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What Will White House Priorities Be in 2026?; Mamdani Sworn in as Mayor of New York; 'Santa' Presidency? Trump's Affordability Promises. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired January 01, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:08]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And thank you so much for joining us here at EARLY START. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in New York. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Several dozen people left dead after a tragic blaze strikes one of Switzerland's most exclusive ski resorts during a New Year's party. The latest we are learning this morning.

Plus, President Trump rings in 2026 from Mar-a-Lago as year one of his second term begins to come to a close. What will be the White House's goals for year two?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations, Mr. Mayor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: A new mayor in the Big Apple. Zohran Mamdani takes his oath of office. Can he deliver on his ambitious agenda?

Out with the old and in with the new. Will the new era of college football playoffs spell the end of bowl games as we once knew them?

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ABEL: Breaking overnight, dozens are presumed dead and around 100 others injured in a fire at New Year's party at an alpine ski resort party in Southern Switzerland.

Local officials say the fire broke out at around 1:30 in the morning at a lounge in -- lounge bar in Crans-Montana, with about 100 people inside the venue.

Emergency service crews have responded to the scene, and rescue efforts, they are still ongoing.

The area has been closed off with a no-fly zone in place. And an investigation is now underway as police say it will take time to find out what caused the fire, and they are not yet sure exactly how many people have been killed. We will continue to bring you the latest updates as they unfold this

morning.

President Trump is starting off the new year at Mar-a-Lago. When asked about his resolution for the new year, the president said it was peace on earth.

It's a resolution that will be hard to achieve as the president tries to cement the peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a peace agreement is 90 percent ready. And on Saturday, Ukraine is set to host European national security advisers.

For Gaza, there's no progress on a long-term peace plan. The president hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week, as the two tried to ensure a lasting end to the war with Hamas.

Meanwhile, the administration is continuing to ramp up pressure on Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro. Yesterday, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on four more oil companies and designated four oil tankers as blocked property.

And here at home, the president has said he is withdrawing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland after the Supreme Court rejected his request to deploy the Guard to protect ICE agents.

And then on the tariff front, the president has postponed tariff hikes on furniture and kitchen cabinets for one year.

Joining me now is CNN senior media analyst Sara Fischer; Republican strategist Melik Abdul; and Democratic strategist Meghan Hays.

And Sara, maybe to you first, what is the most urgent issue the president will have to act on in the new year?

SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA ANALYST: Well, he's been so focused on foreign policy -- engaging in Venezuela, trying to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, trying to solidify the peace deal between Israel and Gaza -- that he hasn't been focused as much on the big domestic policy issues heading into 2026.

And of course, the biggest one is those ACA healthcare subsidies that are set to expire. You're going to have millions of Americans see their healthcare premiums go up. That's a massive issue for Republicans in the midterms.

And the reason that matters is that during the president's first presidential term, the Republican Party got swept by Democrats, in large part because of healthcare.

So, President Trump is not going to want to have that happen again. He'll have to pivot at least some focus to the domestic healthcare agenda here in the U.S. ABEL: And President Trump is the leader of his party. Melik, what, if

anything, can he do in that role to keep the House under Republican control after the midterms that are coming up this year?

[06:05:00]

MELIK ABDUL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, first of all, Happy New Year to everyone.

So, I think that there's a number of things that Donald Trump can do, and I think that he's already signaling that he's really going to have to focus on the economy.

You know, I'm going to piggyback off of what Sara said. She actually stole my thunder here, because I was going to talk about the fact that the Republicans have to address healthcare.

It's unfortunate that it wasn't addressed at the -- at the end of last year, but healthcare will -- will be on the ballot in the midterms. And so, Republicans are going to have to find a way to actually address that.

Now, that actually requires Donald Trump probably being a bit more on message when it comes to not just the economy, but things like healthcare. But I do think that they're going to double down ahead of the midterm cycles and many primaries that are starting just this spring.

ABEL: And Meghan, I want to get to you about an appeals court that's ordered Trump to return control of the California National Guard back to Governor Newsom.

What do you believe this means for other Democratic governors?

MEGHAN HAYS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: It means that the governors are in charge of their states, which should have been the -- the issue from the beginning. That Trump didn't have any standing to do this and to deploy National Guard into these communities.

