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CNN International: Trump Dominates in Final Poll Ahead of Iowa Caucuses; Texas Faces Scrutiny After Women, Children Die in Rio Grande; U.K. to Send 20,000 Personnel in NATO Deployment; Flowing Lava Forces Evacuations in Icelandic Town. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired January 15, 2024 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: But there is concern that voter turnout could be much lower than expected as Iowa faces a brutal round of winter weather. Candidates braved the cold on Sunday to crisscross the state looking for last-minute support as Donald Trump lashed out at his opponents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ron DeSanctimonious and Nikki Haley will never secure our border, and they'll never come close to it.
Ron and Nikki also want to gut Social Security and Medicare for Seniors. Now they're changing their tune. First of all, they're both getting killed by Biden in the polls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: And some endorsement news. Marco Rubio chooses Trump. The Florida senator threw his support behind the former president in a social media post on Sunday.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Rubio cited his work to expand the child tax credit, along with sanctions placed on Cuba and Venezuela when Trump was in the White House.
NOBILO: Nikki Haley brushed off his endorsement of Trump despite the presidential hopeful endorsing Rubio herself back in 2016. CNN's Dana Bash spoke with Haley on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I was with you in 2016 in South Carolina when you endorsed Marco Rubio. I don't know if you heard he just endorsed former President Trump. Is that disappointing?
NIKKI HALEY (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, look, this is where they do that. I don't care as much about elected officials endorsing as much as I care about the voters' endorsements. I've never really cared for -- I don't line up a bunch of endorsements to do that. I want to win the people's vote.
Because at the end of the day, they're the ones that I'm going to be serving. They're the ones I'm going to be working for. They're the ones I'm going to be fighting for. So as long as I get theirs, I don't care about the rest.
BASH: Larry Hogan endorsed you. Is that something you welcome?
HALEY: I mean, look, if anybody wants to, we'll take it. But it's not something I seek. It's not something I fight for. I want to make sure that people know I'm going to go into this, I'm going to overcommunicate. I'm going to tell them everything I know as president. And I'm going to fight every day to make them proud. That's what I did as governor. That's what I did as ambassador. That's what I'll do as president.
BASH: Donald Trump, among other things, says that you're not tough enough to be president. How do you interpret that?
HALEY: I find it comical, because when I was at the U.N., he always used to tell people, don't mess with her. She's tough. And look, I was tough as a governor. You know, I took on -- you know, whether it was passing the toughest illegal immigration law in the country, whether it was taking on my own legislature when I made them start to record their votes on the record, whether it was at the U.N. with Russia, China, and Iran. Everybody that's ever worked for me or worked with me, no one ever questions my toughness.
He's saying this because now he knows he's in trouble. Now he knows this is becoming a two-person race. So, I know that he knows the truth. It doesn't bother me at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: All eyes on the Iowa caucuses then, and perhaps none more attentive than those in the Biden campaign, because the final pre- caucus poll shows 48 percent of likely Republican caucus goers backing Trump, putting him well ahead of Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. That has some wondering if 2024 could shape up to be a Trump versus Biden rematch.
NOBILO: The Biden campaign's communication director weighed in on the eve of the Iowa caucuses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL TYLER, BIDEN CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: We're certainly prepared to wage this campaign against Donald Trump. He's certainly leading in the polls right now, but I'll leave the punditry to others here.
What we are focused on is drawing the sharp contrast between this entire field, because no matter who emerges, whether it's Donald Trump, as folks are expecting, after Iowa, or anybody else, they will have done so by running on the most extreme and harmful agenda in modern presidential politics. These are all candidates who are talking about banning abortion nationwide. They're talking about ripping away health care for millions of Americans who need it. They're talking about slashing taxes for millionaires and corporations at the expense of the middle class.
And they're doing all that, by the way, when they're not talking about tearing down the fabric of our democracy. And so, the contrast is going to be abundantly clear, whether it's Trump or anybody else who emerges coming out of the caucus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The White House is demanding that Texas give U.S. Border Patrol agents access to a section of land along the southern border with Mexico, where three migrants drowned, trying to cross the Rio Grande.
NOBILO: The Biden administration accuses Texas state officials of blocking federal agents who were there and trying to offer help. Rafael Romo explains what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we know is that a woman and two children drowned sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning in the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas.
