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Haley Campaigns Ahead of Caucuses; Trump Sharpens Attacks on Haley; David Polyansky is Interviewed about the DeSantis Campaign. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired January 15, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:34]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, with John Berman here in New York as well. Welcome to our live coverage of the Iowa Republican caucuses. The first nominating contest of the 2024 presidential race. We're just hours away from the first votes tonight. Republican caucusgoers will report to their precincts and voice their support for their chosen candidate. The results of tonight's race could help shape the trajectory of the Republican race for the White House.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Over the weekend, the candidates crisscrossed Iowa, delivering their final pitches and urging caucusgoers to show up, despite what is shaping up to be the coldest caucus day in history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: : You can't sit home. If you're sick as a dog, you say, darling, I've got to make it. Even if you vote and then pass away, it's worth it, remember.

NIKKI HALEY (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you will join with us and caucus, if you will bring friends and family with you when you do it, I promise you, our best days are yet to come.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here in Iowa, you have the ability to change the trajectory of American politics.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would rather speak the truth and lose the election than to win by playing some fake game of political snakes and ladders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, a final poll from "The Des Moines Register" showed 48 percent of likely Republican caucusgoers name Donald Trump at their first choice. Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis battling it out for second and third place. BLITZER: And we have team coverage this morning with correspondents on

the ground in Iowa and our political analysts are all standing by.

I want to get right to CNN's Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. They're joining us live from Des Moines this morning.

Let's talk a little bit about what to expect, guys.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: What to expect, a lot of action. A lot of cold weather. A lot of icy roads. But, from the folks that I have been talking to since we've been on the ground, which is far fewer among of time than a lot of have been on the ground.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Correct.

BOLDUAN: But I was able to hit up a Nikki Haley event last night. And everyone there, they turned out in frigid temperatures.

SIDNER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: And they are motivated to caucus. So, Iowa knows cold, and Iowans can handle it.

SIDNER: Iowa knows cold. But this is unusual.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SIDNER: When you talk to people, even they say this is ridiculously cold, especially for the time of year that we're in. But people are motivated. And in talking to some of the younger folks that are here, they really want to try to get to as many events as possible to try to hear from the candidates.

But also, now it's caucus time. They understand that it's time to make their decisions and - and most people, most people, already know who they are going to caucus for. They're ready. They're in it. And they expect their candidate to do very well, even though some of the numbers don't say the same.

BOLDUAN: There - exactly.

I was surprised - I went - we saw in the - in the box there when we were introing all - some of the - showing some of the events, that I saw Nikki Haley in Adel (ph) last night. And I was surprised, she asked how many of you are hearing me for the first time in person? There was quite a number of people raising their hands to hear her for the first time.

SIDNER: Raising their hands, yes.

BOLDUAN: Take from that what you will, but they're turning out. They're very interested. And the most basic levels, the best part about today is the polls don't matter in the end. We finally get real data and real people voting.

SIDNER: Yes. We no longer have to talk about the polls. We can say, this is what actually happened.

And I do just want to -- want to ask a quick question to you, John. How did you end up there, where it's slightly warmer at negative 11 degrees without the windchill here?

BERMAN: Important management decisions.

I will say, it doesn't look as cold where you're sitting as I thought it might. You guys look fairly toasty.

BOLDUAN: No, it's not. We're - we are spoiled, spoiled, spoiled here in the Mars Cafe in Des Moines. We're so thankful we're indoors. We've got -- I still have heaters in my boots, and I have a heated vest sitting right off set, but -

SIDNER: You have a - oh, nice.

BOLDUAN: It is pretty nice.

But nice and cozy where we are for now.

BLITZER: All right, guys, it's chilly outside in New York as well. I've got to just report that. I walked over. It was - I was pretty cold.

SIDNER: OK, Wolf.

BLITZER: But it's nice and warm here inside this beautiful studio.

Guys, stand by. I want to bring in CNN's Eva McKend. She's in Iowa for us right now as well.

Eva, so you've been on the ground. You've been talking to these candidates. You've been talking to all their advisers. Give us a sense of what we should expect from the candidates today.

[09:05:04]

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, at this minute they are still crisscrossing the state, not even wasting an hour, still appealing to Iowans, leaning on them to get out and caucus tonight. That's because they lost some ground last week. Two winter storms and the bitterly cold temperatures forced some of the candidates to scale back their events.

Nikki Haley telling Iowans that they have the opportunity to set the tone for the country. Governor DeSantis expressing confidence in his extensive ground operations that he has on the ground here and doing all that he can to turn out caucusgoers.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, he's telling his folks not to take anything for granted. That though he is way up in the polls, that they still need to turn out despite these bitterly cold temperatures.

