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"Friends" Star Matthew Perry Dead at 54; Israel: New Phase of War as Gaza Ground Operations Expand; Qatar Official: Hostage Negotiations Ongoing Despite Escalation, But Becoming More Difficult; Former VP Mike Pence Suspends Presidential Campaign. Aired 6-7a

Aired October 29, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:52]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thanks for being with us. Nineties sitcom star Matthew Perry died last night. "The Los Angeles Times" police -- tells -- excuse me. "The Los Angeles Times" says that police found him. They believe he drowned at his home in Los Angeles. He was just 54 years old. Arguably, his most iconic role was bringing sarcastic wit and charm to the character Chandler Bing on "Friends."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW PERRY, ACTOR: I took the quiz and it turns out I do put career before men. Get up.

MATT LEBLANC, ACTOR: What?

PERRY: You're in my seat.

LEBLANC: How is this your seat?

PERRY: Because I was sitting there.

LEBLANC: But then you left.

PERRY: Well, it's not like I went to Spain. I went to the bathroom. You knew I was coming back.

LEBLANC: What's the big deal? Sit somewhere else.

PERRY: The big deal is I was sitting there last. So, it's my seat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: That role earned him an Emmy nomination in 2002 and even more roles on T.V. and in movies. He was also known for his candor in real life when he opened up about his struggles with addiction. Most recently he detailed his efforts towards sobriety in a tell-all memoir. Here's CNN's Camila Bernal. CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amara, Victor, shock and sadness. That has been the reaction from Hollywood and from fans to the death of Matthew Perry. Police here in Los Angeles say that they are investigating his death and this is according to a law enforcement source that spoke to CNN.

They responded to his home at 4:10 p.m. local time on Saturday. The Los Angeles Fire Department also telling CNN that the 911 call came in at 4:07 p.m. and this was for a water rescue emergency. Now, "The Los Angeles Times" is reporting that he died in an apparent drowning accident at his home here in L.A. and they cited a law enforcement source and said no foul play is suspected. Now, we are, of course, waiting for more details on exactly what happened.

We know Perry developed a love for acting in his teenage years. He started with smaller roles and eventually landed higher profile roles, but it was being cast as the funny and very sarcastic Chandler on "Friends" that truly made him famous. Off screen the actors became as close as the characters on the show and they famously negotiated together to become some of the highest paid actors on a television series at the time.

And despite the joy he brought to audiences, he also shared his struggles with addiction. He eventually was able to share many of those details with his fans and said that he wanted to share this in his book because he wanted to help people. Amara, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Camila Bernal, thanks so much. Overnight, Perry's co-stars and some other real-life friends as well shared their memories of the late actor. The "Friends'" X account shared a picture of Perry calling him, a true gift to us all.

WALKER: His co-star Maggie Wheeler, who played Chandler's on and off girlfriend Janice on "Friends," posted on Instagram saying she feels blessed by every creative moment that they shared. Actress Selma Blair posted this heartbreaking message on Instagram as well saying she loved him unconditionally and that she is broken-hearted. Singer Adele even paused her show in Las Vegas last night to share a few words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADELE, SINGER: Some of my favorite memories of when I was younger with my friends. And one of my friends, Andrew, when I was, like, 12 did the best Chandler impression. And he would do it all the time to make us laugh. And if any of us was having a bad day or feeling low, he would just pretend to be Chandler. I'll remember that character for the rest of my life.

And I remember visiting New York for the first time and going on a Friends -- you know, a Friends tour and things like that. It's a really big part of my life.

And he was so open with his struggles with addiction and sobriety, which I think is incredibly, incredibly brave.

[06:05:03] Yes. I just want to say how much I love what he did for all of us especially for what he did for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who went to school with Perry, also shared memories thanking Perry for all the laughs, saying he was loved and will be missed.

Those are just a few of the tributes that are coming in. Joining us now is Bill Carter, former "New York Times" reporter -- media reporter.

BLACKWELL: And, Bill, you interviewed Perry a number of times. Tell us about those, and your reaction to this news.

BILL CARTER, FORMER NEW YORK TIMES MEDIA REPORTER: Well, it's interesting. It was described as shocking and saddening. It's certainly saddening. It's not completely shocking because, obviously, his life became precarious for many, many years because of his addictions.

