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Gabbard: "My Presence Was Requested By The President; Job Openings Hit Lowest Level Since September 2020; Bad Bunny Speaks About His Super Bowl Halftime Performance; The Trump Administration Is Putting Their Focus On The Wrong Issues, The Issues That Are Not Important In The American Public. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired February 06, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Did from her home outside of Tucson, Arizona. Her son, Camron, posting this message to her captor or captors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMRON GUTHRIE, SON OF NANCY GUTHRIE: Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward.

But first, we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: We're also learning more about that ransom note sent to media outlets, including the one that was sent to TMZ, founder Harvey Levin shared with CNN.

And several key details about the letter that they received. He spoke with our Erin Burnett.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Was there anything about how it came in or anything about it, this -- this letter, this ransom letter that was unusual to you?

HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ FOUNDER: It -- it felt like somebody means business. I mean, when you read it, it's very detailed.

This person thought through, I believe. Again, if it's legit, this person thought through, the markers of -- showing that it's real. The Bitcoin address, we checked immediately and it's a real address.

They do mention an Apple Watch, as the FBI said, and they do mention the floodlight, the damaged floodlight. There is something else and it is the placement of the Apple Watch, which has not come out.

And if that placement is accurate, I'm sure that is something that puts this letter on the FBI's radar.

The letter says, you will have no way of contacting me. This is the only contact. So, that's why they're pleading for proof of life. That's why they are begging because they have no idea how to get in touch with this person.

BURNETT: If this letter is legitimate, and I'll -- you know, I know we're going to keep saying that's important to say it. But if so, it means that the sender is doing exactly what they said they were going to do. They sent the letter and that's it.

LEVIN: They began the letter. And I -- I don't think I'm giving anything away here. They began the letter by saying that -- that Nancy is -- is OK but scared. So they say she is OK. And also that she's aware of the letter and the demands.

My sense is this is -- whoever sent this letter is based in the Tucson area. And I say that because of a reference made in the letter, a sentence in the letter, it feels to me reading it that this is Tucson based.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Wow. So many details in that. So many disturbing details. The FBI says, one of the notes mentions two different deadlines. The first one, by the way, passed at five o'clock yesterday evening. The second one is this Monday.

Levin says that Monday deadline is the -- in the note as, quote, far more consequential. CNN has not verified the authenticity -- authenticity, of course, of those notes and the note that Harvey was speaking of.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. This morning, the Trump administration is struggling to answer a question that's not that complicated and shouldn't be hard to answer, who sent the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, to Georgia, when the FBI seized voting records from 2020?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She's working very hard on trying to keep the election safe and she's done a very good job.

TODD BLANCE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: The fact that she was present in Atlanta that day, you know, is -- is -- is there something that shouldn't surprise anybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know why the director was there. She is not part of the grand jury investigation.

TRUMP: I'm not involved in it, but they are inspecting and checking the ballot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is Tulsi Gabbard there?

TRUMP: I don't know.

Why is she doing it? Because Pam wanted it to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So according to Gabbard, the order came from the president. She wrote a letter to Congress saying, quote, "My presence was requested by the president."

Just last night, a spokesperson for Gabbard, though, hedged that a little bit, telling CNN it was both the president and Pam Bondi who asked her to be there saying, quote, two things can be true at the same time.

BERMAN: With us now, Congressman Mike Haridopolos, a Republican from Florida.

It really is interesting. The president was asked directly who sent her, he said, I don't know. Tulsi Gabbard said the president sent me. Then the president changed and said, Pam Bondi sent her.

Why do you think it's so hard to get the story straight?

REP. MIKE HARIDOPOLOS (R-FL): Well, it's again, I think the story you're pushing is much to do about nothing.

What we're focused on is, you know, John, is the SAVE Act. We simply want to change the law, which I think your own polling shows that everybody wants photo I.D.

BERMAN: Yes.

HARIDOPOLOS: Whether it be 2016 or 2020, people are worried about the campaigns. They want to make sure that your vote, my vote counts, one person, one vote. And as a history teacher, that is our basis.

BERMAN: First of all, if you're a history teacher, thank you for that. I think it's the best job in the world.

[08:35:02]

Second of all, that's not what our -- our polling wasn't on the SAVE Act. Our polling was on voter I.D. Showing an I.D. when you go up, show up to vote.

The SAVE Act actually requires a passport or a birth certificate when you register to vote. It's a much higher standard. And I haven't seen any polling on that.

