Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

White House Calls Out Trump Rhetoric On Immigrants As "Fascist"; Senators Race To Reach Immigration Compromise; U.S. Defense Secretary To Press Israel To Define War Milestones; Haley Accepts CNN Invite, Puts Pressure On Trump; Families Of Victims Demand Better Safety For Pacific Coast Highway; Strengthening Storm Batters Carolinas With Heavy Rain And Winds As It Heads Up The East Coast. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 17, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:35]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Happening right now, former president Donald Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric causing reverberations today. The White House calling the comments, quote, "fascist", after the former president said this in New Hampshire Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're poisoning the blood of our country. That's what they've done. They've poisoned mental institutions and prisons all over the world, not just South America, not just the three or four countries that we think about. But all over the world, they're coming into our country, from Africa, from Asia, all over the world. They're pouring into our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Biden campaign saying Trump parroted Adolf Hitler.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is in Washington. Alayna Treene is in Reno, Nevada where Trump is holding a rally later on today.

Priscilla, let's begin with you. I mean this is a strong rebuke from the White House. What else is President Biden and the White House saying?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: It's a strong rebuke and it's in line with where they have been on these comments and making a stark contrast, as to the Biden vision when it comes to immigration and that of his predecessor, former president Donald Trump.

Now, the White House released a statement this morning, and in that statement, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said the following. Quote, "Echoing the grotesque rhetoric of fascist and violent white supremacists and threatening to oppress those who disagree with the government are dangerous attacks on the dignity and rights of all Americans on our democracy and on public safety. It is the opposite of everything we stand for as Americans."

This White House statement following that of the campaign just yesterday where they invoked, as you mentioned earlier, Adolf Hitler, Kim Jong un and Vladimir Putin. So making very clear here the campaign stance, the White House stance when it comes to the former president and what he's saying on immigration.

And it's not the first time that they have done this. In fact, the president released a statement through his campaign for the first time this month, and he did so to criticize his predecessor's travel ban.

That's something that he did in the first days of his presidency years ago. He says, this being former president Donald Trump, that he would go forward with the travel ban again.

And so this month, the president took to the campaign to criticize that and condemn those actions. And again, it was the first time the president had done through the campaign. So it just goes to underscore where they stand on this issue.

But of course, Fred, what's also clear here is that immigration is a delicate political issue for this White House. And so this is not the last of the attacks that they'll see on this front.

WHITFIELD: Right. Priscilla, thanks so much.

Alayna, to you. Trump is in Reno today, later on. And last night in New Hampshire he was applauding Vladimir Putin, as Priscilla just, you know, outlined, for his knowledge of democracy.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. The former president actually quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin in his attempt to show that President Biden is a threat to democracy. He also praised other authoritarian leaders including the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban. He called him highly-respected. He also referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as being very nice.

Here are some of those comments that he made about Vladimir Putin. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Vladimir Putin of Russia says that Biden's -- and this is a quote -- politically motivated persecution of his political rival is very good for Russia because it shows the rottenness of the American political system which cannot pretend to teach others about democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now Fred, clearly some pretty remarkable language coming from a former president. But it's not totally surprising. Donald Trump has actually expressed fondness for authoritarian leaders multiple times throughout his travels on the campaign trail.

He often refers to them as strong leaders, people who are feared and uses that to argue that Joe Biden is weaker in comparison.

[14:05:00]

And I think what's really important to point out here is the context of all of this. These comments came as many critics are increasingly warning that a second Donald Trump in the White House -- or a second term I should say, would be an authoritarian term.

And it also comes as Donald Trump was criticized for sidestepping questions about being a dictator during that Fox News town hall a couple of weeks ago where he said he wouldn't be a dictator except for day one in order to build a wall and to drill, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alayna Treene, Priscilla Alvarez thanks to both of you.

All right. Trump's anti-immigrant comments coming as high-stakes talks on Capitol Hill to reach a border deal are under way. In fact, this weekend a handful of senators have been working overtime to hammer out a compromise on immigration that also provides aid for Ukraine and Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): From our Republican and Democrat negotiators who are really diligent, doing a great job, and then basically with the White House involved, committed to getting this border under control.

That's what I'm really very hopeful for and I think we're going to see something next week and we'll stay there until we get it done.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): The bottom line here is we feel like we're being jammed. We're not anywhere even close to a deal. It will go into next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Manu Raju has more on where these talks stand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senators have spent the weekend trying to see if they can get any sort of compromise on the issue of immigration, dealing with the surge at the southern border of Mexico, among migrants coming into the United States, changing border policy, things that have really eluded Congress for decades.

