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CNN This Morning
Today: Hegseth to Brief 'Gang of Eight' on Boat Strike Operations; Football, Greek Life, Warm Weather: SEC Attracts Northerners. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired December 09, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:18]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: The double-tap defense and the pressure to release the video. Why is the president changing his tune? CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The White House says that they're being transparent about just about every issue. So why not be transparent about this?
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CORNISH: Today, three key leaders head to Capitol Hill to tell their side of the September boat strike.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a big moment. It's up there with the court's reversal of Roe versus Wade.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Why the Supreme Court's decision on who the president can and cannot fire could be one of the most important.
And it's a studio showdown. Paramount and Netflix in a war over Warner Bros.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This map rigging is the Republican Party's most urgent priority. But it is not, of course, it is not the priority of Hoosiers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: The redistricting battle hits Indiana. I'll talk to a congressman whose seat is in jeopardy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D-TX): I am the one that the Republicans fear. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Texas has not had a Democratic senator since 1993. Can Jasmine Crockett be the one to change that?
And a living hell. New exclusive reporting paints a grim picture of what immigrant families are facing inside detention centers.
It's 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. This is a live look at Houston.
Good morning, everybody. It's Tuesday, December 9. I want to thank you for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish, and here is where we begin.
The shifting stories from the Trump administration over the so-called double-tap boat strike in the Caribbean. They're going to face another round of questions on Capitol Hill.
Later today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Dan Caine, will brief the lawmakers known as the Gang of Eight. This is a group of Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate. Also, top members of the Intelligence Committees.
Hegseth's briefing comes as Congress applies new pressure to release the full video of the September 2nd attack.
This includes a provision in a new spending bill which would cut Hegseth's travel budget if he fails to release the video to the Armed Services Committees.
President Trump previously said he would have no problem releasing the full video. Now he seems to be backing away from that idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, you said you would have no problem with releasing the full video of that strike on September 2nd off the coast of Venezuela. Secretary Hegseth now says --
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I didn't say that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You --
TRUMP: You said that. I didn't say that. This is ABC fake news.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you release video of that strike so that the American people can see for themselves?
TRUMP: I don't know what they have, but whatever they have, we'd certainly release. No problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Isaac Dovere, CNN senior reporter; Maria Cardona, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist; and Ashley Davis, former White House official under George W. Bush.
I'd like to start with you, Ashley, because you have experience in homeland security. When lawmakers call you up, when it's Gang of Eight, to me, that says they want answers, right? When it's Intel, House, Senate. What can Rubio and Hegseth expect in this grilling?
ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL UNDER GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, first of all good morning, everybody.
I think that this is the No. 1 issue that has been -- united Congress on both the Republican and Democrat side, as we talked a little bit about this last week.
Because they have felt from the beginning that they've been left out of these boat strikes. And so, I don't think it's surprising at all that the so-called, you know, Gang of Eight is bringing them up to the Hill. They probably should have done this at the beginning when the strikes started.
And I think we'll continue. I think, going back to what the president said, from what I understand, the president said, I'm going to leave it up to Hegseth to decide to release the video or not.
I think he's going to have to, especially after the military authorization bill passes this week and next in the House and Senate because of that language that says the video must come out.
CORNISH: Yes. Which is really interesting, that they bake this in. I mean, the Big, Beautiful Bill, or these defense packages. They had a lot of stuff in it. I didn't know there was a little mechanism for occasionally getting what you want.
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: I mean, the surprise is that Congress is asserting its power over anything these days.
CORNISH: Shocked. Honestly, that's the biggest news I've seen so far.
[06:05:04]
DOVERE: But we'll see if that -- that leads to anything actually coming out of the administration on this.
I think part of what we see from those two comments you played from the president is how much the story has been changing overall on this. Right?
Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth have had different stories about what went on, where the boat was headed to. Rubio initially said it was going to someplace in the Caribbean, Trinidad.
CORNISH: Hold on one second, because you know who else has questions for him? Senator John Kennedy, Republican from Louisiana. I just want to play it, because it gets to what you're saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): I'd ask Senator -- Secretary, now, Rubio to just call a press conference and let him explain to the American people the -- the legal basis for doing this.
And I'd bring along Secretary Hegseth, as well, and just answer questions until people don't have any more questions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: I mean, this would be going from offering zero information to a press conference.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think this is incredibly notable because of what we've all mentioned, that this is bipartisan. This is not just Democrats -- right? -- hounding the administration for more answers.
I also think it speaks to the political moment that we're in. We're going into the 2026 midterm elections, and Republicans are, I think, in a hot seat, not just Hegseth. But I think politically, they see where the all of the polls are showing. They see that these images that Americans are seeing on their screens are not positive ones.
