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Chaos At Rafah Crossing As Gaza's Hunger Crisis Deepens; U.S. Intel Suggests Iran "Deeply Involved" In Red Sea Attacks; Trump Claims He Has "Absolute Immunity" From Prosecution; Rudy Giuliani Declares Bankruptcy In Federal Court; AI Predictions For 2024 And Beyond; Santa Soon Heads Across The Atlantic Ocean Toward U.S. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 24, 2023 - 17:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. Good evening. We begin this hour with a hunger crisis fueling panic and turmoil inside Gaza. This is new video obtained by CNN showing a chaotic scene at the Rafah Crossing near the Gaza-Egypt border earlier today.

Gunfire can be heard as crowds are seen running in different directions. People are growing desperate with little access to basic essentials like food and water. The United Nations warned this week that roughly a quarter of Gaza's population, some half million people, are now starving.

Let's go straight to CNN's Will Ripley live for us in Tel Aviv with more on all of this. Will, what's the latest on that situation at the Rafah Crossing? It just looks like total chaos?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you have people, 80% of Gaza's population who've been displaced, many of them multiple times and a lot of them have now come to the south where supplies are scarce, living conditions are horrific and aerial bombardment continues.

But this situation here is basically when you combine months of anxiety and stress and it all comes to a boiling point. In that one area, the Rafah Crossing, which is in southern Gaza, the lifeline essentially between Egypt and the line of aid trucks that can try to come in, a few dozen trucks coming in over the course of today. People so desperate to get their hands on the supplies that they rush the trucks and they try to grab what they can.

And you see in some of these videos, people have just huge bundles that they are either carrying on their shoulders, you know, grasping in front of themselves, trying to make a run for it. And then at some point, on top of all of that chaos, somebody opens fire and then there's multiple gunshots that you can hear, you know, and people in the crowd then panicking as a result of that.

You can only imagine starving people who are panicked and stressed and then they get in a crowd situation, this whole nightmare that they're living through. Just listen, just take a moment and listen to this. And what this means, unfortunately, is that the aid that needs to go

in in an orderly fashion and be distributed in an orderly fashion likely will not get to the majority of the people who actually need it, because a lot of the aid is lost when there's a looting situation like that.

And it just gets lost in the shuffle, lost in the crowd. And it's not going to the children and to the people who are, you know, living in tents who've had to endure several days of horrible weather here.

Finally, the sky is clear today, but we had torrential rain and thunderstorms throughout much of the weekend, a time that hundreds of thousands of Gazans were once again told that they had to relocate because the Israeli military is now intensifying its efforts, not just in the north, but now in central Gaza and even moving towards the south, trying to gain operational control, take it away from Hamas.

And then you have a situation like this, a true humanitarian catastrophe unfolding on the streets of Gaza, the desperation evident in this video that we have obtained. And still very difficult to get a lot of information out of Gaza because there's barely internet, barely electricity, much of the time, hard to get a signal out. And so, so much confusion and so much panic and so much desperation right now.

ACOSTA: Yeah, that video just goes to the desperation that people are feeling right now. When you're that desperate for food and water, you will do anything to get those basic necessities, even if it results in that chaotic situation that we saw unfold. Will, thank you.

Let's go live to the White House where Kevin Liptak is monitoring the U.S. response to what the Pentagon says was an Iranian drone attack on a chemical tanker. Obviously, Kevin, this is another headache for the Biden administration. What to do about Iran and these provocations that seem to be happening almost every other day.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, it certainly is. And it's a decision that President Biden will eventually have to make is how to respond to these attacks, not only from Iran, but from its praxis in the region, including the Houthi rebel group in Yemen.

Now, when it comes to this incident in the Indian Ocean, I think there are a couple of notable things here. One, the U.S. is pinning blame on Iran directly for this incident. Previously, as they've been talking about these escalations in the region, they've been talking about the Iranian-backed praxis. This, they're pinning blame on Iran directly, and that hasn't happened since the October 7th attack.

The other is where it happened. It wasn't in the Red Sea, which has been sort of the center of the focus for the American response. So far, it happened in the Indian Ocean, outside of the vicinity that they have been so focused on. So it does underscore these fears that this conflict could be widening in some way. And certainly, that doesn't mean that the escalation in the Red Sea has dampened at all, either.