But, you know, what was striking to me was I saw him first when the show was just becoming a phenomenon and it was clearly impacting the young people playing those characters. And I went to California and I did a piece about the show and I spoke to the creators, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and also to several of the cast members.

Matthew was a little -- I judged him to be aloof. I think he was a little overwhelmed by what was happening to him on the show. But I could see how he was a center of that group. He was very charming and just had this charismatic character and was very funny. He was a naturally funny person.

Many years later I was doing a radio show for Sirius radio and he came on as a guest. And he was playing Ted Kennedy in a TV movie. And he identified with Kennedy's own struggles with addiction. But the difference in how he presented himself, he was -- he was sad or he was carrying around like a sadness, like a burden, you know, because of what he had been through. And yet he could be very funny and charming because that's who he was.

So that's what really struck me, is that he had that capacity, and it then became sort of a defining thing for him to tell people what his struggle was, which he did in his book.

WALKER: Yes, tell us more about this prolonged struggle he had, his addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol. As you say he has been open about, he wrote a book about it, "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing." And in the opening of the book he writes, "My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead."

CARTER: Right, because he came -- according to him, he was within two minutes of dying, I believe is what he said. He had -- you know, you can't conceive of the amount of drugs and alcohol he was taking. He was drinking quarts of vodka. He was taking 55 oxycodone a day, which is -- you can't even imagine this, right? But it ruined his insides, his intestines, his bowels, everything was ruined and he had to be severely -- you know, put in a coma to try to stop the effects of this.

So, it was very, very close to dying. And, you know, it's just an unimaginable thing for a regular person to think. Then he survived. It was really amazing.

But one interesting thing he said in the book really struck me because he said he wanted fame. He was -- he really was pressing to find that role that would get him fame. And he said he actually said a prayer once and it was something like, God, I don't care what you do to me, but please make me famous.

And, boy, that resonated when you read it in the book because what he went through was pretty darn awful. The price of fame was enormous for him.

BLACKWELL: Wow. And, you know, it was really sad in an interview last year he said that he has not watched the show. He doesn't -- didn't watch the show because he would go season by season and say, drinking, opiates, cocaine, drinking based on how he looked in some of those scenes.

CARTER: Because he was -- he would balloon up when he was drinking and then when he was taking all these drugs he would get very, very thin because of that. So, he could see that. And, you know, the cast tried very hard to work with this.

He'd swear he never was intoxicated when performing. But he was often extremely hungover and very sick and very ill. And one thing he said was when -- the very famous episode where he marries Monica, the character who marries Monica, he was -- he to come from a rehab center, perform, and was picked up immediately at the end of the episode and was brought back to the rehab center. That's -- it was really an extraordinary experience he was going through.

WALKER: May he rest in peace now.

CARTER: Absolutely.

WALKER: And I remember -- I did remember reading that he was 128 pounds at one point. I mean, those were his words, you know, due to his drug addiction. But -- wow. What a life. Bill Carter, thank you.

Still ahead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declares Israel has entered a new phase of war. We are going live to Tel Aviv as Israel expands its ground operations in Gaza.

[06:10:02]

BLACKWELL: Plus, Mike Pence pulls out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination just over a year from the 2024 general election. A look at the state of the race for the White House coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Israel says it has entered a new phase of war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the Israel Defense Forces have expanded ground operations in Gaza with two goals in mind, destroy Hamas and get those 230 hostages home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The war inside the strip is going to be long and we are ready for it. This is our second independence war. We are going to fight for the homeland and we won't withdraw.

We are going to fight on the ground, at sea, and in the air. We will destroy our enemy above and below the ground. We are going to fight and win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, as the troops fight in the north, the IDF continues its aerial bombardment.

[06:15:01]

They claim to have struck more than 450 targets, including command centers and missile launch sites over the past day.

WALKER: The IDF is once again warning Gaza citizens in the north to flee south. But with a near total communications blackout in Gaza, it's unclear how many citizens will actually receive that message. Internet and phone connections are gradually being restored after a 36-hour disruption.

With no communication to the outside world and food and medicine and water shortage, excuse me, the situation in Gaza is becoming increasingly difficult for citizens trapped there. Video from Saturday shows people storming a United Nations warehouse and leaving with bags of food. Today, 40 more aid trucks are expected to enter Gaza.

