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CNN This Morning

Haley, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Christie, Ramaswamy Spar During GOP Debate; Blinken Says, Israel Taking Steps to Better Protect Civilians in Gaza; Report Shows UNLV Gunman Previously Sought a Job at the School. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired December 07, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: In The Atlantic today.

[07:00:00]

We'll see you soon.

And CNN This Morning continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Four Republican hopefuls not named Trump try to set themselves apart from him and each other.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Every single candidate was going after Nikki Haley.

NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love all the attention, fellows.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She clearly was doing this strategically.

CHRIS CHRISTIE, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's often very difficult to be the only person on the stage who's telling the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's laid the groundwork for what really needs to truly be the direction of the Republican Party.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm looking forward to Iowa and New Hampshire. We're going to earn this nomination.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a different candidate on the debate stage. He had a really clear audience in mind.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Your version of foreign policy experience was closing a bridge from New Jersey to New York. Get the hell out of this race.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: To hear him resuscitate conspiracy theories, it was pandering, it was pathetic and it was disqualifying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is a symptom of something that Donald Trump created.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guy who was not on the stage is the winner each time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning everyone. I'm Phil Mattingly with Poppy Harlow in New York.

It was the final GOP presidential debate of this year. Four candidates clashed on policy. They traded personal insults and they recognized time is running out to make their pitch to voters before the Iowa caucuses, which are now just less than six weeks away.

HARLOW: Nikki Haley took the brunt of the attacks from Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy over her big ticket donors and foreign policy positions. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAMSWAMY: Say that that was an attack on America fails a basic test. I mean, Nikki, if you can't tell the difference between where Israel is and the U.S. is on a map, I can have my three-year-old son show you the difference.

DESANTIS: I have other candidates up here like Nikki Haley. She caves anytime the left comes after her, anytime the media comes after her.

RAMASWAMY: Nikki, I don't have a woman problem. You have a corruption problem. And I think that that's what people need to know. Nikki is corrupt.

HALEY: It's not worth my time to respond to him.

DESANTIS: Her donors, these Wall Street liberal donors, they make money in China. They are not going to let her be tough on China and she will cave to the donors. She will not stand up for you.

HALEY: First of all, he's mad because those Wall Street donors used to support him and now they support me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Haley at times remained silent, also said it was jealousy, particularly during Ramaswamy's attacks. It was her opponent, Chris Christie, who clashed with Ramaswamy over Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIE: This is the fourth debate, the fourth debate that you would be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most obnoxious, blowhard in America. So, shut up for a little while (ph).

RAMASWAMY: Chris, your version of foreign policy experience was closing a bridge from New Jersey to New York. So, do everybody a favor, just walk yourself off that stage, enjoy a nice meal and get the hell out of this race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Christie, who only got his first chance to speak 17 minutes, by the way, into the debate, spoke the least among the candidates. He grew frustrated with his opponents for sidestepping the Republican elephant in the room, former President Trump. Instead, Trump who did not once again attend the debate seemed to come out unscathed.

MATTINGLY: Well, this morning, Trump is expected back in a New York courtroom for a civil fraud trial, which is likely to begin to wrap up next week when Trump takes the stand again.

Joining us now to discuss all of this, CNN Political Commentator and former Trump campaign adviser David Urban, CNN Political Commentator and former senior spokesperson for Hillary for America Karen Finney, and New York Times National Political Correspondent Lisa Lerer. Guys, welcome.

Lisa, I want to start with you because you had a recent piece, which may have been a motivating factor, may not, in some of Chris Christie's tone and posture over the course of the last several days, talking about a reality, which is behind the scenes, there are donors who want Trump to lose that want him to get out of the race and want Christie to drop out. After last night, what do you think his calculation is?

LISA LERER, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, look, I think he certainly wanted to show that he still deserves a place on that stage, that he's bringing something to the table here that's unique from the other candidates who are remaining. What he argues he's bringing is that he's the only guy who's willing to go after President Trump or former President Trump directly, and we certainly saw that last night.