Meanwhile, in the last few hours, we've seen several key endorsements roll in, or I should say notable endorsements. Marco Rubio, who we all know was at the brunt of relentless taunting from former President Donald Trump in 2016, he actually endorsed Trump this time around instead of Haley, who endorsed him when he was running in 2016.

And then the former Maryland governor, Larry Hogan, who has become a notable anti-Trumper, he gave his endorsement for Nikki Haley.

Here are how Haley and DeSantis are responding to those endorsements.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't care as much about elected officials endorsing as much as I care about the voters' endorsements.

Look, if anybody wants to, we'll take it, but it's not something I seek. It's not something I fight for.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do know elected officials who encourage me to run and say they're going to vote for me in a primary but yet have endorsed Donald Trump. That's just the reality of the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And it looks like Haley is at Drake Diner now. That's a popular spot here in Des Moines. Getting in that crucial face time in the final hours here.

I have to tell you, Wolf, the Iowans that I have been speaking with, they still feel super motivated to come out. Someone telling me that they've been caucusing since the '80s and that this bitter weather is not going to stop them.

Wolf.

BLITZER: We will find out in the next several hours.

Eva McKend, in Iowa, stay warm over there. Thank you very, very much.

Nikki Haley's campaign has been gaining momentum in the GOP primary race. Trump and his campaign have definitely taken notice and they're sharpening their attacks on Haley.

CNN's Alayna Treene is also joining us from Des Moines right now.

Update our viewers on this part of the story, Alayna.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Yes, well, Wolf, I think it's pretty remarkable to see how much Donald Trump has ramped up his attacks on Nikki Haley in recent weeks. I can tell you, as someone who has gone to many of Donald Trump's rallies, the language that he's been using in recent days, some of the most intense attacks we've heard him give about Haley that I've seen on the campaign so far.

And, look, one of those key messages that he made to Iowa voters yesterday in Indianola, Iowa, was that he needs them to turn out for him in a big way in order to send a message to New Hampshire. And I think that, as well as coupled with Donald Trump's teams plans of ramping up their aggressive campaign schedule and campaign stops into New Hampshire next week over the - this week and then looking ahead to the primary next week. I think it really does show how much they see her as a perceived threat.

And I want you to take a listen to some of the attacks that Donald Trump put on Nikki Haley yesterday. He argued that she's not tough enough to be president and also tried to paint her as being in the pocket of Democratic donors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's not right to be president. I know it very well. Wrong -- the wrong thought process. The wrong policy. And, honestly, she's not tough enough. She's not tough enough.

We're dealing with people that are on their game at a level that you've never seen. President Xi of China, Putin.

NIKKI HALEY (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's saying this because now he knows he's in trouble. Now he knows this is becoming a two- person race. So, I know that what - that he knows the truth. It doesn't bother me at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, as you can see there, Wolf, Haley saying that she welcomes these attacks and that she sees them as a sign of her doing well.

And I can tell you as well from my conversations with Donald Trump's advisers, they have been very closely watching Nikki Haley rise in the polls and gain momentum, not just here in Iowa, but specifically in New Hampshire. Now, that's also why you're seeing them spend a ton of money attacking Nikki Haley in ads in New Hampshire. And I'd say, for comparison, they are spending no money going after Ron DeSantis in New Hampshire. And, again, I think that just underscores the threat that they see Nikki - that Nikki Haley poses.

And just one other quick thing I want to add, Wolf, is about the conditions here in Iowa today. From my conversations with Donald Trump's team, they are very concerned about potential turnout. And one of the big things they're trying to do in Iowa is really have as many caucusgoers turn out for him and have him win by a big enough lead so that he can really carry that through the rest of the primary season.

[09:10:03]

BLITZER: Yes, there's no doubt that the - the Trump team, they're worried that all these polls show him way ahead. So many of their supporters might not necessarily decide to go outside and go - go to the caucuses, saying it's not going to make much of a difference. But they want them - they want them all to show up because they think it could make potentially a huge difference.

Alayna, thank you very much. We'll stay in close touch with you.

Want to go back to CNN's John Berman right now. He's joining us from the magic wall.

BERMAN: Yes, Wolf, this is what the Iowa caucuses look like at 9:10 a.m. Eastern Time. Not a single vote has been cast yet. Remember, this is a - these are caucuses. Not primaries. There will be no votes cast until after 7:00 p.m. Central Time, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. This will start to fill in at about 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. And, by the way, if you're looking over here, you may not see Asa Hutchinson here for very deep into the night. They're listed alphabetically, the candidates are right now, until votes are actually cast.

Obviously, what everyone is looking for right now is the final outcome. People talking about "The Des Moines Register" poll which showed Donald Trump at 48 percent. This would be an historic margin of victory. Both 48 percent, the top line number and the margin. The highest that anyone has ever had in a caucus, a competitive caucus, George W. Bush, 41 percent in 2000. The greatest margin was Bob Dole in 1988, who edged out Pat Robertson by about 12 percent.

