move into the professional ranks. And also, the transfer portal.
And so, you had Florida State with 14 players, 14 starters gone and 25 total players, some with injury, but others opting out. So basically, more than half of their starting lineup was missing from that game, and it was a 63 to three drubbing, Georgia over Florida State.
So, it was obviously going to be a question for a long time. That question has been answered. It's a shame, frankly. And the Georgia coach even, John, as you know, said this has got to be changed because when you have a depleted team like Florida State, that's not a real game and that's not a matchup that the fans and the -- and everyone deserves, and that's what we saw the other day.
BERMAN: Let's talk pro football for a moment here. There are a lot of big teams playing bad football as they head into the playoffs here, Christine. It's like a little bit of a comedy of errors.
BRENNAN: Well, it is, and the Philadelphia Eagles certainly come to mind, losing to the Cardinals yesterday. They are now in danger of not even winning their division, the NFC East. But then you've got the teams, John, that are playing well. Unfortunately, it's not your Patriots. You will need to get in a time machine for that for that going back a few years.
But when you look at Baltimore and the Ravens and Lamar Jackson taking all of those doubters and just showing them how great he can be, they beat the 49ers and put a potential Super Bowl matchup the other week or so ago and then come back and beat Miami so decisively. And Baltimore is the number one seed now in the AFC. And then San Francisco, of course I mentioned them, they're the number one seed in the NFC.
We've already got that set up. And there's a lot of questions yet about who's going to be playing well moving into the playoffs, as you said, but there is no doubt that the two top teams and the two teams that are looking really good for a potential Super Bowl matchup in about a month or so will be Baltimore and San Francisco.
BERMAN: I'm glad you gave them their due. And I'm sorry about your mention of the Philadelphia Eagles with my Philadelphia Eagles fan friend Rahel Salomon sitting right next to me. Very quickly, Christine, I know you're excited for the Paris Olympics.
BRENNAN: Oh, absolutely. I mean, consider this, John, as you know, they're coming up in July and August, and this will be the first Olympics since 2018 that we will not have COVID as the number one story. We had the Tokyo Games in 2020 postponed for a year till 2021. Obviously, that was a game that was locked down. And then the Beijing Winter Games in 2022, again, totally affected by COVID.
And this games, Paris, perfect spot for the Olympics to bust out and have games that we would expect. And Paris is ready. I've been there. I've seen it. And security will be a huge issue, but the athletes are gearing up and it's just a little bit more than six months away.
[10:55:00] BERMAN: I think you're going to have to go back to Paris many, many times between now and December, Christine, just to get ready to make sure you can cover the Olympics the right way. Great to have you on. Happy New Year.
BRENNAN: Happy New Year, John. Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right. Still ahead for us and coming up, a massive 7.5 earthquake rocks the western part of Japan overnight. Coming up, we're going to have the latest on the damage and tsunami warnings ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:00:00]