So, I mean, it's -- thank God that the Supreme Court ruled in the -- in the states', you know, in their favor here.

But I think this is just an overall play for him. He tries to throw as much stuff at the wall as possible, distract from everything that's important. Talk about ballrooms and -- and drug boats and National Guard, because he's distracting from the real issue here, which is the economy.

And like Melik and Sara said, if he doesn't focus on the economy, Republicans are going to have a really tough go at it, come the midterms.

ABEL: And Sara, I do want to ask you. The president has challenged and, when looking at the Justice Department, seemingly shattered separations of power. What on this front can we expect from the White House in the new year?

FISCHER: Oh, definitely expect the president to exert more executive power than any president before him.

You have the Supreme Court, which has vowed, essentially, to uphold his decision to fire independent FTC commissioners. They've signaled they're leaning that direction.

You have the chair of the FCC, which regulates media and telecom, saying that it's not -- no longer an independent agency.

You've seen the president try to exert executive power through executive orders, overriding laws that have been passed by Congress, primarily the TikTok ban.

And I think that's only going to continue. And the long-term impact of that is that, for so long in the United States, we had three branches of government, and those checked balance of powers. I think that's changing. And President Trump is at the heart of that shift towards more executive power over the other two branches.

ABEL: And also, guys, in Venezuela, another U.S. strike reported yesterday, and even more pressure, with sanctions on oil companies. At what point is the president able to call this a win, Melik?

ABDUL: Well, this is something that Donald Trump probably will continue to do until there's some sort of pushback from Congress.

But as we've seen, even from the Democrats, there is a lot of complaints about what Donald Trump is doing. There's not any action to actually, from their perspective, hold Donald Trump accountable. So, I think that he's going to continue.

And I've listened to people, experts on both sides. And so, some of the things that he's doing, it seems to be pretty warranted. And in some ways standard.

But until Congress actually acts and says, OK, we're going to pull back. We're going to actually exert our authority as the -- as Congress itself, I don't expect Donald Trump to do anything different, as well as just as far as his own administration.

He's going to continue to push the limits of executive authority over and over again until someone tells him to stop.

ABEL: And Meghan, with about a minute or so left, is there no action from Democrats, as Melik suggests?

HAYS: Well, Democrats aren't in power right now, so they are limited in what they can do.

But to Sara and Melik's point here about executive power, this is another reason that Republicans are going to have a tough go at the midterms. The American people have said that they want to see Democrats in power. And I don't think it's because they, all of a sudden, are all

Democrats and want to vote with Democratic policies. I think they want to see Congress have a check on Donald Trump.

And so, they -- that will really impact a lot of the Republicans running, to check executive power. So, I think that the more executive power Trump pushes and the more Congress doesn't act, the more -- the more Republicans that will lose in the midterms.

ABEL: Sara Fischer, Melik Abdul, Meghan Hays, appreciate you all. Thank you and Happy New Year.

Coming up, it's the dawn of a new era in New York and beyond. Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is now mayor of America's biggest city. What's that going to look like?

Plus, the new era for college football. Are the bowl games you'll watch today headed for extinction?

And affordability is the new reality in America. You'll meet the YouTubers helping people eat for just a dollar a day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:13:58]

ABEL: New York has a new mayor. At the stroke of midnight, moments after the ball drop, 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani became the city's first Muslim and South Asian mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL: Congratulations, Mr. Mayor.

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK CITY: Happy New Year to New Yorkers, both inside this tunnel and above. And I cannot wait to see everyone tomorrow as we begin our term.

This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime. And after just having taken my oath to become the mayor of the city of New York, I do so also here in the old city hall subway station, a testament to the importance of public transit, to the vitality, the health and the legacy of our city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: That ceremony was held privately in an old subway station beneath city hall. But today, he'll be joined by two of his biggest allies in the Democratic Party, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, for a public swearing-in ceremony.

Mamdani is promising a pretty ambitious agenda: universal childcare for children up to 5 years old; freezing rent prices for 2 million residents; and making buses free across the city. All of which carries a multibillion-dollar price tag.

Joining me now to discuss, Fordham University associate professor of political science, Christina Greer.

Christina, thank you for joining us.

It is now the Mamdani era for New York City. We listed some of those campaign promises. Are those changes what New Yorkers are truly needing most at this moment in time?