This information originally came from Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar, and later corroborated by other agencies. Cuellar said in a post on social media that the U.S. Border Patrol learned Friday at about 9 p.m. that a group of six migrants was in distress. According to the congressman, Border Patrol officials called the Texas Military Department, the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety but were unsuccessful in relaying the information by phone.
Cuellar also said that Texas Military Department soldiers stated they would not grant access to the migrants, even in the event of an emergency, and that they would send a soldier to investigate the situation. The bodies of three migrants were recovered hours later by Mexican authorities. The Department of Homeland Security has also confirmed the deaths.
There's a huge controversy at the border because, as we have previously reported, the U.S. Border Patrol has been blocked out of Shelby Park, an area at the U.S. border with Mexico, that had until recently served as a holding area for migrants.
[04:35:00]
Last Wednesday night, Texas authorities erected fencing, gates, and razor wire to take custody and control of the park. That means that Border Patrol agents, who as part of the regular duties rescue migrants in distress, did not have access to the area where the migrants are believed to have drowned. In a statement, the Texas Military Department said the following.
At no time did TMD security personnel along the river observed any distressed migrants, nor did TMD turn back any legal immigrants from the U.S. during this period.
Adding that they were not made aware of any bodies in the area of Shelby Park at that time.
Both Customs and Border Protection and the White House have reacted to the drownings. Earlier on Sunday, a White House spokesperson said the following.
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.
Likewise, Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that: We remain gravely concerned by actions that prevent the U.S. Border Patrol from performing their essential missions of arresting individuals who enter the United States unlawfully and providing humanitarian response to individuals in need.
CNN has also reached to the office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who originally ordered the Texas Military Department to take over the park in Eagle Pass, but they have not yet publicly made any comment on what happened.
Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: We're learning more details about a resolution that would help the U.S. avert a government shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Mike Johnson released the text of a deal needing bipartisan support ahead of the quickly approaching Friday deadline.
FOSTER: The short-term bill would provide funding through early March, including $886 billion for defense spending and more than $700 billion in other areas, but far-right lawmakers have balked at this legislation and those spending figures.
With members of the Conservative House Freedom Caucus posting on X, quote, this is what surrender looks like.
NOBILO: The U.K. is expected to send some 20,000 forces to take part in one of NATO's largest deployments since the end of the Cold War.
FOSTER: Britain's defense minister is set to announce the plans later today. The deployment is expected to include military forces from 30 NATO countries plus Sweden as part of a measure to show the military bloc's resolve against Russian President Vladimir Putin and other regional threats.
Clare is with us. It's a huge number, 20,000, for quite a small military.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I worked it out. It's about 15 percent or so of the combined full-time professional Army, Navy, and Air Force. So, it's pretty big.
And given that NATO has already pre-announced this exercise and said that it would encompass some 40,000 troops, this signals that the U.K. is planning to send about half of that. We don't know if other countries will step up commitments and things like that. But it is big. The exercise is big. NATO has called it the biggest collective defense deployment since the end of the Cold War.
Obviously, the point of this is that the war in Ukraine is ongoing and the warnings have been stepping up that if Ukraine cannot fend off Putin, that Putin might go further.
This is what Grant Shapps says in his statement, that this will provide vital reassurance against the Putin menace.
But look, the U.K. is facing multiple challenges now to its military on multiple fronts, not just the sort of defense industry challenge of providing more and more equipment to Ukraine. We just saw that two and a half billion pounds, some $3 billion commitment last week for the next couple of years.
But now, of course, with the Red Sea and the U.K. taking part in those attacks on targets in Yemen with the U.S. and we're set to hear from Rishi Sunak later on today, he will have to face the Commons on that issue. Of course, the first time he's authorized a military deployment as prime minister. So, it will be a big moment for him.
And I'm sure he'll face questions as well about the U.K.'s participation in these NATO exercises.
FOSTER: OK. Clare, thank you.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is preparing for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, which is in Switzerland this weekend. World leaders gathering to discuss the globe's most pressing problems.
NOBILO: Zelenskyy says he's preparing to present Ukraine's position as well as join opportunities for those who strive towards a, quote, world of stability and freedom for their children. He's expected to address the forum in person.
We'll have live coverage from Davos all week, starting today at noon eastern time for you.
