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Kennedy Center Will Close For Two Years For Renovations; Liam Ramos And Father Back In Minneapolis Following Release From Texas Detention Facility; Democrat Flips Texas State Senate Seat In District Trump Won In 2024; Projections: Democrats Face Tough Electoral College After 2031; The 68th Grammy Awards Tonight In Los Angeles; Parts Of NC, SC, TN, VA Saw More Than Foot Of Snow From Storm. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired February 01, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:01:16]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: And you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

We do have some breaking news out of Washington coming from the president. He's posting on social media saying the Kennedy Center, which the center's board has renamed the Trump Kennedy Center, is now set to close on July 4th for two years as it undergoes renovations.

Now, Trump currently chairs the board of trustees at the center. He had gotten rid of the former board of trustees, installed a new board that then elected him the chairman. Obviously, there has been a lot going on there at the Kennedy Center. It's gone through a lot of changes recently that have led to artists pulling out of performances.

We do have Brian Stelter, who is joining us now to talk more about this.

Brian, this is just happening. The president went on to say that the financing is complete. Don't worry about it. There are questions around what that exactly means because with some of these other renovations, like the East Wing, he's been taking private donations for that. Walk us through what you're seeing here.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Right. We've seen a wrecking ball at the East Wing. Now, we've seen a big curve ball with the Kennedy Center only months after Trump added his name to the building. And it is notable he's saying he first is going to get board approval. But let's make no mistake about this. Trump controls the board of the Kennedy Center now. He installed his friends and allies, as well as FOX stars like Maria Bartiromo, onto that board.

And it was the idea of the board to go ahead and add his name just a few weeks ago. And that was a vote that happened from the board that he handpicked. So for all intents and purposes, Trump is going to be the one leading this decision. And he is saying the financing is lined up, which is an interesting part of the curve ball, saying that he already has backing. This sounds like it's probably similar to the East Wing insofar as it's going to bring in private donors to remodel and renovate this building, this architectural gem in Washington, D.C.

So many people for so many decades have enjoyed performances at the Kennedy Center. And now Trump saying all of a sudden he's going to pull the plug, turn off the lights for two years because he believes the building is in that desperate need of renovation. So let's state the obvious. Many performers have been pulling out of the Kennedy Center, refusing to be a part of this Trumpian takeover of the arts institution. It started with stars like Lin-Manuel Miranda saying he didn't want "Hamilton" to be there.

You know, a lot of that happened last year, but there's been a domino effect in recent weeks as well. One of the biggest headlines, gosh, was only four or five days ago was about the composer Philip Glass, who wrote a symphony honoring Abraham Lincoln for the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Center. That was in 2022. He finished that symphony. He was going to debut it in June, and Philip Glass announced, I don't feel comfortable. The Kennedy Center right now does not have my values, does not share my values. And he withdrew.

That was a major blow. That was a stunning move in the arts world just a few days ago. But it's one of many examples of performers, of entertainment stars, not believing that that is the right stage for them at this moment in time.

And Jessica, one of the unknowns here, as we gather more information, is whether there were other artists and performers who made these decisions in the past couple of weeks while watching the news coverage out of Minneapolis. You know, we've seen a lot more pressure in the last week or so from business leaders and also from cultural leaders. There's been a lot of speculation about whether some of the stars who are winning awards tonight at the Grammys in L.A. are going to speak out about what's going on in Minneapolis and beyond.

So with that backdrop, with the Trump administration under pressure on multiple fronts, you have the president suddenly saying, let's just shut the whole thing down for two years and undergo a renovation. And although there might be really interesting construction reasons to do so, I think the entertainment industry, the arts world is going to point to all of these withdrawals, all these performers who don't want to be a part of the Trump Kennedy Center as the main motivating reason for this surprising move.

[19:05:13]

DEAN: Right. I think that's really important context here is that they have had challenges with ticket sales and with getting people to perform there, and that is really important when you are a performing arts center.

Brian, it also strikes me, as you kind of touched upon, just the remaking of Washington, D.C. in his, you know, image, in the sense that you have the East Wing. He's talking about building this arch. He's been talking about the golf courses. Again, for people who have been to D.C., live in D.C. or have never been there, the Kennedy Center really sits prominently there on the Potomac and is a real, you know, landmark, just with its architecture beyond what it does culturally. But it is --

STELTER: Yes. It absolutely is.