They want to try to get an agreement now, by tonight, in order to see if they can unlock aid to Israel and Ukraine. Because Republicans have said the border must be dealt with first before they'll agree to greenlighting billions of dollars in more aid to Ukraine as well as aid to Israel which is why so much focus is on these talks that are happening in the Senate.

There's already blowback, some from the right who are concerned that Republicans are giving away too much, not pushing for enough restrictive policies. And then a growing number of critics on the left worried about Joe Biden giving away too much. Some flatly warning that it could cost him at the ballot box.

Why do you think the president is struggling so much with Hispanic voters compared to last time?

SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-CA): I'm not as worried about that yet. I think if he does go too far in the Trump direction when it comes to this, it's going to be felt at the ballot box next year, no doubt about it.

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ): I am amazed, that what is the equivalent of Trumpian ideas is being promoted by President Biden and the Democratic White House.

RAJU: But even if they were to get a deal by tonight, which many people see as unrealistic at this point, but if they were able to get a deal, it would take time to draft the text, to get approval from the four different caucuses in the House and the Senate, actually set up the votes in the Senate which would take some time, getting it out of the Senate.

And in fact, the House is actually out until January. This would not even get approved until January. And we'll see how Republicans and Democrats alike react to any deal that is reached. It could potentially sink in the House as well.

So just so many questions about whether they can get there. But negotiators say they have been making progress, but is that enough progress to get a deal that can to pass both chambers?

That remains a huge question at this critical moment.

Manu Raju, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me now to talk more about all these political developments, Margaret Talev, she is a senior contributor to Axios; and Sabrina Siddiqui is a White House reporter for "The Wall Street Journal".

Great to see both of you, ladies, this morning.

So this morning also, GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie lashed out at Trump for, you know, quoting Putin as he called Biden a threat to democracy. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He gets worse and worse by the day, Jake. And voters better start paying attention to exactly what he's saying. He has always been approving of Putin right from the beginning of his

presidency. That was something that he and I had regular arguments about going all the way back to 2017.

The fact is that Vladimir Putin as an expert on democracy, this is a guy who doesn't even know what democracy is and, quite frankly, has spent most of his life trying to undercut democracy all over the world. Donald Trump citing him as his expert witness, that he's being persecuted and is innocent.

Look, this is a guy who just believes woe is me, woe is me. I can't believe I got caught.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Margaret, you first. Trump recently, you know, came under a lot of criticism, you know, for saying that he would only be a dictator, you know, for a day if he's reelected.

[14:10:00]

WHITFIELD: Now we see he's quoting and praising dictators like Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un.

Some of this language is nothing new. But does it not seem that he is perhaps even further entrenched? Is it the feeling among Trump and his campaign that he is going to win greater support from this?

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well Fred, these are all great questions and I probably shouldn't need to be (INAUDIBLE) but obviously Vladimir Putin is not a democratic leader and is not rooting for the United States, he doesn't embody democratic values. In fact, just the opposite. So why is Donald Trump doing this?

I would look at two data points. One is this debate we're having over to whether the U.S. taxpayers and Congress should continue funding Ukraine and to what tune. And the other is Donald Trump's election status.

Don't forget, even though we're treating this like it's a general election, it is not. He's still competing for his party's nomination, and the first of this contest now less than a month away with the Iowa caucuses.

And so I think part of what we're seeing here is Donald Trump trying to motivate the base, a base quite frankly on some level responds much more to (INAUDIBLE) like strength than they do to talking about how great American democracy is, even though they're not being sort of posed (ph) a contest between American democracy and the alternative.

So I think what you're seeing here is in part political primary contest, and in part Trump trying to shape the debate on Capitol Hill here by kind of changing the parameters of what's really at stake.

WHITFIELD: Sabrina, I mean does this kind of rhetoric just play into Joe Biden's hands as he campaigns and paints Trump as a wannabe dictator? I mean Trump himself has already painted himself as a wannabe dictator and we already hearing the comments from the White House as such.

But has this moment now just helped reshape Biden's re-election campaign?

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, I think that this is absolutely the kind of moment where the Biden campaign is going to try and draw a contrast with former president Trump. And also underscore what they believe is at stake which is this notion that Trump poses a threat to democracy and he would be even more emboldened if he is allowed to return to the White House once again.