Yet, just yesterday, there have been a number of incidents involving U.S. warship, involving commercial and merchant vessels in the Red Sea.

[17:05:07]

Now, what the U.S. has done so far to respond to this is try and gather this global maritime coalition. They say they have 20 countries on board to beef up security in the Red Sea because it is becoming an economic issue as global shipping companies try and avoid that pathway forcing them to go around these other routes that cause months long delay in the shipping, millions of dollars in additional fees.

But certainly this is a growing concern at the White House when you do talk to officials they do believe that they have been able to contain you know the worst-case scenarios of escalation in this conflict but that doesn't mean that there aren't these dangerous situations unfolding in the Red Sea and elsewhere that they will have to contend with, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Kevin Liptak, Will Ripley, thanks to both of you on this very busy Christmas Eve. Thanks so much. Here in Washington, Donald Trump is arguing that pressuring election officials to overturn the 2020 election was within his official responsibilities as president. That argument was part of a brief file last night in which attorneys for the former President asked an appeals court to dismiss his criminal election subversion case one day after the Supreme Court refused to decide for now whether he is protected from prosecution.

In the filing, Trump's attorneys argued that, quote, "President Trump has absolute immunity." The judicial branch cannot sit in judgment over a president's official acts. The legal wrangling could push a verdict into the heat of the 2024 campaign, or even after the election, in which case, if reelected, Trump is all but certain to try to pardon himself.

Let's discuss now with Ron Brownstein, Senior Political Analyst and Senior Editor at The Atlantic, and Julian Zelizer, a Senior Political Analyst and Professor at Princeton University.

Guys, happy holidays. Thanks so much for being with us. Ron, I mean, Trump claims he has absolute immunity. That legal argument so far has not convinced the courts. I mean, it strikes me as a historically ignorant because, I mean, why would Gerald Ford have pardoned Richard Nixon? If presidents have absolute immunity, you don't need to be pardoned. But walk us through this. What's your sense of it?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think, you know, the legal scholars who, you know, know the history of this better than I do are pretty universal. This is a specious argument that if a president has absolute immunity, you could literally shoot someone on Fifth Avenue as president or call in a fighter strike on an American city as president.

And it is likely that eventually the Supreme Court is going to reject this argument. I think most people who, you know, follow the court closely believe that. The question is when and how far they allow Trump in his core strategy really throughout his career, long before he was president, to use delay as a weapon in the legal system. Jim, I can imagine a world I know we're not supposed to think of the

court like this, but John Roberts operates a little like a legislative leader who tries to put together packages that appeal, you know, sometimes to incompatible interests by including ideas that either side would reject in a legislative bill.

And you can imagine an outcome as he did with the ACA back in 2012, where they allow Trump to appear on the ballot, throw out the Colorado ruling, but also reject his claims of immunity and allow voters to have the information before the election about whether a jury of his peers finds him guilty of these serious charges.

ACOSTA: You know, Julian, what do you think about all this?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I think legal experts, most of them are pretty clear, both on post-presidential immunity and disagreeing with Trump and even the question of immunity during a presidential period was never really resolved, but most agree that you can't do anything.

But I think it's a little like, you know, delaying and obstructing in Congress. I think the intent here is not necessarily even to win in court, but to keep this going longer and longer and pushing it further into the election cycle.

President Trump -- former President Trump doesn't want this resolved. In some ways, his campaign is about the cases. And so the longer this drags out, the further we are from conviction in his mind, he's in the best position politically.

ACOSTA: Yeah, Ron, I mean, as we're heading into 2024, you know, there has been this conversation that these criminal cases, these indictments have helped Donald Trump so far politically. And sure, I suppose you could argue that from a standpoint of locking up the Republican nomination or appearing to be on the verge of just making a run through all these primaries and caucuses. But at the same time, it does not really occur to me how this is going to help him long-term --

[17:10:02]

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.