Now, one thing you will note is, one thing that George W. Bush in 2000 and Bob Dole in 1988 both have in common, neither went on to win New Hampshire. Bob Dole didn't even win the nomination in 1988.

One other thing I'm going to be looking for tonight is the turnout. Record caucus turnout was in 2016 for the Republicans. It was about 187,000. Now, Republicans had been hoping to get north of 200,000 tonight. That was before the weather forecast. They thought they could achieve that pretty easily because so many more people had registered as Republicans. But now, because of this forecast with some of these temperatures, you're looking at temperatures of minus 14 in Sioux City, minus 14 in Des Moines. Low, low temperatures. It could depress the turnout. But if it's a lot lower than 187,000, you might hear people start talking about enthusiasm issues with the Republican Party. Maybe it would not be there.

Now, what should you look for in terms of Ron DeSantis, for instance. How does he want to - to do well to outperform in the battle for second place? It would be among evangelical voters largely in the northwest here. Other regions. The darker the county, the higher percentage of evangelical voters.

A very different map to Nikki Haley. She would like to appeal to independents and moderates. Where are they? Well, look at the 2020 presidential election. Ninety-nine counties in Iowa. Joe Biden won six of them. These are the counties where Nikki Haley might have the most fertile ground to mind. They include Polk County, where Des Moines is, Story County, where the Iowa State University is, also other college towns here.

This is what to look for, Wolf, as the night goes on.

BLITZER: And we'll be looking together with you. You'll be busy over there at the magic wall.

Thank you very much.

Still to come, we're following all the final pitches by Republican candidates in this first big event of the Republican race for the White House. Ron DeSantis' showing in Iowa potentially could be a turning point in this campaign. His deputy campaign manager will join us. That's coming up next.

And it's not just Iowa. Dangerously cold temperatures are stretching across much of the eastern and central U.S. right now. Several cold records being broken today. Who should be on high alert? We'll update you.

And there's more breaking news into CNN this hour. Two attacks in central Israel. At least one person kill, 12 more injured. We'll bring you the latest from Israel. That's coming up this hour.

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[09:18:12]

BOLDUAN: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is counting on his robust ground operation to make the difference tonight for him in terms of turnout, of course, in this first nominating contest of the entire cycle. Now, last night, and this morning, Ron DeSantis is urging his supporters to brave the temperatures and show up tonight.

And Iowa is hugely important for Ron DeSantis. He has gone all in on Iowa, visiting all 99 counties in the state to show that dedication. In some of his final message to Iowans, DeSantis said that he's the only candidate who can possibly compete, as he puts it, against Donald Trump. And he also expressed confidence he'll beat Nikki Haley here.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to do very well. Fact of the matter is, I'm the only one that could possibly compete with Donald Trump in a Republican primary. She cannot win conservative or poor voters, Republicans. She's trying to win, you know, people in the other party, which is fine in a general, but you've got to be able to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining us now, the deputy campaign manager for the DeSantis campaign, David Polyansky.

It's good to see you, David.

It's the big day. How are you guys feeling?

DAVID POLYANSKY, DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER, DESANTIS CAMPAIGN: Good morning, Kate. We feel great. While it might be minus 12 degrees outside, inside headquarters here it's pretty warm because we've got volunteers, not just from Iowa, but even folks that have flown up from Florida to be here today to make the final push, GOTV calls, and get our supporters out. So, we're excited. We're ready to go. Everybody's having fun and we're ready to push through tonight and into tomorrow into South Carolina and then on to New Hampshire.

BOLDUAN: What is your best estimate of overall turnout for tonight?

POLYANSKY: It's - it's a great question. There's a lot of data floating around, including our own.

[09:20:02]

But the fact of the matter is, I think it's going to be tough to gage that until people show up tonight. It's been - you know, there are a lot of communities still where weather conditions even - you know, not just temperatures, but, you know, icy and slick roads in remote parts of the state. So, we're just going to have to see. Hopefully people are safe. But, at the same time, we hope as many Iowans as possible can get out and participate tonight.

BOLDUAN: Do you think it reach anywhere near the record of around 186,000 in 2016?

POLYANSKY: It's - you know, it's - it's hard to say. I think we all came into this cycle assuming it would. In fact, you know, we hit early on, thought it might even exceed 200,000. But, you know, given the conditions, given the environment, it's just really hard to gauge.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

And with your really robust ground operation, that may work in your all favor, though, of course, you know, no one's counting -- no one's counting - counting any votes until you get everybody out to make it happen tonight.