You know, as we said, this isn't really new from Trump. I mean think about his record as president. He often praised Vladimir Putin and sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence on the question of whether Russia had meddled in the 2016 election.

He praised Kim Jong-un and was unusually friendly with the North Korean leader during his time in office.

But it wasn't just his affinity for these types of authoritarian leaders. What we also saw here in the U.S. under a Trump presidency was this effort to undermine faith in institutions, attacks on press freedom and a presidency that culminated, I think most significantly, in an effort to overturn the 2020 election.

So that is absolutely the kind of contrast that you're going to see the Biden campaign and Democrats put forward. I think the bigger question though is because most Republicans, I mean Chris Christie is an anomaly, most Republicans have declined to distance themselves from Trump or really criticize him outright.

So it does reinforce I think what has been normalized or become more mainstream within the Republican Party, you know, how much does it actually weigh in on the minds of independent or persuadable voters? Or does it motivate Democrats to turn out?

I think that's really what the Biden campaign is going to hope as they try and draw this contrast more clearly.

WHITFIELD: Right. And again, while you underscore that some of this language is stuff that we've already heard from Trump. But there's something more graphic going on here.

And you know, you heard Chris Christie who said, you know, Margaret, he is sounding more desperate. He's behaving in this way because the walls are closing in as it relates to all of his legal cases. Might that be an impetus to why we're hearing Trump using language that has ties to white supremacists, that kind of rhetoric saying that immigrants are quote, "poisoning the blood" of our country, going on to name South America, Africa, Asia, et cetera?

TALEV: I think it's pretty shocking rhetoric. But I would reframe the question as one toward voters which is if you are either a Republican primary voter or you are a person who is registered or planning to vote in a Republican nominating contest, do you believe this.

If you can separate the person who you might like or align with for other reasons from the message, is this a message that you think is an American message.

TALEV: And I think to some extent what we're seeing here is a real question about how far the sort of identity of Trump or the base's affinity to Trump as a character or sort of a package, how much of that is about that? And how much of that is about this particular message?

[14:15:00]

Try to imagine this message coming out of the lips of a different political candidate, you know, Ron DeSantis or who have you. Would it have the same resonance?

I think to some extent Donald Trump is trying to test how far he can take the base and whether this is a message that portions of his electorate will respond positively to.

But as an American, if you just blind quote these statements, they're shocking. They're outside the norms of decades of American identity.

WHITFIELD: Sabrina, I mean you know, within the GOP, Chris Christie is willing to speak out about it, you know. He's about the only challenger right who is calling out Trump for this kind of anti- immigration rhetoric.

Today he accused Nikki Haley of actually enabling Trump because of her posture and language. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIE: He's disgusting. And what he's doing is dog whistling to Americans who feel absolutely under stress and strain from the economy and from the conflicts around the world. And he's dog whistling to blame it on people from areas that don't look like us.

And look Jake, the other problem with this is the Republicans who are saying this is ok. Almost 100 members of Congress have endorsed him.

Nikki Haley who this week said he's fit to be president. You're telling me that someone who says that immigrants are poisoning the blood of this country, someone who says Vladimir Putin is a character witness is fit to be president of the United States? Was the right president at the right time.

Nikki Haley should be ashamed of herself. And she's part of the problem because she's enabling him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Sabrina, what about that, you know, accusation that she's enabling him? Perhaps there are other members within the GOP who either remained silent or also seemed to encourage Trump? Are they as complicit?

SIDDIQUI: Well, I think that this dynamic is something we've seen in the two other times that Donald Trump has been on the ballot as a presidential candidate, or in this case seeking his party's nomination. And that's that he makes these incendiary comments. And most Republicans want to look the other way and ignore it, not really have address the elephant in the room.

And then you have a small chorus like Chris Christie who is willing to condemn. And I think, you know, the majority not really wanting to more forcefully take on Trump whether it's Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy. In fact, some of them have actually echoed Trump's rhetoric just to a certain degree.

I mean that was back to this idea of what was once on the fringes of the Republican Party in terms of rhetoric or posture on immigration, that has become much more mainstream because of someone like Trump.

So you know, it's not just I think enabling. It's actually reshaped the Republican Party in Trump's image. Now, the problem is that Chris Christie as I said is an outlier. And you have not just Christie but Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy and all these other non- Trump candidates effectively splitting the non-Trump vote.