ACOSTA: -- in a general election, to have all of this hanging over him. Even a delay, pushing the election subversion case, well into 2024, perhaps during the summer or heading into the fall, how does that help him? I don't see how that helps him at all.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, as long as the case is resolved before the election, you know, that is the key really. I mean, Trump's goal is to have it not be resolved because we see in polling that it may sound incredible given how much information is out there, given what people saw with their own eyes, but there is a significant slice of voters that say, that a conviction might matter to them more than an indictment has for Trump.

And, you know, John Roberts and the rest of the Supreme Court, they live in the real world. They know what Trump is trying to do, trying to push this out as far as he can so it is not resolved before the election.

And they have a choice to make, whether they want to be complicit in that or not. And I've got to think that, you know, Roberts, as much as possible, wants unanimous decisions on these kind of momentous questions that 5-4 back in 2000 was really the beginning of the Supreme Court's dissent in the eyes of the public into becoming seen as a more partisan institution. I think he would like to avoid that. And it may be the way to avoid that is to, you know, in essence, join these two -- these two rulings.

I'd also point out that, you know, the idea that clearly the indictments have helped Trump in terms of the nomination. But Joe Biden's approval rating is under 40% and the two of them are running even. So the idea that there is no resistance, no cost to Trump for his behavior really isn't supported by the facts.

ACOSTA: Yeah, and Julian, I mean, there's this extraordinary development out in Colorado from just a presidential historian standpoint. I mean, I have to think that you are kind of struck by how remarkable it is to have the Colorado Supreme Court remove Trump's name from the state's primary ballot, signing the 14th Amendments insurrectionist ban.

Senator Lindsey Graham had this to say about it this morning. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): It's not a rule of law-based ruling, it is a political decision. The hatred of Trump is so widespread. This Colorado Supreme Court made a political decision, in my view, there is no constitutional basis for the decision they rendered. I think it will be a slam dunk in the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I mean, Julian, to some extent, Trump and his allies just have to keep arguing that all of this is politicized. But just the magnitude, I mean, in your view, of having the State of Colorado remove Trump's name from the ballot, it is extraordinary that we're witnessing this in real time?

ZELIZER: Yeah, I'm not a big fan of using unprecedented all the time, but this counts.

ACOSTA: Yeah.

ZELIZER: And I think it's an accurate word to use. And, you know, the Senator actually, it doesn't sound like much of an originalist all of a sudden because I think it's the opposite. I think the judges were really following the language of the text as the amendment was written. And it was hard for them to work their way around, you know, the fact that the former president engaged in what that amendment was about. Politically, in many ways, it's easier to just not do what they did, but the argument will remain. You were right. The central argument of the former president and his supporters is everyone who is against them, every ruling, every politician, they are acting purely for political motives.

ACOSTA: And, Ron, do people buy that, that everything is politicized? You know, Trump and his allies, you know, it's the Colorado Supreme Court, it's the Special Counsel, it's Judge Chutkan, it's the judge in the New York fraud case. Everybody's politicized? I mean, how could that feasibly be possible?

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, I mean, you know, you see how the erosion of democracy feeds on itself and acquires basically topspin to keep moving, because every, if you are saying that any attempt to hold Trump accountable for his violations of norms or laws is a political witch hunt against him, that then becomes the basis for saying, well, we're just going to do the same thing to the other side.

So, you know, people who study authoritarian strongmen, you know, describe how this dynamic infects the political system of countries, where essentially if you delegitimize any effort to hold a strongman accountable, it provides the predicate for what everything Trump is saying now that he's going to, you know, turn the Justice Department loose on prosecuting his enemies.

There is an audience, Jim, for that argument. And one of the things we're learning is how big that is. But there is still a majority of Americans who appear very uneasy about the idea of reelecting a convicted felon, despite all the doubts they have about Biden and his performance. So how all this sorts out is going to be, to borrow Julian's word, unprecedented.

[17:15:02]

ACOSTA: And Julian, speaking of unprecedented, just very quickly, I mean, this past week we had Donald Trump denying that he's read Mein Kampf, denying that he's quoting Hitler. To get back to what talking about things being unprecedented, how -- how bizarre, surreal, strange is it for you as a presidential historian to absorb what we've been hearing from the former president this past week?

ZELIZER: It's surreal to have this as part of the conversation all of a sudden with a leading nominee for the presidency and a former president talking about, you know, quotations of one of the worst people ever in the history of humanity.