And how does he go about pulling those promises off; getting the buy- in needed from state lawmakers, given that tremendous price tag for those ambitious plans?

CHRISTINA GREER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY: Absolutely, Brian.

I mean, it was an ambitious agenda, but if we think about it, around this time last year, Mamdani was polling at about 3 percent. And so, he had a really robust campaign where he was consistent.

Those -- those issues that you laid out, those policy issues about free buses and rent freezes and affordability for New Yorkers, were something that really resonated with millions upon millions of New Yorkers, because they've been feeling the squeeze.

Now, it's going to be very difficult to implement quite a bit of his agenda, because we have to rely on not just the federal government in funding, but also the state government.

We know that Kathy Hochul, though, our governor of New York state, is up for reelection this year, and her primary's in June. And so, that does give Mamdani an opportunity to sort of trade, you know, the -- the -- the support of his many followers who came to the polls because Kathy Hochul definitely needs a robust showing of downstate New Yorkers -- That's those -- those New Yorkers in New York City -- to make sure she gets across the finish line, not just in June, but also in November.

But these are -- these are issues, Brian, that New Yorkers have said they're the reason why they can't live a sort of -- a free and fulfilling life in New York City, because of the cost of getting to and from places, and also the cost of living in the city.

ABEL: OK, I do want to talk about the venue for Mamdani's swearing-in ceremony. You heard him talk a little bit about it there, that it's a testament to the transportation issue.

This is starkly different from what we saw with now former mayor, Eric Adams, for his swearing-in ceremony. What is the meaning and the messaging behind this venue and the ceremony being private?

GREER: Well, you know, many mayors have a private ceremony right at the stroke of midnight when they're sworn in. And then we know Mamdani not only is going to be sworn in, in a public ceremony in front of city hall at 1, but also he's having a block party so that New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers can come and see and celebrate.

As you mentioned, he has Bernie Sanders coming in from Vermont. He's got Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the Bronx and Queens, coming in, as well. And there will be lots of dignitaries from New York City and New York state to help all New Yorkers celebrate.

I do think that the location, though, is really important, because transportation has been such a key and pivotal part of Mamdani campaign promise.

I'm a transportation nerd. I've had the honor of being down under that subway station, actually, under city hall. You can see chandeliers. You can see that we once had a really grand transportation system at one point in time. The tile, the -- you know, the light fixtures.

And so, I think that it's -- it was a foreshadowing to what he wants to bring back to the New York City public transportation system.

ABEL: And, Christina, there's also something that's looming over the start of a new era in New York. And that is President Donald Trump.

While he first went on the offensive with Mamdani, their meeting at the White House in November, as you may remember, ended on a much more positive note.

How much do we think that the Trump administration will influence Mamdani's tenure?

GREER: That remains to be seen. I mean, we've seen, you know, the president's quite erratic, if you look at some of his tweets just from a few hours ago.

We know that it was a highly productive meeting, largely because Mamdani came in and was very prepared. They talked about affordable housing. We know that the president cares deeply about real estate, not necessarily New York, but real estate itself. And so, the framing of their conversation was productive.

Obviously, it will be strained. They disagree on ICE interventions. They disagree on certain aspects of immigration of undocumented New Yorkers, of which there are several who keep the city alive and running.

So, we'll -- we'll definitely have some -- some pressure points as the time goes on. But I think it's very difficult to know where the president will be, because if we've seen his behavior in these last few weeks and months, it does not have a clear path, for policy or otherwise.

ABEL: And Christina, last thing I do want to ask you. Expanding beyond affordability, what else will be on the mayor's plate in 2026? What are the more maybe mundane yet big, difficult responsibilities the mayor now has that will be challenging?

GREER: Well, I mean, to keep -- you know, he's got a wide coalition, you know, to keep his coalition, not just together, but active. [06:20:07]

You know, we do know that so much of his agenda does rely on Albany. So, making sure his relationships -- he spent a short period of time in Albany, making sure he strengthens those relationships with state senators and state legislators who will need to help pass a lot of his ambitious agenda.

And then, really, rebuilding. I mean, we had Bill de Blasio for eight years, six -- those last six years, he didn't seem very interested in being the mayor of New York City. He was running for president. He was elsewhere. Similarly with Eric Adams.

