Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Paul Offit is Interviewed about Kennedy Nomination; Oklahoma Schools May Require Proof of Citizenship; Migrants Repatriated to Guatemala; Netanyahu Could Visit White House; Champion for Disability Access. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 28, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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


[08:30:00]

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: On one side. And on this issue, they're on the side of us not pressuring Demark to sell us Greenland.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, I - does it - do I even need to ask? Has this changed over time?

ENTEN: Has this changed over time?

You know, I was interested to find out that, in fact, this question has been asked before. Has been asked before. You know, back in the mid '40s there was this idea that we should buy Greenland from Denmark. Back then -

BOLDUAN: Harry, asked before in 1947, I mean that's like -

ENTEN: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

BOLDUAN: Yes, I mean, it's not like -

ENTEN: I mean, look, but - but, again, what - what you're dealing with, a very different situation. And these are actually - you know, sometimes these numbers get flipped. This should be flipped.

BOLDUAN: Oh, a flipity flop action.

ENTEN: A little - a little flipity flop action.

BOLDUAN: A little flipity flop.

ENTEN: A little Flipity flop.

BOLDUAN: All right.

ENTEN: So, that's why we got the wall.

But the bottom line is -

BOLDUAN: The nos are above the yes'.

ENTEN: The nos are above the yes'. That's exactly right. The bottom line is this, we have always had a situation in which the noes held the majority on this question, but on this particular one, the noes even hold a larger one. It's 58 percent. No, this is - we get mathematical lessons on here, versus here it was 38 percent no. There we go. We're going to get it in right there. And so this is more unpopular than it's basically ever been, even back in the mid '40s as I become a science teacher here.

What time is it? It's about 8:30 in the morning here on the Eastern Time, so my school would be checking in just about now.

BOLDUAN: You know, the thing I said about thank you for making it simple and easy. I mean -

ENTEN: Sometimes it - sometimes - sometimes it happens.

BOLDUAN: What have we done here?

ENTEN: Well -

BOLDUAN: Let's go back here. Let's just keep it simple. Let's just stay right here for now.

ENTEN: Should - should we sell it? The answer is no, no, no.

BOLDUAN: OK. That's it. There we go. OK. Go. Thank you.

ENTEN: Goodbye.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, RFK Jr. set to face some tough questions from both sides of the aisle when his confirmation hearings begin tomorrow. Why his nomination to be the next Health and Human Services Secretary is now facing some bipartisan skepticism.

And a something of a milestone for families recovering from California's wildfire disaster. The big warning for people able to go back to their homes today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:36:36]

BOLDUAN: Tomorrow. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of President Trump's most controversial cabinet nominees, is going to be sitting before the Senate to begin confirmation hearings. He faces two confirmation hearings. Ahead of the hearings, more than 15,000 doctors have signed a letter urging senators to vote against confirming him, citing a gross lack of qualifications and calling him, quote, "actively dangerous."

Last month, more than 75 Nobel laureates urged against his appointment, saying in part this, "placing Mr. Kennedy in charge of the Department of HHS would put the public's health in jeopardy and undermine America's global leadership in the health sciences." Some Republicans in the Senate say now that they are looking for -

they have questions and they want public commitments from RFK Jr. on his position on vaccines and abortion. Here is what Louisiana Senator John Kennedy said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Well, I don't know what he - what all he said about vaccines. He's - he's kind of all over the map. And I'm hoping, and I expect - I mean Mr. Kennedy is - is - is not an unintelligent man. That's clear. I expect him to address all of these issues head on and tell us - tell the committee, and more importantly the American people, in front of God and country, what his position is on vaccines. I, you know, I've read a bunch of different positions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now is Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He's also a member of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee.

We've talked many times about your concerns about RFK Jr. And now this week he is going to face his confirmation hearing. They and - and this ask and desire from Republicans in the Senate that they are looking for public commitments from RFK Jr. on his positions like - I want to focus in on vaccines, before they can support him. What would getting a public commitment from RFK Jr. on vaccines do, Doctor? Would you trust it?

DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: No. He's told you who he is for the last 20 years. He has said again and again, he considers no vaccine to be of benefit. He has said again and again that he thinks the polio vaccine killed, in his words, many, many, many more children than it saved. He's told you that he doesn't think HIV is the cause of AIDS. He's told you he thinks that the Hepatitis B vaccine doesn't work. He - he - he is what he says he's been for the last 20 years. Why are they expecting that when he sits in front of them, he's going to be something different no matter what he says?

BOLDUAN: The reality is, and why this is very important is, well, for one, vaccine hesitancy amongst the public is a - is a real problem and it's growing. I'm going to show some poll numbers that have come in from Gallup over the course of time. And recently just showing, I mean, look, from 2001 to 2000 to 2000 - to 2000 - well, look at - look at from 2001 to 2024. Look at how it's highly important to vaccinate children. How that's dropped from 94 percent to 69 percent. And a bigger drop amongst Republicans.