It's also unbelievable at certain level, to be honest. I mean, this is what the former president does. He says provocative things. He says he didn't understand what he was saying. And then it's out there. And even as there are news stories about what he has said, he continues to say it. So the unbelievable part is also important. And I think we should be a little skeptical about the president's denials of really understanding what he's saying.

ACOSTA: Yeah, especially when he keeps saying it. Ron and Julian, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it this evening.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWNSTEIN: Merry Christmas.

ACOSTA: You as well.

ZELIZER: Happy Holidays.

ACOSTA: He was once former President Trump's lawyer. He has now found himself in need of his own legal help. Now, coming up next, how court cases, lawyer fees, even phone bills are piling up for the man once known as America's mayor.

Plus, a look back at the year that saw AI go from the subject of movie and TV show plots to a very real part of our lives that is so true.

And later, it's a tradition that's lasted for nearly 70 years. We're going inside NORAD's Santa Tracking Operation. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:21:08]

ACOSTA: Rudy Giuliani has learned there's a cost that comes when you accuse people of crimes with no evidence. A big one. A former Trump attorney declared bankruptcy on Thursday, less than a week after -- the former Trump attorney, excuse me, declared bankruptcy, less than a week after a jury ordered him to pay nearly $150 million to two former election workers that he defamed. According to a bankruptcy filing, Giuliani also owes $1.7 million in legal fees, nearly a million dollars in back taxes and $30,000 in phone bills.

Let's discuss more now with Ken Frydman. He was the Press Secretary for Giuliani's 1993 Mayoral Campaign. He was also the consulting producer for CNN's Special Documentary, "Giuliani, what happened to America's mayor?"

Ken, great to talk to you again. I mean, that's the question we're all asking right now. And I think the last time we spoke, it was -- it seemed bad at that point, and it seems to have gotten exponentially worse for Rudy Giuliani since then. What was your reaction when you heard that he had to declare bankruptcy?

KEN FRYDMAN, SPOKESMAN, 1993 GIULIANI'S MAYORAL CAMPAIGN: Well, I wasn't surprised. I don't think anybody was. His earning power has diminished considerably. So no shock there. As to whether anyone gets paid, that's the question. You know, his secured creditors are first in line, and that would be Uncle Sam and New York State Department of Taxation. As to whether or not his lawyers are compensated, that's up in the air at this point.

ACOSTA: Yeah.

FRYDMAN: Listen, $30,000 phone bills, you know, he appears to think he is immune to what the rest of us are subject to and that is paying our bills and not defaming people. And I'm told that he didn't register as a foreign agent because he thought he was immune and that Trump would pardon him, which is his attitude.

ACOSTA: Yeah. And how did it get to this point, do you think? Did you see any signs of this sort, you know, back in the days when you working with him in New York City government?

FRYDMAN: No, no, I didn't. I saw a very competent, hardworking, focused mayor. And, you know, I learned through our research on the documentary that he was the best in class at DOJ. You know, he was number three in the Justice Department at the age of 39. He was best in class at the southern district when he was U.S. attorney. And I would argue he was the best first term mayor in the history of the city, maybe, LaGuardia notwithstanding.

ACOSTA: But in recent years, he has embraced conspiracy theories. He's repeatedly lied. He's been accused of committing numerous crimes related to helping Donald Trump. What happened?

FRYDMAN: Well, his client lies and he lied for him. You know, you're only as good as your client, your know, other lawyers quit when they're asked to lie for their clients. He didn't.

ACOSTA: And do you think anything, I mean, stemming from his unsuccessful run for the presidency might have had something to do with this? I mean, what's your sense of it? I mean, that was -- that feels like the beginning of when a lot of these problems got started? Because it was after that that I guess we saw Mitt Romney unsuccessfully run for the presidency, and Trump was really kind of coming onto the scene as the leading figure in the Republican Party?

FRYDMAN: Right. Well, you have to remain relevant in the political business. You know, when you lose relevance, you lose everything. I always say, Ed Koch remains relevant now 10 years or more since he died. So if Rudy couldn't be king, he would be the man behind the throne working for Trump.