DEAN: Yes, yes. And so to remake that --

STELTER: And the "Washington Post" has a great reporting about this arch as well. This imagery of the arch that would be built across the river in Virginia. Gosh, on one level, it looks beautiful. It looks like an incredible addition to the landscape of Washington. But it has already caused a lot of concern about whether it will be too dominant on the horizon in Washington, D.C. so move by move, and I want to say inch by inch, it's more than inch by inch at this point with President Trump as he tries to make his mark on Washington.

This is going to be another big example. And there are some events that are lined up at the Kennedy Center. You know, the National Symphony Orchestra performs at the Kennedy Center. There are going to be questions about certain performers that are going to have to be moved as a result of this. But it is another major statement by the president, and it's going to be looked at through this very skeptical lens about whether ticket sales, whether people have been willing to show up in numbers that are sufficient.

You know, you remember back in December, Trump hosted the "Kennedy Center Honors" that were televised on CBS. The president bragged in advance about the ratings, but the ratings were actually down quite substantially year over year. And that's another one of those examples of the arts institution having to spin, having to try to explain away bad news for the institution. I got to say, every week there's been a headline like that in the news about this center.

Just a couple of days ago, they had hired a new programing director, and then the director quit within a matter of days. So just, it's been drip, drip, drip of bad news for this really important arts institution. And now you have Trump saying, let's turn out the lights for a couple of years. And in some ways just start over.

DEAN: All right. Yes. And again, as you note, the question around the financing will be key. Where is that money coming from? Who is it coming from?

STELTER: Yes.

DEAN: Brian Stelter, thanks for jumping on with us on that breaking news. The Kennedy Center now closing for two years for renovations.

Brian Stelter, thanks so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

DEAN: Trump administration also saying it may appeal a judge's ruling ordering the release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian from federal custody. Liam and his father are now back in Minneapolis after being released from a Texas detention center. Liam became the face of children really caught up in the Trump administration's ICE immigration enforcement. This image in particular, capturing so much attention, showing a

federal agent holding Liam by his Spider-man backpack while he was there in his coat and his hat. He was taken by immigration officials along with his father when he was coming home from preschool.

Let's bring in CNN's Julia Vargas Jones to talk more about where this stands now.

Julia, Liam and his father are now back home in Minneapolis. The question remains, what happens now with their asylum case as it works its way through the court system?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, and that's an important question, Jessica. After we heard from the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche this morning that there is very much a question in the eyes of the government of whether or not they were going through the proper channels in their requests for asylum.

I want you to hear straight from him what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: The immigration law, the body of immigration law, is much different than our typical criminal process because of the administrative nature of what we do every day. And so to the extent that we need to appeal that judge's decision, I promise we will.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: To clarify, the lawyer for Liam Ramos and his father say they were following the legal process for asylum.

BLANCHE: I mean, I don't know what that means. There's a very meaningful dispute about whether they had properly applied for asylum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now, Jessica, I will say an attorney for the family also told CNN that the family had gone through the proper means when they arrived in the United States in December of 2024. They applied for asylum. The attorney said the family was also not a flight risk and not a safety risk, and they should never have been detained.

Despite that, DHS at the time of Liam's fathers arrest called him, quote, "an illegal alien." Now, that decision from the judge doesn't necessarily make a decision or doesn't change necessarily the outcome of this asylum request.

[19:10:01]

It still needs to move through immigration courts, as any request would have to. What is in question here and what the government is appealing is whether or not Liam's father can wait for the decision from an immigration judge in liberty or not. And the argument from the judge was just that that should occur through an orderly and humane way. Now, what we are hearing from now Representative Joaquin Castro,

congressman there, sharing some photos of how that return home has been. He posted on X earlier today saying, quote, "Yesterday, 5-year- old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning. Liam is now home with his hat and his backpack. Thank you to everyone who demanded freedom from Liam. We won't stop until all children and families are home" -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Julia Vargas Jones, with the latest. Thanks so much for that.

Let's go now to Texas, where Democrats are celebrating another special election win, flipping a state Senate seat where Democrat Taylor Rehmet won by 14 points in a district won by Donald Trump by 17 points in 2024.

Texas Democratic Party chairman Kendall Scudder is joining us now.

Kendall, thanks so much for being here with us. We appreciate it. This Fort Worth area district has not elected a Democrat in decades. And we saw this swing this time. What do you think was resonating with voters and help people understand what is this district like?

