Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Republican Presidential Candidates Concerned that Extreme Cold Weather in Iowa May Affect Voter Turnout for Caucuses; Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Interviewed on President Biden's Campaign for Reelection; Hardliners Pressure Johnson to Back Off Spending Deal with Democrats; Interview with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); US-Led Coalition Strikes Iran-Backed Houthi Militants in Yemen. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 12, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Ideal. But regardless, there are dozens of Chicago Transit Authority buses here to try to give these migrants some reprieve from this winter that has been rolling in. This is the second wave of that storm, Erica. The expectation here in the city is that there will be, at least today, between three inches and four inches of snow. That's because the lake here has been unseasonably warm. The city of Chicago has also been unseasonably warm. They have not had a high below freezing since November 28th. So that's the good news, keeping a little bit warmer here in the city. Different story out in the suburbs, Erica, where they could see up to a foot of snow.

This winter weather advisory from here until Saturday at 1:00, the Illinois Department of Transportation says they have up to 1,800 vehicles and pieces of equipment or more to try to mitigate the storm for drivers and residents, Erica. This is just the prelude because next week our weather team is reporting that it could get shockingly cold. We are talking 30 below with a windchill in some areas of Illinois, Erica.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Whitney Wild, thank you.

CNN THIS MORNING continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know it's going to be negative 15 on Monday. I don't even know what that is. I've been campaigning here for 11 months now. And back in October, in November and December, I'm like, it is so cold. And everybody kept saying it's mild. I totally get it now.

GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R-FL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know it's going to be cold. But here's the thing, you're never going to have an opportunity to have your vote pack more of a punch than you will on Monday.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MATTINGLY: Things will be cold.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: I hear it's rather cold in Iowa this time of year. I know it's winter, but it's going to be cold.

MATTINGLY: It is a cold reality of the campaign that is smacking candidates in the face literally, figuratively, we'll see. Just 84 hours to go before the first votes are cast in the 2024 Republican primary. How life-threatening weather could impact turnout on caucus night.

HILL: And we also have some breaking new information when it comes that that U.S.-led, U.S.-led coalition strike, rather, in Yemen. Overnight fighter jets, Tomahawk missiles hitting dozens of targets, retaliation for months of attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea. This is, of course, raising wider fears now of a wider involvement in the region for the United States.

MATTINGLY: 2024, what's happening in the Middle East, what's happening on Capitol Hill. We're going to discuss all of it with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi live. And we'll also ask her about the blowback current House Speaker Mike Johnson faces over the deal to keep the government open. This hour on CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

Good Friday morning, everyone. It's the top of the hour. I'm Phil Mattingly with Erica Hill in New York. Poppy is off today. And this morning, Iowa is facing some dangerous winter weather that's coming just three days out from the Republican caucuses in the state. Candidates have been canceling or shifting events, and some Republicans are concerned the frigid temperatures could actually impact turnout. Monday's caucuses could be the coldest in history, expected to drop to about minus 30 in some areas.

HILL: That's not pleasant.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump returning to Iowa this weekend where he'll hold his final campaign events after closing arguments in his $370 million civil fraud trial here in New York on Thursday. The judge did allow him to speak inside the courtroom, but then cut him off at one point as he railed against the case and rehashed campaign slogans which he repeated outside the court afterwards as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: This is a political witch-hunt the likes of which nobody has ever seen before. They don't need damages for what they've done.

We didn't have a jury. We had no rights to a jury.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: CNN's Eva McKend is live this morning in Des Moines. So we keep talking about the weather, right. Yes, it's winter. Yes, it's cold. It could potentially, though, Eva, have an impact. What are folks saying? EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Well, good morning to

you, both, from snowy Iowa here. Listen, the weather is a real concern. Iowans are used to the cold, but Monday is on track to be the coldest caucus day in history. Nikki Haley forced to shift her campaign events, so instead of in-person events she's going to have tele town halls. Vivek Ramaswamy, Governor DeSantis, they say that they are staying the course with their events, but that, of course, could change in the hours ahead.

Meanwhile, Haley and DeSantis, they are intensifying their attacks against one other on the campaign trail. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are a country in disarray and the world is on fire. And the only way we get out of this is if we elect a new conservative leader to carry us forward and leave the negativity and baggage behind.

GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R-FL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She has not gone to all 99 counties, doesn't like to interact with the voters. Thinks that they just spend, spend, spend, and somehow that's going to do the trick. That's not the way it works.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:00]

MCKEND: So, Iowans are still showing their resolve, coming out to hear these GOP hopefuls. Just last night Governor DeSantis fielding questions from voters on everything from the future of Social Security in this country to his position on foreign policy, on Ukraine. But the weather conditions this morning, treacherous. The roads are bad, and it is very, very windy here this morning, Erica and Phil.

HILL: All right, Eva, appreciate it. Stay safe, you and your team, out there on those roads.

MATTINGLY: And joining us now to discuss the 2024 campaigns and also a lot more, former Speaker of the House, Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of California, Madam Speaker, thanks so much for your time this morning. We have a lot to get to.

And I want to start with the 2024 landscape. You have been at the center of Democratic messaging and strategy for so many years, and I'm interested. You've made the point to my colleague, Dana Bash, a couple weeks ago that this is a moment where the president and his team need to get out more. They have a message. They have a resume. They need to start talking about it more. He's going to be in Pennsylvania today. Have you seen a shift in the message that you think is effective over the course of the last couple of weeks?

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: Yes, well, now, we are in the election year, and the president has been working very hard over the past three years to do what is necessary to meet the needs of the American people. Now he can go talk about it. And he has a lot to say. The kitchen table needs are what are the most important to families, but also make the biggest difference in elections.

Look at the votes. Look at the job numbers. Over 14 million jobs created while he was president, set unemployment reduced, inflation on the downturn. And I'm very proud of what's happening with health care. He has worked to reduce the cost of health care, whether through the Affordable Care Act or the cost of prescription drugs. People have to know because their kitchen table needs are what are important to them.

And the democracy message relates to the kitchen table. Democracy is a personal issue, freedom of choice to have, when and if you have a family, freedom to enjoy your work knowing you have a pension so that your family will be secure. The education of your children, the safety of the environment in which they live, he scores very high on all of those points. And many people are appreciating and enjoying it. They just are not giving him credit for it.

And this is what we have to do now is to make sure that not only the president, but other validators come forward to say what he's done. But what's really important to people is what he is going to do. Nobody votes for you for what you've done. They want to know what comes next.

MATTINGLY: When you say other validators, what do you mean by that? Because there's been some criticism that there aren't enough surrogates out there, there's aren't enough people within specific constituencies in the Democratic coalition or just generally that are getting the message out in an effective way.

PELOSI: Well, they will. I don't find that to be a problem. They will. Governors, elected officials, yes, but also community activists, as well. For example, you give me the opportunity to talk about our outside mobilization. This is neighbor to neighbor. We have, in 2018, you may recall, people said weren't you lucky that health care became the issue in the campaign? I said, no, we weren't lucky. We made our own luck. We had 10,000 events where people told their stories about what the Affordable Care Act meant to them.

Now you have the former president saying Obamacare sucks. No, it doesn't suck. It cures. Affordable care cures. And as you see, record number 20 million signed up, and we still have a couple of more days to go with that. But it won't be -- the surrogate are the people telling their stories across the country and that mobilization to own the ground, to get out the vote, to win the election for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.

MATTINGLY: It's critical every cycle, no question about that, and you guys have certainly demonstrated success on it when you won back the House and when President Biden won in 2020.

I think the question, though, you raise a lot of things that I think drive some of the frustration. If you look at the legislative record that you were detailing that the president had in the first years and the way that on an individual basis every single piece that you laid out there polls quite well. You lay out what the former president has said he wants to do in terms of repealing Obamacare, in terms of being proud of Roe versus Wade being struck down, in terms of more tax cuts along the lines of what we saw in 2017, that also polls much better for Democrats than it would for him. And yet this is a neck and neck race and no one feels very comfortable on the Democratic side of things that Donald Trump isn't going to be the next president.

[08:10:05]

PELOSI: Well, I don't think that nobody feels -- I think many of us know that it is impossible for him to be the president again --

MATTINGLY: Why do you say that?

PELOSI: -- with what he's proposing.

Well, because when you're talking about what he's talking about now is more tax cuts for corporate Americans, taking them down so low to the detriment of our budget and meeting the needs of people. But people have to know, I have said over and over again, President Lincoln said public sentiment is everything.

MATTINGLY: Right.

PELOSI: With it you can accomplish almost anything. Without it practically nothing. But public sentiment has to be informed. People have to know. So we can talk more about what he has done, what it means at the kitchen table for people to have lower costs for prescription drugs, lower costs for health care, because it's not just about their good health. It's about their financial health and security as well.