Now, whether that's enough, I think there's a big sense among donors and among the sort of wing of the party that wants an alternative to Trump, that they would be served better by narrowing it down to one candidate, that momentum has really been behind Nikki Haley. So, I'm not sure that changes the overall dynamic, but he certainly was showing to people that he had a role to play in this race.

And, you know, particularly I would point to his exchange with Ron DeSantis where he really hit -- pressed Ron DeSantis to say whether he thought Trump was unfit for the presidency. And Ron DeSantis really evaded that question in a way that was quite unartful, didn't do him many favors.

HARLOW: I cannot, David, picture a world in which Chris Christie would drop out of this before Vivek Ramaswamy just in like --

MATTINGLY: (INAUDIBLE).

HARLOW: I am serious. I am serious.

DAVID URBAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Governor Christie, I think, did an incredible job last night, I think the best performance of all his debates. He was very relaxed. He was kind of in his groove. And I think, you know, to your point, he was trying maybe trying to prove something, like he deserves a spot.

And he was fourth moderator up there at times, I believe, kind of like saying, excuse me, please answer the question that was posed to you. I used to -- my old boss would say, I work for our own spectra (ph) as a prosecutor, like Christy, he said, you know, somebody give him an answer, he said, that's a very good answer, a completely different question. All right, answer my question I posed. And that's what Christie kept saying last night, he wouldn't let people off the hook.

I think it was useful, it was welcome and he drew a big distinction between himself and the three other candidates who were there.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And I think he was also trying to position Ramaswamy and DeSantis as just unelectable, as inappropriate. And he actually had a moment where he stuck up for Nikki Haley. She did not need it, by the way. She did a great job holding her own. But it was an interesting moment.

HARLOW: Do we have that moment? I just -- for people who didn't watch last night, I'd love for them to see it. Do we have it, guys? okay, watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIE: He has insulted Nikki Haley's basic intelligence, not her positions, her basic intelligence. If you want to disagree on issues, that's fine. And Nikki and I disagree on some issues. But I'll tell you this, I've known her for 12 years, which is longer than he's even started to vote in a Republican primary. And while we disagree about some issues and we disagree about who should be president in the United States, what we don't disagree on is this is a smart, accomplished woman. You should stop insulting her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINNEY: That's an interesting moment because, you know, here he is going back and forth, basically talking over the other two, but then he, you know, comes out and is defending her. I actually thought it was a play for women female voters because, you know, one of the things we saw with, you know, Gary Tuchman's group, you heard the voters who were watching say they liked the way she held her own.

And as the person who was being attacked, that was her opportunity was to show, I can take it, I'm tough enough, I can handle this. And that sort of toughness is, you know, what you want when you're trying to look presidential. But as I say, Christie wanted to make clear, I think that, you know, this was a moment where he could jump in and actually maybe pick up some votes from women.

That's also a moment of civility. It was.

MATTINGLY: Yes, no, I agree. Not all of us are as jaded and cynical as Scott Jennings was last hour on the panel, saying it was purely a political moment.

FINNEY: Can I just say, having been attacked by Chris Christie on television, I found that it was a lovely moment, but I also thought it was -- there was a calculation there.

MATTINGLY: I want to ask you, David, look, no one on that stage is within a country mile of the guy who's winning the race. And Christie was the only person who was attacking it. You mentioned the kind of inartful, putting DeSantis on the spot. Why there's 39 days. Like are they ever going to attack the guy who's destroying them in every poll?

URBAN: You heard Governor Christie again saying, hey, hey, everybody, we're not talking about the one person that we should be talking about. We're rearranging the deck chairs in the Titanic here. We're moving these numbers around. We're going 14 to 13. We're sharing market share on this side of the ledger, but we're not taking any market share away from Donald Trump.

And I guarantee if you look at the polls tomorrow, the next day in the future, the next couple of weeks, those numbers aren't going to change. If anything, Trump's numbers probably are going to go up again because people are going to start looking at whether they're going to say that debate wasn't, nothing really moved there, nothing really moved the needle. And I'm going to stick with the guy who I was originally for. And I think Trump's number will continue to be ascendant.