KENDALL SCUDDER, CHAIR, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTY: I mean, this is a deeply Republican district. Tarrant County is the largest Republican county in the country. And Senate District Nine was the Senate district carved in Tarrant County for Republican representation. And so for Democrats to overperform this one by 31 points is a, you know, 9.5 level earthquake through the political apparatus in Texas.

It happened because of a coalition of things. Number one, we had a great candidate at the top with great message discipline that was constantly fighting on behalf of working people. He's a union leader and a veteran who is sick and tired of this government not serving the people it's supposed to serve, but also the Texas Democratic Party has been rethinking the way we've been operating. We're throwing out the rule book and reestablishing.

We made 20,000 door knocks, over a half million phone calls into the district. And so it's just been a real team effort with everybody up and down working together to win elections in this state.

DEAN: And so what does it signal to you then knowing all of that about where we're headed in the next, I mean, obviously a long time between -- a long time in political time between now and the midterms. But what is it telling you as someone who obviously is very familiar with Texas? The Democrats have tried very hard to make inroads there statewide and have come up short thinking, you know, I'm thinking about Senate seats. But what does it say to you right now? Do you think anything has actually shifted here?

SCUDDER: Texans are fiercely independent. OK. And so what I always warn people about Texas previous elections don't vote. Polls don't vote. Texans do. And right now they are fed up with the federal government that has huge overreach. They're tired of a government that's not focusing on making their lives better.

If we perform across the state the way we did last night, Texas isn't going to lose five seats after this gerrymandering. Texas will gain three seats for Democrats in this next cycle. I mean, I think you're looking at huge opportunities across this state if we perform even half as good as we did yesterday in the next cycle. And so I think Greg Abbott woke up today shaking in his boots. And he should because Texas Democrats don't cower to anyone.

We're scrappy and we do our best work when our backs are against the wall and we're ready to throw down and fight in every corner of this state to win elections this year.

DEAN: And obviously, you mentioned the redistricting that's been going on there in Texas. This -- in terms of, again, this is a state Senate seat that was won in that district. I'm curious about that particular district, though. Has it changed much since Trump won it in 2024, or is it essentially the same district?

SCUDDER: It is the same because the redistricting didn't impact our Senate districts or our House districts.

DEAN: Right.

SCUDDER: It was only our congressional. So this is the exact same district that Donald Trump won by 17 points a year ago. And so that, I think, is what's scaring them so much is, is how much that district has moved. Add that to the fact of there's so much momentum for Democrats in Texas right now. For the first time since 1974, we have a candidate in every state and federal office in Texas.

And we have -- so we have players all across the field ready to throw down. And so Republicans better be scared because we're bringing a fight to them this year.

DEAN: And so what's the plan between now and the midterms as the chairman of the party?

[19:15:04]

Texas is a big state, both in terms of actual geography, but also, you know, look, it's been a pretty Republican state overall for a while now. What is your plan to keep the momentum going?

SCUDDER: We're throwing back the old rule book. It hasn't worked for us. We're going to do it our way. And that means doing a 254 county strategy, where we show up in every corner of this state, doing it the old fashioned way. Shaking people's hands, looking them in the eye, telling them what we stand for and asking them for their vote. It's going to be a whole lot harder and maybe a little bit more scrappy.

But I think that this consultancy strategy that Democrats have adopted in the past, where they try to buy their way out of problems, it's not solving anything. We have to organize and focus on people from the bottom up, filling every precinct chair spot, every county chair spot, and making sure we are not getting out-organized in this state that happens to be amongst the bottom with voter turnout.

The reason we're losing Texas is not because there aren't Democrats here. It's because we aren't turning people out to vote. There were precincts, blue precincts, in the last presidential year that had 13 percent voter turnout in places of Texas. It's unacceptable. And we're just getting out worked and out-organized. We're rethinking it. And so that's the strategy. The strategy is to roll up our sleeves, do the organizing work that it takes and earn people's votes the old fashioned way.

DEAN: All right, Kendall Scudder, thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

SCUDDER: Thanks so much for having me.

DEAN: Yes. Still to come, Democrats are meeting tonight as the government is partially shut down. We're going to discuss the changes Democrats are trying to seek for ICE policy and DHS funding. And the stars are coming out tonight for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. We've seen a number of celebrities wearing anti-ICE pins. We're going to have a live report from the red carpet on how tonight's show could address the tensions that are running high across the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:35]

DEAN: Tonight, Democrats met to discuss next steps in the funding fight over DHS, which includes ICE. For now as of Saturday, Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, had told Speaker Mike Johnson, Republicans can't rely on Democrats to get this passed and reopen the government. Some Republicans are already saying Democrats are going too far, though, in the changes they're seeking to ICE policy.

