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Trump's Closing Message Focuses on Legal Perils, Divisive Rhetoric; Trump Holds Commanding Lead in Final Iowa Poll; Trump Holds Commanding Lead In Final Iowa Poll; Three Migrants, A Mother And Two Children, Drown In Rio Grande; Volcanic Eruption In Iceland Sends Lava Into Nearby Town. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 14, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

MALCOLM KENYATTA (D), PENNSYLVANIA STATE HOUSE: You see black wealth growing by 60 percent where we see the smallest wealth gap between African-Americans and white Americans in a long time, the lowest unemployment for African-Americans. Insulin capped at $35. You know, both of my parents died by the time I was 27 because they didn't have access to the type of health care they deserved.

And so these things that President Biden has accomplished, they're not just talking points. They're real and they're real for families like mine.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We'll leave it there for now.

State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, great to see you again. Thank you so much.

KENYATTA: Any time.

WHITFIELD: And thank you, everybody, for being with me this weekend. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM with Jim Acosta continues right now.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

Tonight on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, Donald Trump is making his closing message to voters. But it's not an optimistic one, nor is it forward-looking or a vision for the future of the country. Instead the frontrunner is focusing on a wide range of grievances, including his own legal peril and his claims of absolute presidential immunity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A president has to have immunity. Otherwise a president isn't going to be able to function. If you don't have immunity -- and I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about every president. You would never make a decision. A president of the United States has to be free and clear of mind. And you can't be worrying about something where you're doing the right thing but if it doesn't work out you're going to end up in prison.

So a president of the United States must have immunity, and I'm not talking for myself, I'm talking for every president of the United States, or they will not be able to function. And they are going to make those decisions very soon. And I hope they do the right thing for the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Trump also repeated his incendiary anti-immigrant rhetoric and vowed to impose mass deportation programs on day one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're taking in people from prisons. We're taking in people from mental institutions. We're taking in murderers and drug lords. We're taking in people that are very, very sick with diseases that will be spread all over our nation. We're doing the wrong thing for our country. It's going to be very hard to recover from that, but we're going to start on day one with deportation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now this all comes as the final "Des Moines Register" poll shows nearly half of caucus-goers in the Hawkeye State support the former president. If the final outcome mirrors that polling, Trump would win the highest share of Iowa Republicans for a non-incumbent in history.

Kristen Holmes is with the Trump campaign in Indianola, Iowa, for us right now.

A lot of the same kind of incendiary rhetoric coming from the former president, Kristen. What can you tell us? What did he say?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, I think he was making up for some lost time after he cancelled three of the four events. He was here speaking for nearly two hours and touched on almost all of the same messaging that we have heard for the last several months, as you talked about. Immigration, they believe that is key to his win. He also talked about his legal problems. At one point he talked about the fake elector slates, bringing up that all of this was unfair in relation to his indictments. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They're still fighting my 2016 win. People in Congress that are fighting here, he challenged the election, Billy, right? He challenged the election. How dare -- we have to indict him. He challenged the election. They talked about slates. I had nothing to do with slates. But people, patriots, had to do with slates. And they indict them. Thomas Jefferson did slates. There have been slates all over.

On Alabama, which I won, I think, by 45 points in 2016, even more now. But Alabama, they said, I cheated on Alabama. We won by 45, and they challenged it. They challenged it. The same way they're challenging. It's such a disgrace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Little bit hard to follow his messaging there, but a lot of what he said was really focused on the past, 2020, 2016, as you heard there. But there was some that was focused on the future, and it was very clear when he was talking about this race in particular that he views Nikki Haley as a threat. They do believe, Donald Trump and his team, that he's going to win by a large margin tomorrow.

But the question is, just how big of a margin, and will it be enough to stop the momentum they see from Nikki Haley not only here in Iowa but particularly in the New Hampshire. We know that his team has been very concerned by her rise in the polls there. They are spending $4.5 million combined just ahead of the primary, just attacking Nikki Haley. And just for reference, his team is spending zero dollars attacking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

[16:05:02]

So they're pouring all of their money into these attacks on Nikki Haley. And he spent a significant portion of his time today going over Nikki Haley's record, saying that she wasn't suitable to be president, that she was weak, a message that we're likely to continue to hear for the next couple of days and particularly the next couple of hours, as we lead up into those caucuses.