[17:25:15]

ACOSTA: Yeah, and I mean he has been indicted on 13 felony accounts in Georgia for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. What do you think lies ahead for Rudy Giuliani? I mean, could you imagine a scenario where he ends up in prison?

FRYDMAN: Of course, of course I can. I don't think he can, because he's still delusional, as is Donald Trump. Listen, we're 10 months out from a presidential election. You and I are talking about the alleged high crimes and misdemeanors of Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump, too. It's really demoralizing as an American, as a citizen, as a voter, that this is still the narrative.

ACOSTA: Yeah, it really is. And in such a blemish on the great city of New York, I mean, to have two leading figures in New York City life for decades to have so much of this come crashing down on them. It's just an almost Shakespearean. It's remarkable. But Ken Frydman, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

We'll be watching the documentary later on tonight. Thanks as always for what you do. Thanks for coming on.

FRYDMAN: Thank you. Same to you, Jim. Happy Holidays.

ACOSTA: Appreciate it. You as well.

In the meantime, artificial intelligence has been one of 2023's buzzwords. Up next, a look back at how the technology became a bigger part of our lives this past year, and what its future could hold? You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:53]

ACOSTA: Four millions of people around the world, artificial intelligence changed how we worked and studied in 2023, generative AI was able to enter and win a photography competition, was tested for its ability to pass school exams, and even helped fight loneliness. For many, it was the year AI entered our daily lives. And it's likely just the beginning.

Let's discuss all the positives and the concerns with Jon Sarlin. He's the host of CNN's Nightcap. Jon, I mean, just reading that introduction makes me feel a sense of dread about what's to come in the future. Many of us are still trying to figure out how AI works and how to make sure it's kept in check, including lawmakers. Apparently, Florida Republicans are looking to set up guardrails around the use of AI, including in political ads. What can you tell us about all that?

JON SARLIN, HOST, CNN BUSINESS'S NIGHTCAP: Thanks, Jim. Right, so, in 2023, we've seen this birth of AI technologies, which also has led to this conversation about the best way to regulate them. A number of states have advanced legislation targeted on AI in campaigns.

Now, in Florida, a group of Republicans have proposed a bill that would force political candidates who use generative AI in advertisements to acknowledge that.

Now, ironically, the most powerful person in Republican politics in Florida is Governor Ron DeSantis, who he himself has gotten in hot water for using AI in his presidential campaign. There was an ad his campaign tweeted out with a deepfake audio of former President Trump. Another video the campaign tweeted out had a fake AI photo of Trump with Dr. Anthony Fauci. There was no disclosure in them. It will be interesting to see if this bill does go through the House, whether Ron DeSantis would sign it into law.

ACOSTA: And is this something that other states are considering? I mean, how do we -- I mean, is government ready for this? Are federal or state lawmakers really ready for this? I know they've had -- it sounds like they've had lots of meetings. I remember when Elon Musk went up to Capitol Hill and stuff like that. But it sounds like they're trying to catch up with the technology? SARLIN: Yeah, that's fair. Well, a number of states have passed similar bills, again, that are focused specifically on AI and campaigns, right? California, Texas, recently in Michigan, we've seen that. There's a bill similar to the Florida one that's proposed in New York. Nationally, there are few bills floating around. There's one, a bipartisan bill that's supported by Amy Klobuchar and Josh Hawley. The Federal Elections Commission is also examining how it can regulate AI in political advertisements. But it's worth noting, right, that regulating AI is an incredibly complex topic. This one narrow focus is one area that politicians have advanced. Now, it's also, you know, may be no surprise this is in their backyard, right? This is specifically about political campaigns.

ACOSTA: And where do we go from here? What are you watching for in 2024? I mean, where does this technology evolve from where we stand right now?

SARLIN: Right. Well, when it comes to 2024, the big question I have is how Apple will begin to incorporate AI into their products, right. We've seen Apple's biggest competitors, Google, Meta, Microsoft, have unveiled AI chat bots aimed at consumers. Apple notably has not. We know they're investing in it. Bloomberg has reported they're pouring $1 billion a year into its AI development.

ACOSTA: Wow.

SARLIN: Just this week, the New York Times reported that Apple is going to publishers to try to get light access to their archives for their AI. When Apple unveils their AI into Siri, into the iPhones, it could push AI into the mainstream.