Let's bring in our panel, CNN political commentators David Urban and Karen Finney. David is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign adviser and Karen is a former senior adviser to the 2016 Clinton presidential campaign and a former DNC communications director.

It is good to see both of you. I want to talk about the funding fight in a second because that is important. I also -- we have this breaking news about the president announcing he's closing the Kennedy Center on July 4th for two years for renovations.

Karen, obviously, there's been a lot around the Kennedy Center, which the board has now named, and we're watching the video, the Trump Kennedy Center. Trump getting rid of its board, installing a new board, which then elected him chairman of the board. What are your thoughts on this?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's certainly, I was listening to the former segment about this. It certainly appears that part of the reason, at least for this, is a lack of sales. I mean, I know I have some friends who just went to "Alvin Ailey" tonight here in Washington, D.C., which is one of the many programs that decided to move from the Kennedy Center. Thankfully, they were able to find another venue here in Washington, D.C., and we're seeing that with a lot of acts who are saying they do not want to be at this Kennedy Center. So I wouldn't be surprised if part of this was financial and that this is maybe a little bit of a cover for that.

DEAN: And David, the president saying that the financing on this is already in place. There have been some questions about the private financing for what they're doing with the East Wing. Does that matter to Americans about all of this, that this is what he's focusing on while there are all these other issues at play?

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Listen, I think the president can walk and chew gum, and the administration can do two things at once. Anyone who's been to the Kennedy Center knows that the building can use a renovation. And if it's being renovated with private dollars versus taxpayer dollars, all the better. I think it's a -- something that is a nice thing to have, a performing arts center in the nation's capital, but it's not imperative to have.

As you point out, Jessica, there are people, you know, who have, you know, shortages and LIHEAP and funding for lots of other issues all across America. So I think they'd rather see those dollars go to programs like that than to a fancy performing arts center. So if it is being funded with private dollars, here, here.

DEAN: OK. So --

FINNEY: Yes, let's hope that's actually true. Let's hope that turns out to be true.

DEAN: Well, we're going to have to find out. They have been -- excuse me. They've been -- we haven't gotten any details on what the financing means. So we have to wait and see what exactly that is. In the meantime I want to talk about --

URBAN: Listen, I'm also a fan of the arch, Jessica, too. I'm pro-arch just for the record.

DEAN: You're pro-arch. OK. Good to know. I do want to ask about more dollars in Washington, D.C., because we have the funding -- the partial government shutdown that's going on Capitol Hill right now.

Karen, do you think that Democrats are in a different position than they were during the last government shutdown that went on for a very long time, the longest in our history?

[19:25:07]

FINNEY: Yes. 1,000 percent. So many things have shifted. Number one, as you pointed out, this is partial. They've taken steps to make sure that for the most part, the government will continue to be funded and continue to operate. Also, let's remember, in July of 2025, in the big ugly bill, an additional $75 billion over baseline for four years was added to the DHS specifically to ICE's funding. So they have plenty of money right now. They're not hurting for dollars. Third, the murders of two Americans on American streets in Minneapolis

has -- and in addition to so many other things, has completely changed the dynamics around how people feel about ICE. And I will say, Jessica, I did work around focus groups and polling work around the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. And even then, and again, we're seeing this now in focus groups and polling, Americans believe that some measure of accountability is absolutely appropriate.

They actually agree. And I think what you're hearing from, you know, even Republican members are hearing from people in their districts, body cameras seems reasonable. Having a warrant before they come busting in your home seems reasonable. You know, basic accountability measures, having the right kind of training to be operating on American streets, which is very different than the kind of work that they've been used to doing, although I think it's given many people pause about how people are being treated in ICE facilities.

So it's a very different dynamic. And again, the polling also shows Americans are very troubled by what they've been seeing unfolding in Minneapolis and in other cities and states around the country.

DEAN: David, do you think it's a different dynamic? And how will Speaker Johnson kind of keep everybody together?

URBAN: Well, you know, that's always the parlor trick for the speaker, who's got a very narrow -- very, very narrow majority here.

DEAN: 218. He's got to get them all. Yes.

URBAN: Yes.

FINNEY: Right.

