Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Ahead of Primary, Republican Contenders Intensify Their Activities in New Hampshire Today; Interview with NH Board of Commissioners Chair of Hillsborough County Toni Pappas; Biden Administration Will Address Border Issues with Mexican Authorities Today; Biden Admits Bombings Have Not Ceased Houthi Onslaught; Interview with Retired U.S. Army Major Mike Lyons; Cargo Plane Above Miami was Emitting Flames and Sparks; Cargo Plane Operated by Atlas Air Makes an Emergency Landing in Miami. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired January 19, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Donald Trump, obviously the overwhelming front runner right now on the Republican presidential campaign, but Nikki Haley running hard in New Hampshire. Why? Because of the presence of so many undeclared voters. Actually, undeclared voters think probably independents make up the largest share of voters there.

What Harry and I -- Harry Enten CNN Senior Data Reporter, want to talk about right now is how candidates who've run in this lane before, like Nikki Haley, have done. So, let's look back at 2016, Harry.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATE REPORTER: Yes, so if we look back at 2016, what do we see? Who is a candidate who ran like Nikki Haley back in 2016? Well, it was John Kasich, who came in second place, but a distant second place behind Donald Trump, got 16 percent of the vote.

Where did John Kasich run particularly well? Well, he ran quite well in what I would call the Connecticut River Valley. Right in here, right in around Hanover. That's, of course, Dartmouth College, where I, in fact, went to school. And what we see here is John Kasich easily won in Hanover with 42 percent of the vote. But the key nugget to see here, very few votes in Hanover. Look, he won there with just 688 votes. It's not good enough just to carry Hanover and therefore carry the state of New Hampshire.

BERMAN: All right. That was 2016 and 2012, a little bit of a similar story for Jon Huntsman. Remember him in the bright yellow?

ENTEN: Yes, exactly right. All right. Huntsman, this was his best state by far. In fact, he dropped out of the race after New Hampshire. He didn't come in second place. He came in third place with about 17 percent of the vote. But again, where do you see that Huntsman yellow on your screen? You see it here in Hanover. Again, very well educated, Hanover, New Hampshire. But look, he only got 531 votes there. It's simply put, not good enough to win the state. BERMAN: No, look, if you're going to run and win in New Hampshire, Manchester, the biggest city there, is where you got to be. You can see the votes there are in the thousands.

All right. Harry, we don't have similar data for 2000, but when people think about a candidate who appeals to independents, It's John McCain. People think about John McCain. John McCain won big in New Hampshire after barely competing in Iowa. And this is how he did among independents here. You can see it.

ENTEN: That's exactly right. He overwhelmingly won among independents. This is the type of margin that Nikki Haley is going to have to do among those undeclared or independent voters. And among Republicans, it was a very tight race. McCain barely won, but his large margin victory, this 19-point win, was because of how well he did among independents, and he ran strong throughout the entire state, not just in Hanover.

BERMAN: All right, one other thing I want to talk about, Harry, that's not about any candidate specifically, is about turnout, because I think it's a story that we haven't really told that much from Iowa, and I want to put up the New Hampshire turnout numbers as well to talk about what we're looking for here. What do we see in Iowa?

ENTEN: Yes, what we see is, historically, what we saw was that every single caucus, we saw the turnout going up from 84,000 to 120,000 in 2008, 122,000 in 2012, 187,000 in 2016, but look at that massive drop off in 2024, just 110,000, that's the lowest since basically the 2000. In New Hampshire, that's a similar trend, John, right?

BERMAN: Up, up, up, up. If it goes down in New Hampshire, look, we don't know if what happened in Iowa because of the freezing cold temperatures. Maybe it was, but if it wasn't, if we see a drop in New Hampshire as well. There might be something going on here, and that is something that we'll have to discuss going forward.

ENTEN: That's exactly right. Is there this lack of enthusiasm on the Republican side going into the fall? If we see a drop in turnout again, I'm not sure Republicans will necessarily like it.