But the fact of the matter is, your campaign, the governor, you've really left it all on the field here in Iowa, from the 99-county tour, to the strong pursuit of evangelicals, the big endorsements from Governor Reynolds, Bob Vander Plaats. With all of that, David, why does that not appear to have dented Donald Trump's support here in Iowa throughout the last five months?

POLYANSKY: Well, I think it has, to be honest. Again, the math shows there's only one candidate that can compete with Donald Trump for the nomination, and that is Ron DeSantis. That's why $46 million has been dropped on - against Ron DeSantis in false negative ads, most of that here in Iowa, both from Nikki Haley and Donald Trump. And, you know, and I think we are running to beat Donald Trump for the nomination. And we're trying to go right through him and directly at him, while Nikki Haley goes on the outside and, in fact, has spent most of her money, over $25 million in this state, attacking Ron DeSantis.

So, we've taken incoming form both sides, but we're excited nonetheless to see where we are at tonight. To rely on our ground game and our organization here.

But what I'd say is, this is our culture. This is the candidate's culture. It is to outwork and outorganize the competition. You've seen that because Iowa's first on the calendar. But it won't end there. When we go to New Hampshire tomorrow night on your network and participate in a town hall, we're talking about a state where we have 63 state legislatures who have endorsed Ron DeSantis, which is actually ten more than Donald Trump. And I don't think Nikki Haley but has maybe a handful.

And when we go to South Carolina first and do our stop there tomorrow morning and take the fight to Nikki Haley on our home turf, in a state that she has to win, we've got exponentially more endorsements and support in ground troops, you know, than the former governor herself in her home state. This is just culturally who we are. We outwork, we out organize the competition. And to beat Donald Trump for the nomination, that's what is going to be required. Not just in Iowa, not just in South Carolina, and not just in New Hampshire, but into March and beyond.

BOLDUAN: Well, let's see if those endorsements pay dividends starting here tonight in Iowa.

Republican megadonor, supporter of the governor, Hal Lambert, he told "Politico" in a new piece out today that he has absolutely no complaints about how Ron DeSantis has run his campaign here, but that anything less than second here in Iowa would be grim. Here's the quote, "I'll be frank, I would say third place is not good."

Do you agree?

POLYANSKY: All I can say is, tonight we're excited, and I use that term with a lot of emotion, to be boarding the plane tonight, flying overnight and land in Greenville, South Carolina, in the morning, and to drive this campaign forward. And - and later tonight -- tomorrow night to join you and your network in New Hampshire.

And what I'd say is, this is a heavyweight battle. To beat Donald Trump, you're not going to beat him in one swing. You're not going to beat him in one round. You've got to be built both culturally and organizationally for the long haul. The only way to do that is to be able to take the punches and throw them when you're given the opportunity. And for a campaign where the mainstream media and, you know, the establishment political class in Washington has written, you know, several rounds of primordium (ph) on it, we're pretty loose, we're pretty free, and we're going to swing aggressively starting not just tonight, but into tomorrow and in the weeks and months ahead. We're ready to go.

BOLDUAN: David, do you have the cash on hand to run the campaign and organization in New Hampshire and South Carolina like you have as robust a one as you have in Iowa?

POLYANSKY: We do. And - and that's why we're getting on a plane tonight and - and heading to South Carolina, and then on to New Hampshire. We know what we need to do. But we also understand what Nikki Haley needs to do.

[09:25:03]

She's - she's been the biggest spender in Iowa. Tens of millions of dollars. Approaching $30 million in the state. Tonight, Nikki Haley will be the biggest spender in Iowa. I just want to repeat that. And then she's got to go to New Hampshire and exceed her lofty expectations.

But, most importantly, she's got to then go to her home state, because she's bypassing Nevada, where she's not even competing for delegates, and she's got to go to her home state and win it. And, you know what, she's not, Kate. She's going to lose significantly in her home state. And the next day she's going to be forced to drop out of this race. And we will end up where we've said we'd be all along, a two-person race between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis on February 25th. And it will be go time.

BOLDUAN: A long road before any of that, starting all here tonight in Iowa.

David, thank you so much for coming on, deputy campaign manager for Ron DeSantis. Very clearly very focused on Donald Trump, but also today very focused on taking it to Nikki Haley.

Back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Very significant indeed. Thanks very much, Kate.

Coming up for all of us, we're live in Iowa at the Mars Cafe in Des Moines. The windchill in Des Moines right now, by the way, is a negative 30. Let me repeat that, negative 30. But the weather is a big deal for beyond Iowa. This is a live look right now from the Nashville area. We're tracking who else should be on alert right now.

And the caucuses, like any election, driven by which candidate can rally the greatest turnout. Which groups could propel Nikki Haley and which caucusgoers are a long show (ph). Much more of our special coverage coming up.

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