ACOSTA: All right, Kristen Holmes with the Trump campaign. Did not think we would hear the former president invoking Thomas Jefferson today, but here we are. All right, Kristen, thank you very much.

Now to CNN's Kylie Atwood with the Nikki Haley campaign in Des Moines.

Kylie, some encouraging news for Haley in that latest Iowa polling. But still, she's way behind the former president. What are they saying?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Nikki Haley's campaign and Nikki Haley herself, of course, are welcoming the fact that that poll overnight shows her closing the gap substantially here in Iowa and coming up ahead of Ron DeSantis. If Nikki Haley is able to pull out a number two spot here in Iowa, that gives her extra momentum going into New Hampshire.

It really sets it up for it to become a one-on-one competition between she and the former president, former President Trump. That's what her campaign has been saying for a while now. But if she exceeds expectations here in Iowa, it really does give her an extra boost heading into New Hampshire, where she has already done quite well in some recent polls that have come out of the state.

Now Nikki Haley, for her part, is talking about Iowa having the opportunity to set the tone in part of the Republican primary process tomorrow. She's telling caucus goers to put on all of their layers, to show up to the polls, to show up to caucus, because, of course, if they don't cast a ballot, they're not going to be able to change what she called the trajectory that the country is headed in.

Now one of the things that was interesting about that poll overnight is that it showed among those likely caucus-goers for Trump, they are extremely enthusiastic for him. 49 percent saying that they are extremely enthusiastic. When it comes to Nikki Haley's supporters, only 9 percent said that they are extremely enthusiastic. Now, Nikki Haley, for her part on FOX News responding to that, saying, she's not all that concerned. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not a political pollster. I'm not going to worry about the numbers. What I am going to say is the momentum and the energy on the ground is strong. We feel it. We know that this is moving in the right direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: Now, of course, Nikki Haley trying to say that it's momentum at the events that she's seeing. It's momentum on the ground that she is feeling. But the reason that enthusiasm is likely going to map for tomorrow, Jim, is because of the weather we're seeing right now. These extreme frigid temperatures. Right now there's a reason we're inside. It's negative 10 degrees outside, feels like negative 33 with that wind chill. And tomorrow is expected to be in the negative degrees as well.

So if you have enthusiastic supporters, they're more likely to head out than those who are less enthusiastic. It's an area for the Nikki Haley campaign, for all of these campaigns, to really watch. And so Nikki Haley has one more event that's taking place tonight. She's set to start another event here in Ames, Iowa, today in suburban area of the state, where she's poised to potentially do quite well.

ACOSTA: All right. Kylie Atwood, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Glad you're indoors staying warm.

Let's bring in our panel of guests. Joining me now is CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Paul Begala, CNN senior political commentator and Republican strategist Ana Navarro, and "Vanity Fair" special correspondent Molly Jong-Fast.

Guys, thanks to all of you, really appreciate it. Here we are on the eve of the Iowa caucuses. Trump is back to revving up his crowds with some pretty nasty rhetoric. Here is a clip of Trump talking about Jimmy Carter and saying he is a happy man right now following the passing of First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I always say Jimmy Carter is the happiest man alive right now, and it's good because he's somewhat elderly, right? Somewhat. My wife went to the funeral of Rosalynn two months ago. It's a beautiful funeral. But Jimmy Carter is a happy man right now because people are considering, compared to Biden, his presidency to be a brilliant presidency. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I mean, just sounds like ugly stuff, Ana. I mean, what's your response to this? Why is he talking about Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter? I just don't get it.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I don't get it either. And I think it's a good thing that neither of us get it because, you know, this is kind of like the incoherent, irrelevant, tangential, just crazy things that come out of Donald Trump's mouth all the time.

[16:10:01]

If they were coming out of Joe Biden's mouth, he'd be -- you know, we'd be hearing that he needed to be in an insane asylum or an old folk's home. But since it's Donald Trump saying it and it's his base, he gets away with saying things that are absolutely insane.