ACOSTA: All right, fascinating stuff. Yeah, I mean, everybody -- I mean, I shouldn't say everybody, a lot of people have iPhones. And if Apple is working on AI, then you have to think we're all going to become very familiar with it very soon.

Jon Sarlin, thank you very much for the time. Appreciate it.

And make sure to check out CNN Business Nightcap, a roundup of the business headlines around the world in technology as well. New episodes drop every Thursday at 04:00 p.m. Eastern.

[17:35:00]

In other news, Spirit Airlines is apologizing after an unaccompanied six-year-old child was put on the wrong flight. Yes, the wrong flight at the Philadelphia airport on Thursday. The Airline says the child was incorrectly boarded onto a plane to Orlando instead of to Fort Myers, Florida. The boy's grandmother says she panicked when her grandson's plane arrived and he was not on it. I'm sure. She says she then got a call from her grandson and the airline when he landed in Orlando. She then drove 160 miles to Orlando to pick him up. Glad that all worked out, a scary situation for that family.

After the break, we are joined by a special guest on this Christmas Eve, Matt Friend, Master Impressionist will be with us. There he is right there, Matt. Hello, Matt?

MATT FRIEND, COMEDIAN & IMPRESSIONIST: It is great to be with you, Jim. Looking forward to speaking.

ACOSTA: That sounds very much like Mitch McConnell. Very good.

FRIEND: Dang right it is.

ACOSTA: Yeah. Dang right it is. All right, some Kentucky Christmas stuff coming up here in just a few moments with Matt Friend. Thanks a lot, Matt. See you in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:23]

ACOSTA: With so much violence and sadness in the world these days, it seems that we are all looking for something to make us laugh. But is fun dead? Karen Heller of "The Washington Post" writes that social media has forced fun to become performative. It's all about how much engagement you get by posting what you did online. And the COVID pandemic made it worse. People were isolated, forced to try to find bonds through a screen. But human connection is in short supply.

A survey found that one in four adults worldwide feels lonely. So in the spirit of having some real fun, we have comedian Matt Friend to cheer us up. Matt, it's been a heck of a year. We're bringing you in to lighten things up. So good luck. We're hoping that you can do this for us.

FRIEND: Thank you. It's great to see you.

ACOSTA: Great to be with you and I have to say there's so many of us here at CNN just been big fans of yours on social media So while we --

FRIEND: Thank you.

ACOSTA: You know, ribbed social media a little bit. It is how we discovered you, so it does serve a good purpose from time to time. And I wanted to start off, Matt, let's talk about somebody that you and you're a master impressionist for our viewers at home, who are not familiar and one of the best impersonations that you do is Donald Trump and I have to ask you, I mean, I don't if you saw this.

FRIEND: Well, it's true, Jim. Jim, it's true. It is very true. Excuse me, Jim, what was I supposed to see the most? This is the guy, I yelled at him many times. He is such fake news. I've yelled at him many times before this. They failed network. Look at him smiling like a dog. Ask the question, Jim. Ask the question. Let's see what you can do, please.

ACOSTA: I feel like I'm back at the White House, which is not exactly the feeling I was hoping for. But, you know, President Trump, you have said that you have absolute immunity. What do you mean by that?

FRIEND: Right, that's true. Well, I will tell you, when you inject this much bleach into your veins, you become very immune to a lot of different things, a lot of diseases. And I will tell you, when you're up by this many points against Ron Desanctimonious, whose poles are dropping like a rock against Nikki Haley, who's just a witch. She's a witch. You become immune to a lot of things. I'm the people's favorite president. And the people at CNN would know that if they liked me a little more, but I'd be a dictator for one day. Just for one day. OK, Jim.

ACOSTA: Just one. Yes, yes, very comforting that it would just be one day. And Matt, I want to just break character for a moment because I understand you ran into another famous Donald Trump impersonator. Let's watch that and talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRIEND: Everybody there's only one guy, but as the most mediocre impression he fails like a dog. You know, I'm talking about, right? Who is it?

ALEC BALDWIN: You know Donald, we could have been great friends.

FRIEND: Why do you say that?

BALDWIN: I just changed your course one degree.

FRIEND: I think you're a dog.

