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Zohran Mamdani Sworn in as Mayor of NYC; Police: About 40 People Killed in Swiss Resort Fire. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired January 02, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: -- adaptation by anyone. Here's the cartoon character in her first appearance in the six-minute short "Dizzy Dishes."

[06:00:09]

That version of Betty is among thousands of creations whose copyrights expired January 1. They include the first four "Nancy Drew" detective books and the song "Georgia on My Mind."

But Mark Fleischer, whose company owns Betty Boop, says his copyright on the -- on the later, fully formed character remains in force.

Thank you so much for joining me on EARLY START. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: A new era in New York. Are Democrats ready to embrace now-Mayor Zohran Mamdani? CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: What his assent could mean for Democrats trying to win back Congress in the midterms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINIC DUBOIS, WITNESS: Many, many gory scenes. There were many who were very strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: The urgent search for survivors after a scary New Year's Eve inferno.

Pulling back troops. The National Guard leaving cities with the promise they could be back even stronger.

Tensions escalate. Venezuela detains several Americans as the U.S. builds its pressure campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK SMITH, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL: These crimes were committed for his benefit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Testimony revealed how Jack Smith defended his prosecution against the president.

And au revoir. There is no love lost between President Trump and George Clooney as the A-list actor leaves the country.

It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here is a live look right now at New York City.

Good morning, everybody. It is Friday. You made it to Friday, January 2. Thank you for waking up with me. I'm Brian Abel, in for Audie Cornish.

Zohran Mamdani, now New York's mayor, and he's doubling down on the platform that took him there.

Mayor Mamdani was sworn into office by one of his biggest progressive supporters, Senator Bernie Sanders, and used his first address on New Year's Day to declare he would not change his political identity.

Instead, he promised once again to pursue his ambitious agenda, an agenda which includes universal childcare for children up to 5 years old, freezing rent prices for 2 million residents, and making buses free across the city; an agenda which has a price tag of more than $6 billion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAMDANI: The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.

We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.

I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic socialist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Joining me now in the group chat, Margaret Talev, senior contributor at Axios; T.W. Arrighi, former senior communications aide to Lindsey Graham and Mike Pompeo; and Meghan Hays, former director of message planning at the Biden White House.

So, the mayor now using that very first speech to really double down on all the things that he talked about during the campaign, including just being a Democratic socialist.

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

ABEL: What do you see moving forward here? I do want to play a sound bite from his speech, another one, real quick, before we get to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAMDANI: Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.

To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this. No longer will city hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers' lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: So, Margaret, what's at stake here? Not just for Mamdani and New York, but also the greater Democratic Party here, because talking about big government isn't always a winning strategy.

TALEV: He's 34 years old. He -- you know, is he represents a younger, more progressive wing of the Democratic Party and a lot of Americans will now be watching him.

And so, I think to some extent, his success in New York is going to become a test for other cities and a test for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

And I think he will be used as a lightning rod or, potentially, a boogeyman by Republicans, depending on how this experiment in New York goes.

But I think, to some extent, he will be watched to see can you -- can you translate from the campaign trail into actual governing the policies that he's talking about? What will the effects on the economy of a huge city like New York be? Is there anything that other cities and mayors can take away from this?

[06:05:17]

And can this model be used to rally young people for Democrats in the midterms, in November?

At the same time, I think many Democrats will keep their distance from this. And if it -- if they don't feel this is a model that they want to campaign on, will say, he's the mayor of New York. He is not me.

So, I think we'll see. But a lot of people will be watching this for a lot of different reasons.

ABEL: A huge test for his platform, right? And Margaret [SIC], I do want to ask you. There are some notable Democrats that were there for his inauguration.

We're talking about Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, as well as Senator Bernie Sanders, who actually issued the oath of office in Mamdani.

I do want to play a little bit of what Sanders said during the inauguration. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): In the richest country in the history of the world, making sure that people can live in affordable housing is not radical. Providing free and high-quality childcare is not radical.

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, demanding that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: And then "Tax the rich" was heard in the crowd after those comments.

Is what we are seeing here in New York, a New York case only for this messaging? Or is this going to be midterm messaging, as well?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING IN BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: I think affordability is going to be a midterm messaging for both Democrats and Republicans.

I don't think that saying you're going to tax people who make over $1 million is going to be that radical to people. I think most of the people who live in this country do not make anywhere close to $1 million, so they're not going to think that way.