But back to my original question, I do think it matters. If the president says he doesn't know why Tulsi Gabbard was there and Tulsi Gabbard says that he sent her. Do you think he forgot?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I think what you're just kind of engaging is he said she said. I don't really care about that kind of situation. What I do focus on, as you talked about earlier is, let's make sure that our elections are legitimate. And it's the reason why people want photo I.D. It's the reason why we're pushing for it.

I'm not sure how this will play out. But as you and I have been talking about for weeks now, we want to get the government open and then work out on these budget issues because we are seeing a nice little comeback with our economy, but the last time we need is a government shutdown.

BERMAN: Congressman, just before I move on, can you at least agree that the stories are different? What -- what Tulsi Gabbard said, what President Trump said.

I mean, President Trump's own accounts are different here. Will you at least agree there's a discrepancy here?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, this is the first I've heard of this story. I don't follow this one as close --

BERMAN: OK.

HARIDOPOLOS: -- as CNN does.

But what you presented to us, it sounds like an issue where let's clear it up and move on to issues that people really care about.

BERMAN: You talked about the -- the possibility of Homeland Security not being funded again as soon as seven days from now.

And the idea of coming together, what areas could you agree with on Democrats? I'm sure you've seen their listed demands. I'm sure you don't agree with all 10 of them. But what reforms are you willing to accept for in these immigration actions on the ground?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, first of all, look, I -- I think we all agree that there's chaos in Minneapolis. And it's easily solved if the local law enforcement would just assist with the ICE agents getting rid of violent or sexual offenders.

That said, one of the things that I do agree on is -- is making sure we have body cameras. I think that's a good idea. It will show the true situation in Minneapolis.

But this is about the only place in the country where you're running in these kind of problems. And this is why we -- I'm so glad that Tom Homan went up there. You've seen the number of people engaged with ICE has gone down by, I think, at 700. That's a good sign. It means hopefully both sides are finally working together to get the bad guys off the streets.

BERMAN: You said you're glad Tom Homan went up there. Does that indicate you didn't think it was being handled well before he got there?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I think Tom Homan is a professional. You've seen of course that not only this President Trump trust him, but before that, President Obama trusted him.

And sometimes when in any negotiation, sometimes bringing in a different face brings a new opportunity. And it seems like there's more cooperation in Minneapolis.

But let's be clear, the real issue here is that all they need to do is allow these bad people to get off the streets. These people were arrested. They're let back out on the streets. Now, these ICE agents have to go in a very precarious situation.

And as my dad is a former law enforcement officer, anytime you walk into a domestic situation like that, it's very challenging. You can only imagine a protester are there on top of it. I hope it can get better.

But I think body cameras are one thing. The other thing, of course, would be, let's get more training for these ICE officers. They're in a tough spot. And we want to make sure they have all the skills necessary. Because they got -- they got wives and husbands, kids, they want to make sure they're safe as well.

BERMAN: I'm sure that is an area where you could get agreement across the aisle on more training.

Congressman, I want to ask you about a video that President Trump posted on Truth Social overnight. He's got millions of followers there.

The video was about voter I.D. and election reform. But at the end, and I don't know if you can see this, it included a brief image of the Obama's, an overtly racist image of the former first lady and the president as apes here.

Now, was at the end of the video? I don't know for sure whether the president saw it.

But is this the type of message a president of the United States, under any circumstance, should be sending out to millions of people?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I've not seen that video till you just showed it to me.

But what I've tried to do and I've tried to do it on your show today --

BERMAN: OK.

HARIDOPOLOS: -- the number one thing that we need to do is elevate the conversation. I want to have more transparency in the government.

It's the reason -- even though I'm a conservative, I come on CNN. Let's have a -- a thoughtful discussion about how we move forward in reforming our election systems. We have challenges overseas in Iran.

And I -- I hope we can elevate our debate in general in America because what I saw recently this week in my own financial services committee, were Democrats yelling at our own secretary of the treasury because they're worried about losing a primary campaign.

BERMAN: But and again, on -- in the theme of elevating the discussion, and I know you weren't aware of that video. I don't think you were before we just showed it to you, but should it remain on Truth Social? Is that the kind of thing in -- in the spirit of elevation you would like to see the president take down?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I'll take a look at it right after our show. You kind of threw it at me right here.

BERMAN: Yes.

HARIDOPOLOS: But I -- it's something, again, I -- what -- all I can control is what I can control. That's my mom and dad taught me. And what I try to do is elevate the conversation.

[08:40:07]

We had a great hearing, for example, this week with NASA, bipartisan support, making sure we're winning the space race.

I'm proud to be on that committee led by Dr. Babin and -- and making sure that we are number one in space.