BALDWIN: All you needed was a slight change.

FRIEND: Alec, you were so mean to me on the show. The way you portrayed me, it was so unfair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Matt, why is everything like a dog? Everything is like a dog, with your personality.

FRIEND: Well, it's true. When you do the Trump, everything is like a dog. He has a very limited vocabulary. Dog is apparently the insult of choice, Jim. I'm not sure if he ever called you a dog. If he did it, it'd be a badge of honor, in my opinion.

However, the Baldwin thing was a total random run. And I live in New York. Everyone thinks I'm TMZ or like a stalker because I run into these people at such a frequent rate. But Alec was so cool. And we had a lot of fun with the whole back and forth.

I actually would do an impression of Alec's impression on SNL. He would go like this, just, OK, boppity, boppity, boppity boo, China. And I said I don't sound like that. And Alec's a dog for that. OK, it was a crazy run, Jim.

ACOSTA: Well, and I have the energy, you did not choke like a dog running into Alec Baldwin. That would have -- that might have been a little intimidating.

FRIEND: I did not.

ACOSTA: And -- and Congress went home.

FRIEND: I've run into a -- yeah.

ACOSTA: I was going to say Congress went home for the holidays without getting much done. And I know you have some insights into perhaps how some of those negotiations went on. You have some familiarity with a certain Senate minority leader from the State of Kentucky.

FRIEND: Well, yes, that is absolutely true. Now, Jim, here is what I would say about Congress' inability to get things done in this critical time of the holiday. We need to come together, Democrats and Republicans.

ACOSTA: Man. I hope Senator, I hope you're OK.

FRIEND: There was no delay on the screen, that was McDonald freezing.

ACOSTA: Yeah, our viewers at home might have thought maybe his Skype just crapped out. That's what happened there, but no. That is so funny.

[17:45:02]

And of course, Matt, you're well aware that we have a certain New Year's Eve celebration coming up. Andy Cohen and CNN's Anderson Cooper --

FRIEND: I do.

ACOSTA: -- once again hosting CNN's New Year's Eve celebrations. Any familiarity with either of those hosts?

FRIEND: Well, well, first of all, Jim, skis, not only am I completely aware of the CNN tradition of just going cray, cray with Anderson, but I just want to say to the bosses and execs at CNN, let the daddies drink. I mean, it's incredible. It's amazing. I've got my cocktail right here. I'm feeling really good. And by the way, the guy who does me lives in New York. I don't know why he's not on the show. Super weird. But anyways, John Mayer is in the clubhouse. Got to go get to him. He's amazing. Yes, it's incredible. Jim is -- Jim is cute. Yeah, cute. Yeah.

ACOSTA: Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, letting the daddy's drink is always our policy here on the weekends, Matt. And before we go --

FRIEND: Feeds me -- he feeds me these lines, incredible.

ACOSTA: No, I mean, and there's no shortage of material these days. I mean, is there somebody, Matt, that you like to do? Like, who is it that you just find yourself, is it Howard Stern? Is it Stanley Tucci?

FRIEND: Right.

ACOSTA: I've seen so many of these guys? FRIEND: Right. Well -- well -- well, the Tucci is been very fun. I know it might be a bit of a sore subject given the CNN the whole thing. But all I'll say is the Stanley Tucci is very fun to do because in every video he begins it by saying, are we rolling, we're filming? OK. So today, I'm making as spaghetti idea, all your pepper and chino and a chicken cut yakitori. I'm Italian on both sides. Thank you for viewing.

That's a fun one. I also got to do the Howard Stern. He's so fun to do, too, right? Because the thing about Howard Stern is, right?

ACOSTA: Right, right.

FRIEND: So his voice is right down here. And then Alan Alda, he's right up here. So it's Alan Alda, Howard Stern, right? He's just right down here. It's fantastic. Jim is the best interviewer since May. I got to tell you that right now, right.

ACOSTA: Well, Matt, you know, we -- we knew that when we booked you today and -- and thank you very much for doing it last minute, by the way, because we're just all thrilled that you're on today and lightning the mood after what has been just a hellacious year. Thank you so much for doing this. You did not choke like a dog. I just want to say, if I may just add here.