Jimmy Carter is a very elderly man in very frail health in hospice, who has -- whose, you know, presidency we can disagree on, but who has done very good things since his presidency and who just lost his wife. He has nothing to do with what Donald Trump is saying. But I guess he's got to fill up all of that time that he speaks with stupid things. And this is just one more of those today.

ACOSTA: Yes, Paul. I mean, who is the happiest man alive after your wife passes away?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Of 71 years.

ACOSTA: Yes.

BEGALA: It's quite insane. I think Ana is right. You just have this sort of verbal diarrhea that Mr. Trump spews. And this -- I think he's still poised for a very strong finish tomorrow.

ACOSTA: Oh, yes.

BEGALA: On a good day, 25 percent of Iowa Republicans participate in the caucus. 25 percent turn out on a good day. This is -- Kylie says minus 10 outside? So that favors Trump. Why? Because his followers are committed. I mean, some of them are incarcerated.

(LAUGHTER)

BEGALA: I shouldn't laugh about it, but my god, they are the most fanatically loyal, devoted followers of any political figure I've ever seen. It's more of a cult of personality than a campaign. And so I suspect they love this stuff. It's everything that -- but it does create an opening for Nikki Haley. And I think -- if I can advise Governor Haley, she needs to say, look, Trump may be innocent. He may be guilty. We don't know.

But we do know he's distracted. All he talks about is himself. I'm going to be in this for you. That's the way to weave through all the legal problems which has a lot of Republicans rallying to Trump. But point out to them, look -- I would say he's like Pavarotti before the opera. It's me, me, me, me. Governor Haley should say, I'm going to focus on you, you, you, you.

ACOSTA: Yes. And Molly, what about Ana's point that there's a double standard here? I mean, If Joe Biden were out there, you know, talking about this kind of stuff, folks would have a field day with it. And here we have Donald Trump one day before the Iowa caucuses talking about Thomas Jefferson, saying this nonsensical stuff about the Carters.

MOLLY JONG-FAST, "VANITY FAIR" SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Trump said a lot of crazy stuff yesterday. Trump says a lot of crazy stuff all the time and then complains about how there's something wrong with Biden. And even that video of him walking back to his hotel looking exhausted, you know, he's two and a half years younger than Biden. So it's kind of a glass house.

I actually think the reason that Trump brought up Carter is because Trump is running in the general now and he wants to make Biden sound like Carter because Carter was not re-elected, as opposed to Obama and Clinton. And Carter struggled with inflation. And it happens to be that Biden has created a soft landing in this economy. But he's not getting credit for it. So Trump is hoping, I think actually, that he will be defeated like Carter.

So I actually think that he may have heard a strategist talking to him about making Biden look like Carter. But I think -- look, a lot of times, Trump just says crazy stuff, like the slates of elector stuff. But sometimes he has good political instincts that get mixed in there. And so I think that might have been what was going on there.

ACOSTA: Yes. Maybe we shouldn't go down that rabbit hole too much further. But, Ana, let me ask you about this "Des Moines Register" poll. If you're Nikki Haley, I mean, obviously they want to see the glass as half full. But, you know, it almost seems as though she and Ron DeSantis have a quarter of a glass at this point. I mean, they're very far behind Donald Trump. What's your sense of it? Can she emerge from the Iowa caucuses if the poll is dead on, as it usually is? Can she be satisfied with this kind of a result?

NAVARRO: Actually, I think she can. Look, if she ends up being number two, that is the big story we're going to be talking about. We all expect Donald Trump to win by 20 points, by double digits, by a huge margin. But Ron DeSantis has put all his eggs in this Iowa basket. He has told us over and over again how he's gone to all 99 counties. He's been spending all the time there. And this is the place that where he put his stake on the ground.

And so if tomorrow he ends up not in second place but in third place, what we're going to be asking is, when is Ron DeSantis going to drop out and Nikki Haley is going to be positioned as the Republican alternative to Trump going into New Hampshire, which is a good place for her? So, yes, I think if the Iowa register poll is right, it's going to be a good day for her. We shall see. ACOSTA: And, Paul, what do you think? I mean, DeSantis, he banked on

this sort of -- you know, what do they call it, the full Grassley, you know, visiting all 99 counties. Rick Santorum did it, actually worked out well for him.