BERMAN: All right, Harry Enten, thank you very much.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Great stuff, guys. Joining me now to talk more about all of this is Toni Pappas, the Chair of the Board of Commissioners for Hillsborough County, which includes Manchester, the state's largest city, and a longtime New Hampshire Politico.

Toni, thank you so much for giving us sometime today. You were an important backer of Chris Christie for President. Now that he is out, you are, you are now going to support Nikki Haley. What got you there? Was it an easy decision for you?

TONI PAPPAS, CHAIR OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS: No, it was a very difficult decision because I like Ambassador Haley but I don't agree with many of her policies. However, Governor Sununu's endorsement means a lot to me, and I have a great deal of respect for what he, thinks. And so therefore, I guess he was the major factor in my making a decision to support her.

BOLDUAN: That's interesting. You also told -- I saw that you told the "L.A. Times", I think it was last week, that Donald Trump -- you do not think Donald Trump is fit for office, and you didn't know if you would vote for him if he ends up being the party's nominee. Toni, talk to me about what you're struggling with here.

PAPPAS: I am struggling with -- I won't share my vote of course, but I am really concerned about his fitness to be president of the United States.

[10:35:00]

I've watched him for a long time. I lived in New York City for quite a while he was working, building his developments, and I have never particularly thought that he was a great leader. So, I'm extremely worried about his becoming our nominee. And so therefore, I'm supporting Nikki Haley. I think she has the strength and the stamina and she has a wonderful work ethic to go through the process and do the best she can to stop him from becoming our nominee.

BOLDUAN: My colleagues John and Harry were just kind of talking about some of the data that we know from New Hampshire primaries in the past and kind of the lane that Nikki Haley is trying -- is finding herself in. How tall is the task? Do you think -- from what you're hearing on the ground for Nikki Haley in New Hampshire, do you think she can pull off a win there from everyone you're talking to?

PAPPAS: I'm not sure if she can pull off a win, but I think she can come in very close to Trump in second place. You're absolutely right. She -- the independents are going to make the difference --

BOLDUAN: Oh, we might be having --

PAPPAS: Just for a note of people turning out for camp --

BOLDUAN: We're having a little bit of a connection issue, Toni.

PAPPAS: And so therefore, I think the momentum is built.

BOLDUAN: I'm so sorry, we're having a little bit of a connection issue. Let's try -- I want to try to get one more question and see if we can continue this. Guys, let me know if the connection breaks up again. One thing we have heard from Donald Trump, Toni, repeatedly is a false statement that Democrats are going to vote in New Hampshire's Republican primary. I want to play for you what he said about this just last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Democrats are allowed to vote, which they're going to vote for her because they don't want to run against me. They want to run against her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: New Hampshire law does not allow that. Independents, undeclared, they can pull whichever ballot they would like. And as you said, the undeclared, independents are going to be critical in this. But does it concern you when you hear that from Donald Trump? What do you think he's trying to do?

PAPPAS: I think he's trying to paint a picture that's false. The Democrats cannot vote for the Republican candidates. So -- that the filing period ended in October. Only Independents can pick a Democratic or a Republican ballot. So, she has to depend on the Republican and Independent votes, not the Democrats. And also, the Democrats are working very hard in New Hampshire to have write in votes for Biden, so that's going to play into all of this as well.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's -- four days left and there is so much that is going to happen between now and then. Toni Pappas, it's great to have you on. Thank you so much.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Still ahead, the Biden administration is touting a recent drop in migrants at the southern border. But the battle between the White House and the Texas Attorney General is only getting more tough. A live report from Eagle Pass on the showdown over the border. Our Rosa Flores and her team have been there for a very long time showing us what's going on. We'll have all of that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

SIDNER: Apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border are taking up again, now topping 4,000 people a day. That is up from earlier this month when it was 3,000 a day. But this is still a significant drop from mid-December when daily encounters were around 10,000 people per day. The Biden administration says that dip is due to enhanced enforcement in Mexico, something they say is a result of their continued conversation with Mexican authorities. And today, those talks will continue in Washington, D.C.

