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Primary Voting to Begin in New Hampshire; Donald Trump and Nikki Haley Make Final Campaign Pitches to Voters in New Hampshire; New Hampshire Voters Give Reasons They are Voting for Their Preferred Candidates in Interviews; Voters Casting Ballots at Locations Across New Hampshire; IDF: 21 Israeli Soldiers Killed in Combat in Gaza; Defense Secretary Austin's First Appearance Since Health Scare. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 23, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning from New Hampshire on a beautiful Tuesday. So glad you're with us. Right now, the nation's first presidential primary is underway. I am live at Chez Vachon Diner in Manchester. Phil Mattingly right there in New York. And most polling locations now open across the granite state. It is really all on the line here for Nikki Haley. This could be her last chance to pull off an upset over Donald Trump. During her final blitz across the state, Haley pushed back on the naysayers who have suggested, Phil, that she give up and drop out.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Making it clear at least for the moment that's not going to happen.

Meanwhile, Trump is predicting the race will be over after today's primary. Here are the big questions we're all watching today. Will Nikki Haley's big bet pay off? Her campaign, both money, resources, time, focused heavily on New Hampshire as the state where Haley has the best chance to beat Trump. The other looming question, if Trump wins, is this race over? He sure seems to think so. Also, if Haley's attacks against Trump worked, in recent days we have seen her escalate her rhetoric questioning Trump's mental state. She told CNN she sees Trump and Biden as equally bad options.

HARLOW: We have full team coverage with reporters live at polling locations. We have got expert analysis. Let's start off this hour with Omar Jimenez. He has been talking to voters all morning. And every time you talk to a different voter, Omar, it is so interesting and so telling. I wonder what you are hearing now.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's so many interesting reasons about why they're supporting a particular candidate. It's not just I like Trump because I like Trump. It's, I like him for this particular reason, and vice versa with Nikki Haley. And so that's really been the most interesting part about talking to voters. To give you a sense of where I am, we're in Manchester right now at a middle school, but at a polling location, as you can see. It has calmed down a little bit from the early morning rush, but they just told they processed close to 300 people in just the first two hours. You can see sort of how things roll here. They get processed at the first table, come over to the second station, and then they make their way over to the actual voting booths. As you can see, this woman finishing up with her vote there.

And then what they do is they come on over down here -- it's really is like a well-oiled machine here. They take pride in how they run their elections in this first in the primary state. They return their ballots here to this spot where you can see it will be received and processed there as well. And basically, what's been happening is they have been all coming in through this entrance point right here one by one, as we step out of his way. Voters like -- do you mind if I talk to you for a second. How's it going? I'm Omar. What's your name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris (ph).

JIMENEZ: Chris (ph). So you just voted a second ago, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, sir.

JIMENEZ: How did you vote, and why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for Nikki Haley. She just seems like the adult in the room right now, honestly. And so I think that's kind of what the country needs, somebody that's stable and makes sense. And maybe I don't even agree with her on every single issue, but I think we need an adult in the room to unite the country.

JIMENEZ: And how long ago did you make that decision?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I always liked the way she had presence. I thought she did a good job as U.N. ambassador. And again, when we start to look at the field, the choices -- there weren't that many adults in the room.

JIMENEZ: So then I think I might be able to guess how you're going to answer this question, but when you saw Donald Trump obviously as an option on this ballot, what was your immediate reaction?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just think the time has passed. I have voted for Donald in the past. But I just think that we need -- the current person in office is not acceptable for different reasons. And so I'm looking for a change from what's in there now. And President Trump was not something I was looking to revisit. And I think Ambassador Haley gives us a great opportunity to come back to some normalcy, some youth, some energy. And I'm hopeful she has a great performance here in New Hampshire, and maybe that springboards her.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and last question, because I've asked a lot of folks who have been in your position.