[16:15:07]

BEGALA: Years ago I worked for Dick Gephardt. He went to all 99 counties. He won Iowa, and we remember that Gephardt presidency, don't we?

(LAUGHTER)

ACOSTA: Yes. That's right. Iowa doesn't always pick presidents as they say. Yes.

BEGALA: No. And Nikki Haley got in trouble for saying it but she's told the truth.

ACOSTA: Yes.

BEGALA: Bob Dole, who won Iowa handily, as is the last Republican nominee who won Iowa, he didn't get to be president either.

ACOSTA: Yes.

BEGALA: So it's not very -- in fact, last -- in 2016, Mr. Trump lost Iowa narrowly and then won New Hampshire by 20. So I think Ana is right. The showdown is going to be Haley and Mr. Trump in New Hampshire. And there, the bar should be very high for Donald Trump because he won there the last time by 20. He's never won the Iowa caucuses before. He's likely to win them. So he should have very high expectations in New Hampshire.

I think Haley -- she's very well positioned to go gunning for him in New Hampshire, where the electorate is far larger as a matter of turnout and far more moderate. A lot of independents vote in New Hampshire. That's very good for Governor Haley. And yes, Ron DeSantis, I mean, believe me, he is right now just Googling cheap airfares back to Tallahassee.

ACOSTA: Yes. Molly, I mean, you know, he was saying on CNN earlier today, no, no, no, he's in it for the long haul and so on. But it's hard to see where this race goes for him if, you know, this plays out the way it's shaping up.

JONG-FAST: Yes. I mean, I think Trumpism without the charisma has very small window for donors. And I think they've decided they don't want it. Nikki is a real contender to Trump. But the problem fundamentally is that Trump is not going to drop out. So I don't know where Nikki Haley can -- I mean, even if she won every primary, like, there is no world in which Trump is like, OK, I've been beaten. So, it comes -- so, you get stuck with the problem of Trump. And I think this has been the problem with Trump since 2016.

ACOSTA: Yes. And, you know, the question that I keep coming back to, Paul, is -- and Ana, you can weigh in on this as well -- you know, Trump's lead, I mean, the way he leads with supporters who are enthusiastic about going out to vote for him, or caucus for him, way ahead. I mean, double digits ahead of where DeSantis and Nikki Haley are. They're just more motivated, his supporters.

BEGALA: Like nothing we've ever seen. I mean, I've been in campaigns a long time. You know, your strong supporters put a bumper sticker out. These folks have a flag, which I've never seen for a politician before. And those are the soft Trumps. The hardcore ones, they have like neck tattoos that say "Make America Great Again," yes, they're G- R-A-T-E, they're misspelled but their hearts are in the right place.

These people literally, some of them go to prison for Donald Trump. So that does favor him especially in the low turnout, bad weather caucus. But at some point, it is going to be one-on-one with Nikki Haley, and I think it's going to be very, very soon. I still would bet on Trump because of the fanatical following he's got. But Haley is going to give him a run for it.

ACOSTA: But in some of that sound, Ana, that we're playing earlier, what was very interesting, it was the way that Donald Trump was distancing himself from the people who are orchestrating the alternate, the fake slates of electors. So while he has all this enthusiasm, he has all this loyalty, when it comes down to it, he still wants to distance himself from the people who, by hook or by crook, were trying to get him back into the White House in 2020.

NAVARRO: Well, he might want to distance himself, even though, listen, we've, you know, we've heard him refer to the insurrectionists on January 6th as hostages, we hear him portray them as political prisoners and things like that. He might want to distance himself a little bit, but they don't want to distance themselves from him.

I saw an interview on CNN of a woman who was about to go to jail for him this week. And she's still loyal to him. So it's a level of cult- like loyalty. It is what it is. We've been calling it that for five, six years. It has not changed. It has not softened, which is frankly incredible. It's not only that they have flags, like Paul says. It's that they have flags the size of king sized -- California king sized duvets, which might be good for them in Iowa given the weather. Maybe they get another use out of them.