And especially, they see the argument that this administration is making for why they're doing what they're doing in Venezuela, because they're going after narco traffickers, falls flat when you have the president pardoning one of the biggest narco traffickers that there is. And so, I think that's going to be one of the big questions.
CORNISH: Yes. And you have people like Laura Loomer saying, why are we focusing on this and not on Mexico?
CARDONA: Exactly.
CORNISH: Let me play for you one more thing, because this is not a fight about a video.
This is a fight about what is a lawful and unlawful action in what is or is not a war. People have been looking back at Hegseth's past comments around what are lawful orders.
CNN's own KFILE actually unearthed some comments from him, because of course, he's a FOX -- was a FOX News contributor. So, here was Hegseth in 2016, and he was talking about candidate Donald Trump and sort of the talk Trump was using about using the military to go after the families of terrorist suspects.
So, he's asked to commentate. And Hegseth says this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, FORMER FOX NEWS COMMENTATOR/CURRENT U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I got some response from vets on that saying, you're not just going to follow that order if its unlawful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The military is not even going to follow his orders.
HEGSETH: Military is not going to follow illegal orders. And so, the Trump campaign was forced to change their position and say, we're going to try to change the law, so that the military can operate within the law. That's a tall order also.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARDONA: That's fascinating. That is fascinating. Again --
CORNISH: Very relevant to the moment.
CARDONA: I think -- I think it also underscores what so many Democrats' concerns were when Hegseth was going through his confirmation hearings, which is his lack of experience. Not his lack of experience on TV.
CORNISH: Ashley, you were looking at this. So, back when he was looking at candidate Trump, and talk -- before he became, you know, Trump's favorite secretary. What do you make of this past experience, how he talked about it?
DAVIS: Well, obviously this is going to be played a lot over the next year.
CORNISH: Yes.
DAVIS: But, I mean, obviously, it's going to be different situations.
I just don't know, going back to the midterm, though, I just want to -- I don't know if this is what's going to change anyone's mind. It's going to be the economy. It's going to be the kitchen table.
CARDONA: Sure.
DAVIS: But it is a constant conversation.
DOVERE: For sure. It's how it plays into the politics of this. But what it comes down to is a fundamental question of who can the government just decide to kill?
CARDONA: Yes.
DOVERE: And based on what? Which are on a lot -- these sorts of questions in a lot of people's minds. Who can the government just decide to arrest and take away? These are things that Donald Trump is changing our conceptions of and --
CORNISH: And making a question where, prior, we had none.
DOVERE: Exactly. And that's why it's beyond the -- the legal justification stuff and -- or the political. These are -- people were killed.
CORNISH: Yes.
DOVERE: And we don't know why they were killed.
CORNISH: OK.
DOVERE: And the government hasn't explained it.
CORNISH: We're going to -- we're going to hear about -- well, we're going to hear about this from a person from the House Intelligence Committee. You guys stay with me.
On CNN THIS MORNING, we're talking about the tariffs that put them in trouble. Now the Trump administration trying to bail out farmers.
Plus, surveying the damage after a powerful quake rocked Japan.
And Hollywood at war. Paramount attempting a hostile takeover after Netflix won out a bid for Warner Bros.
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DAVID ELLISON, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE: We're sitting on Wall Street, where cash is still king. We are offering shareholders $17.6 billion more cash than the deal they currently have signed up with Netflix.
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[06:14:27]
CORNISH: It's almost 15 minutes past the hour, and here are five things to know to get your day going.
A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit Japan on Monday night. It struck about 44 miles off the country's East Coast, but it could clearly be felt on parts of the mainland.
Dozens of people are injured, and an evacuation order is in place, impacting more than 100,000 people.
President Trump announces a $12 billion farm aid package. He says it's all made possible by tariffs. That's also the reason farmers need a bailout in the first place, as they struggle to sell crops because of Trump's trade policies.
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BROOKE ROLLINS, U.S. SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: They can farm to feed their family and sell their products, and pass it on to the next generation.
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CORNISH: A White House official says most of the aid will go towards crop farmers, though one-payments. The remaining 1 billion will be put aside for specialty farmers.
The money is set to start flowing at the end of February. And the Trump administration has now revoked 85,000 visas since January. This is more than double the number pulled a year ago. That's according to a State Department official.
So, these denials are part of the administration's effort to continually vet all 55 million foreigners who hold valid U.S. visas.
And today, a status hearing in the legal battle between actress Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni. Lively is, of course, suing Baldoni for sexual harassment and retaliation stemming from incidents while they were filming the movie "It Ends with Us."