[08:05:00] If Nikki Haley doesn't win and Donald Trump becomes the nominee and it's him versus Biden, are your feelings here enough for you to not vote for Trump in that scenario?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would -- I can't vote for President Biden. That's just not in the cards. I don't think he is fit for office. And I don't also -- I don't like his policies. So that's a tough double whammy. But I would explore other options. Joe Kennedy maybe as an independent. He seems to have some reasonable thoughts. I would have to look closer at that. But I can't vote for the incumbent in office now. So it would take some looking at things.

JIMENEZ: Thank you for your time. I really appreciate you.

Some of the first voters coming in here in New Hampshire, first in the nation primary, well under way. And again, some nuance there as well in his support for Nikki Haley.

HARLOW: Omar, I think I echo a sentiment of a lot of us. Hearing from the voters with you has really been the best part of the morning from you, from Alayna, from everyone in the field talking to the voters. Thank you for that. We will get back to you soon.

Our Alayna Treene is in Nashua, New Hampshire. You have been talking to voters all morning as well. You obviously closely report on the Trump campaign. I wonder what you are hearing.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Right. We have actually -- we caught up with a couple voters as they were leaving the polling station in Nashua this morning. And it was interesting. We talked to two who said that they did vote for Nikki Haley. They said that they did not feel comfortable voting for Donald Trump. And both argued that they would consider voting for Biden if it were a two-man race between Trump and Biden in the general election. Take a listen to what Kathryn Wood and also Jack Wolber told us this morning.

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KATHRYN WOOD, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: I've been a lifelong Republican until President Trump came into office. And I would like to get the Republican party back to its normal conservative values.

JACK WOLBER, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: My conscience won't allow me to vote for a criminal. I'm sorry.

TREENE: And what has led to vote for Haley instead? What do you like about Haley? What are some of the attributes that drew you to her?

WOLBER: She's not Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Poppy, I think it's just a great example of what they are saying is how there are still some surprises that could come today. I know that New Hampshire is a state that likes to offer surprises in this primary. They take much pride in being the first in the nation primary state. And we are seeing that here at this location in Nashua.

I do just want to quickly walk you through as well how the voting at this Amhurst Elementary School works. The polls opened at 6:00 a.m. I was just told that they have had more than 180 people come through so far. They have been coming in here and grabbing their ballots, checking in their names. And then they will take those ballots, go into these booths here, clearly, they have privacy, they want to make sure that no voters are seen as they are voting. And then they later put them through a tabulator to be counted later throughout the day.

Also, we are in the 8:00 a.m. hour. Around this time or shortly thereafter they're going to start going through some absentee ballots as well and processing those throughout the day. And again, I spoke with many of the election workers who have been here, and they are very dedicated to making sure that this is a free and fair and accurate election. And they take a lot of pride in being part of that democratic process. Poppy?

HARLOW: No doubt it will be all of those things. Alayna Treene, thank you. We'll get back to you soon.

With me now in Manchester, our anchor and chief national affairs analyst Kasie Hunt and CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny. Can I just get you guys, or you, Kasie, to react to what we just heard from those voters with Omar and with Alayna?

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes, the man that Alayna spoke to on Nikki Haley, quote, "She's not Trump," end quote -- that kind of says it all. And that also can be a real challenge when you are a candidate because you need people to both be excited about you and also not want to be with the other guy. In some ways it encapsulates the challenge that President Biden is going to have in a general election. His campaign is really counting on, frankly, Trump being the nominee, being able to energize voters who are afraid of having Donald Trump be president again. But that also raises the question of whether they can get the people that they need to be actually excited to vote for Biden out to the polls based on his approval numbers.

HARLOW: Your reaction to what you heard, and the fact that you were at a pretty big Nikki Haley rally last night, Jeff?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The voter that Omar was talking to, it's a sentiment that we heard again and again really for the last week and longer here, someone who was eager to turn the page. They want someone new in the White House, and they don't want that someone to be Donald Trump. They want someone new. So the new generational argument has been a big one for voters like that.