And we could have bipartisan cooperation on DHS, as well as you mentioned, with body cameras and more training. After all, we put it in the budget, in the House already this year.

BERMAN: Yes. I know -- I know you represent a great deal of space. Those two things I care about a lot, the space race and also history. Come back on. We'll talk about history class.

Congressman Mike Haridopolos, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

All right. New this morning. Just a short time ago, Lindsey Vonn had a test run. This is the first time she's had this test run since the complete rupture of her ACL. How did it go? What have we learned over the last few minutes about whether she will be able to compete in the Olympics?

Bad Bunny says, you do not need to learn Spanish. You just need to learn to dance, ahead of his Super Bowl halftime show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:42]

SIDNER: In an interview this week, President Trump was challenged on his assertion that he was, quote, starting to get great polls on the economy. He then backtracked, saying, the polling should be great.

So, what are the polls saying?

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten joining me now.

Where do Americans think the economy is going right now?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes. Here is the reality check for everyone. And I would just say, this, this is the problem for the president of the United States. You get elected to fix the economy and the American people, they ain't buying it because just take a look here.

Say the economy is getting worse. Right after Donald Trump was elected back in 2024, reelected, 42 percent of Americans said the economy is getting worse. Well, you want that number to go down. You want that number to go down if you're the president of the United States.

Instead, it's going up. What are we talking about? Now, 55 percent of Americans say that the economy is getting worse. I don't know how you win when the majority of Americans say the economy is getting worse because you go back through the record books. And that is a formula that equals failure.

SIDNER: And what do Americans want Trump to focus on the most?

ENTEN: Yes. This, I think, is the whole kit and caboodle, right? Much of the news stories, over the month of January, were focused in Minneapolis, focusing in on controlling immigration and reducing crime. Those are two things that the President of the United States and his administration has been arguing about.

But where do the American folks say that Trump should be focused? Say their top priority should be lowering prices, 54 percent, the clear measure. We have looked at poll after poll after poll after poll after poll.

I'm exhausting myself just talking about it. And every single poll say that their top priority should be lowering prices or the economy. And it is still the case, much lower down, controlling immigration at 22 percent, even lower than that, reducing crime at 10 percent. You add together 22 and 10, you get to 32. And you don't have to be a mathematical genius to know that 54 is larger than 32.

The Trump administration is putting their focus on the wrong issues, the issues that are not most important in the American public. And when you are focusing on the wrong issues, and the vast majority of Americans or the clear majority of Americans say that the economy is getting worse, again, this is x plus y equals failure. Failure, failure, failure going into the midterm elections because Donald Trump was elected to fix the economy, and it's still believing the American people that lowering prices should be the top, and at this point, 55 percent say the economy is getting worse.

SIDNER: So I guess the question, as we get closer and closer to the midterms, which party do people trust knowing how they feel about how Donald Trump has handled things when it comes to the economy?

ENTEN: Right. The economy, right? Affordability, you know, Donald Trump has been dismissing affordability concerns. But when 54 percent say the top priority should be lowering prices, not much of a surprise, right? Party trusted more in affordability. Overall, it's the Democrats by 14 points.

Look at this, among independents. It's a laughing, it's 39 points. It's a blowout. This is the entire ball game right here. And when you're having a 39-point lead among independents, a 14-point lead overall on affordability.

And right now, the top priority, the American say, should be lowering prices for the Trump administration. This is the type of formula that equals major success for the Democrats come to midterms if it holds.

SIDNER: And we have seen that in the special elections. We'll see if that holds in the midterms.

ENTEN: We shall see, Sara Sidner.

SIDNER: Harry Enten, thank you so much. Appreciate you.

ENTEN: As a world term.

SIDNER: All right, John.

BERMAN: All right. It is the first Friday of the month, which usually means that we see new data on the labor markets, the job support, the January job support, though, it's not coming out this morning. It was delayed because of the partial government shutdown.

The new report is set to be released next Wednesday. We did get some private data on job openings. And obviously, opportunities are shrinking here. They estimate a number of job openings synced to $6.5 million at the end of December. That's the lowest level since September of 2020. We saw the most jobs cuts in January since the Great Recession, according to the private data.

With us now, CNN global economic analyst Rana Foroohar. She's a global business columnist and associate editor for "The Financial Times."

So the job situation in the United States right now, you know, it's not good. And you hear people talking about the idea of this jobless economic boom, which is saying the economy, there may be good signs in the economy, but it's not bringing jobs with it.