And you can look at it from all different angles. And I know you know this because you deal with this every day. And it is a real and growing problem. How big of a problem is this, and what impact could a HHS secretary have on that entire concept?

[08:40:06] OFFIT: Well, it's already had an impact. You're right, the CDC has estimated that more parents are choosing not to vaccinate their kindergartners than ever before. As a consequence, if you look in 2023, we had roughly 5,600 cases of pertussis. The following year we had 32,000. Far more than anything we saw pre-pandemic. In 2023, we had about 50 cases of measles associated with three outbreaks in 2024. Last year we had 16 outbreaks associated with almost 300 cases. It's already starting to happen. All RFK Jr., with not only his famous name, but now a position at HHS is going to do is going to be what he's been doing for the last 20 years, which is further misrepresent vaccine safety and efficacy and our children will suffer that.

BOLDUAN: You and thousands of other doctors and scientists who have spent their lives and careers trying to protect children and create safe and effective vaccines have been raising alarm about RFK for quite some time. But I want to play for you what I just saw just yesterday on what Republican senators are likely hearing on Fox News, you - a channel that they will get their news from.

I want to play for you, this is a conversation yesterday, a doctor - with a doctor and prominent alternative medicine practitioner who's a very good friend of RFK Jr's.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MARK HYMAN, FUNCTION HEALTH CO-FOUNDER: I worked closely with RFK Jr. on this. And I - I know he's clearly in support of vaccines. He's been vaccinated himself. He's vaccinated all of his children. He's not anti-vaccine. He's simply asking for us to look at the data.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: I will reiterate, he has - RFK Jr. has said in the last year, there is no safe and effective vaccine. But that is what Republican lawmakers are hearing on a news outlet that they gravitate toward.

With that in mind, is there one question that you would ask a senator to consider or ask a senator to ask RFK Jr. in vetting him this week?

OFFIT: Yes. Here's the question I would ask. You have said that you think no vaccine is safe and effective. You have said that when you see a parent holding a child, when you're on a hiking trail or running path, that you go up to that parent and you say, don't vaccinate this child and you feel that you have saved that child, as you've said.

So, if you had children today, would you vaccinate them according to the routine CDC schedule? And if you would, then why have you been saying those things? And if you wouldn't, then which vaccines wouldn't you give and why?

BOLDUAN: What are people missing? What are people missing about this if it is - if - as it is so clear to you? Is it - is it just the politics of today? Is it the famous name when it comes to RFK? What is it?

OFFIT: I think you should read this book, "The Real Anthony Fauci," because he - between pages 285 and 291 you will find the unifying concept of why RFK Jr. says what he says. He doesn't believe in the germ theory. He says that. He doesn't believe that specific germs, like viruses or bacteria, cause specific diseases, and that the prevention or treatment of those viruses or bacteria can be life- saving. He doesn't believe that. So, if you don't believe that, then you can see why he wouldn't believe that any vaccine is safe and effective.

I mean this isn't just some alternative theory about infectious diseases. This is a man who, at some level, I think has lost touch with reality.

BOLDUAN: Dr. Paul Offit, thank you, as always, for coming in. I appreciate your time.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, happening soon, Oklahoma's board of education will vote on a measure that would require families to report their immigration status when enrolling their children in school.

CNN law enforcement correspondent Whitney Wild is with us on this.

Good morning, Whitney.

What's this all about?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the Oklahoma Board of Education proposal proponents say is more about data collection and it is not about immigration enforcement.

For example, here's a quote from this proposal. "Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit or inhibit any child from receiving the education they are entitled to receive."

The concern here, John, is that by requiring parents or legal guardians to provide proof of citizenship status, legal citizenship status, that that is going to have a massive chilling effect. And people who are highly skeptical that the intention of this is actually what's going to play out on the ground are very concerned that students are going to stop showing up to school.

Here's what some Oklahoma teachers said about this proposal earlier this month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot fathom what the purpose is for this, except to try and keep students out of school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In our classroom we don't ask, where are you from, to deter anyone from learning. We ask so we can figure out how to better serve each and every single student.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That, however, doesn't seem to be the intention of this proposed policy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that when Alabama passed legislation nearly identical to this rule that required schools to collect and report on student national origin, Hispanic enrollment plummeted and absenteeism surged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:45:12]

WILD: John, the proposal makes clear that the intention here is to collect this information and provide the data to the Oklahoma Board of Education without any personal identifying information. But even still, John, again, a lot of skepticism that that is actually what's going to happen. Especially heightened concern, John, when you consider the Trump administration has lifted a policy that effectively banned ICE from operating in schools. A lot changing here in the immigration space. A lot of concern here. And we will see where the Oklahoma Board of Education falls on this proposal later today, John.