We're not sure if he is Republican or undeclared. My guess is an undeclared voter, and that's what we are watching today. Some 40 percent of the electorate here we're been talking about are undeclared. So they walk into the polling place and they can ask for a Democratic ballot or a Republican ballot.

But at the rally last night, it was in Salem, New Hampshire, which is in the southern part of the state, a lot of former Massachusetts residents there. It's a stronghold for her.

[08:10:07]

One thing that I was struck by, you wouldn't know it was the eve of the election if you just walked in the room.

HARLOW: Interesting.

ZELENY: There was no sense of urgency from her that now is the absolute time to come behind my candidacy. And voters don't necessarily know that this may be the end of the line here. I was struck by that yesterday as well.

HARLOW: She doesn't think it is, even, depending on what happens.

ZELENY: We will see. But that's what struck me. I remember in 2008, Hillary Clinton, you could feel that this was her moment. She needed to win here. And she did. John McCain in 2000, same thing. So that sense of urgency was lacking, I thought, in her message.

But one voter walked up to her in Manchester at a brewery yesterday, and he said, stay in the race, stay in the race. And she said, I definitely will. I'm going to South Carolina. But what I wonder is, does it make it more difficult because it's her home state? The embarrassment factor there if it's a big thing. But we will see how that all goes. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The voting is just underway. Let's see what the voters have to say.

HARLOW: Fair enough.

HUNT: Voters are voting, indeed. But to Jeff's point, it's very clear that this state is make-or-break for, honestly, all of the forces in our politics that have been trying to stop Donald Trump from getting the nomination and potentially becoming president again. This is what, Jeff, for a year I feel like we have been talking about, if one candidate could just get that shot at Donald Trump, there's fewer people in the Republican Party who support Trump than there are others who don't want to see Trump being nominated. That's being repudiated here in these early states.

Now, some of that is going to be because the Republican Party in Iowa, for example, is smaller than it used to be. They're definitely have been people that have left the Republican Party, so the people that are still there are more likely to be loyal to Trump. But it also really just tells you the grip he has on the entire process.

HARLOW: A hundred percent. Guys, stick with me. We've got a lot ahead. Phil?

MATTINGLY: Joining me here in New York, our CNN political commentators, former special adviser to President Obama, Van Jones, former senior adviser to President Obama David Axelrod, former special assistant to President George W. Bush Scott Jennings, and Republican strategist and pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson. Axe, the way Zeleny, your fellow former "Chicago Tribune" reporter just kind of knifed you on the 08 New Hampshire reference. (LAUGHTER)

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I still have granite state nightmares from 2008.

MATTINGLY: But he makes a good point, which I have heard from a lot of people up there, which is you are not feeling, right. It doesn't feel energetic. It doesn't feel like momentum. It doesn't feel -- and that was the case back in 08. Why?

AXELROD: Because I think that it's Trump's party right now. And the thrust of the electorate -- or the bulk of the electorate are Republicans. I said last week that Haley's problem is that Trump has one big cohort that is really important in Republican primaries, and that's Republicans. And that is playing out here.

She would need to have a good showing tonight, and Kristen is the expert on this, but she would have to really, really torque up the number of undeclared voters, and she would have to win them by much larger margins than she's doing here, because Trump's lead among Republicans and voters who call themselves conservative and very conservative is so enormous that it is hard to contain.

And one of the things that is true -- the reason this may be the first and last primary of the season, meaningful primary, is because when you get beyond this state, this is the best possible terrain for Nikki Haley. So I think this is a tough go for her.

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The challenge of her strategy being built around winning over those undeclared independent voters is that they are less reliable in terms of turnout. In New Hampshire maybe more so than other places. But the problem with this really low expectation setting that's going on now -- we'll we don't have to win here, we can go on to the next step, is I actually think you do need to make the case. This is make or break. This is your last chance to stop Donald Trump right now. If you don't want this to be a Trump-Biden rematch, you need to get out and vote today. And the fact that that hasn't been leaned as much is kind of a baffling choice, because I do think this is make or break.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And on the other side of that, Trump is arguing to the Republicans that he is crushing them all. And I agree that this is your chance to close the door on this primary. You want to get on to Joe Biden, you want to get on to taking the country back, we can end it.