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, just very quickly, Molly, is it a cult? Is that -- I mean, is that's what's coming out in these numbers?

JONG-FAST: I mean, look, I think part of what Trump has benefitted from is the Republican cowardice. So many Republicans have refused to go against him, have refused to challenge his version of reality, that a schism has grown. And you saw this last week with Elise Stefanik saying that they were hostages, these January 6th rioters.

ACOSTA: Right.

JONG-FAST: So I think that is a real problem. And I think some group of Trump supporters have tipped into a kind of earth to reality, which I'm not entirely sure how you get those people back to earth one. [16:20:09]

ACOSTA: Yes. All right. We'll see. Ana, Paul, Molly, thanks so much. We'll all be watching tomorrow. Thanks again. Appreciate it.

Still ahead, former Iowa Republican governor Terry Branstad joins us live. There he is right there. He's an expert on everything about Iowa politics. Very popular governor in the state, and also served under former President Trump. We'll ask him what he thinks about what's going to happen tomorrow night. Stay with us.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: It's the last day of campaigning in Iowa ahead of tomorrow's caucuses and Donald Trump is continuing to dominate his Republican rivals in the state. The "Des Moines Register's" final poll shows Trump is the top pick for 48 percent of likely caucus-goers.

[16:25:02]

He's 28 points ahead of Nikki Haley who's moved into second place. Ron DeSantis has fallen into third with just 16 percent.

Let's discuss now with former Republican governor Terry Branstad of Iowa. He also served as U.S. ambassador to China under former President Trump.

Ambassador, great to see you. Thanks so much for being with us. I don't know if I should call you ambassador, governor. We can call you both. But --

TERRY BRANSTAD, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP: I answer to either. No problem. Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Appreciate you being on. What was your reaction to the numbers, and is it your experience that "The Des Moines Register" is pretty dead on when it comes to these right before Iowa caucus polls?

BRANSTAD: Yes. Ann Seltzer is one of the best political pollsters in the whole country, and her polls are usually pretty accurate. Obviously a lot depends on turnout. But it looks like Trump is going to win a very convincing victory here in Iowa. He's got a lot of support especially because what he did for renewable energy and what he did for the border.

People are very upset about the open border that we have under Biden and the inflation and the wars that were going on in the world today. And they just think we need -- we've got a weak president and we need a strong president that will be respected like Trump was.

ACOSTA: And I -- just to follow up on that, Governor, I mean, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, they've been basically hitting the same things as Donald Trump. BRANSTAD: Right.

ACOSTA: What is it about Trump?

BRANSTAD: And they're good.

ACOSTA: Yes. What is it about Trump? Is it basically like --

BRANSTAD: He's got the record.

ACOSTA: Is he running basically as an incumbent -- almost like an incumbent president? Is that your sense of it, or what is it?

BRANSTAD: Well, he's got the record and people look back and they compare Biden, frail, weak, and his policies have been terrible. And they look back to Trump and they say, we had the best economy we've ever had, more people at work. We were not at war in so many places around the world. And so Trump has got a strong following. But I think both DeSantis and Governor Haley have run good campaigns, have strong followings.

Any one of those three, I think, could beat Biden. So I think Iowans respect and appreciate the time and effort that's been put in by all of the candidates. And I think, despite the weather, we're going to have a great turnout tomorrow.

ACOSTA: And let me ask you, you have -- have you made an endorsement in these caucuses?

BRANSTAD: No, I haven't. It's a secret ballot at the caucus. But, you know, obviously I feel some loyalty to Trump. He appointed me ambassador to China. And you serve at the pleasure of the governor -- of the president. And I had a good relationship with him. He listened to the concerns we had, and he certainly supported the Iowa economy, our farmers, and renewable fuel, and the jobs in industry.

And a lot of working people used to be Democrats but have become Republicans and are supporting not only Donald Trump but Republicans at the state and legislative level because they think -- they feel the Democratic Party only cares about the elites on the East Coast and the West Coast, the academic and Hollywood types. And the working people don't have a place in their party anymore.