[08:50:11]

What's the level of concern out there right now, Rana?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Yes, John. It's a great question. And I got to say, it feels a lot like the '90s to me right now where you -- you know, have that jobless recovery. That was due in part back then to companies deploying a lot of software, a lot of new technologies. We all, I think many of us, feel A.I. around us. We may be using A.I. We may be seeing it in the workplace. You can definitely see it in those jobs numbers and the cuts that you mentioned. A lot of those are in professional services. They're in white collar areas.

And so people are beginning to think, gosh, we may get a lot of productivity from A.I., but where are the jobs? You know, we know that there's going to be some cuts in the short-term.

Technology always creates jobs longer term, but when is that longer term showing up? And -- and what's that balance?

And I think all of that skittishness is actually what's been reflected in some of the -- the market volatility lately.

BERMAN: Yes. I was going to say, what does the market think about that, both in the short-term and the long-term?

FOROOHAR: Well, it's interesting because, you know, text docs and actually most large company stocks are still doing pretty well. Earnings are good.

The big tech stocks companies, excuse me, said that they were going to deploy, get this, $660 billion worth of spending this year just on A.I. The market actually got nervous about that. You know, you would think, hey, we're going to go out and spend a lot of the student technology. The market would love it.

The market thinks, you know, that's a lot of money and we're not sure what the outcome is going to be yet. So there was skittishness and that's creating volatility.

So, I think this big question mark around A.I., what are we going to get? How is it going to show up? Is this just going to ultimately benefit people holding a lot of stock, you know, if this stock turn out to do well, is it going to benefit real people on Main Street and how? That's -- that's making everyone very nervous.

BERMAN: All right. Talk about nervous. Let's discuss crypto for a moment, Rana, because --

FOROOHAR: Oh, my gosh.

BERMAN: -- there's huge losses in the markets for crypto over the last few weeks, actually, going all the way back into the fall. So, what's happening here?

FOROOHAR: So crypto has always been the very speculative, the most speculative part of a tech market that most people think is pretty frothy, right?

You know, we talked about A.I. A.I., we know, is going to probably pay off over the long-term. Crypto, big question marks. I mean, you know, it got a boost, of course, when Trump came in because he's super pro crypto. He's encouraging crypto. He's an owner of crypto. But I think markets are saying, we don't know what's going to happen yet. And there's also, you know, frankly, I think in part because the president's poll numbers are so low, there's a lot of anxiety about this administration.

And the fact also that there's been so much erratic behavior, just geopolitically with -- with, you know, getting in a tariff war with Europe or, you know, potential tariff over with Europe over Greenland, what's happened in Venezuela, markets are nervous about the administration. They're nervous about crypto. It's the edgiest part of the market. And so that's where you're going to see the dip.

BERMAN: Yes, it's just surprising given that you would think it's about as favorable an environment for crypto, at least politically, as you could get. There've been serious jitters over the last few months.

Rana Foroohar, great to see you this morning. Thank you very much.

This morning, three people are dead after a car slammed into a grocery store in Los Angeles, six others injured. Officials say the driver hit a bicyclist, then kept going and crashed into the market. It trapped some people under the car. Police say the driver is an elderly woman and they do not believe the crash was intentional.

Body camera video shows officials responding to a house fire in Northern California, rescuing two people trapped inside. They smashed through windows to get in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you can hear my voice, come to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, I see someone here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Watch out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Even with all the damage there, no one was hurt.

New video of a man stranded on a broken sailboat, 75 miles off the Florida coast. That doesn't look the least bit fun. This is why it's great to be on land. A coast guard air crew was able to get the sailor off and get him to a medical crew.

Sara?

SIDNER: You know what it will be fun? The Super Bowl halftime, and if your Patriots win. I know you'll have extra fun.

BERMAN: It'll be fun.

All right. This morning, Bad Bunny is giving us a sneak peek into his highly anticipated and hotly debated Super Bowl halftime performance. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BAD BUNNY, SUPER BOWL HALFTIME PERFORMER: I want to bring to -- to the stage, of course, a lot of my culture. It's going to be fun and it's going to be -- it's going to easy. And people only have to worry about dance. I know that I -- that I told them that they -- they had four months to learn Spanish. They don't even have to learn Spanish. They just -- it's -- it's better if they -- they -- they -- they learn to dance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:55:12]

SIDNER: The Super Bowl show is coming just days after the Puerto Rican singer made history with his album of the year when at the Grammys.

And as he continues his wildly successful global tour, selling out stadiums in Latin America, Europe and Australia, in the words of Benito himself, he is not at his peak. He is now in his prime.