BERMAN: All right, that happens today. We will be watching.

Whitney Wild, thank you very much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: More than 100 migrants from Guatemala are now back in their home country. They were on board a U.S. military plane that landed in Guatemala City just yesterday. One of the migrants now tells CNN that he had been living in the United States for nearly 19 years.

CNN's David Culver has exclusive new reporting from the tarmac when they arrived.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Stepping off a commercial charter and onto Guatemala City's military tarmac, 124 migrants deported for illegally entering the U.S., now back home. They processed past officials, including the country's vice president, and into a reception hall. Cookies and coffee await.

One by one they're called up to be officially documented. Now, that's a change from their status in the U.S.

CULVER: (Speaking in foreign language).

SARA TOT-BOTOZ, DEPORTED FROM U.S. TO GUATEMALA: (Speaking in foreign language).

CULVER: She lived ten years in the U.S., in Alabama. She did roofing, construction and car repair while in the U.S.

CULVER (voice over): Here we meet Sara Tot-Botoz. At 43, she says she carries a criminal record related to child endangerment.

CULVER: She was shopping at Walmart.

(Speaking in foreign language).

TOT-BOTOZ: (Speaking in foreign language).

CULVER: With her grandson. And she said he didn't have a car seat. And she was pulled over as she was leaving the Walmart by a police officer in Alabama.

CULVER (voice over): She went to jail for two months and was detained for five more months, she says, by immigration officials in Louisiana before being sent back here.

TOT-BOTOZ: (Speaking in foreign language).

CULVER (voice over): She's actually grateful, thanking God for being back.

CULVER: (Speaking in foreign language).

You want to go back to the U.S.?

TOT-BOTOZ: No. Yes, no.

CULVER: No.

TOT-BOTOZ: Yes, no.

CULVER (voice over): Sara, seemingly uncomfortable though speaking with us in what she's wearing. She's eager to get to her bag, which sits in a pile of plastic sacks and stapled shut. And as she heads into the bathroom to change, we meet Fidel Ambrocio.

CULVER: So how many years altogether did you live in the U.S.?

FIDEL AMBROCIO, DEPORTED FROM U.S. TO GUATEMALA: Almost 19 years.

CULVER: Nineteen years?

AMBROCIO: Yes. I'm scared, because now the Trump, they say, they have to go, you know, go with a criminal. But we're not a criminal, you know.

CULVER: But you have a trespassing conviction?

AMBROCIO: Yes.

CULVER: Are you going to try to stay here or do you think you'll go back?

AMBROCIO: I - I have to go back for sure.

CULVER: You'll find a way back? AMBROCIO: Yes.

CULVER (voice over): While Fidel walks freely here, others are pulled aside by Guatemalan police as soon as they arrive, accused of crimes not only in the U.S., but also here in their homeland. They require a lot of resources so as to reintegrate the returnees.

KARIN HERRERA, GUATEMALAN VICE PRESIDENT: (Speaking in foreign language).

CULVER (voice over): Guatemala's vice president tells me it's about the same number, though, that have been arriving in recent years under President Biden, though she says the use of U.S. military planes, which Guatemala is permitting, is new under President Trump.

Back in the reception hall we almost don't recognize Sara. She's changed into her indigenous wardrobe and feels more at home, now ready to step out.

TOT-BOTOZ: (Speaking in foreign language).

CULVER (voice over): And reunite with her daughter.

CULVER: Obviously, there's a lot of emotion in that moment between Sara and her daughter. And I asked both of them if they have any interest for Sara to go back to the U.S., or for her daughter to go for the first time. And they were adamant, they do not want to go.

And it seems that in many ways it tends to echo what the Trump administration is hoping to put out there, and their messaging from these deportations in part, and that is a deterrence factor to keep people from wanting to go into the U.S. in the first place.

However, then you meet others like Fidel, who said it doesn't stop him. He's going to try as many times as possible to get back to the U.S., be it legal or illegal.

David Culver, CNN, Guatemala City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: David, thank you so much for that reporting.

Coming up still for us, will stocks recover after they plummeted, all sparked by a Chinese AI company. What it is about DeepSeek that has even President Trump calling it a wakeup call.

And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be the first foreign leader to be visiting President Trump in this new term.

[08:50:05]

We've got new reporting on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BERMAN: All right, new this morning, sources tell CNN that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could visit the White House as soon as next week. He would be the first foreign leader to meet with President Trump since he was sworn in.

Let's get right to CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv.

Why would this trip be so important to Netanyahu? Why would he be eager to be the first?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no question that the Israeli prime minister has always valued a relationship with the U.S. president. It's been a cornerstone of kind of how he presents himself to the Israeli public, as the guy who can get what he needs out of the United States and maintain that important security relationship.