So they've become Republican. And in counties that Democrats always used to carry, we're now electing Republicans to Congress, to the legislature, and to the state office.

ACOSTA: Governor, let me ask you, one of the -- if we delve into this "Des Moines Register" poll a little bit more, it shows more than half of evangelical Christians, who usually make up a majority of Iowa caucus-goers, are solidly behind Donald Trump. Ron DeSantis has about 22 percent, 12 percent backing Nikki Haley. Why are evangelical voters so enamored with Trump? You know, one of the things --

BRANSTAD: Because of the --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: Well, I mean, one of the things that you'll -- just if you can give me just a moment, Governor. I'm just curious why evangelicals would support Trump, given a lot of the rhetoric that he uses, talking about immigrants the way he does, saying that they're poisoning the blood of this country, the way he has at times echoed the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler, has talked about wanting to be a dictator for one day if he's elected back to the White House. Doesn't some of that kind of talk turn off evangelicals?

BRANSTAD: Well, I think a lot of what he said there is really joking. And people look at his record as opposed to the rhetoric, and they're -- they like what he did, the appointments that he made.

[16:30:04]

They like the record that he had -- record level of people employed, minorities getting significant increase in their take-home pay and all of this.

And so, consequently, I was interviewed by an Arab media group that said the people in the Middle East really look back to the days when Trump was in office, and we had a strong leader that took out some of the -- took out ISIS and some of the militants. And now they see a weak president who has not responded effectively to the attacks that we've seen coming from the --

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: But you're not --

BRANSTAD: -- radicals in the Middle East.

ACOSTA: I hear you. But just to follow that, but as somebody who served as administration, you're not concerned about the way his administration ended, with January 6th? You're not concerned about all of these indictments and all of these counts against him, doesn't give you any pause?

BRANSTAD: Well, I -- well, first of all, I think what happened on January 6th was bad. I also think that all of the rioting that we had throughout the summer of 2020 was bad. But I think we've got a two- tier legal system, where the Biden family is being protected and these left-wing prosecutors are attacking Trump.

And so, I think he's gained -- every time they've done this, he's gained more support because they feel it's not fair.

ACOSTA: Well, there have been grand juries that have handed down indictments, not necessarily left-wing prosecutors.

BRANSTAD: Yes, they're grand juries is very -- you know, these are in very liberal jurisdictions. And the country is deeply divided. And this is just making it worse.

We should not be prosecuting people that are running for office. That's what they do in dictatorships in third world countries.

ACOSTA: You're okay with his --

BRANSTAD: Voters should --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: -- actions before January 6th? You're okay with his trying to overturn the election results and he and his advisers putting together slates of electors --

BRANSTAD: Well, I think --

ACOSTA: That's okay in Terry Branstad's book?

BRANSTAD: Well, listen. I've been elected governor more times than anybody else. I've never lost an election. I believe in our system and our process.

I don't think Trump is being treated fairly, and especially you in the media and the academic people in this country have not really given him a fair shake.

So, this is why I think a lot of people that feel they're part of the forgotten working class in this country feels that even though they may traditionally have been Democrats are now strong supporters of Trump. And I don't think that's going to change until the media changes and becomes a little more fair --

ACOSTA: I hear you --

(CROSSTALK)

BRANSTAD: -- in their treatment.

ACOSTA: Some of that criticism is fine. We can take it. We're big boys and girls.

Governor, back to my question. Are you okay with the way -- you served in the Trump administration. Are you okay with the way it ended with Trump trying to overturn the election results? He did not win that election. And then inciting an attack on the Capitol on January 6? You're okay with that?

BRANSTAD: I don't like the language of -- no. I don't agree with what happened on that day, and I think it's been mischaracterized what he said on that particular day.

But I think that's just one day. I think we ought to look at the whole record and picture of what he did. He treated me very well as ambassador. I was invited back to the Oval Office and to report on what was going on. And our relations with China, you know, despite they're being our biggest competitor in the world, we're handling, I think, well.