And instead of just talking about why aren't they doing more, we are, and we will. And, again, the outside -- our inside maneuvering to get the job done, the president's vision for our country, his knowledge of the issues, his strategic thinking as a legislator are so important, but so is his emotional connection, the empathy he has for working families in our country. He springs from that background, and he understands it and he cares. He cares about it. So, that's what you will see. And, again, the president and millions of people mobilizing outside to get the message out, neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend --

MATTINGLY: Right.

PELOSI: -- person to person.

MATTINGLY: Do you wish he -- you make the point of kind of who he is or how Democrats see him and why he's been effective as a politician, particularly within the party over the course of five decades now. Do you wish he was not -- I don't mean out giving more campaign speeches more, I just mean out more, talking in interviews, talking on the ground, doing rope lines. We haven't seen as much of that.

PELOSI: You know what, the president has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He's the president of the United States, a very challenging job. There are only so many hours in the day. And I trust his judgment that when -- now people are starting to pay attention. Again, you can be saying things, and people are busy living their lives, raising their families, doing their jobs. It's a tough time. So you want to spend the time talking to them when they are ready to listen.

And now that the campaign year has started, then you talk about the weather in Iowa for next week. I'm so sad for the voters there, even though it's just largely a Republican caucus that they have the opportunity to cast their votes in a safe way, and health-wise too because it's so cold, but also the danger of snow.

But it is, it is -- election time has this vitality about it. It's exciting, and we respect people's views, respect their concerns. But I've always said you can tell them everything you've done, but nobody gets elected because they deserve it. They get elected because of what they're going to do next. And what he is going to do next is, again, to continue the work he's done for America's working families, whether it's the child tax credit, continuing to save Affordable Care Act, save the reduction in prescription drugs, continue to grow the economy. But again, in a way that gives confidence to people that they and their families have a role to play.

People are concerned about innovation and how it affects them, globalization, how it affects them, immigration, how it affects them. And we want them to know that in all of his policies, it's about making sure that people have the opportunity, whether it's through education or job creation and the rest that has the beautiful diversity of America, but also, but also includes everyone in our --

MATTINGLY: Right. No, it will certainly be a central piece of what he lays out in the weeks ahead, including heading toward the State of the Union. Former Speaker Pelosi, stay with us. I also want to talk a lot about Capitol Hill. We have a lot more to discuss there. We'll be back to you in a moment, including a group of Republicans now threatening to derail a deal to avoid a possible government shutdown in just a matter of days. We're going to ask the former speaker how this could imperial the current speaker's agenda just a couple months into his tenure.

HILL: And happening right now, huge pro-Houthi protests in Yemen's capital after those U.S.-U.K. strikes overnight. Those strikes coming, of course, after weeks of attacks by Iran-backed militants on commercial ships in the Red Sea. The new warnings this morning amid the growing violence in the region. Stay with us.

[08:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): That's not what we want to see out of our Speaker. Otherwise, what's the difference? And you know, you know Nancy Pelosi having the gavel and us having the majority.

REP. ERIC BURLISON (R-MO): I didn't come up here to spend more money than Nancy Pelosi, as a Republican, and I'm not going to be a part of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Hardline conservative lawmakers invoking former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to ramp up their pressure against current House Speaker Mike Johnson. They are threatening to derail bipartisan negotiations. These negotiations, a deal that Johnson struck with Democrats and Senate Republicans to keep the government open.

Back with us, the aforementioned former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. What do you think when you hear that you are still very much in the minds of the rank and file Republicans in the House?

PELOSI: Well, I haven't paid too much attention to what they're saying, but what I do know after 20 years as either Leader or Speaker, that when you're dealing with the budget bill, it's a negotiation. Nobody ever gets everything that they want, but you have to pass it because you cannot shut down government.

And so when a few people decide that they have an objection, and they want to hold up the works, that's a disservice to their leader, to their Speaker.

They have won the majority. They have a major responsibility, but we also have a president of the United States who will sign the bill, a majority in the United Senate that has to pass it, so there has to be a negotiation and a compromise and it's hard, it is not an easy thing. It is hard, but you have to get it done.

[08:20:08]

MATTINGLY: Yes, there is no question. I think it's very much harder now to some degree, which has something to do on some level with the leadership. Do you have advice to give the current Speaker of the House?