Baldoni's countersuit for defamation was dismissed in October. This case is set to be heard at trial in March.
We now know where two of the GOATs will meet in the boxing ring, sort of. Fifty-nine-year-old Mike Tyson and 48-year-old Floyd Mayweather will fight in Africa in March. Though we don't know where on the continent they'll be.
This fight is all about bragging rights. It's also an exhibition match. It won't affect their records.
And after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, popularity for Obamacare at an all-time high. Now the president wants Americans to, quote, "buy their own health care."
Plus, more and more college kids from the North choosing SEC schools. Does the dirty South do it better?
And good morning to Denver. Oh, it's gorgeous.
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[06:21:12]
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CORNISH: Yes. Moments like these causing Northern students to head South for college.
Academics alone clearly are not selling schools anymore. It's the football, the warm weather, the Greek life, RushTok.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rush consists of four highly competitive rounds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's be honest, I probably would not be going to Alabama if it did not blow up on TikTok.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: Documentaries like "Bama Rush" have sold college-bound students from the Northeast, home to many of the Ivy League institutions in this country, to head South for a good time.
The increase is staggering for some schools like LSU, that has seen a nearly 500 percent -- I'm going to say that again -- 500 percent jump in students from the Northeast over the last decade.
So, joining me now is Beth Teitell. She recently wrote about this growing trend for "The Boston Globe." Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING.
BETH TEITELL, "THE BOSTON GLOBE": Thank you Audie. I'm so glad we're having this conversation, because the trend is so notable.
You will be stuck in Boston's famed traffic, and the car in front of you, or the one honking behind you, actually has a bumper sticker on it that will say something like, "Clemson" or "LSU." It's a big change.
CORNISH: It is. And being from Boston, I know there are smaller schools people used to go to in the Northeast. They cost a lot of money. Can I just get the money question out first? Are people going because it's cheaper?
TEITELL: That's such a good question. It definitely can be cheaper.
The -- the schools that are seeing a big increase are the big Southern public schools, and the average tuition there can be maybe 28,000 or so. So, if you're going to -- comparing a big out-of-state tuition with a small Northeast school, you know, one of our famous liberal arts schools, you definitely are going to save a lot of money there.
CORNISH: Can I talk about the liberal arts part of it? Because I understand politics is coming into play. What are these students saying about why they're making this decision?
TEITELL: You know, that's such an interesting question. A lot of the college advisors I spoke with told me that, when these -- this generation was applying to colleges, they were actually in high school.
The pandemic was on. They were sitting in their homes watching, knowing that their own siblings, who were older, were in their dorm, in their own bedrooms, going to college online. And they're watching on TikTok and seeing the kids where a lot of the Southern schools were still partying. And, you know, there's the football games or there's RushTok and that kind of stuff.
So, I think it's actually making a big difference.
CORNISH: Is it also just trying to get away from the cultural culture of liberal arts colleges?
TEITELL: You know, it's -- that's an interesting question. It definitely can be. I mean, some just saw the intense politicization that was, you know, of course, covered in all media. You know, with a lot of protests and everything.
So, a lot of -- some kids are very interested in that. But for others, they wanted to get away from it, to go someplace where they're not protesting something. In fact, they're just worrying about what kind of cute cowboy boots they're going to wear.
When I said double-edged sword, though, what I meant was, though, I have spoken to kids and parents of kids who actually went down South to get away from all this. They wanted the party vibe and the Greek life.
And then they got down there, and they thought, oh, there's too much party life, too much Greek life.
One young woman had gone to the University of Georgia, and her problem was that the school had too many people from Georgia there. So, you -- it can look like a lot of fun at a distance, but it's not really for everybody.
CORNISH: When we look at these videos, especially RushTok, the algorithm is serving up a lot of white students, and I wanted to know if we're seeing similar trends to, say, historically black colleges.
TEITELL: You know, "The New York Times" reported that the historically black colleges and universities are seeing an increase in interest from some of the nation's top talent.
[06:25:09]
People are going for family reasons. They might have roots there, or just because the education is excellent.
So, you are seeing black students also going down South.
But with the RushTok, there is, you know, the thought that -- there was some headline that said in Alabama, the white tide rushes on. Because it is a very white presentation, when you look on RushTok, for sure.
CORNISH: OK. That's Beth Teitell. Thanks so much for sharing your reporting.
TEITELL: Thank you.
CORNISH: Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, you're fired. The president's favorite phrase. Well, now the Supreme Court is actually weighing a case that's about more than who the president can and can't fire, but has implications for both.
Plus, one NASA astronaut back earthside after more than 200 days in space.
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