So if there's going to be any real concerted effort to stop Trump from once again getting the Republican nomination, especially when you look at the kind of commanding lead that he has over the field, then what's going to be necessary is for these non-Trump candidates to coalesce around one clear alternative.

And we just don't see signs of that happening. And I think, if anything, there's still this, you know, idea that if Trump locks up the nomination, most of these Republicans are willing to support him.

So I think, you know, we've seen in two previous elections what we're seeing unfold once again right now, that this is absolutely Donald Trump's Republican Party. And it's just not clear that there's, you know, many more Chris Christies who is willing to stop that from being the case.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. Ladies, thank you so much -- Margaret Talev, Sabrina Siddiqui. Have a great Sunday.

TALEV: Thanks Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin heading to Israel amid concerns over the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We have the latest from the region.

And Vladimir Putin warning of problems with NATO ally Finland as Russia launches new attacks on Ukraine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:23:38] WHITFIELD: All right. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is preparing to visit Israel to push Israel officials to define milestones for its war against Hamas.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv. Jeremy, what more is Secretary Austin looking to learn and achieve from this trip?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is going to be a critical meeting between the secretary of defense and his Israeli counterparts, in particular because of the context in which it's coming. Not only this moment in the war but also the fact that it comes just days after the national security adviser Jake Sullivan was here in Israel as well to press the Israeli leadership for a timeline on when they plan to transition the current phase of the war to a much less intense phase, a much more intelligence-driven and a more targeted and precise phase part of the war that U.S. officials hope will result in far fewer civilian casualties.

We're told that Secretary Austin will meet with his defense counterpart, the defense minister Yoav Gallant as well as other members of the war cabinet to receive specific updates on how they assess their progress in the war and what metrics they believe they need to achieve in order to transition to that next phase of the fighting.

DIAMOND: We know that that was also, of course, the subject of Jake Sullivan's meetings. And it comes as the U.S. has been pressuring Israel to conduct more targeted operations and to effectively result in fewer civilian casualties as they are pursuing this military campaign.

[14:25:00]

A senior defense official said that they will want to hear Israeli officials clearly lay out how they assess this current campaign and also that they envision that the next phase of the campaign will result effectively in far less intense bombings and far more targeted intelligence-driven raids.

The secretary of defense will also, of course, be meeting to talk about regional threats. There has been an increase in activity from the Houthis. There are still concerns about a potential widening of the war in the north in terms of the potential broader fight between Israel and Hezbollah.

And so a lot of questions for the secretary of defense to address in his meetings tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: All right. And the IDF says it is now in operational control, you know, in parts of Khan Yunis. What else are you learning about the operations in Gaza?

DIAMOND: Yes. That's the claim from the Israeli military which we cannot independently verify at this moment. But what they say is that they have operational control over parts of Khan Yunis which is the second largest city in the Gaza Strip, the largest city in southern Gaza.

And they say that this area includes the Bnei Suhila Square (ph) just east of the center of the city. We know that in recent days the Israeli military has been pressing a full-throated offensive into Khan Yunis, bringing in tanks, armored vehicles, infantry troops as well who are going block by block, house to house in a very urban combat type of situation.

We know that the Israeli military has also been directing civilians to move from parts of Khan Yunis. But of course, the fighting is also continuing in the north.

We learned today that an air strike in Jabalia according to the Palestinian ministry of health which is Hamas-controlled in Gaza said that an airstrike on a house that was housing displaced people killed 24 individuals, 90 injured and more still under the rubble. Many of those civilians, women and children according to that ministry of health, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much, in Tel Aviv.

All right. Let's talk more about all this now. Let's bring in retired U.S. Army Major General and CNN military analyst James "Spider" Marks. He's also head of Geopolitical Strategy at Academy Security. It's great to see you.

(CROSSTALKING)

WHITFIELD: So with the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin now heading to Israel, he's going to be pushing Israeli officials to define milestones in the war against Hamas. In your view what could those milestones be?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Clearly what Secretary Austin is trying to achieve, really two things. At the strategic level, he wants to hear from the Israelis what the strategic outcomes need to look like? What does the time horizon look like.

Because the United States is leading the international effort to support the IDF and what Israel is trying to achieve. So there's a catch there. Tell me what's going on and then we'll continue to buy into this strategy. That's first and foremost.

