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Jane Harman is Interviewed about Ukraine Facing Bitter Cold without Power; Seattle's Defense Dominated Super Bowl; Vonn in Stable Condition. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired February 09, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Are on the economy right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And just to remind people, everyone says the economy is the number one issue. And they say the president's not helping.

ENTEN: Correct. This is -- this, more than anything else, it is what is driving Donald Trump's approval rating overall down. It is the economy. It's the number one issue. And the American people believe that Donald Trump is failing on the key number one issue.

BERMAN: You said 57 percent of Republicans say -- only say he's some (ph), but what about independents? What are they saying?

ENTEN: OK, this is what is driving it, right, because you'll notice some days I'll say, hey, Donald Trump is doing really well amongst his base. And then other days I say he's doing really poorly overall.

What is driving it is independents. And this was a number that absolutely blew my mind. Oh, my goodness gracious. Trump's economic net approval one year in among independents. In term one he was ten points above water. Look at where he is today. Whoa, 43 points below water. That's a 53-point switcheroo. You can't win elections when on the number one issue you are 43 points below water among independents. This is just absolutely atrocious.

BERMAN: That's just a huge swing.

All right, so, what impact might that have on the midterms. People were looking at the Senate as being safe for Republicans. Is the Senate still safe?

ENTEN: It ain't safe. It ain't safe at all. I mean, again, we've been talking about Democrats winning back the House. But how about the Senate? Chance of winning the Senate? Kalshi prediction market. What are we talking about? Back in February of 2025, 81 percent chance. Now it's just 63 percent. The Republican chances are collapsing while the Democratic chances went from 19 percent, hello, upwards, 37 percent. Look, Republicans are still favored to win the Senate. But even the things that look safe for Republicans no longer do.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, great to see you this morning. ENTEN: Great to see you. Sorry about yesterday.

BERMAN: Ah, it happens.

All right, a lot of news. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:36:38]

BERMAN: All right, new this morning, hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine are facing extreme cold with very little heat, no light, after Russia unleashed this large scale attack this weekend on Ukraine's power infrastructure. President Zelenskyy just said more than 1,400 apartment buildings in Kyiv are without heat. The temperatures there tonight, minus four degrees.

With us now, Jane Harman, former nine term member of Congress from California, former ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, also president emerita of the Wilson Center.

Always great to see you here.

JANE HARMAN, PRESIDENT EMERITA, WILSON CENTER: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: Ukraine's in a bad situation right now. Middle of winter, you know, without power in some of its major cities. And these negotiations happening at the same time, or at least the idea of negotiations. So, how are they going to maneuver this?

HARMAN: Well, I've always said that the strongest weapon they have is the Ukrainian heart. And they will get through anything. I mean, let's imagine, we've just had a couple of weeks of frigid cold in New York and Washington, and it was hard for me, but they're stronger than I am. And they've canceled schools. They have kids huddling together. Families occasionally get a little electricity and can warm up. But I predict that nothing will stop them. And the -- except if our president and circumstances don't help end this war favorably to them.

BERMAN: So, about that, because there have been these discussions happening sometimes at the same table or near the same table. Sometimes the United States talking to each party separately. We hear about deadlines from time to time. Maybe June's another deadline. How realistic is that?

HARMAN: I don't think it's realistic. Remember, Trump was going to end this war in 24 hours. That was a year ago. More than a year ago. I don't see that happening. Zelenskyy just said that he thinks Trump's deadline is summer so that he can focus on the midterms. Well, it's not about Trump. It's about Zelenskyy and Russia talking to each other. And I think that Putin has been playing Trump from the beginning. He never wanted to settle this. And as time goes on, he's hoping the war of attrition and less aid from the United States will make it easier for him to win.

BERMAN: Isn't he right, though? HARMAN: I hope not. I think that NATO is stronger in every way. And

President Trump does get some credit for that. And every conference I go to, including breaking my elbow at Davos, I learned how strong Europe is. Plus Canada. I -- those were not weak statements by anybody anywhere. And Europe has just provided some more money. More would be more. And the Lindsey Graham-Blumenthal bill pending in Congress for a year plus about robust secondary sanctions against Russia could really help end this war. And it is Trump who's holding up that bill. A majority of Americans favor aid to Ukraine and favor Ukraine.

BERMAN: I always knew that Davos was a full contact sport there, you know, not for the faint of heart.

Listen, you were in Congress, I believe, for the inception of both the Department of Homeland Security and the formation of the current DNI, Director of National Intelligence.

HARMAN: You bet. I was.

BERMAN: What do you think has happened to those departments? How do you think their business is being carried out?

HARMAN: Well, badly.

[09:40:01]

Both were good ideas. I just wrote an op-ed about this. But I was there after 9/11. To remind, on the same day, Republicans and Democrats stood side by side on the steps of the Capitol and sang "God Bless America." Not those darn Republicans, those awful Democrats, and all that. Holding arms. There was no partisanship. America was under attack. And those departments, whether they were perfectly conceived, not, or not, were very important, I think, improvements after 9/11 and the massive intelligence failures of 9/11, plus Iraq.