CNN's Sara Sidner joining us now from Tel Aviv. Sara, let's get right to it. You just heard rockets fly over your head.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, what we just experienced is something that happens, unfortunately, on a daily basis here in Tel Aviv. And it is unusual normally, in normal times, but because the war is on, Tel Aviv is getting a lot more rocket attacks.

We saw several interceptions here. You don't see or hear the rockets but you do hear the Iron Dome intercepting those rockets which were quite close by and you hear the sirens go off. Sometimes the sirens go off after there has already been an interception. So, that's what has people on edge here. In Gaza, of course, there has been just an enormous amount of airstrikes. And then, you know, often it's either preceded or followed by more rockets. Last night, I will show you pictures of what it looks like when the rockets come into Israel and over Israel in particular.

We were standing there when we saw this. You see at least six to eight rockets that came over, and those -- by the way, the lights you are seeing already interceptions, not the rockets themselves. You cannot see them until either, A, they land, or B, they are blown up by the Iron Dome.

Now, we should talk about -- a little bit about what Benjamin Netanyahu said that was really important last night to give people a sense of where this war is going. He said the war inside of Gaza will be a very long one and that we are now in, as you mentioned, that second phase of the war. Basically, telling everyone that the ground war has begun. Although, it is not a mass invasion into Gaza by the Israeli soldiers.

You are also seeing just the extreme catastrophe that is happening humanitarianly inside of Gaza with people desperate for food, desperate for water, desperate for fuel. There is a real fear with so little fuel left that babies in incubators, that people who need dialysis -- that all of the medical teams will not have what they need to save lives.

The war clearly is going to be a very long war. That was said by Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister. It was said by Benny Gantz, the former defense minister, now a part of a coalition government, the emergency government that was formed because of the war, and by the defense minister himself, Yoav Gallant. So, we are watching what is going to be perhaps a very prolonged fight between Israel and Hamas with many of the civilians just caught in the middle of it.

I am joined now by CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Cedric Leighton, thank you so much for joining us. I do want to start with this because the second stage of the war, can you give us some sense of what that means? We have now seen that there are Israeli troops on the ground as opposed to just the airstrikes that they have been conducting.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. Good morning, Sara. The big difference here is that this is the ground portion of the war, at least the initial ground portion.

So, in the first phase of the war, you had the air campaign. You had the -- what amounted to offensive aerial operations being conducted against targets in Gaza, specifically Gaza city, a little bit to the south of that. For the most part, there were, of course, some strikes in the southern area around Khan Younis and near the Rafah Border Crossing right on the southern border with Egypt.

Now the second phase, what's going on here is they are moving in elements of the Israeli ground forces. So the Israeli Defense Forces, ground component, is coming in. That is also being added to by a naval component as well as continued air support. So, the type of air support now is more akin to close air support as well as continuing of the softening of operations for the ground forces to then move in a little bit after that to clean up the area and take it under IDF control.

So that is the basic difference between phase one, which was just completed, and now phase two, which, in essence, combines all the elements of power, land, sea, and air in a concerted fashion to get after certain targets in the north.

[06:20:14]

SIDNER: When you look at the destruction, I mean, it is extensive. I don't think we have ever seen Gaza look exactly like this. I was in Gaza in 2014 and in 2012 and there were airstrikes at that time, but this is definitely different. We know that Israel has declared a full- scale war.

Israel keeps saying, look, we are doing these targeted attacks on Hamas areas, Hamas buildings, Hamas-controlled -- where they may have some of their weaponry, but there are so many civilians that are being killed. How does Israel go forward to try and keep the civilians safe, telling them move from the north to the south, but then the south is also getting bombed?

LEIGHTON: Yes, that's the problem. There is really -- there are a great deal -- great deal of difficulty here, Sara, because -- first of all, the people really didn't have very much room to maneuver. They don't have time to go from the north into the south.

The south should basically be a safe zone, but the Israelis have not really made it a safe zone, and that is creating some real problems. Because as the people try to move to the south, they are also being impacted by airstrikes. So, some of them end up staying in the north, that they don't have as many go down to areas which are presumably safer.

The problem that you have is that Hamas has interspersed itself throughout the civilian community and it's very hard for people to move out of that area, almost impossible given the state of affairs right now, and that is creating a real problem for the IDF as it moves forward. They are going to have civilian casualties unless they declare certain areas that are no-go zones. They don't want to do that because they know that Hamas terrorists are going to join the civilians as they move into the safer areas.