Secondarily at the operational and tactical level, they want to know, how do you define what success looks like. Is it the reduction of the command-and-control capacity of Hamas, the number of their weapons systems, the amount of the ammunition that's available, the access or the freedom for movement.

If Hamas has the ability to move in and out of various areas and continue to conduct operations to ambush the IDF and engage the IDF, then the IDF is going to continue to apply pressure. He wants to be able to see those results.

WHITFIELD: So when the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, was there, he briefed reporters and said it's not goings to be the position of the U.S. to tell Israel what to do, but we will offer ideas and advice.

With Defense Secretary Lloyd now in a similar position of meeting face-to-face with government and military leaders, might it be his position to offer advice in this continued military operation? How do you see him leveraging his expertise in military strategy to assist Israel?

MARKS: Yes. Great question.

Clearly what Secretary Austin, former General Lloyd Austin brings to the table is immense credibility. He's a soldier's soldier. He knows what it's all about. He's conducted urban warfare. He knows the complications of all of that.

But it would be very presumptuous of him in his capacity to walk in and say, ok, dudes, this is how we got to lay it out. He's not going to do that. Certainly there would be an expectation that there will be a give and take because he's got that credibility. Israel understands that immensely.

MARKS: But the key issue is, as described by Jake Sullivan, at the strategic and policy level the United States has a certain expectation that this thing needs to wind down. That doesn't mean it ends. But it needs to alter, it needs to change kind of the dynamic of the fight.

And Lloyd then -- excuse me -- Secretary Austin. He's a classmate of mine, so a good friend of mine.

(CROSSTALKING)

WHITFIELD: Yes. You can do that with your history with him.

[14:30:10]

MARKS: Yeah, that's true, but that would be -- again, I should not. But Secretary Austin can walk in and say, guys, please describe it for me, and allow me to think out loud with you, as you walk through the process.

WHITFIELD: Uh-huh. Also, we learned this weekend that three Israeli hostages were waving a white flag when they were mistakenly killed by IDF soldiers. And the way the hostages were killed from what we know, what does this tell you about Israel's military training, readiness, perhaps the stressors involved, that this, you know, stage the war, in Gaza?

What can we learn from this? Or how does it paint a more clear picture in the fog of war?

MARKS: Well, there is a fog of war. You nailed it, Fred. Training can bring you to a certain level of readiness, and the IDF does that as a matter of routine. And I can't speak to the specifics unit that was involved in this very tragic accident, misidentification of hostages for a Hamas fighter. I mean, the whole thing is -- it puts a human face on this kind of combat that.

But the level of training can only go -- even only go to a certain level. It can only bring those kinds of, that scar tissue that you need to acquire, that only combat can provide. And then you move into urban combat like this, and I've described it before, it's like getting into a gun fight in an elevator. I mean, everything is close quarters, decisions are made instantaneously, and they're being made by 18 or 19 year old young soldiers.

This is just a face of warfare, there's no other way to describe it. I can guarantee you the IDF look very closely in terms of what were the conditions, very specifically here, and they will make adjustments accordingly. But again it gets back to that your statement about what is the level of readiness and training. How do you really replicate that prior combat?

WHITFIELD: I mean, it was really quite a stunning admission, too, wasn't it? Should people be surprised at the transparency of the IDF admitting, out loud, to the world, particularly at a time when there is so much incoming criticism from the world, on how the IDF is conducting this that they would admit out loud that these three hostages died at the hands of their own people?

MARKS: The transparency is not surprising. You would hope the Israelis would do that. I mean, the United States military does that, as a matter of routine. Certainly we want to get to the bottom of everything, you don't want to get over your skis and make predictions about things you may not have the facts on yet. But in this particular case, that transparency should be expected.

WHITFIELD: All right, General Spider Marks, we'll leave it there. Thank you so much, have a great Sunday.

MARKS: Thank you, Fred, very much. You as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, in this country, Nikki Haley set to take the CNN debate stage, just days before next month's Iowa caucus. New polling on how she's stacking up against her GOP competition, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:37:29]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

A new CBS polling out today shows Donald Trump is leading the Republican primary in both New Hampshire and Iowa. But Nikki Haley is gaining momentum in New Hampshire, jumping 18 percent among likely GOP voters, particularly as they search for an alternative to the party's front runner.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's why I think you need a bad ass woman in charge of the White House.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nikki Haley is trying to break the highest glass ceiling in politics, but you won't hear her say so, at least not directly. That's just why fine with many of her admirers.