URBAN: He's got to get -- well, number one, he's got to get everyone back. Right? And then he's got to get everyone to vote for it. So he expressed a lot of confidence this morning that he's going to get it. And things will be -- it will be, will be reopened on Tuesday. Only portions, as Karen may have intimated, only portions of the government are going to be closed because other things have been funded already.

So there's only selective portions of the government. But I think this will be, this shutdown, partial shutdown will end on Tuesday. But, you know, Karen makes some fair points there. I will concede that, you know, people want to see accountability. I think there'll be an investigation here. I think you're going to have some accountability. May not be in real time, but there will be accountability for what happened in Minneapolis with the shootings.

And we'll get to the bottom of it at some point. And whether or not people should wear body cameras, that's something that is open for debate, I would think. And look, the warrantless searches, there are administrative warrants, not necessarily judicial warrants that are -- there's an administrative procedure for entering these homes. It's not necessarily requires judicial warrants. So there is a little bit of different flavor there. So there's -- listen, it's a very complex situation. I don't think

shutting the government down is going to help it. I think perhaps, you know, continuing rigorous debate. I think protesting like people did peacefully got everyone's attention. Tom Homan is on the scene. I think the temperature has been dialed way down. I think cooperation by the mayor and the governor with ICE is helping things, and I would hopefully see that in other cities around America.

DEAN: All right. I want both of you to stay with us. We're going to talk about some more issues. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:33:13]

DEAN: As campaigning ramps up for the midterm elections later this year, some new data is giving a look at elections after 2030. Population estimates show red leaning states like Texas and Florida could make some major gains, while California would be left as a big loser. CNN's chief data analyst, Harry Enten runs the numbers for us.

Hi, Harry.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hey there, Jessica. Happy Sunday to you and happy month of February. We finally made it, baby. Of course, don't tell that to Old Man Winter because it is still frickin' freezing here on the Eastern Seaboard.

Look, in politics, we often lose sight of the long term because we're so focused in, so focused in on the short term. So today I wanted to take a look at some long-term population trends that really should set off a flashing red siren to Democrats nationwide, while bringing a big smile to the faces of Republicans nationwide.

Why do I say that? Because take a look at the big population gainers versus the last census back in 2020.

According to the latest population estimates that take into account the population mid-2025. Look at this, the biggest population growth this decade. All five of the states, states that Donald John Trump won. Donald John Trump won in 2024 -- Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and of course, the great State of Arizona where I spent my New Years' Eve. I love those folks out in Prescott, Arizona.

These were the biggest gainers, the biggest gainers in terms of population compared to the 2020 census. Now, it's not just a red state boom. This is what we're looking at. We're looking at a red state boom here. But it is not just a red state boom. We're also looking at what I would dare call a blue-state depression, because who are the people and where are the people moving from into the red states?

Well, they're blue states, they're blue states. Take a look here. The lowest domestic net migration this decade. All five of the states, states that were won by Kamala Harris in 2024. Look at this, California, Harris' home state, New York, where I'm

coming from right now, of course, Illinois, New Jersey, and of course, the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which is a bastion of blue liberalism. These are the states that folks in the United States are moving away from and into the red states, which is propelling a red state boom.

[19:35:31]

Now, this is interesting, right? But it could also have major political ramifications if it holds for 2030, the next census. Because take a look here, if in fact, the 2025 population shifts hold for the 2030 census, look at this. Look at the House seat shifts by state, remember, of course, we apportion the number of House seats depending on the population in each state. If in fact, the 2025 population shifts hold for 2030 states that Kamala Harris won, they would lose. They would lose seven seats in the United States House of Representatives. The states that Donald Trump won in 2024. They would gain; they would gain seven seats.

Now, this isn't just about the House of Representatives, right? It's also about the Electoral College, because the number of electoral votes that each state gets is equal to the number of senators, each state, of course, has two, plus the number of House seats that they have. So, what would this mean for the House of Representatives?

Well, if you remember back in 2024, right, it was all about we were talking about the blue wall. If Kamala Harris could win the baseline Democratic states and then add in the blue wall states of Michigan, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, she would get to 270 electoral votes. But if all of a sudden, we, in fact have applying the 2025 estimates, the population estimates to the Electoral College, the blue states, plus the blue wall of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin would no longer be enough.

Under the current estimates, you get to exactly 270 electoral votes, the minimum needed to win the Electoral College. If, in fact you apply the 2025 estimates, look at that. You would only get to 263 electoral votes if you were a Democrat, which would mean a Republican victory.