Today, though, the Israeli prime minister has even more incentives to get along with President Trump. First of all, there are the domestic political aspects.

[08:55:02]

His right-wing governing coalition has been a little bit more fragile lately following the resignation of the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, over going into this ceasefire agreement. He nearly faced another defection from the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich. And so a strong relationship with Trump certainly gives him bonafides with the right wing in Israeli politics.

And then, of course, there are foreign policy goals that the Israeli prime minister wants to achieve, such as perhaps carrying out strikes against Iran and trying to get the U.S.' green light to go after Iran's nuclear facilities in the future.

But President Trump is also going to be looking to gain something out of this meeting as well. And one of those aspects, of course, is questions over the future of this ceasefire agreement. We've heard President Trump, in the past, raising questions about whether or not the ceasefire agreement would actually be able to last past the six weeks of this initial first phase of this agreement.

We know that President Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is going to be in Israel this week, tomorrow, in fact, meeting with the Israeli prime minister, laying the groundwork for that potential visit, but also laying the groundwork for what comes next in the ceasefire agreement, which is on day 16 negotiations resuming between Israel and Hamas via the mediators about the future of this agreement and whether or not it can be extended beyond the six weeks to get the rest of the hostages out, and also to end the war in Gaza.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Jeremy Diamond for us in Tel Aviv.

Jeremy, thank you very much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, the new documentary, "Super/man: The Christopher Reeve Story," airs this Sunday on CNN. And it looks at the huge impact that Reeve had on so many lives after his spinal cord injury.

And CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores how his advocacy is still impacting lives today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): You're watching 18-year-old Brandon Simmons' first time back in public since last November. That's when a car accident left him with a C5 spinal cord injury.

BRANDON SIMMONS, SPINAL CORD INJURY PATIENT: I was excited to get out and meet because that was my first trip. But also I was kind of afraid because I didn't know how I was going to be, my first time being in a wheelchair out in public, and how people was going to look at me.

AVERY BLANKENBURG, RECREATION THERAPIST, SHEPHERD CENTER: Thats OK. You're allowed to have a bag.

SIMMONS: OK. OK.

BLANKENBURG: You just have to say it's medically necessary.

SIMMONS: Yes, ma'am.

GUPTA (voice over): But that is exactly why the Shepherd Center here in Atlanta uses outings like these to help people reintegrate back into daily life and navigate physical spaces in a new way.

BLANKENBURG: In public places there has to be an accessible entrance.

GUPTA: Today, he has the help of Avery Blankenburg, a recreation therapist.

BLANKENBURG: We get our patients out here in the aquarium specifically because, one, they have to navigate crowds. The more comfortable they can get out and about, then the more they'll likely do it at home.

This is an accessible mat so that wheelchair users can get up to the front.

SIMMONS: I was thinking like people were going to look at me different, but it's just -

BLANKENBURG: Yes.

SIMMONS: It feels the same.

GUPTA (voice over): But nearly 35 years ago, this would have been more challenging. SIMMONS: Look at that tail.

BLANKENBURG: I know.

GUPTA (voice over): Or even nearly impossible.

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT (July 26, 1990): I now lift my pen to sign this Americans with Disability Act.

GUPTA (voice over): But in 1990, the Americans with Disability Act, the ADA, set out to change that.

CHRISTOPHER REEVE, ACTOR: Everybody's looking for a hero.

GUPTA (voice over): And it would soon find a champion. A hero. Who, like Brandon, had to adapt to a new way of life.

REEVE: It must be honored everywhere. It is a civil rights law that is tearing down barriers, both in architecture and in attitude.

ALEXANDRA REEVE GIVENS, DAUGHTER OF CHRISTOPHER REEVE: We internalized it when we tried to go out with our dad to restaurants for dinner, and he couldn't get in the door because the restaurants hadn't adapted yet.

GUPTA (voice over): Alexandra Reeve is Christopher's daughter.

REEVE GIVENS: And our dad fought really hard to kind of put a human face on that and help people connect to it.

GUPTA: The Americans with Disability Act, I mean what is it today versus what was it intended to be?

REEVE GIVENS: I think the reality is the ADA is about a lot more than just the accessibility of buildings. What it really needs to continue being is people, when they're hiring folks for a job, or insurance companies when they're thinking about whether or not they're covering someone's physical therapy, there's so many different ways that these barriers manifest that end up holding people back unnecessarily just because others aren't necessarily thinking about how it's going to impact them.

GUPTA (voice over): But the impact for someone like Brandon is very real.

SIMMONS: My dad always told me, don't never say you can't do anything. You can always do something. It just may take time.

GUPTA (voice over): Doctor Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: That's an amazing human right there. Doctor Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much for bringing us that.

And you can tune in to the now Bafta nominated documentary "Super/man: The Christopher Reeve Story," airing Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

[09:00:06]