So that's the dilemma that Israel is facing. Unfortunately, the civilians in Gaza are paying the big price for this.

SIDNER: Yes, Colonel, I do want to ask you about the tunnels. Much has been made about the tunnels because there is a huge network of tunnels built by Hamas underneath Gaza. And we know that some of the hostages have been taken down into those tunnels.

There are dozens of people who have been taken by Hamas there. And, of course, you have the troops going in on the ground as well. How do they navigate the fact that there are hostages in those tunnels but they are also being used by Hamas to fight back?

LEIGHTON: Yes, it's a real problem because it's going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to differentiate between the tunnels that hold the hostages and the tunnels that are used for command and control, for storage of weapons, and basically as a staging area for Hamas fighters. And in some cases, one tunnel can be used for all of those things.

So, this creates a real problem for the IDF and the ability to surgically strike areas where the hostages are being held and then remove those hostages to safety. That is a very, very, very difficult task. Not completely impossible, but it's getting into that realm. And that becomes a real problem for the IDF.

And unfortunately, I don't think that in this particular case it's going to be easy for them to extract the hostages in a way that allows them to get home safely. And that's going to it be a real problem.

SIDNER: Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much for that analysis. It's such a hard and difficult thing to look. We were looking at some of the tunnels there but to look at the suffering of those people who are in Gaza who have nothing to do with this and the suffering of the civilians here in Israel as well who still do not know if their loved ones are safe, alive, or otherwise.

Thank you so much. I appreciate your time. And I want to toss it back now to Victor and Amara, who are in Atlanta. Hi, guys.

WALKER: Thank you so much, Sara. Coming up, he was a fixture on primetime television for a decade as Chandler Bing. Now fans are mourning the passing of "Friends'" star Matthew Perry. Hear from one of his close friends next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:28:39]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: Hey, this is going to be really fun. It's a new experience for me. It's exciting. It kind of reminds me of -- what? Yes, it kind of reminds me of when I won my first Emmy. We were -- I'm sorry, what? Oh, right. I haven't won a damn thing.

Well, maybe today is the day. You know, maybe I guest host this show so well -- huh? What? Not a chance? Who is talking into my ear?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: That was Matthew Perry, a '90s sitcom star when he guest hosted Piers Morgan live on CNN. That was 2013.

Well, Perry was found dead from an apparent drowning accident at his home in Los Angeles last night. He was 54. According to "The L.A. Times," no foul play is suspected but the incident is still under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.

WALKER: Perry's most iconic role was the character Chandler Bing on the famous sitcom "Friends." It earned him an Emmy nomination in 2002. So, he did win something and more roles on TV and the silver screen. But he was also known for his candor in real life when he opened up about his struggles with addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol.

Now, friends, fans, and former colleagues from across the world are remembering him. Like his long-time friend who is a radio and TV host, Billy Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BILLY BUSH, HOST AND MANAGING EDITOR, "EXTRA": Instantly I thought, oh no, how horrible. And then I started thinking about what a difficult life he led.

[06:30:02]

He struggled so much off-camera. For a guy who was so effortless on camera, his timing and his -- you know, his good nature, always just upbeat and quick, and then you realize it's the exact opposite when he's -- when he's not. I mean, he just struggled, struggled, struggled so hard with painkillers and addiction. And I think, you know, we're hearing there's no foul play, but immediately you think what wear and tear that poor heart of his took, you know, over these years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BUSH: So, while I'm crushed and sad and I've just sent the text over to Lisa Kudrow with whom I'm friends to see what -- you know, send her my condolences. The cast is really tight. There is a part of me that -- that's like, uh, I'm not overly surprised because I thought something was off with him and that he had -- he had hurt for too long.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you say you thought something was off with him, what do you mean and when?

BUSH: Well, in a couple of years ago, in the Friends reunion I think when, you know, he was slurring some words and appeared to not be himself. I think he had just gotten some veneers done, so that was part of it. But I think everybody, we all felt that something might be, you know, not quite right with Matthew. And I was hoping to God it wasn't a relapse. I don't think we there's evidence of that, but definitely he was -- he was, you know, struggling along -- alongside the rest of them in that in -- that special.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And how -- do you know anything about how he has been doing more recently? You know, we know he did the round of interviews after all it was released.