My former boss, Joe Biden, used to say that corporations need to pay their fair share all the time. He was never called radical. So, I just think that people are trying to make him a bogeyman and trying to put a lot on him.

But we also have to remember, we also had two very moderate governors get elected who also represent more people that live in the city of New York who were not paying attention to, who also ran on affordability.

So, this is saying that there is a message that plays to everyone. And Mamdani have different solutions than people in Virginia and people in New Jersey, but it is a winning message for Democrats to stick to affordability.

ABEL: But if that messaging, if those solutions don't pan out the way that Mamdani has promised and hopes to, what does that mean for those high-profile Democrats like AOC, like Bernie Sanders on the national platform, if that fails?

HAYS: I mean, I think that they have their own base, and I don't think that it's going -- their platform is going to fail with their base, just like Trump's platform doesn't fail with the MAGA base but fails with everybody else.

So, I just -- it's -- you know, I just think that these people are playing to their base and playing to the people who want their specific policies.

But I think the issue of affordability is extremely important. People need to be able to live in the United States and be able to afford things. And they are not -- they are being -- telling people in power that they cannot do that.

So, if he has different solutions that may work for the people of New York, let's do it. Let's try.

ABEL: And T.W., there's been this big question of how will Mamdani pay for all of this, allowing New York to have an affordable living?

He did actually talk a little bit about this later in the day. I do want to play another clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAMDANI: To fulfill the affordability agenda that we have been running on is by raising taxes on the 1 percent of New Yorkers who make $1 million a year by -- by an additional 2 percent and by raising the state's top corporate tax rate to match that of New Jersey.

We put this forward because it is critical in a moment like this to not allow fiscal challenges to become an excuse for austerity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: So, what are Republicans looking for during this Mamdani term now? And -- and how do they counter that accountability messaging that seems to be working so far, because it got him elected?

T.W. ARRIGHI, FORMER SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS AIDE TO LINDSEY GRAHAM AND MIKE POMPEO: Yes, well, a lot of things got him elected, including just the sheer talent the man has as a communicator and as a politician.

When I hear him talk about raising taxes, my first thought is Albany will want to say something about that, because that's their job. It's not his job as mayor of New York.

Also, when he talked about successes and will it work, wont it? We should look at states and cities as laboratories of democracy.

And you can look around the country and around the world and see examples of all of his policies put in shiny new packaging, of many examples of them failing time and time again.

You look at rent -- freezing rent. Well, St. Paul froze rent recently. Building permits are down 61 percent. Across the river in Minneapolis, they're up 64 percent.

You talk about grocery stores run by the city. Kansas City tried that. There was rotting food and rats everywhere in a short period of time.

[06:10:05]

We talk about wealth taxes; should that happen? There was a great example in New York in the early 2000s and again in Maryland, where they tried these huge increases of taxes on the wealthy. And in Maryland, they lost money on the deal and people fled the state, especially millionaires. Not billionaires. Millionaires, the people who make up that tax base for that higher rate.

So, it's all failed policies brought -- and that's not even talking about globalized antifada, his thoughts on policing, et cetera, et cetera. Seizing the means of production; failed in Venezuela.

What we're seeing is all these failed ideas of history, brought back in shiny new packaging and a new face. They will fail, and he will be a great lightning rod.

But at the end of the day, if the streets are dirty, and they're unsafe -- we saw this with de Blasio, who was a far-left mayor. We'll get it -- we'll get a change. That brought Eric Adams, the former police officer, into the mayorship.

HAYS: That's a really great point. If a mayor can't remove trash and remove snow and keep your streets safe, nobody cares about anything else. So, he needs to be able to do the basics before he starts with some of these policies that he wants.

ABEL: I'm not sure what time frame you were referring to, but I did live in Kansas City for a while. That was not my experience with -- with rats and other things.

ARRIGHI: I'm just sharing the reporting.

ABEL: Fair enough. Fair enough.

I do also want to get your reaction to something that Senator Tommy Tuberville posted on social media. He said, quote, "The enemy is inside the gates."

He said this in response to a "New York Times" article about Mamdani being sworn in on the Koran.

Is that part of the Republican response to Mamdani, as well? It feels like maybe leaning into a little bit of Islamophobia here.

ARRIGHI: Yes, I don't think we should lean into Islamophobia. His words are bad enough. Embracing globalizing the intifada, his playing footsies with terrorist sympathizers, going on their podcasts and such over the course of the campaign. I think that spoke enough.