MATTINGLY: He has made the definite argument. This is the moment.

JENNINGS: And the textbook way they've rolled out these endorsements, bringing people up from South Carolina, they are not interested in going on having another meaningful primary. They want it to all stop right now. And so I think they have been very disciplined in the way they have gone about this. And I think if you look at the polling that's out there, "The Boston Globe," you can see him tracking up with Republicans over the last several days. Anything could happen, but to David's point, if the Republicans have just concluded he is our guy and we're ready to stop this primary now, they could do it tonight in New Hampshire.

MATTINGLY: Go ahead.

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JONES: Well I just think it's interesting you know, in 2020, we cleared the field for Biden. We saw this threat coming from Bernie Sanders in the eyes of the Democratic establishment, cleared the field to make sure that this party didn't become an unrecognizable version of itself.

The opposite is happening now. You're clearing the field for Donald Trump. You're clearing the field for somebody who led an insurrection, you're clearing the field for somebody who's got 90-plus felony counts, you're clearing the field for somebody who is attacking a woman of color saying she shouldn't even be president because her parents are immigrants.

That's what you're clearing the field for. That's who all of these people are coming out kissing the ring for. So it's the opposite effect of what happened -- what we did in the 2020 election.

DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And just we -- you know, we're analytical about politics. We're all nuts about politics, and so we tend to focus on the game.

We should step back. It struck me the other day on Saturday, the three-year anniversary of Biden's inauguration, and we remember that inauguration, a Capitol enclosed, and you remember it very well, a Capitol enclosed by fencing with National Guard around it, a Capitol scarred by insurrection and a president, Trump leaving Washington in disgrace.

And here we are just three years later and he is on the verge of a second round knockout and a renomination. It's quite an extraordinary thing and a little bit sobering.

MATTINGLY: That's an understatement. It's remarkable also in the middle of the pandemic, and there was a scaled back inauguration just to begin with because of social distancing rules, Trump didn't even go. There had been an insurrection two weeks prior, and here we are.

It's fascinating, but the voters have to vote today. We'll have to see how it goes. Anything can happen as David Axelrod can tell you from 2008 in New Hampshire.

AXELROD: You can't stop, can you? You just can't stop.

MATTINGLY: Thanks, guys. I appreciate it very much.

Well, new information this hour on what the Israeli military says is the deadliest day since the war in Gaza began, 21 soldiers killed during an operation, the biggest city in southern Gaza currently surrounded.

And Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin just made his first public appearance since his health scare. What he just said moments ago, we'll bring it to you.

And voting is underway across New Hampshire for the first primary in the nation.

Our live coverage continues right after the break. Stay with us.

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MATTINGLY: Well, new this morning, Israel says 21 IDF soldiers were killed in southern Gaza during a military operation in Khan Yunis. This is the single biggest loss of life for Israeli troops since October 7th, it brings the total number of Israeli soldiers killed during the Gaza ground invasion to 219.

The IDF says it is conducting a major military operation in Khan Yunis and has the city surrounded.

Joining us now to discuss this from Tel Aviv, CNN's Jeremy Diamond and Axios reporter and CNN political foreign policy analyst, Barak Ravid.

Jeremy, I want to start with you. The death toll announced by the Israeli government is significant. What's the latest? How did this actually happen?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is the deadliest single day for Israeli troops, and if you just think about it, it represents about 10 percent of the total Israeli troop loss of life since the beginning of this conflict.

What we're told is that 21 soldiers were basically in the process of clearing buildings near the border with Gaza about 600 meters away from the border with Gaza in central Gaza. They were laying explosives in buildings, in order to demolish them to make a safe area for Israeli citizens to be able to return to their homes across the border with Gaza.