ACOSTA: He praises Xi Jinping all the time. Do you think that's appropriate? Do you think he should be out there praising Xi Jinping at these rallies that he has? BRANSTAD: Well, first of all, they had a good relationship until Xi

Jinping lied to him about COVID. And that soured the whole situation. Prior to that, we were working well and we -- you know, we got the phase one trade agreement. That was good. It's made a real difference for our farmers and for our manufacturers.

But the Chinese mishandled the COVID situation, and it became a worldwide pandemic.

[16:35:06]

And I think Trump has never forgiven him for what they did, and rightly so. I just don't feel that was handled right. And we had people at the embassy in Beijing that could have helped them. But they would not return our phone calls.

ACOSTA: All right. Governor Branstad, thank you very much for your time, Mr. Ambassador.

More news straight ahead. Stay with us.

BRANSTAD: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Federal officials say three migrants drowned in the Rio Grande River yesterday in Eagle Pass, Texas, near the U.S./Mexico border. A mother and her two children drowned in an area where Texas agencies have blocked access to federal border patrol agents.

CNN White House reporter Priscilla Alvarez joins me now.

[16:40:02]

Priscilla, what can you tell us?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Jim, this is a situation that has raised alarm bells here at the White House and across the administration. Officials have been telling me that they are increasingly concerned about the actions that the state of Texas has been taking along its shared border with Mexico. And this is just the latest example of that.

In this case, a woman and two children drowned in the Rio Grande on Friday evening, that according to the Department of Homeland Security. What happened here was that the Border Patrol agents were responding to a distress call from the Mexican government. But when they tried to access the area where these three migrants were crossing, they could not get to it because they were being blocked by Texas.

Now, this is an area that Texas, last week, blocked border patrol from accessing, and it has been an escalation in this ongoing dispute between the Biden administration and the state. And in a statement, the White House saying the following, quote, while we continue to gather facts about the circumstances of these tragic deaths, one thing is clear. Governor Abbott's political stunts are cruel, inhumane, and dangerous.

U.S. Border Patrol must have access to the border to enforce our laws. The Texas military department, which has personnel in that particular area, said they did not witness distressed migrants. This is a situation that is now up at the Supreme Court, where the Justice Department filed last week for the Supreme Court's intervene to provide access to Border Patrol, Texas saying they will address it.

All of this very much unfolding and developing, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Priscilla, thank you very much.

Still ahead, a new documentary about Trump ally and self-proclaimed dirty trickster, Roger Stone. We're talking to the director next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[16:45:59]

ACOSTA: A new documentary out this month in theaters captures on film a top Trump ally and his role in the January 6th insurrection. The director of "A Storm Foretold" spent years shadowing the self- proclaimed dirty trickster, Roger Stone. The documentary helps tell the story of Trump's desperate fight to hold onto power in the final days of his presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER STONE, LONGTIME TRUMP ALLY: Been really focused on trying to help Donald win this election which -- you know, and I'm doing that unofficially and informally because his campaign is so extraordinarily (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up. Will he win? I don't know. Can he win? It's possible.

This is not a campaign structured for a dogfight, and that's what we have now. So, independent action is required, you know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And joining us now from Denmark is the director, Christoffer Guldbrandsen.

Christopher, great to be with you. Thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

I just want to ask you because we're before the Iowa caucuses here. Trump is on the verge of winning the caucuses, and here's a guy that tried to overturn the 2020 election and incited his mob of supporters to attack the Capitol on January 6th.

You chronicled a lot of this in your documentary. Did you think that was the end of Trump as a national candidate? CHRISTOFFER GULDBRANDSEN, FILMMAKER & DIRECTOR: To be honest, yes.

Not in my wildest imagination have I expected we would be in this situation today.

ACOSTA: And let's play a clip from your film, showing Roger Stone speaking about the 2020 election in July of that year. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STONE: The election will be normal. The election will not be normal. Oh, these are the California results? Sorry, we're not accepting them. We're challenging them in court. If the electors show up at the Electoral College, armed guards will throw them out. I'm the president. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you.

I'm challenging all of it, and the judges we're going to are judges I appointed. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you. You're not stealing the election.