HARLOW: So -- go ahead, Lisa.

LERER: You have to sort of think about this is there's one race that we're watching in this debate and then there's the actual race, right, which where Donald Trump leads by 20, 30, 40 points nationally, and it's a whole different thing. And this, as you point out, is not moving the needle but, you know, it's nice to talk about these guys and what they're doing and what's going on. But it doesn't feel so relevant to the actual -- who the actual winner will be of Iowa or of New Hampshire or the nominee.

HARLOW: Can I just ask please one other thing? You know what is relevant in Iowa is the issue of abortion. And that is an issue that did not even come up at all last night as a question, even given some moves on that from Nikki Haley saying recently she'd signed a six-week federal ban, Chris Christie would not, that was surprising to me, especially before Iowa.

LERER: Yes, I agree with you. It was surprising. Obviously, this is a big issue in Iowa. But it's been -- I think, I was really impressed with these moderators. They were really trying to draw a sharp contrast. They brought up really the critiques against every candidate very, very directly. And I suspect that they thought abortion was an issue that had been discussed, right? We've had several really long, notable exchanges on abortion. I would guess that they were longer exchanges about abortion than America's --

HARLOW: I would say, yes, yes, but remember before Nikki Haley said she would sign that six-week ban, she was on the last debate stage talking about here's what I personally believe but here's what real what's realistic for America. That would have been an important thing to I think cash out with the only female candidate as well and all of this.

FINNEY: She was trying to walk that line early on to sort of a kindlier, gentler, I guess, approach on abortion, but then we had the Virginia elections where it was clear that a 15-week ban is still considered a ban to voters.

[07:10:01]

And so perhaps she decided --

HARLOW: What was the word that the governor was using to describe it?

LERER: Commonsense.

FINNEY: No. He was to -- not a ban. It's --

HARLOW: It's 7:09, too early for me to come over (ph).

LERER: A limit.

FINNEY: A limit. It's still a ban. A ban is a ban is a ban.

So, she potentially decided, you know what, let me get where the Republican base is and go with the six weeks.

URBAN: I know this is a primary focus on these debates are focused on who's going to win in Iowa, but Republicans need to start exercising those general election muscles soon, right, sooner rather than later. And I think the more you talk about abortion, the more you figure out how to discuss it in a manner that doesn't send people to the other side of the aisle, right? That's better for Republicans. So the more --

LERER: It's going to be hard. Because even Nikki Haley, I mean, if you look at her record, she voted for state legislative provision after provision granting constitutional rights to fetuses and banning at this level and that level, demanding all kinds of restrictions.

So, I think you're right. The party needs to figure out a way to talk about this that broad swaths of the American public will accept, but that is going to be a heavy lift.

MATTINGLY: All right. David Urban, Karen Finney, Lisa Lerer, thanks, guys, I appreciate it.

HARLOW: Later this hour, we'll be joined by presidential candidate Chris Christie live here on CNN This Morning. We'll get his response to donors, some big donors from his own party, pushing for him to drop out.

MATTINGLY: And right now, Israeli forces are pushing deeper into Southern Gaza. Hear with Secretary of State Antony Blinken exclusively told CNN about how civilians there are being protected. Stay with us.

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[07:15:00]

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ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: They nonetheless have an obligation to do everything possible to protect civilians, to distinguish between terrorists and innocent men, women and children.

GAYLE KING, CNN HOST: And that part doesn't seem to be going so well, Mr. Secretary, about keeping the civilians safe.

BLINKEN: But what we're seeing now is we're seeing some, I think, important steps being taken as they're operating, they're beginning to operate in the south of Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: That was Secretary of State Antony Blinken offering new and important assessments on the Israel-Hamas War last night on CNN's King Charles, right here on CNN. It comes exactly two months since the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel.

And as Jews in Israel and around the world prepare to celebrate Hanukkah starting tonight, in Northern Gaza, new pictures show thousands taking shelter inside a damaged hospital. And Israeli forces are pushing deeper into Southern Gaza and mounting a show of force, now surrounding the home, they say, of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar.