BUSH: I think he's really good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he seemed to be doing well in those interviews. BUSH: Just yesterday, I think he was doing just fine. I mean, I think

he was doing -- I mean, you know, the -- as one report is that he was -- played two hours of pickleball this morning. He's a great racket -- great rackets guy. Matthew is a great tennis player. And obviously, he's made the transition like so many to pickleball and played two hours this morning. He came back. And according to the report, he -- you know, his assistant went out to get something and then that's when he was just chilling. And apparently, you know, that some kind of cardiac arrest is the thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BUSH: It would be a nice thing if -- you know if it wasn't a relapse of some kind, that he had triumphed over this terrible evil that had him for so long, you know, if at the end, he somehow -- even though his heart gave out, if he triumphed over that, that's just great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BUSH: That's a tough fight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: We'll have much more reaction to the news of Matthew Perry's death throughout the morning. But coming up next, Israel officials, they have dispelled rumors now about a possible deal to release more than 200 hostages held in Gaza. They say it's just psychological terror by Hamas. More on that and the message that families of some hostages were sending the Israeli Prime Minister.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:37:22]

WALKER: Officials in Qatar say they are still hopeful of prisoner exchange deal could be reached between Israel and Hamas, but they say it's becoming harder to negotiate as the ground war escalates.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Becky Anderson interviewed a spokesperson for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and adviser to the Qatari Prime Minister. Here's part of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Let me be quite clear, the talks and the mediation to effort the release of civilian hostages, possibly a prisoner exchange at this point, have not collapsed. Correct?

MAJED AL-ANSARI, SPOKESPERSON FOR QATAR'S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: No. I believe they are still going. The task force are still working on it. And as I said, it's becoming more and more difficult with the current escalation. This escalation that is happening right now, you know, one of the most terrible escalation that have happened in the region for really long time, is making it certainly more difficult. As I said on the logistical side of it, they're just moving people

during a landing incursion and the increased bombardment. But also from the political side, of course, you know, mediation only works when you have common periods under this kind of conflict, this kind of confrontation between both sides. It becomes more difficult, but it's still ongoing and we can't give up, OK.

I can tell you that really we can't give up on this on all sides. Nobody in the region can afford to give up on this and just leave it to the military people to decide what happens in the future.

ANDERSON: What can you provide us in terms of the details of these talks?

AL-ANSARI: Well, obviously, Becky, I can't get into the details of this because our main concern now is getting the hostages to their families and making sure that this mediation succeeds. And that would be very difficult, you know, right now if we share a lot of the -- of the details. But as you heard today from Prime Minister Netanyahu and from the spokesperson of Hamas, we are talking around the idea of more hostages coming out, talking around the idea of a prisoner exchange.

We are optimistic that the talks are heading more towards all civilian hostages, but obviously it's a fluid situation on the ground. We still don't know what will happen.

ANDERSON: Do we know how many civilian hostages there are held in Gaza at present?

AL-ANSARI: I'm not sure to be honest anybody knows. We have our numbers that are -- we're discussing, you know, through the list. We get from various countries about the foreign citizens who are held hostage. We have the numbers on the Israeli side. We have numbers on the Palestinian side. But these numbers are not necessarily always the same.

But the important thing here is that both sides acknowledge that the civilian hostages need to go out immediately, and both sides, and especially Hamas on this has said they agree that they are willing to let the civilian hostages go out. So, we have to work towards that as soon as possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[06:40:03]

BLACKWELL: Well, Israel's defense forces are knocking down Hamas's claim that they are ready for prisoner exchange, calling it psychological terror during a press conference press conference. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters that nothing was on the table, and that Hamas's goal is to pressure and horrify Israeli citizens and families of hostages.

Now, Hamas says that. It's ready to release hostages, but that in return it wants the more than 6600 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons to be released. We're joined now by Joel Rubin. He's a former Deputy Assistant

Secretary of State under the Obama administration. He also is running for Congress in Maryland. Sir, good to have you on this morning. Let me add to this conversation before I get your thoughts on this. A statement from a mother of one of the hostages, they -- a group of them met with the prime minister there, Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday. And they said of that meeting, we spoke bluntly and made it clear to the Prime Minister in no uncertain terms that a comprehensive deal based on the every one for every one principle is a deal that the families would consider and has the support of all of Israel.