And I was a principal coauthor of the bill establishing the Director of National Intelligence, which is the commander across 18 intelligence agencies, like we have a commander at the Pentagon. That was called Goldwater-Nichols, that bill. And we've had very good people on a bipartisan basis until now. And I now think both areas have very poor leadership. And it's not a priority in the White House to strengthen their jurisdictions.

And ICE, to remind, is in DHS, and nobody conceived that it would be playing this role now.

BERMAN: Hard to imagine how far we've come from those agencies when they were created.

Thanks so much for being with us this morning. Always great to see you.

HARMAN: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: Kate. KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Vince Lombardi Trophy returns to

Seattle. The Seahawks now the two-time Super Bowl champions. We're going to take you to the bay area where it all went down in Super Bowl LX.

And balloons explode inside an elevator. How the people who were inside at the time, how they are doing this morning.

We'll be back.

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[09:46:00]

BOLDUAN: So, officials say a police inspector was killed, several other people were injured, after a carnival ride collapsed at a fair in India over the weekend. There's video showing the moment when the swing malfunctioned and then broke. I'm even terrified to see it, but we're going to watch this play out as we do. That's the swing. According to an affiliate, CNN News 18, the police inspector rushed to the scene to help rescue people who were injured, and then he himself suffered critical injuries and later died. Investigation into what went so wrong here is now underway.

There's also new video showing what seems like a normal, innocuous scene. A person gets into the elevator with balloons, and then the balloons explode. This also happened in India. You see the people in the elevator, including a delivery man who was carrying the balloons wrapped in plastic, within seconds they just go up. Everyone got out. One person did suffer burns to her arm, neck and stomach. It's believed the balloons were filled with hydrogen gas, not helium. Hydrogen is cheaper. Highly flammable though. Police are investigating.

An Amazon delivery drone was supposed to be dropping off a package in Richardson, Texas, but instead it came crashing down in pieces. Footage shows the drone hovering close to a building before what appear to be broken pieces falling to the ground. Amazon's apologizing for all of this, saying it will pay for any damage. What caused it to go down, still unclear.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: If you are a Patriots fan, John Berman, you've won enough. It's fine. You're OK. The Seattle Seahawks, though, are your 2026 Super Bowl champions. And that defense didn't give up. They just showed out the whole time. And maybe, just maybe, Bad Bunny's electric halftime performance gave Seattle that final spark.

CNN's Andy Scholes is live in San Francisco.

You got to experience all of this. I will say, I am only jealous because I did not get to hang out with you during the halftime show. The game was the game. Over to you.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. Well, you know, Sara, sometimes you get a high scoring thriller in the Super Bowl and then sometimes you get what we got in Super Bowl LX. But it was a masterclass of defense from Mike Macdonald and that Seattle group. I mean they just stifled Drake Maye all game long. Sacked him six times. They were the story of Super Bowl LX.

But really the story of this season, it ends up being quarterback Sam Darnold. I mean he just completed one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history. You know, he was the third overall pick by the Jets back in 2018. Considered a bust there. He bounces around the league. But he never gave up. He kept grinding. The Seahawks, his fifth team. And now he's a Super Bowl champion.

I was able to catch this special moment that Darnold was sharing with his family on the field after he won and after he completed that epic comeback journey. Darnold did say it was his family that always got him through all of the tough times.

Now, Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald, meanwhile, he's just 38 years old. He's the third youngest coach ever to win a Super Bowl. And he got this done in his second season in charge in Seattle. And he joined me and Elex Michaelson on the field afterwards. And I asked him, how was he able to do this so quickly?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MACDONALD, HEAD COACH, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: No. You know, it's hard to have expectations. And I think what we did, did a great job was to say, look, we had a vision of what we want -- what we wanted to create, and we just went to work. And there's some things that didn't go our way sometimes, and we had a lot of support to help us. And you learn along the way. And you just keep growing. Get around the right people. And this is the type of stuff you can do. So, it's a -- it's pretty awesome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And there's nothing quite like the feeling of winning a Super Bowl. And we were able to speak to a bunch of the players as they were celebrating on the field.

[09:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: One touchdown reception in the game. You got it right here in the corner of this end zone. I mean how did that feel?

A.J. BARNER, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS TIGHT END: When you prepare, and your opportunity comes, I think you just make the play. And that's what I did.

JARRAN REED, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS DEFENSIVE TACKLE: It's been a long road for me, man. You know, going from Hargrave Military Academy, to East Mississippi, to Alabama, and ten years in the league. Man, look, it's something we dreamed about, man. Look, my family right here, my mom, my brother. SCHOLES: (INAUDIBLE).

REED: Yes.

SCHOLES: Yes.

REED: Yes, they're -- all right, man, look, come on. Look at him.

SCHOLES: How proud are you of dad? How proud?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very proud.

SCHOLES: Yes.

CONNOR O'TOOLE, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS LINEBACKER: Well, some victory cigar.

ELEX MICHAELSON: Yes, you want to take a puff?

SCHOLES: I don't know if you're allowed to smoke on the field, but you are if you win the Super Bowl.

MICHAELSON: How does that feel?

O'TOOLE: Man, it feels great. No better feeling than that.