Alex Marquardt has reporting live from Tel Aviv. That is a significant development, right? But they're saying he is underground at this point.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. A top aide for Benjamin Netanyahu said that it's more a symbolic victory than anything else. I mean, Poppy, there has been so much Israeli focus on the city of Khan Younis because they do believe that Hamas leadership is there. They have been focusing so much on the fighting. There's been intense fighting in and around there.

Israel says that they have broken through the Hamas defensive lines, and they're trying to make the point that they can go anywhere in Gaza, including surrounding the house of Hamas' top leader, Yahya Sinwar.

Now, Benjamin Netanyahu says it's only a matter of time before they get him, but the IDF does say that they believe that he is below ground. They don't say where. But, obviously, he is the number one target.

But, Poppy, as you pointed out, today is two months since the horrific attacks on October 7th, two months since Israel announced that they were going to do everything they could to eradicate Hamas. And here, you have the top leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, as well as the top two leaders of the military arm who still have not been found. Poppy?

HARLOW: Can you also talk about the development of commercial ships in the Red Sea? There's new reporting about the U.S. considering sending protection to them given the attempted strikes against them just a couple days ago.

MARQUARDT: Yes. This is really notable and it really speaks to the major concern about what's going on in the Red Sea with those Iranian- backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The U.S. and other countries, we understand, are in discussions to potentially escort commercial ships in the Red Sea past Yemen, basically into the Gulf of Aden.

There's a narrow passageway between Africa and Yemen. And that is because the Houthis really have stepped up their attacks in recent months. There are major concerns, there have been concerns that the Houthis would really want to expand this conflict. We've seen them launching missiles and drones, attacking commercial ships, even seizing an Israeli-linked ship.

So now, according to sources speaking to my colleagues, Katie Bo Lillis and Natasha Bertrand, the U.S. is in talks with what is known as the Combined Maritime Forces, which is a multinational task force, to escort those commercial ships from the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden. It really does speak to these significant concerns about the capabilities of those Houthi rebels. Poppy?

HARLOW: Yes. And it's remarkable, they're commercial ships. We're not talking about military vessels that they would need that kind of protection.

Alex, thanks very much for the reporting, live from Tel Aviv. Phil?

MATTINGLY: Well, Senate Republicans have just blocked a bill that would have sent billions of dollars in aid to Israel and Ukraine. Will the president give in to the Republicans' demands? We're going to speak to a top administration official about their next moves.

HARLOW: Also this morning, we are learning new details about the college professor who opened fire at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, three people murdered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: School shootings have been happening since I was born. I was born in the year 2000. It's 2023. And I'm tired of it.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

HARLOW: Well, this morning, there are some new details on the shooter who police say killed three people at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The campus huddled together for a vigil last night after sources tell CNN the shooter was at a career college professor. His name, we're just getting this, Anthony Polito, 67 years old, who police say shot and was shot and killed after the rampage.

He reportedly had sought a job at UNLV. Polito's LinkedIn page lists him most recently as a full-time employment and business professor at East Carolina University. Here's what we do know. Three people were murdered, a fourth person injured. Four others are being treated at hospitals for what is being described as panic attacks from the shooting. Two law enforcement officers are also being treated for minor injuries. And for parents and loved ones waiting for word during the lockdown, some breathtaking revelations coming in one text message at a time.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first text is, of course, she's telling me that there was an active shooter and that she was scared. Then she said, I love you.

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HARLOW: Police searched the suspect's home overnight. They have yet to determine emotive. Classes at the UNLV campus are canceled through at least Sunday.

MATTINGLY: Well, President Biden outlining in very stark terms what he believes is at stake if the U.S. fails to support Ukraine against Russia. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: We can't let Putin win. It's in our overwhelming national interest and international interest of all our friends. Any disruption in our ability to supply Ukraine clearly strengthens Putin's position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Those comments did not faze Senate Republicans who killed an emergency funding package last night demanding tougher restrictions on immigration at the border in exchange for their support.