THALIA FLORAS, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: I think we're past the point of talking about that. She's the candidate, male or female, she's a strong candidate.

ZELENY: Thalia Floras has a front row seat to the New Hampshire primary, and to Haley's rise. Whether or not it's history making.

FLORAS: It will be great to have a female president. But that's not what it's about.

ZELENY: As she courts all voters, Haley takes great care to walk a fine line, wielding gender as a humorous shield.

HALEY: I love all the attention fellas, thank you for that.

ZELENY: And a defensive sword.

HALEY: They are five-inch heels, I don't wear 'em unless you can run in 'em.

ZELENY: Helene Haggar is blunt about her feelings that it's high time for a woman in the White House.

HELENE HAGGAR, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: It's time to get the testosterone out of the White House and put a woman in there. But I a specific woman, not Kamala Harris, but Nikki Haley.

ZELENY: At campaign rallies, it's a sentiment echoing from Iowa --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's smart, she's tough, and she's passionate.

ZELENY: -- to South Carolina

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is levelheaded, and speaks to the issues, rather than a lot of rhetoric.

ZELENY: Haley is on the quest to draw suburban women back to the Republican Party, after so many fled during the era of Donald Trump.

Her support among that key demographic is a leading reason she fares better in a hypothetical contest against President Biden, polls show, even as a strong majority of Republican women still backed Trump.

AD NARRATOR: We know her as crooked Hillary. But to Nikki Haley, she's her role model.

ZELENY: Allies of Ron DeSantis are trying to compare Haley to Hillary Clinton in new TV ads, that have been debunked as misleading.

Haley is on the air with ads of her own, featuring her husband, a National Guardsman in uniform.

HALEY: American strength doesn't start wars, it prevents them. That's what I'll do as president.

ZELENY: As the final chapter of the primary comes into view, Haley now rarely repeats a rallying cry from her announcement earlier this year.

HALEY: May the best woman win.

(APPLAUSE)

ZELENY: She makes clear she's neither campaigning on gender politics, nor identity. But balanced voters like Erin Jorgensen take note of.

[14:40:06]

ERIN JORGENSEN, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: Just because you're a woman, doesn't mean I'm going to vote for you. You have to be -- you have to be the right person. And I'm just happy that maybe the right person is finally a woman.

ZELENY: Whether talking about abortion --

HALEY: I don't think the fellas have known how to talk about it properly.

ZELENY: -- or the economy --

HALEY: There hasn't been an easy time for young families at all.

ZELENY: -- Haley often infuses her answers with her life experience, as a woman, and a mother, which draws admiration from her crowds.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's my voice. She speaks for me.

ZELENY: But Vicki Schwaegler makes clear that's not why she intends to give Haley her vote.

VICKI SCHWAEGLER, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: I would say it's time for the right resume. We're not looking at somebody, and we're not going to box anybody and, because you're a woman, because your first generation American. That's not who Republicans are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much.

All right. Coming up, it is one of the most beautiful stretches of highway in the country. But also, one of the deadliest. The move now underway to make southern California's iconic Pacific Coast Highway safer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:45:23]

WHITFIELD: All right. The Pacific Coast Highway, well, it's a popular tourist attraction, but parts of it have a deadly reputation. At least 58 people have died along this route in Malibu, California, since 2010. And now, the families and friends of the victims want to make it safer.

Joining me right now is CNN national correspondent Camila Bernal.

What are they doing, Camila?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred.

Look, this is a problem that gained national attention after for the Pepperdine University students were killed on the highway, but many here in Malibu say that this is a problem years in the making. So they're trying to make some changes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL (voice-over): Malibu, California -- the beauty, the beaches, the celebrities.

BRIDGET THOMPSON, PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: It looks beautiful, but it doesn't sound beautiful.

BERNAL: For Bridget Thompson (ph), the beauty of Malibu was taken by this.

REPORTER: Four young women, students, were killed in a violent crash Tuesday night.

BERNAL: Prosecutors say a driver going more than 100 miles an hour on this Malibu highway slammed into parked cars, before hitting and killing four Pepperdine University students.

THOMPSON: It feels like four huge holes in my heart.

Deslyn was my first friend at Pepperdine, lit up every room she walked into. Niamh was my roommate, and we grew super, super close. She was kind of like my other half. Asha was so wise, so wise behind her years. Peyton was the most selfless person I've ever met, so generous.