So, I think some of the mundane is really rebuilding the trust of New Yorkers and showing that they have a mayor who doesn't want to just party or, you know, have larger national ambitions, but actually wants to do the day-to-day work of keeping 8.5 million New Yorkers productive, happy, working, and living an affordable life in the city.

ABEL: And we will just wait and see here how successful he will be at governing. And we will also be looking to see what he says today at that public swearing-in ceremony.

Christina Greer, really appreciate your time and expertise. Thank you for joining us this morning. Happy New Year.

GREER: Thank you. Happy New Year

ABEL: Coming up, President Trump in the new year. Will he try to fix the economy by handing out cash?

Plus, can you feed yourself for just ten bucks a week? See how some YouTubers do it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:45] ABEL: President Trump, facing growing pressure to address the issue of affordability. The latest CNN polling, it shows 32 percent of people said their main message to President Trump would be about the economy or cost of living. This has been his answer to that so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We've taken in hundreds of millions of dollars in tariff money.

We're thinking about a rebate, because we have so much money coming in from tariffs.

There's even under consideration a new concept where we give 20 percent of the DOGE savings to American citizens.

We are sending every soldier $1,776. Think of that. And the checks are already on the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: All right. Let's talk about this. The group chat is back with me now.

Toluse, I need to go to you first, because you have this article that's out here in "The Atlantic." "The Santa Presidency" is the name of the article.

And you write about how Trump's different proposals, like tariff rebates and soldier bonuses, are all aimed at easing voters' cost-of- living concerns.

Is the real goal here to solve a political problem with cash?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, "THE ATLANTIC": That's the broad idea.

ABEL: Go, Cash App.

OLORUNNIPA: I mean, the president is pretty transparent about these things. He remembers what happened during the pandemic in 2020, when he was able to give a ton of money to people, sign his name on those checks.

And people remember that. It actually helped his vote total in a number of different communities.

And so, he's trying to reprise that approach, talking about the fact that people are worried about affordability. People are worried about the economy. The cost of living continues to be a problem for a lot of people.

And so, the very easy solution that he has to the political problem, not to the underlying economic issue, is let's give people money. Let's give people tariff rebate checks. Let's send people thousands of dollars to pay for healthcare instead of giving them healthcare, as they previously had in these various subsidies.

And so, he's trying to figure out different ways to not only give people money, but associate his own name with that money, as well.

ABEL: And I want people to read your article, but I also maybe want to give a little bit of a spoiler. What are economists saying about this strategy?

OLORUNNIPA: They're saying that it may or may not work politically, but economically, it's not really the way that you address the underlying problems that people have with the cost of living.

People have structural issues with housing and childcare and insurance when it comes to paying for their healthcare. And throwing a $10,000 check, or a $1,000 check, or a check for $1,776 with great branding, may work politically, but it's not going to solve these underlying problems.

There are big structural problems with the economy, even as we're experiencing growth. There are big structural problems with people's personal economics that the president hasn't addressed yet.

ABEL: Well, we do know, at least politically, that optics is everything, right?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

ABEL: So, how is this being received by the general public? And what's the Democrats' strategy for this?

CARDONA: Well, first of all, not being received well, because the problem with the "Santa presidency" is that you can't credibly be seen as Santa when you were Krampus to begin with. Right?

When you are taking away things the moment that you went into office, whether it's firing tens of thousands of people from good paying jobs; whether it's taking away Medicare and Medicaid in his "Big, Horrible Bill" over the summer that took away healthcare from 15 million Americans; and most recently, whether you don't agree with extending the Affordable Care Act's subsidies, where millions of people are going to see their premiums shoot up.

And in Toluse's "muy, muy excellent" piece, there is a quote from a businesswoman who says, "What good is it for me to get a $1,300 check when my premium is going to go up by $1,500 a month?"

So, it doesn't make sense politically. He's doing it because he knows he's in big trouble. Republicans know they're in big trouble going into the midterm elections.

So -- so Democrats are going to continue to seize on this very -- what has been a very successful message for them on affordability, on the fact that this president has betrayed the American people, and that Democrats are actually the ones that are -- that are looking after for them.

ABEL: I know Bryan wants to respond to that. I do want to talk about, because this brings into this, a little bit, this idea of names on checks might be another motivating factor here.

We've heard this before. We've actually -- actually heard President Biden give some praise to this concept. Let's take a listen to that.