PELOSI: Well respect. Respect is a word that I always use for my own members along the way. There are different, shall we say, equities to be weighed when you're doing a budget, but there are different bills in the course of the year and they'll prevail on some and won't prevail on others, but as long as they know that their views are recognized, they should be able to come to the table.

But this is -- well, there is a difference between Democrats and Republicans in this regard. We believe in governance, and we want to get the job done.

All of the shutdowns of government have come under Republican leadership, whether it was starting with Newt Gingrich in the 90s and then to the Republicans, when President Obama was president, but the Republicans shut government down. And then under President Trump, when he took pride in shutting Democrats, because they don't believe in governance.

So not having a budget, shutting down government is a plus for them. That's what they like. They don't like governance. They don't also like science. So as science says, we have to have certain protections for our climate, for our people, for this, for that, and government has some protections to offer. Those two nos do not make a yes.

MATTINGLY: There is no question that there are sharp ideological differences between the two parties, certainly it seem to be exacerbated. Now, I do ask though because the current Speaker did put out a statement of support for President Biden's order to have the coalition strike in Yemen.

You were talking about the weight of the world that's on the president's shoulder that is certainly the case right now. Do you support this decision? There have been some in your caucus or in the Democratic caucus that have raised concerns that this is not within the presidential authority?

PELOSI: There are a few, but it is within the president's authority. This is -- they were making strikes on ships that affect commerce and the rest. It's a multilateral decision to go forward. It was not a Declaration of War that has to come from Congress.

I respect those who have their view, but I don't agree with them, and I think the president made the right decision.

MATTINGLY: Are you concerned more broadly, given the conflict in the Middle East and the president's efforts to try and navigate that? How your party will react going forward?

As you talk to people like Debbie Dingell of Michigan. We have very real concerns about how voters, Democratic base voters there are going to react throughout the country as well, young voters in particular.

PELOSI: Well, the president of the United States -- our president has acted with great values-based principles to what is happening there. What happened on October 7th was horrible. The hostages are still not freed, but we don't like the aerial bombing of civilians in Gaza to the extent that that has happened, so there has to be a path out of that. The two-state solution is one that the president has supported, that many of us have supported with him for a very long time.

And I think that what the president is trying to do for humanitarian assistance, over $10 billion into Gaza has not been taken up by the Republicans.

So when people say, well, these people need help in the rest, and the president should make it happen. Well, it is an expenditure, a fiscal bill that has to come from the Congress of the United States.

So I think that when the election, as we go through this, and it's a terrible situation, it is heartbreaking in every way, whether it is about assault or the consequences of that.

MATTINGLY: Certainly, do you have concerns, so much of how the president has operated here? Has been trying to work behind the scenes, as he's always done on foreign policy related issues with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. Do you have concerns about Netanyahu's leadership? How his government operates right now and the path forward?

PELOSI: Yes, well, I've never been a particular fan of Netanyahu. He hasn't been a particular fan of the two-state solution, which is an answer to so much of this.

Again, I come back to the word respect, but our president has great foreign policy experience as a former chair of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate, as the vice president of United States and now as president, so I respect his judgment and feel sad that the turn of events has caused so much heartbreak for the people of Gaza and that's really at the doorstep of Netanyahu.

[08:25:10]

MATTINGLY: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, we always appreciate your time and thoughts and expertise. Thank you very much.

PELOSI: Thank you. Thank you, Phil. Nice to be with you. Thank you.

HILL: Happening now, we are monitoring some massive protests in Yemen's capital. This, as we're also getting some new details about those retaliatory strikes in Yemen by the US and its allies overnight. What this could mean for US involvement in a potentially growing conflict.

MATTINGLY: And the key places to watch in the Iowa caucuses with three days to go. We're going to examine the strategy behind where some candidates are campaigning and where they'll go next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Live pictures for you there of massive protests. This is in Yemen's capital of Sanaa happening right now.

This morning, Houthi rebels vowing to respond after the US and UK strikes overnight, saying their forces will not hesitate to target targets on land and sea to defend Yemen.

Now, the US for its part is downplaying fears that these strikes overnight against the Iran-backed militias in Yemen could lead to a wider war in the Middle East.

A Houthi military spokesperson says the US and UK strikes killed five people and injured six others. The missiles hit 16 locations, among them command centers, weapons depots, and launching systems.

President Biden says the strikes are a direct response to what he called the unprecedented attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which have of course caused major shipping delays and directly impacted the global economy.

A short time ago, I spoke with Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder who said that the action itself is not part of the Gaza war and that the US plans to keep it that way.

[08:30:13]