Now, of course, were still a number of years away from reapportionment, right? We take the census come 2030. But what we can say so far is we got a red state boom going on a blue state depression going on, people moving from the blue states to the red states. And if it holds for 2030, well, it would make the Democratic nominee for President's job of winning the Electoral College that much more difficult.

Jessica, back to you and I hope you're staying warm.

DEAN: Thank you. It is a futile effort, but we're trying to stay warm. Harry Enten, thank you so much.

Our panel is back with us. David Urban and Karen Finney, thank you for sticking around. I just want to get your reactions to what Harry was talking about there. Again, he was looking toward 2030. But as he noted this could have some major impacts.

David, I'll let you start.

DAVID URBAN, SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I would note what Harry did not say is all those blue states that are that are losing, people and losing seats are all -- they have the trifecta. So, they have Democratic governors, Democratic legislatures -- controlled legislatures, and two Democratic senators.

Notice a trend? Everyone's leaving those states, right. And going to the Republican states where you have freedom, lower taxes, and less regulation. So, people vote with their feet. I think this is a very bad trend for Democrats. It's going to continue and, you know, they better wake up. They better wake up before 2030, better wake before 2028.

DEAN: Karen, what do you think?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Okay, David, So, I just want to -- having been at the DNC during the 2006 cycle and with Howard Dean, whose whole vision was we got to be a 50-state party. And I was listening to Kendall Scudder, the chairman of the Texas State Democratic Party talk about that fantastic win that Democrats had last night, which I believe is now 25 special elections we've won.

And the point, a couple points I want to make. I agree that my party needs to wake up and pay attention, but in a different way than what David is saying. We have to think more about the shape of the electorate, where people are and not be afraid to contest races everywhere. And that was part of Howard Dean's 50-state strategy. And if you hadn't had that philosophy, we wouldn't have won that special election yesterday.

We've got to do more to get back out on the streets, talking to people about our values, because for too long, in too many places, we let Republicans define who we are. And, you know, this this whole strategy of, you know, the blue wall and the shrinking number of states, we're trying to compete in, that is a futile effort.

A couple other things I'll just quickly mention in, 2030, Gen-Z and Millennials are actually going to outnumber older voters. And so that I think is a positive trend for Democrats. And in addition to that, the people who are moving to some of these so-called red states, I mean, look at what happened to Georgia, look what happened to North Carolina as more people have moved into those states. It has also made those states a little more purple.

So, I think it's a mixed bag. I certainly think Democrats have to pay attention to these demographic shifts. And that means we've got to do our work.

[19:40:31]

DEAN: All right. We'll we will skip --

URBAN: I'll just note really quickly about that Texas race. It was a special -- let's not get too excited about it. It was a special election; two Republicans ran in the race and divided --

FINNEY: A special election we've --

URBAN: Well, Karen, just let me finish. Let me let me finish quick. Let me finish quickly.

There were two Republicans in that race which divided up the vote. If there was a Republican versus Democratic race in that race, Republicans would have won. The Democrat will not -- the general assembly there is not in session. The Democrat will not cast the vote.

Those two people will face each other again in the next election and I suspect the Democrat will lose in that election. So, don't get all excited about the race that took place. It was an anomaly and --

FINNEY: Then it's just like people voted with their feet, and they voted with their feet, didn't they? When they voted for my guy there, just saying.

URBAN: I'm sorry, in which race, Karen?

FINNEY: In the special election, people just voted.

URBAN: No, there were two Republicans in the race and one Democrat. That's why the Democrat won.

DEAN: Yes, he won by 14 points. In a district that Trump won by 17.

URBAN: Okay, all right. Look at the math, I'm not great at math but look at the math.

DEAN: All right, we've got to leave it there. David and Karen, our thanks to both of you. Good to see you both. We appreciate it.

URBAN: Thanks for having us.

DEAN: Thank you.

And coming up, we're going to take you live to the red carpet for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:22]

DEAN: We are just moments away from the kickoff to the music industry's biggest night, the 68th Grammy Awards. Many of music's biggest stars will be on hand when the Grammy show starts at the top of the hour.

Right now, though, all the action is on the red carpet in Los Angeles. That's where we have CNN's Stephanie Elam, who has been there on the red carpet talking to everybody. What have you been seeing? What have you been hearing, Stephanie?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it's starting, you can feel the energy is building up at this point, Jessica, because we're getting so close to showtime. You can see over here. Look, you might see some people, you know, maybe, maybe.