So, all 230 hostages, that's the latest number, for the estimated 6630 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, do you think that that has -- there's -- that's a plausible deal that could happen in this environment?

JOEL RUBIN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Victor, it's great to be with you and certainly what the families are calling for is something that the Prime Minister should be considering. Remember about a decade ago, he traded over 1000 Palestinians for one Israeli soldier who was captured inside of Gaza, Gilad Shalit.

These families are suffering. An incalculable horror to have their loved ones stolen by Hamas, diabolically stolen by Hamas, and now being used as barter. But all that said, they're in the middle of a fight, a war that could cost them their lives. And I think for the families, this kind of pressure is beyond reasonable. And the Prime Minister, he has a couple of goals in mind that he's communicated. One is getting these hostages, and of course, then the second is debilitating and decapitating Hamas.

And so, I hope he's considering it. One doesn't know how it will be executed in the middle of this offensive right now, but certainly it's within the realm of possibility based upon past trades.

BLACKWELL: In the everyone for everyone's scenario, remind our viewers that there are Americans who are being held and foreign nationals beyond the U.S. and Israel who are being held. What role does say the U.S. does the State Department have in the discussions between the Israelis and the Qataris and then, of course, on to Hamas for this everyone-for-everyone deal?

RUBIN: We have a primary role. Our citizens are there. As you mentioned, multiple countries have citizens there. Qatar is directly speaking with Hamas and directly speaking with Israel right now. They're the central ingredient in getting any deal, but they're not going to do anything without checking with the United States, in particular, in order to ensure that that we are, the United States, on board with the deal.

And we have a coordinator overseeing hostage affairs. President Biden has made it the priority for his entirety of his term to get Americans out of harm's way, so a deal would be consistent. These deals are never pain free as we know. From Viktor Bout trading him for Brittney Griner in Russia, to multiple arrangements made, but they do get loved ones home. And so, the US is going to clearly have a major seat at the table of any final agreement if there is one. BLACKWELL: On the humanitarian crisis there in Gaza, the International

Committee of the Red Cross, their latest statement calling it unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza. This is a catastrophic failing that the world must not tolerate. A few trucks have trickled in over a week now, far fewer than are needed. Do you believe that Israel should allow fuel specifically into Gaza?

RUBIN: Yes, you know, Victor, this is going to be the crucial test. And this is going to be really the way that Israel can either communicate to the world that it's offensive must continue, or whether it's going to see more pressure even potentially from the United States. The humanitarian crisis is not just lip service, it's real. And so, for Palestinians and not having enough food, water, medical supplies, we're going to just see a cascading level of reports coming out.

I think that fuel though, there is a real legitimate military reason why Israel is concerned about sending fuel in, which is that it will likely be diverted to Hamas. Now, if there are ways to guarantee that it's not, then certainly it must get in there. But Hamas is now fully engaged in a fight against Israeli forces. It is sitting on a massive pile of fuel as well. It's not distributing that to its civilians inside of Gaza. And that, of course, is a demonstration of their lack of care for Palestinian civilians themselves.

[06:45:16]

But the fuel getting into Gaza, if that sustains Hamas's ability to fight, that's why Israel would want to hold it back. And -- but this is the test. This is the key test. Can Israel wage its war against Hamas while minimizing damage to the greatest extent possible of on Palestinian civilians. I fear that it's going to be incredibly difficult for them to provide fuel unless these guarantees -- and maybe it's Israeli soldiers themselves inside of Gaza, we don't quite know planning, but there has to be some way to prevent those supplies from getting into Hamas's hands.

BLACKWELL: All right, Joel Rubin, thank you.

And coming up on "STATE OF THE UNION," CNN's Jake Tapper will be in Israel where he will talk with the NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER, Jake Sullivan. You can catch that at 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

WALKER: Just ahead, the 2024 GOP field starts to shrink as former Vice President Mike Pence suspends his campaign. We're going to look at what sparked that decision and what it means for all the other remaining candidates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:26]

WALKER: Former Vice President Mike Pence has suspended his campaign for president. Pence made the announcement at the Republican Coalition's Annual Conference in Las Vegas Saturday. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Traveling across the country over the past six months, I came here to say it's become clear to me this is not my time. Now, I'm leaving this campaign, but let me promise you, I will never leave the fight for conservative values and I will never stop fighting to elect principled Republican leaders to every office in the land. So help me God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: This was at the Republican Jewish coalition gathering in Las Vegas. Now, with Pence out of the race, that leaves eight Republican presidential candidates vying to take on President Joe Biden in November 2024. Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, Doug Burgum, and Asa Hutchinson.