At least 58 people have died on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu since 2010. Bridget says she could be dead, too. She was supposed to be with her friends that night, but had a late cheer practice. She's now among those demanding safety changes to the PCH.

THOMPSON: If change isn't made, personally, I will feel unheard, and I will feel like they are unseen, undervalued.

MICHEL SHANE, FILM PRODUCER: My heart was breaking for those families.

BERNAL: Film producer Michel Shane knows what the Pepperdine families are going through. He lost his own daughter, Emily, on the PCH in 2010. A claustrophobic tourist Mecca of million dollar homes, beaches, and fast cars.

SHANE: You are six, eight inches away from a two-lane freeway going north or south. And that is scary.

BERNAL: Emily Shane died at the intersection, now named in her honor. Her father was minutes away from picking her up.

SHANE: Probably about 10 or 15 minutes later that came out and told me that she had died.

BERNAL: Sobbing, Michel called his wife Ellen.

SHANE: And Ellen thought I was having -- because she knew what was going on, figured that I had handed her the phone, because I was crying. And I said, no, Ellen, it's me. And then I had to tell her what happened.

BERNAL: Shane made a documentary pushing for change to the dangerous 21-mile section of PCH in Malibu.

SHANE: Fifty-eight people in 13 years. It's unbelievable, and the fact that we're complacent about it is outrageous.

BERNAL: Synchronize stoplights and added patrols are among official's latest steps, but some want speed cameras, and the highway train turned into a slow boulevard. CalTrans told CNN that its top priority is safety, and that changes being studied include bike lanes and whether it can legally lower speed limits.

Bridget Thompson just wants to spare someone else the pain she'll live with forever.

THOMPSON: I just really don't want them to die in vain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL (on camera): And that's what they're working for.

Now, the driver of the car that hit those girls is a 22-year-old man from Malibu. He's now charged with four counts of murder, and four counts of vehicular manslaughter. He's pleaded not guilty -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my God, that is tragic. It has impacted so many lives.

Camila Bernal, thank you so much.

Still to come, 12 million people are under the threat of severe weather, as a powerful storm system moves up the East Coast. Where the storm is heading, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:54:07]

WHITFIELD: An intensifying storm on the East Coast has 12 million people at risk for severe weather today. Right now, heavy rain and powerful winds are hitting Georgia, and the Carolinas, and moving right up the East Coast.

Meteorologist Elisa Raffa has more for us.

It's bad, and it's about to get worse?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Fred, there's already been some significant flooding for Charleston this morning, some of the images showing just water inundating so much of the city. Here's a look at what I'm talking about. For Charleston Harbor, they broke a record this morning for a high tide, these fourth highest on record, hitting 9.8 feet. That's about two feet above the flood stage, almost three feet above the flood stage.

What I find remarkable about this, is this has out -- we're talking Irma, Idalia, that Idalia record just broken a couple months ago. This is the biggest time for something that doesn't have a tropical name.

[14:55:01]

OK. And here, you can see on radar where we've got some significant rain that's falling, these are all severe thunderstorm warnings for 60 miles per hour or greater for some of those wind speeds, a tornado watch continues until 8:00 this evening.

As you can see, the storm kind of swirling onshore, that brings a little bit of spin, and, of course, it has so much moisture.

The flood watches go all the way up to Maine, 60 million people included in the flood watch. We have a flood emergency for parts of the South Carolina coast, where some significant rain has already fallen. So, you can see the track of the heavy rain continues up the east coast going into tomorrow, it's going to be a messy commute for places like New York, going into the morning, it could even get a little snow on the backside.

The rain footprint, two to four inches is pretty widespread, and again a lot of these totals that we've seen have been locally higher, and some of the heaviest downpours. So, flooding is a concern.

And on top of that, it's going to be windy. We've got wind warnings in effect, especially for some things that stick out into the ocean, like Long Island, Nantucket, Cape Cod, 65-mile-per-hour wind gust possible.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.

RAFFA: So, that could cause some power outages, too.

WHITFIELD: It's feeling like tropical storm kind of weather, but in the winter?

RAFFA: Exactly. It doesn't have the same skeleton, but it's got some of the same impacts.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. All right.

Elisa Raffa, thanks so much. We'll check back with you. All right, deal or no deal. Despite a hopeful tone today from some

Biden allies, senators are still very far apart on a border bill. A live report, in minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)