All right, so you've got all kinds of artists that are now making their way, especially the more famous they are, the later they arrive. So, that's what we're seeing here.

We have seen people coming in all day with some very beautiful and colorful outfits. There's Summer Walker right there. We've seen sombr walk by another artist who's up for being one of the new artists who may be honored tonight, maybe Best New Artist could be, we will see, up against Olivia Dean, Katseye, just to name some, as well as Leon Thomas. But there has definitely been the energy of what's going on in Minnesota. We're seeing a lot of people wearing, "No ICE" pins on their dresses, on their jackets, just white pins and in black letters saying, "No ICE."

So, you do see that? I talked to the head of The Recording Academy. I interviewed him earlier this week, Harvey Mason, Jr., and he said, by definition, musicians are vocal, and he expects that some artists may feel like they want to speak out. I know we've already seen some artists before the broadcast begins who have already taken to the stage and have spoken out.

So, we may see more of that during the broadcast. I can also tell you, Jessica, that Don Lemon just walked by. He stopped. We hugged and there's a lot of support for him here on this carpet as well. People were calling for him and people are, you know, giving him claps on the back. So, you're seeing a lot of support for him here as well.

So, while were here in Los Angeles Downtown and everyone is here to celebrate music, what's happened in Minnesota is very much present here this year as well.

DEAN: Yes, certainly, Stephanie and I can't stop looking at Jon Batiste's sparkly jacket behind you. I love that outfit.

ELAM: I was waiting for you to say Jon Batiste. I was like, I thought you were going to say it. No, I didn't want to interrupt you, but yes. No, it's a very sparkly jacket. But, Stephanie, thank you so much. It is great to see you shining on the red carpet, as always, we appreciate it.

And still ahead here, a monster winter storm has moved away from the South, but left behind historic amounts of snow and problems that could last for days.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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DEAN: A frigid cold is enveloping much of the Southeastern U.S. as that powerful bomb cyclone now moves out to sea. Officials in North Carolina are urging people to just stay home as they work to clean up from the storm, which is blamed for more than a thousand traffic accidents in that state.

Brutally low temperatures are expected to last for much of the week, making things tough for the nearly 14,000 customers without power stretching from Virginia to Florida.

And speaking of Florida, several cities there are waking up today to record breaking low temperatures in the 20s, which causes the iguanas in Florida to temporarily lose muscle control and fall from the trees. They're seemingly frozen.

And in South Carolina, some beaches got more snow from this storm than many western cities have seen all winter.

Our Derek Van Dam is in Virginia Beach. He's got more -- Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Here in Virginia Beach, the snow has come to an end from our bomb cyclone that's exiting out to sea. Behind it, it's left a fresh layer of snow here in Virginia Beach. Not something you really necessarily associate with this area, but it's the light, fluffy snow. And it got heavier, especially as you moved into the outer banks and the coastal plain of the Carolinas. That's where we saw snowfall that exceeded a foot in many locations.

Charlotte saw their fourth highest daily snowfall total on record. There was a lot of wind associated with this system, creating whiteout conditions. Even here in Virginia Beach, we experienced that as the storm made its closest approach to the Virginia coastline.

We're still feeling the wind, but the big story about this now is that the cold air that it's drawing down with it is going to lock in these impacts you see here. If there is any snow on the roads, it's going to take some time before it can properly melt. It's likely that it will stay frozen in place here, at least for another 24 to 36 hours before some temperature modification comes towards the middle of this week. So, that's something we can look forward to.

But just to give you an idea of how cold it has gotten, Orlando, Florida was actually colder than the capital of Greenland on Sunday morning. So, was Tallahassee, and so was Jacksonville. Yes, that's incredible. We even had what I like to call novelty snowflakes in the Tampa Bay area as this cold Arctic air moved over the relatively warm waters of the Gulf, and it helped create these ocean effect snow flurries.

So, let that sink in. Snow in Florida and colder than the capital of Greenland. Wow, incredible. I'm CNN meteorologist, Derek Van Dam in Virginia Beach, back to you.

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DEAN: How about that? Derek Van Dam. Thanks for that.

Still ahead, new ahead, new details about the meeting amongst House Democrats after Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told House Speaker Mike Johnson not to expect help from their party to end the shutdown.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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