Israel has now marked a grim milestone, 100 days since the war with Hamas began. Crowds gathered in Tel Aviv Sunday for what's been called the 100 days of hell rally, held in what's known as Hostages Plaza. The 24-hour rally drew big numbers, with organizers claiming as many as 120,000 people were present at one point. Those in attendance observed 100 seconds of silence in honor of more than 100 Israeli hostages still held captive in Gaza. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIV BRASLAVSKI, BROTHER HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS: This is my big brother. He's kidnapped by Hamas. We hope we come back.
[04:40:00]
We wish he came back every day, every night, every time, every hour, every minute that passed. It's harder.
MEIRAV LESHEM GONEN, MOTHER OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE: I'm not waiting. We're not waiting. Because waiting means we need to trust somebody now again. And we lost the trust on the 7th of October.
So, we are not waiting. We are pushing our leaders to do what is right this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Meanwhile, the IDF says it's still uncovering launch sites used by Hamas forces to fire rockets at Israel.
The military's chief of staff claims Israel has successfully dismantled all Hamas military sites in northern Gaza. He says the continued pressure on Hamas will lead to their dismantling and the return of the remaining hostages.
NOBILO: A community in Iceland dealt with a series of earthquakes, then a volcano erupted. Now people are evacuating as lava surges into their coastal town once again. We'll have a live report in just a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: People living in the Icelandic fishing town are evacuating due to slow-moving lava. It's flowing into the community from a new crack in the nearby volcano.
NOBILO: Now the town is under evacuation orders and around 60 households have left so far. Many of the residents who evacuated before last month's eruption still haven't returned.
Let's go to reporter Barbie Nadeau, who joins us now live from Rome. Barbie, what more can you tell us about what's expected of these lava flows and how urgent the evacuations are?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Well, the evacuation is very urgent. It's not so much because of the threat of the lava flow to the human race there. It's because this lava flow produces a gas that can be an irritant for people with respiratory problems and for livestock and things like that. So, they're trying to evacuate the entire area.
[04:45:00]
After that December 18th eruption, which was also causing the evacuation of this area, the city officials actually built these lava walls, which have worked quite successfully to divert the flow of this lava to protect the town for the most part. Three homes we know are destroyed that were on the outskirts of town.
But this isn't the type of volcanic eruption that sent a plume of ash up into the air, which we saw a couple of years ago that affected air travel. Instead, this are these fissures and these cracks in the ground of this sort of burning plain that are the threat here.
And so, you know, you can't predict how long the eruption is going to last. You can't predict how much lava will flow. So, the authorities right now have done pretty much evacuated. They told us earlier most of the people in this town, that's 4,000 people in this fishing village. And it's really remains to be seen if and when they'll be able to return to their homes -- Bianca.
NOBILO: Barbie Nadeau in Rome, thank you.
FOSTER: Now, one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes has erupted for the second time in weeks. Mount Marapi became -- well, it started erupting Sunday morning. The country's geological agency warned residents and businesses to stay about three miles away from the crater and told those nearby to wear masks to protect themselves from that falling ash. Nearby homes and evacuation tents were covered in ash. An eruption in early December killed 23 people hiking the mountain at the time.
By now, everyone knows the top three candidates in the Republican presidential race. But did you know there's a fourth choice and a fifth and a sixth? Just ahead, a look at the Republican hopefuls who are doing a lot of hoping today.
[04:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Donald Trump leads the latest polls ahead of the Iowa caucuses, whilst Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are hoping for a late surge. But how's Ryan Blinkley doing, and who is indeed Ryan Blinkley?
NOBILO: You don't know who Ryan Blinkley is?
FOSTER: I do, but I was trying to articulate how a lot of people feel.
NOBILO: He's the founder of the Generational Equity Group, CEO. He's a pastor. Co-founded the Create Church. He's got a South Korean wife called Ellie, five kids. Impressed.
FOSTER: You're telling a lot of people things they don't know.
NOBILO: Yes, well there we go. He's one of several Republican candidates still vying for votes in Iowa, but not earning nearly as much attention as the front runners, obviously.
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson also still in the race. He's registering in the low single digits in most polls, though. But he says he needs to stay in the race as an alternative to Trump. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASA HUTCHINSON, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He has redefined the Republican Party, and not in a good way. And whenever you look at what I'm trying to do is draw attention to the fact that Donald Trump is a weak candidate for us going into the general election.