That's what -- that's basically what Bush did to Gore. So, you know, if they want to run a bunch of fake ballots, we'll have an investigation. We'll say, these ballots are fake. Your results are invalidated. Good-bye. That's the way it's going to have to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yeah, Christoffer, what should viewers take away from this film when they see clips like that in light of what took place on January 6th?

GULDBRANDSEN: Well, I think -- what I hope they will take away is the film demonstrates and documents beyond any doubt that Donald Trump would never accept defeat. And it shows -- it's an eyewitness account of how they prepared an assault on democracy and how this has only escalated since then.

And, of course, it's also a story that is the beginning of what might happen in November, the looming threat of chaos come November.

ACOSTA: And so you think this could happen once again.

GULDBRANDSEN: Well, I -- I'm surprised you ask this question. I think it's obvious to anyone. I know you have followed it very closely and have asked a lot of the difficult questions. But it has only escalated. I think that's very transparent to everyone.

And I think in terms of the film, it was interesting to hear earlier on your show former Governor Branstad talk about Trump's rhetoric and, kind of, brush it off as jokes and that he means it jokingly.

If there was one thing I learned being immersed with the Trump movement for over four years, it was to believe every word they said because that was what they were going to do, regardless of how norm- breaking or shocking what they said was, they ended up doing it.

[16:50:02] ACOSTA: Yeah. That's an excellent point. And there's another point in the film where Stone is talking about Rudy Giuliani. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think he can get help from Giuliani?

STONE: No, no, no, no, because there's better choices. Rudy is a great guy. He's been very helpful to me. He's very loyal. But he likes booze and (EXPLETIVE DELETED) a little too much. He's a single guy, so he's getting a lot of (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: You know, Christopher, a lot of the small fish have been prosecuted for their crimes around January 6th and the 2020 election, but really none of the big ones. I mean, we have not seen the people at the top of these efforts to overturn the 2020 election face justice, not yet at least.

Do you think that that's going to happen? I mean, even today, we heard Trump saying, well, he wasn't the one responsible for the slates of electors. That was other people that supported him who were responsible for those slates of electors. You know, he almost putting distance between himself and those people.

GULDBRANDSEN: Well, it's definitely difficult to -- it's difficult for me to say. But what I would like to say in that context was that I followed Stone, as he lit the fuel. He was the architect of the Stop the Steal movement, and he definitely has not held responsible for that.

But as we follow it towards January 6th, there's another point I just want to make -- I'm sorry if I'm jumping. But Governor Branstad talked to you about -- he started criticizing the media and the coverage. And another very important lesson for me in this process -- I'm seeing this from an outside perspective. But I was there on January 6 at the Capitol and standing -- I was immersed with the Stop the Steal movement.

So I was looking from their side over to where all the reporters were standing, seeing how they were physically attacked by Trump supporters. So, that rhetoric, I mean, all of this rhetoric should be taken very seriously.

For me, that was a shocking moment. And I'm actually surprised to hear Governor Branstad address it and keep pushing that agenda, when we have seen the serious counsel consequences that we did on January 6th.

ACOSTA: Indeed. All right. We'll be looking for your film in theaters. Christoffer Guldbrandsen, the director of "The Storm Foretold" -- Christoffer, thank you very much for your time.

And coming up next, tonight, a volcano in Iceland erupting again. We'll show you that in a few moments. Stay with us.

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[16:57:11]

ACOSTA: A new rush of lava today is forcing a second evacuation in a fishing town in Iceland. The molten lava setting two houses ablaze and opening fissures in the roads. Local authorities are closely monitoring the flow amid concerns of more damaged infrastructure.

Dan Marburger. in the meantime, the principal of Perry High School, who acted heroically to save students during a mass shooting, died today from injuries he received in that attack. By talking to and distracting the shooter as the deadly attack unfolded at a high school near Des Moines on January 4th. A sixth grade student was killed and seven others were wounded.

Marburger's wife, Elizabeth, said in a post, he fought hard and gave us ten days we will cherish forever. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds ordered the flags lowered to half staff in that state today.

And we'll be right back.

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