CNN's Rosa Flores, though, joins us now. Rosa, this is all happening as Texas authorities have repeatedly begun arresting migrants at a park in Eagle Pass, where you have been. Can you walk us through all this? And I see that you're in the back of what looks like a truck. Who are you with and what are you seeing?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, ride with me, Sara, as we show you the takeover by the state of Texas. Shelby Park is just behind me, but as we have been reporting, the state of Texas also took over about 2.5 miles of the Rio Grande, and this is the area that we're driving by. Now, you can see that there is new fencing that has gone up, and then you'll see several layers of razor wire before you see the Rio Grande. Now, despite all of these barriers, migrants are still crossing. You can see that there are, some items on the razor wire, sometimes clothes or other items that migrants use, to get through the razor wire. We were here earlier when a group of 10 migrants were arrested by Texas authorities.

Now, you can see that video, it includes men and women. And according to Texas authorities, only single men and women are being arrested, and families are being turned over to U.S. Border Patrol. But if you look around here, you don't see Border Patrol. And that's the point. You can see a Humvee over here from the Texas military department, but this gives you a sense of the takeover. You don't see Border Patrol.

[10:45:00]

Now, normally, what we would see on the border, we would see members of the U.S. Border Patrol because the international crossing, the international line between the U.S. and Mexico is in the middle of the -- of this river, in the middle of the Rio Grande. And as soon as migrants get on the U.S. side of the border, under U.S. law and policy, and normally, Sara, that would be Border Patrol enforcing immigration law. Well, here in this zone, you don't see that happening because Texas has taken over. Sara.

SIDNER: This is -- it's -- it is such a wild scene, not seeing Border Patrol in that area. And you've been showing us all of these pictures throughout when there was Border Patrol and now that it is just open, basically, with a few folks from Texas looking over it. And that battle, I'm assuming it's going to go on and on and on. Although the Supreme Court has oftentimes said this is a federal job. A job for the federal authorities. We will see how this all pans out. But pretty extraordinary pictures you're showing us now.

Rosa Flores, thank you to you and your team and you're very steady photographer taking you through the area there on the back of a pickup.

John.

BERMAN: It was a great reporting and a unique perspective.

So, this morning, new reaction to comments made by President Biden about the continued U.S. airstrikes on Houthi sites in Yemen. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are the airstrikes in Yemen working.

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, when you say working, are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Retired U.S. army major Mike Lyons is with me now. So, these airstrikes, the U.S. has been hitting sites all in Yemen. Different places where they say the Houthis are based. Are they working to stop them? President Biden said, no. Will they continue? Yes. What's your reaction to that?

MAJ. MIKE LYONS U.S. ARMY (RET.): I think the president's being brutally honest, and that's a lot to do with the fact that our response has been in response to what they've done. And so, it's not been escalated whatsoever. I think for us to restore any kind of deterrence to the air, we've got to go on an offensive campaign for the next 30 to 35 days. Make it very crystal clear that we're going to take as much military capability away from the Houthis.

BERMAN: Well, how do you do that? Look, when we talk about, has it stopped the Houthis? These are the attacks in November and December inside the Red Sea. You can see where the bottleneck is here. They have continued. How could you stop them from doing that?

LYONS: So, they have thousands of military weapons and capability, especially the anti-ship missiles. We're seeing them fighting tankers now. I mean, that is now -- you're going to potentially create disasters within the Red Seas that will last forever. 50 nations are being affected right now because of what's going on here.