Rolling Stone, deputy music editor, Julyssa Lopez is joining us now. Thank you so much for being here.

JULYSSA LOPEZ, DEPUTY MUSIC EDITOR, ROLLING STONE: Hi.

SIDNER: Besides a huge party and the dancing that he says, look, you don't have to learn Spanish, you just have to be able to move your hips. I mean, that's all you need to be able to do.

What else can we expect to see on his halftime show?

LOPEZ: I think this is going to be such a fun Super Bowl performance. I think it's going to be one that is watched by so many people. Everybody wants to see what Benito's going to do.

Benito, by now, his -- his -- one of his albums is called Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana. That means, I do what I want. And so I think this is going to be a really, really big one with a lot of dancing, as he said, but also a message of unity that he's been talking about, you know.

And we heard him say that at the Grammys. He said it again at this press conference that he did, but I think a lot of people are going to be watching.

SIDNER: Just tell us how huge his Grammy win was because it is -- this music is -- is largely in Spanish. And yet, here we are all speaking Spanish, at least when we're singing the music.

LOPEZ: Yes. I mean, this Grammy win was historic. It's the first album ever entirely in Spanish to win a Grammy.

Before that, there was only one other album nominated even, and that was his album, Un Verano Sin Ti, the year before.

And so Bad Bunny just keeps breaking record after record. He keeps making history. He has been the most streamed artist on Spotify four years now in 2020, 2021, 2022, and last year.

And it just seems like he can't find a ceiling. So it makes a lot of sense that he would be performing at one of the biggest stages of music.

SIDNER: What is it about him? Because what's interesting now that he's performing at the Super Bowl is that you have this chasm, this almost political chasm with some people like, who is this guy? And we're all like, you -- you don't know who Bad Bunny is?

There is this chasm. But what is it about him that has sparked such fandom? I mean, I got to be honest, I tried to get tickets to one of his performances in L.A., three seconds, it was sold out. I mean, you couldn't get tickets.

LOPEZ: You might be (INAUDIBLE).

SIDNER: Yes.

LOPEZ: I mean, I think people are -- first of all, his sound is so unique. Bad Bunny has that signature baritone. You know a Bad Bunny song when you hear it.

And then I think he's also just been able to connect with his fans on so many different levels, you know. His music is party music, he has upbeat music that you want to dance to, which is going to make the Super Bowl really fun.

He has also music that touches on social and political issues. He's been really outspoken about Puerto Rico. And his last album, DeBI TiRAR MaS FOToS, is a love letter to where he comes from.

And so I think there's an authenticity and a sense of genuineness that people really see in his music. And he's also just a streaming juggernaut, you know. He's the most streamed artist, again, last year --

SIDNER: Incredible.

LOPEZ: -- beating out everybody, so.

SIDNER: Let's talk about the NFL, because the NFL has very much stood by Bad Bunny after conservative Republicans, including the Trump administration, blasted the choice to use Bad Bunny for this Super -- Super Bowl halftime.

But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell could not be budged from his position. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: Bad Bunny was -- is -- and I -- I think that was demonstrated last night, one of the great artists in the world. And that's one of the reasons we chose him.

But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on. And that this was -- this platform is used to unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents, and to be able to use this moment to do that. And I think artists in the past have done that. I think Bad Bunny understands it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: I mean, people try to say politics and sports don't mix, but they do. They have always mixed. There has always been a mix there.

And I feel like we just sort of pretend that they don't mix, because some of the words that Bad -- or that are in Bad Bunny songs are very political.

LOPEZ: Yes, yes. I mean, Bad Bunny has been political. And I think when the announcement was made, there was a lot of things about his beliefs that he said in the past.

You know, he has been outspoken about ICE and not agreeing with the way that the Trump administration has handled a lot of immigrant rhetoric and ICE deportations in this country.

He's also been outspoken about the way they handled Hurricane Maria in -- in Puerto Rico in the past. He's been outspoken about trans issues.

One thing you've heard conservatives saying is that this choice is un- American also, because he's going to be speaking in Spanish. Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico. He is a citizen of the United States.

And the halftime show has never really been about American performers. You've had Paul McCartney, you've had the Weeknd. So, now you have a Puerto Rican artist who is, you know, the biggest on the planet.

It makes a lot of sense that the NFL is going to stand by him. Commercially, he makes a lot of sense. He is a good business decision. We know that Bad Bunny brings in viewers and listeners. And there's a whole lot of people that are going to be watching.

SIDNER: It's going to be huge. Julyssa Lopez thank you so much. I do appreciate --