[07:25:01]

The prospect of funding for both Ukraine and Israel now looking more grim than ever.

Joining us now to discuss, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, one of the top negotiators on these issues, Shalanda Young. Director Young, I appreciate your time this morning.

I want to start with yesterday in the President's remarks, he also said he's willing to make significant compromises on the border. Are those new compromises or is this about the discussions that have already happened?

SHALANDA YOUNG, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: Thanks, Phil, for having me this morning. It's a little chilly but I'm still glad to be here with you.

Look, I think the president also used the word stunning yesterday. It is stunning that Republicans know the stakes on our national security front, know what happens if Putin marches through Ukraine, knows what happens if we are not there for our longest ally in the Middle East. This is people's lives.

And, by the way, the president asked for funding to strengthen border security. So, if you are for border security, you would have voted for that bill.

MATTINGLY: And in doing that, though, he put the issue of the border on the table here, which I think has opened the door to Republicans saying, look, you need Republican votes. We want more on the border. Therefore, if you want the funding, you're going to have to give us policy changes. Do you feel like that was a mistake to put it in in the first place?

YOUNG: Phil, absolutely not. This is a critical need at the southwest border. The president has been very clear about that. By the way, this isn't his first time asking. He asked for funding for the border last December, only got half. He asked for funding in September, got none. He asked for funding now and Republicans are saying not good enough.

You know, I've done this for a long time. This is stunning to me that Republicans won't fund more equipment to look for fentanyl at the border. It is stunning that that won't happen.

By the way, they need Republican votes to pass this national security package. You also need Democratic votes. Anything that passes in divided government has to be bipartisan and Republicans continue to say my way or nothing on the border.

MATTINGLY: You are known, and you know that because you're known in Washington as an outcomes person. You're the person who gets the job done, knows how to not just do the math, but count the votes and get to that point. Do you feel like an outcome is going to require losing Democratic votes in the Senate?

YOUNG: Look, I'm not going to negotiate from here, even though I love having this back and forth with you, Phil. What we will do and what our job is to continue to remind everyone of the stakes if this security funding is not provided.

This is not hyperbole. You've heard it from the president. There is a risk that if Putin is allowed to go through Ukraine, he is on NATO's door, and then our sons and daughters could possibly be a part of conflicts.

So, this is -- you know, these are political games. And, unfortunately, this is becoming a norm where Republicans know the stakes, like in debt ceiling, and continue to push for things that are unrelated, even though the stakes are too high to fail.

MATTINGLY: You had this in your letter. I'm wondering, for people to understand that this isn't just a political move on your guys' part to try and secure funding. How much money is currently left and what happens when it's gone?

YOUNG: Phil, we're going to make a couple of more announcements on packages. We have about a billion dollars in which to do that out of the hundred billion provided to date. So, we're really out of money. We're out of economic support. And, by the way, if you don't pay the government to continue to operate, you also lose a war. We don't have much more beyond this year to continue to send weapons. And what happens with our partners once the U.S. pulls back?

So, our fear is this is a domino effect that makes it harder and harder for the Ukrainians to win, where they've done exceptionally well defending themselves.

MATTINGLY: There have been reports that there are some Senate Democrats, our mutual pal, Burgress Everett, over Politico, talking to Senator Michael Bennett, who said the president -- the only way out of this, may be the president getting into a room with leaders and trying to craft a deal. Do you see the president calling people to the White House, a meeting between the president and Senator McConnell or Speaker Johnson anytime soon?

YOUNG: Look, I spent a lot of time in those rooms during debt ceiling. I think people know the path here. I think what Senate Democrats put up was a good way forward. It did what the president asked. It said we need to do something at the southwest border, in addition to being there for our allies with Ukraine and Israel.

But, look, we're always willing to have a conversation. But I believe Congress has been talking about this long enough, and I'm happy that the question was called. Unfortunately, people who know the stakes, who are supporters of Ukraine, who are supporters of Israel, decided to put politics ahead of our national security interests.

[07:30:03]

And, frankly, I remain stunned by that.