Two things. Number one, you have to increase the level of attacks. They have to be constant, almost 24/7. Again, air campaign, number one. And then number two, to continue what we were doing by cutting off their resupply. We saw -- we lost two Navy SEALs last week in that mission. Weve done that -- we've done missions like that before also in the past, but we've got to cut off their capability to eventually resupply those military operations.

BERMAN: Again, if you look at Yemen here, you can see where the Houthis are in control over here for them to be resupplied. It largely needs to be done by sea, by Iran.

LYONS: That's right. It's all coming here from the Persian Gulf when -- and we've got naval forces in all these locations here. And if you do both of those things together, it might make an impact. But I still think it's going to take 30, 35, 40 days in order for this to happen. So, we should check back here then. But again, overall, the increase of airstrikes in order, call it a formal campaign. Make sure that we're telling the Houthis, we are not stopping until you stop.

BERMAN: You know, as someone who has served before when you hear a leader say what we're doing isn't working, but we're going to keep doing it. If you are serving right now in the Red Sea, how would that make you feel?

LYONS: Well, I think the commanders there are going back to the president and the Pentagon with different kinds of options. And likely one of those is to increase. This administration is kind of try to thread the needle with regard to what their relationship is with Iran, and they're not trying to escalate.

The bottom line is, Yemen's a very poor country. It's not -- it doesn't -- it's not a good look for the United States and Great Britain to be bombing and creating the kind of chaos within this country that is one of the poorest in the entire Middle East. So, I think they're trying to thread that needle to make sure that the strikes are precise and military related only.

BERMAN: Major Mike Lyons, great to have you. Thank you very much.

LYONS: Thanks.

BERMAN: Kate?

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, it was a wild scene in the skies over Miami. A cargo plane on fire, and its flames, the sparks you could see from the ground. The new details that are coming in now about what happened here. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. It's on fire. Oh, my God. Sorry. It's on fire. Mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That is a cargo plane flying over Miami. The engine malfunctioned about three minutes in, and it resulted in an emergency landing. But we're now learning new details about what really happened.

CNN's Pete Muntean has the details for us. Pete, tell us more. What are you picking up?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, the National Transportation Safety Board now investigating, and here is the new info from the Federal Aviation Administration. It says, an inspection was done after this successful emergency landing. Good job to the crew. FAA says, it found a softball sized hole above the number two engine, four engines on a Boeing 747. The number two engine is on the left wing closest to the fuselage.

An early clue as to what may have causes apparent engine fire and failure over Miami last night was as a bird strike or was that debris from the engine failure itself.

[10:55:00]

The video, taken about 10:40 last night in Miami's Kendall neighborhood. This is only about three minutes after this flight took off from Miami International. Flight still climbing out apparently at about 3,000 feet, which is pretty low. Once you don't listen now to the very calm radio transmissions from the flight crew to air traffic control in which they declared an emergency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayday, Mayday, Giant 095 Heavy, engine fire. Request vectors back to the airport. We have five souls onboard and we have about five hours of fuel onboard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Air traffic control told the crew to turn back to the south, made it a successful landing back on Runway 9 at Miami International. This flight, operated by Atlas Air, you may have never heard of them, it's a big cargo carrier, flies everywhere from Alaska to Africa to Asia. The most 747s of any airline in the world, about 10 percent of the total fleet still out there. The queen of the skies.

The airplane, only about eight years old. Built in 2015. Although, it seems like not likely a Boeing or airplane problem, even though Boeing says it is going to assist in this investigation. These engines were built by General Electric. Likely it will be a part of this NTSB investigation as well. Kate.

BOLDUAN: Fascinating. Five people on board. Five -- I think he said, five hours of fuel on that plane. And they made a successful emergency landing, and thank God for that. Pete, it's good to see you. Thank you.

Sara.

SIDNER: Terrifying.

All right. The top three Republican candidates are all over New Hampshire today, as you might imagine, fighting for every vote just four days out from the primary there. We'll look at where the candidates are trying to rally up last minute support in the Granite State. That is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]