I'm joined now by Politico White House Reporter Daniel Lippman. Good to see you, Daniel.

DANIEL LIPPMAN, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, POLITICO: Thank you.

WALKER: So, sources are saying that the donors weren't quite there. Of course, there are also concerns that Pence wouldn't qualify for the third debate. He was running out of money. What led to his decision? I mean, does this come as a surprise?

LIPPMAN: Not a huge shocker. This was someone who doesn't come from a lot of money, but still put in $150,000 into his campaign recently because he wasn't finding the donor base that could see a path for him. We had a story a couple of days ago with photos from him on the campaign trail where he was only getting a trickle of people, like 13 people at a pizza ranch in Iowa, a photo of him at a pharmacy talking to a few people. That went viral.

And so, the base of the Republican Party is with Donald Trump, not with his former vice president.

WALKER: Yes. So, the other eight Republican presidential candidates, they spoke at this high-profile gathering of Jewish donors, including Nikki Haley and, of course, Donald Trump, who by the way, made no mention of Pence's announcement. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If I were President, the attack on Israel would never, ever have happened. I think you believe that, right? I think you believe that? Ukraine would never have happened. Inflation would never have happened.

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As President, I will not compliment Hezbollah, nor will I criticize Israel's Prime Minister in the middle of a tragedy in war. We have no time for personal vendettas. I will also not compliment Chinese Communist President Xi, nor will I call North Korea's Kim Jong-un my friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WALKER: OK, so Nikki Haley there offering up a pretty scathing criticism of Trump. Mike Pence dropping out of the race. Does that create a big opening for Nikki Haley? I mean, what does she have that Pence doesn't because they do share a similar hawkish, traditional hawkish views?

LIPPMAN: Well, I think it's good news for Republicans trying to defeat Trump, but not that big because he was only polling pretty -- in pretty low digits. And so, it's not like someone can consolidate the field. You'd have to have basically everyone drop out except one or two candidates like a Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley at the end of the day, and then maybe that can create some momentum.

But like these Trump voters, they are so loyal to Trump where nothing really matters. Remember, they were chanting hang Mike Pence, and it was -- at the January 6th rally, and they're -- Trump was saying, well, he -- they actually -- you know, that was a good line. So, I think this is kind of a fake primary where this is -- nothing is really going to move the needle even after he's been charged with 91 felonies.

WALKER: Yes. So, it goes without saying that Trump has an incredible hold on the Republican Party. It's as strong as ever as it seems. He's a Republican front-runner for 2024. He also has a lot of influence over the Republicans in the House as we saw over the last few weeks. And the new speaker, Mike Johnson, I mean, he's been a staunch ally of Trump who voted to overturn the 2020 election. He also was a partner. He led the amicus brief to overturn the results in a few states.

What role could he play? I'm talking about the Speaker of the House in the 2024 election? I mean, is that a concern?

LIPPMAN: I don't think it's a serious concern because if Republicans lose the House majority and it's only a very thin number margin that they have, then they could -- then there would be no Republican speaker by the time they're counting the ballots from the electoral -- from the electoral states. And also, a House Speaker has no role in terms of counting those votes, it's the Vice President, and so that would still be Kamala Harris.

And so, I don't think Republicans and Democrats are that worried that Speaker Johnson is going to overturn the results of the 2024 election.

[06:55:26]

WALKER: OK. And just quickly, just on the Democratic side, I just wanted to get your reaction to Representative Dean Phillips jumping in and challenging Biden to the chagrin of many of the establishment Democrats. What's your take on that? And, you know, does he have a chance?

LIPPMAN: What' -- I don't think he has any serious chance. This is someone who is saying, oh, I'm not running against Joe Biden when he's actually running against Joe Biden. This is a person who is a gelato entrepreneur who made a lot of money in gelato. But he most Americans do not know who he is. And some Democrats are worried that this could hurt Biden because Dean Phillips is talking a lot about how old Biden is and that's a concern of a lot of Americans.

WALKER: OK. Daniel Lippman, great to see you. Thank you very much.

BLACKWELL: Still to come this morning, more of the tributes coming in after the passing of Matthew Perry.

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