SCHOLES: We've got some scenes for what's going on right now in Seattle. How big do you think the party's going to be there?

GEORGE HOLANI, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS RUNNING BACK: Oh, yes, shout out to (INAUDIBLE). You know, we're bring the Lombardi back. It's going to be exciting

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, and that party (INAUDIBLE) certainly is going to be fun, Sara. And I have a neato stat for you. So, the Patriots, they won the coin toss. They're now 0-4 in Super Bowls when they win the coin toss. They're 6-0 in Super Bowls when they lose the coin toss. So, if the Patriots ever make it back to the Super Bowl, I'm sure Berman's going to be locked into that coin toss.

SIDNER: He's locked in all right. But he's got a lot of trophies that he can brag about. It's fine. You know, it's one less.

I did enjoy one of these Seattle Seahawks mothers. Wasnt real versed on, you know, the Super Bowl. She goes, oh my son's going to this thing. It's apparently a big deal. So, I'm going to go and enjoy it myself as well. Just adorable. Congratulations to the Seahawks, even though I'm bitter about the Rams.

Andy Scholes, there's another person that's bitter and his name is John Berman.

Hello.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, Lindsey in stable condition after undergoing two surgeries. This is after her crash seconds into her downhill race. Vonn fractured the same leg that she had fully ruptured her ACL in before the games. And obviously, everyone feels awful for Lindsey Vonn.

But it shouldn't mask what really is a terrific story. Thirty-year-old American Breezy Johnson went on to win the gold in the race. The first gold for the U.S. in the games.

Let's get to CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan.

And again, I kind of feel like we should be talking about Breezy here.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Well, yes, John. And again, by the way, word has reached Europe that the Patriots I think lost. Is that accurate? Sorry about that.

But the -- yes, you know, it's -- Lindsey Vonn has been the story really for several months. And certainly over the last nine or 10 days. But definitely the winner, you know, the gold medalist is Breezy Johnson, an American, 30 years old from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. And so, you know, we focus on that.

But I'm guessing that this will be remembered as the Lindsey Vonn race and what happened with Lindsey Vonn, 41-years-old, obviously won the gold medal in the downhill 16 years ago. I covered that in Vancouver. And the fact that she was trying to come back. But this is an extraordinary run. It was early also, John. She was the sixth skier down the mountain. And so that was a great -- you know, she posted that time and no one could come close.

SIDNER: Oh, sorry. I can't watch it. I can't watch the video.

As you're sort of watching through this, this is a pretty incredible moment, though, for sport. Just -- that the fact that she went and played on a torn ACL, most doctors would not approve of that. But it wasn't -- it didn't appear to be her ACL that was the issue, correct?

BRENNAN: That's correct, Sara. What happened in the race, and it was 13 seconds in as Lindsey Vonn, obviously, came out of the gates. She's trying to, you know, make up as much time as she can, cut any corner. You know, she's a master of this. She's hurdled (ph) herself down thousands of mountains. She knew what she was doing.

Her pole, her ski pole, clipped one of the gates. And at that point she's flying in the air and she could just not -- couldn't self- correct. And so, obviously, that was the crash.

You know, I believe that Lindsey Vonn did the right thing for Lindsey Vonn. You know, she is a strong, tough athlete. As I said, 41. A businesswoman. A multimillionaire. She gets to make the call. There's a lot of people out there that are saying, oh, you know, why would she do something like this? Well, it's the most Lindsey Vonn thing Lindsey Vonn has ever done. And she's allowed to make that decision.

And, you know, she's already had nine knee surgeries. Obviously, another surgery. This was the broken leg that occurred because of the crash. And she knew exactly what she was doing and she knew the risk and she took it anyway, which I think is something that is quite admirable.

BOLDUAN: Christine, talk -- you -- or talk about figure skating. And as you said, after last night, this is when team -- the team figure skating has now arrived.

BRENNAN: Exactly, Kate. You know, the -- we all know the disciplines, pairs, ice dance, men, women. Of course, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, et cetera.

[09:55:01]

Well, in 2014, they wanted to get more medals into the figure skating competition because it's so popular on TV, so they added a team competition. And for those first three Olympics, '14, '18 and '22, it was a dud. It was a runaway by whatever country won. There was no great drama.

Last night, everything changed. It was close. It was like -- kind of like the Ryder Cup in golf, for those who follow that, where you're playing for your country, the weight of the world is on your shoulders, and it got to be a tie between the U.S. and Japan. And Ilia Malinin, the 21-year-old quad god, Huck Finn hair, first Olympics. He hadn't skated great the night before. And here he comes out there and just nails it and goes flying into the arms of his teammates. The athlete in triumph. It was a great, great scene.

SIDNER: Christine, you may not know this, but we also have another quad god here.

BERMAN: I want to be odd god. I want to be -- I want to be the odd god.

SIDNER: Anyway, John Berman, the odd god.

BERMAN: Christine Brennan, you taught me how to cover figure skating. You make the sport so exciting for all of us.

SIDNER: So true.

BERMAN: Thank you, as always, for your insight here. Appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: Much more to come from Christine Brennan for sure on the Olympics.

Thanks so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" up next.

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