At some point, around 4:00 PM yesterday, an RPG was fired towards a tank in that area. At the same time, an explosion was set off in two buildings where those Israeli troops were operating in and that building collapsed on top of them, killing 21 soldiers all together.

It's not exactly clear whether that RPG fire actually caused that explosion, but the Israeli military is investigating that. The Israeli prime minister for his part said that this is one of the most difficult days since the outbreak of the war.

Now separately, as all of this is happening, the Israeli military is conducting a major offensive further south in Gaza around the city of Khan Yunis which they say they have now encircled.

They are going after the Khan Yunis Brigade which was one of Hamas' most significant brigades in southern Gaza. The Israeli military says that over the last 24 hours or so, they have killed dozens of militants. But what we also know is that amid the intense fighting between Hamas militants and Israeli soldiers, the humanitarian situation there is worsening.

The Israeli military urging people at Al Nasr Hospital where thousands of displaced Palestinians have tried to shelter to evacuate, but it's very difficult for them to flee right now with the heavy fighting and with many roads in that area blocked.

MATTINGLY: All right, Jeremy Diamond, stay with us.

Barak, over to you.

The scale of what transpired here is not happening in isolation. It is also happening at the same time the prime minister is facing significant domestic political pressure, significant international pressure as well.

What is the response when a death toll like this comes out of just a single day? A single operation?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND FOREIGN POLICY ANALYST: And I want to add another element, those 21 soldiers were killed are all reservists. Meaning, it is people, most of them with families, people that at least I think half of them were above the age of 30, which means -- and those are people who were away from the families now for three months.

And the reservists in Israel are -- you know, came to this war in flying colors and in big numbers. But there's growing pressure within Israel on you know, those reservists that you know, need to go back to their lives.

And this hit, you know, with 21 reservists killed is just going to exacerbate this internal pressure.

MATTINGLY: It also comes at the same time that the internal pressure related to the hostages has continued to escalate. You have reporting about some of the negotiations that have been ongoing. Does it seem like there could be a breakthrough in what has long been kind of a moribund process?

RAVID: So those two are connected and I'll tell you why, because yesterday, there was anticipation -- yesterday morning, there was anticipation that there will be some sort of response from Hamas and that this will be the day that we'll know if there's a breakthrough or not.

And when this incident happened and sort of, you know, it didn't stop the negotiations, but it shook up things, so I think what I heard from Israeli officials last night is that they're still waiting maybe today to hear back whether Hamas agrees to this formula that is was put on the table of two months on pause and return for multi-phase release of all the Israeli hostages in Gaza.

[08:25:23]

MATTINGLY: There are so many moving parts and this is such a significant news day on these issues. Jeremy Diamond and Barak Ravid, we appreciate it.

Poppy, back over to you.

HARLOW: Okay, Phil, thank you, some breaking news this morning.

We are getting our first look at Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin since his controversial health scare and obviously pretty long hospital stay. He just attended this virtual meeting with the Ukrainian defense contact group, he did not, I should note address his stay in the hospital or his diagnosis.

Secretary Austin and the Pentagon had been under intense scrutiny after failing to notify the White House or Congress that he was hospitalized on New Year's Day for complications from that prostate cancer procedure.

While Austin was admitted to the hospital on the first of January and then in the ICU on the second, the White House and the president, I should note, weren't notified until January 4th, but we're seeing him doing his job for the first time out there not addressing this. We'll keep a close eye on it.

Meantime here in New Hampshire, voting underway.

Today President Biden will hit the campaign trail though in Virginia with Vice President Kamala Harris. Some supporters wish he would pay a visit to the pivotal swing state of Michigan and the worry some Democrats have in the Wolverine state.

CNN's special live coverage of the New Hampshire primary continues next.

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HARLOW: Good morning, everyone.

Live from New Hampshire, so glad you're with us for our special coverage of the New Hampshire primary.

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