My responsibility and other candidates is to take on the front runner if you don't agree that he's the right one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: And Vivek Ramaswamy says he's expecting a better showing than the pundits are predicting. And he earns endorsements from people who had previously supported others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIVEK RAMASWAMY, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can't speak for anybody else's attitude towards our campaign. What I can tell you is that you'd have to have your head stuck in that snow pile to believe that we're not having a late surge here in this race. Many endorsers from other candidates coming over, late endorsements to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Oh, he's a good talker, isn't he?
NOBILO: Yes, definitely.
FOSTER: It'll be an uphill climb for all of these lesser-known candidates, though. In the final pre-caucus poll released over the weekend, Ramaswamy, Hutchinson and Binkley combined are still in a distant fourth place, and just ahead of Not Sure and None of the Above.
NOBILO: There have been many unforgettable moments during the lead-up to the Iowa caucuses in years past, and on the campaign trail in general.
FOSTER: CNN correspondent Randi Kaye takes a look back at some of the times candidates did their best, but things didn't quite go as planned.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Vermont Governor Howard Dean came in third place in the Iowa caucuses 20 years ago this was his response.
HOWARD DEAN (D), FORMER VERMONT GOVERNOR: And then we're going to go to Washington, D.C. to take back the White House. Yeah!
KAYE (voice-over): That scream and Dean's loss of momentum, perhaps because of it, put the brakes on his bid for the nomination. Then there was this wild laugh from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
which went viral last fall.
Iowa has a long history of memorable moments when it comes to presidential hopefuls. At the Iowa State Fair candidates devoured just about anything on a stick. Pork chops are always a winner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enjoy. Ready?
KAYE (voice-over): Where else but Iowa can candidates ride bumper cars? DeSantis did with his daughter Madison while Nikki Haley opted for ski ball. Vivek Ramaswamy wrapped up a fair side chat with Iowa's governor by launching into the iconic rap song by Eminem called "Lose Yourself."
RAMASWAMY: Now back to reality, up that goes gravity ...
KAYE (voice-over): Former president Donald Trump didn't rap, instead he danced at an Iowa rally despite his wife's request he stop doing that.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She said, darling, I love you. I love you but this is not presidential. You don't dance.
KAYE (voice-over): There have been other only in Iowa moments like this one from 2015 when Marco Rubio tried to have a friendly game of football with kids, but instead bumped one little boy on the head.
If Iowa teaches candidates anything it's that voters are listening and what they say can get them into trouble like when Mitt Romney told caucus-goers in 2011 that corporations are people, too.
SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): One is we can raise taxes on people. That's not the way --
[04:55:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Corporations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Corporations.
ROMNEY: Corporations are people, my friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they're not.
ROMNEY: We can raise taxes -- of course they are. Everything that corporations earn ultimately goes to people. Where do you think it goes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It goes into their pockets.
ROMNEY: Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People's pockets.
KAYE (voice-over): And in 2020, Pete Buttigieg found himself pleading with a silent crowd for applause.
PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: So, I'm going to look to you to spread that sense of hope to those that you know. Come on.
KAYE (voice-over): In 2007 former President Barack Obama also had a line that fell flat with caucus-goers. On an Iowa farm he noted rising supermarket prices asking the crowd, anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and seen what they charge for arugula? I man, they're charging a lot of money for this stuff. Turned out the state of Iowa didn't have a Whole Foods at the time. Obama quickly moved on to another topic, though he did go on to win the state.
Randi Kaye, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Man, are the people at Whole Foods.
NOBILO: This is just exactly -- it's like they always ask politicians over here how much a pint of milk costs, not how much the arugula cost.
FOSTER: Sunday's playoff action in the NFL brought some surprising and historic results in the early game. The Green Bay Packers stunned the Dallas Cowboys with their home stadium, becoming the first seven seed to win an NFL playoff game. The Packers jumped out from monster lead in the first half, behind masterful performances by quarterback Jordan Marvin, running back Aaron Jones. Final score, Green Bay 48, Dallas 32. The Packers will now face the NFC's top seed, the 49ers, in San Francisco this weekend.
Well, thanks for joining us. Iowa caucus is finally coming. We've been teasing it for a while now.
NOBILO: It is. It's very exciting to have all the results tomorrow.
FOSTER: We'll have that tomorrow, yes.
NOBILO: I'm Bianca Nobilo. This is Max Foster.
"EARLY START" --
FOSTER: Is it that funny?
NOBILO: -- coming up next -- no, it wasn't. What, you with your voice breaking?
FOSTER: That I'm Max Foster?
NOBILO: No, no, I'm still laughing about you going through puberty at 73.