FRIEND: Well, I didn't choke. I didn't choke. Thank you for having me. And I hope everybody says, hey on social media at The Matt Friend, and Jim is the best. You're so nice. We met at the Correspondents Dinner Weekend. You were so kind. Thank you for having me on. I hope to do more with you next year.

ACOSTA: We'd love it. That would be great. All right. Enjoy Cabo. I see on the screen there it says you're in Cabo. Have a great time. And --

FRIEND: At least I didn't get a canned coon like Ted Cruz. It's really better than going to canned coon. Give me some credit. I just got a couple of days off. And the difference is I am not a senator from Texas. I'm a comedian who's going to go read a book or something. I don't know.

ACOSTA: All right, enjoy the margaritas, Matt. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

FRIEND: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Happy holidays. Appreciate it.

FRIEND: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: Great to see you. All right. After the break, I'll try to compose myself. We are taking you inside NORAD's iconic Santa tracking operation to see what it takes to keep up with the jolly red guy. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [17:52:53]

ACOSTA: Well, it's the night before Christmas here in the U.S. Santa and his team have already made their deliveries to Sydney, Shanghai, Venice and Amsterdam and soon they'll be heading across the Atlantic in our direction. Get ready kids. Let's get the latest from Brigadier General Derek O'Malley, NORAD Santa Tracker and apparently Top Gun Maverick cast member as well. General O'Malley, great to see you. What's the latest on Santa?

BRIGADIER GENERAL DEREK O'MALLEY, NORAD SANTA TRACKER: Well, hello there, Jim. Yeah, great to be here with you. As you just mentioned, Santa is trucking across Europe. Last I saw, he's approaching Tunisia, moving at unbelievable speeds. In fact, I actually just landed it from my F-16 mission of patrolling the airspace here over the United States just to make sure we're ready and secure for the arrival of the big guys. So we are super excited, amped up for his arrival later this evening.

ACOSTA: And how are the skies over the U.S. any -- any surprises that Santa needs to be worried about? What do you think?

O'MALLEY: No surprises, NORAD has the watch 24 hours a day, seven days a week, monitoring and defending our airspace, so Santa has nothing to worry about. In fact, tonight's really no different for us, and we do this mission every night. Just tonight, we're obviously tracking a very important target, and that, of course, is Santa Claus. And I got to tell you, Jim, he's got to be the hardest target to track that I've ever seen in my entire career, the speeds that that slay, unbelievable.

ACOSTA: He moves at a steady clip and I have to ask you, you use the heat signature from Rudolph's nose for tracking Santa. What kind of technology goes into this?

O'MALLEY: Yeah, you bet, we absolutely do. So it started with our northern warning system. This is a series of 47 radars along the northern border of Canada and Alaska. We detected his launch earlier in the day.

And then as he picked up speed, you bet, we transitioned to our satellite constellation with infrared sensors, locking on to Rudolph's nose. So Rudolph, with his nose so bright, helping us track Santa tonight.

ACOSTA: All right, very good. And my dog, Duke, is hoping for a T-bone steak from Santa. Any -- any technology that allows you to see what's on board that sleigh?

O'MALLEY: So, Santa tries to keep the presence classified for obvious reasons. We got kids that are snooping sometimes that want to know. We have people like yourself, Jim, that maybe want to see what they're getting. So we want to protect that confidentiality, respect Santa there. So unfortunately, I can't share that on the air.

[17:55:07] ACOSTA: I hear you. And you know what? I'm probably on the naughty list anyway, General O'Malley. But thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it. Merry Christmas to you guys at NORAD. I know you're working hard, and a lot of folks who are not with their families tonight because they're working for the American people. We appreciate it so much. Thank you, General.

O'MALLEY: Our pleasure. Thank you. Merry Christmas.

ACOSTA: Merry Christmas to you. And as my voice is cracking, I'm going to try to wrap things up here. Thank you very much for joining me here this evening. I'm Jim Acosta. This might be my last newscast of the year, and so I just want to thank everybody for tuning in all year long. I'll see you again, hopefully next weekend. If not next weekend, then in the New Year.

In the meantime, Happy Holidays to everybody out there from all of us here at CNN. Have a great night, everybody. Merry Christmas. Ho, ho, ho.

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