And it's concerning that he was elected in light of all of that. I know the Jewish community had a lot of concerns.

But he also said something during that speech that I found very unusual, where he said we need to turn away from rugged individualism toward collectivism.

It was rugged individualism that settled the West. It was rugged individualism that built the city around him and built those skyscrapers. It is core to the value of American -- to America, that rugged individualism. The immigrants who came over with nothing but the clothes on their back, who built communities and cities.

That is something we should cherish. That is something we should lift up --

HAYS: You should tell your party that.

ARRIGHI: -- not tear down.

HAYS: Because they're not cherishing the immigrants that have come here.

ARRIGHI: Well, I can speak for myself. But no, it has built this country. I think it was a dangerous thing to say.

ABEL: All right. All of you guys, stick with me. We're going to be talking a lot more about this later in the show.

But coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, families, they are holding out hope. The search for survivors after a deadly fire at a Swiss ski resort bar.

Plus, some FEMA staffers start the new year jobless. DHS starts slashing the program.

And a fraud investigation leads to a federal funding freeze in Minnesota. Many low-income families now stuck in the middle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The fraud that is occurring is not at the hands of families. We need to be looking at who's in power, who's making decisions, who's guarding the purse strings of our tax dollars, my tax dollars, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:17:30]

ABEL: This morning, a new look at the moments a deadly tragedy unfolded in a Swiss ski resort.

It happened in the early hours of New Year's Day. You can see here in this video, flames start to take over the ceiling in the packed bar.

Police say around 40 people are dead. Some 115 others are injured, and several people are still unaccounted for.

Survivors described the effort to escape as total chaos. We do want to warn you that the footage you are about to see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: This year's video of people piling up at the exit, struggling to get out of the building.

One survivor says it was a small door that everyone was trying to get through.

And then there's the aftermath: bodies lining the streets outside the bar, people trying to help the injured.

Now, investigators are working to determine a cause. And two witnesses tell a CNN affiliate in France they believe sparklers in champagne bottles are to blame.

Joining me now is CNN international correspondent Nada Bashir.

And Nada, have investigators been able to rule anything out when looking at the cause of this at this point?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, Brian, the officials and authorities who are focusing on this tragic disaster have been very clear that it is still too early to tell. They are still waiting for investigators and experts to be able to carry out a full and forensic investigation.

They have said that they are not treating this as, potentially, a terror incident; that they are focusing on this being a fire -- just a fire, rather than any sort of sinister or malicious intent.

But again, there has been no firm confirmation behind the cause of this deadly blaze.

There has been some speculation. We've heard from witnesses who have spoken to our affiliates, suggesting that potentially, it may have been caused by sparklers or flares inside champagne bottles that were held close to the ceiling.

And as you showed just a little earlier, the video showing that the ceiling catching fire before it quickly spread across the room.

Now, of course, it is still very early on. Investigators and officials have said that they are focusing, at this stage, on identifying all of the victims. There are still families who are waiting for confirmation. There are still individuals deemed missing, including foreign nationals from France and from Italy. And of course, at this stage, officials have confirmed at least 40 people presumed dead, at least 100 others injured. And we have been learning more about that tragic night from witnesses.

[06:20:10]

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DOMINIC DUBOIS, WITNESS: Understandably, they don't want civilians getting in and involving and getting in the way. And many -- many were able to help, carrying, I don't want to say corpses. I think everyone who was out and kind of reactive survived.

But carrying bodies out of the fire from there, at least a bit further away.

Many gory scenes. There were many who were very strong, who stayed strong, and who understood that their life was in grave danger, but decided that mentally, it was more important to stay calm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: And at this stage, there are still many questions. Of course, also questions around whether fire safety measures were upheld. That is something that was touched on by officials yesterday during a press briefing.

But again, very early stages in this investigation for now. This is a community in mourning -- Brian.

ABEL: And we know that so many of the victims are young people, between 16 and 26 years old, given the nature of the destination where this fire took place; and that it's going to take a while to identify the bodies because of the severity of the injuries. It's just a terrible situation.

Nada Bashir, appreciate your reporting. Thank you.

After the break on CNN THIS MORNING, Jack Smith says he had proof beyond reasonable doubt. Why he believes the president would have been convicted in his January 6 probe.

Plus, pasta panic eased. The steep tariffs on the Italian staple are being rolled back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:26:06]

ABEL: It is 25 minutes past the hour. Here are five things to know to get your day going.

The Trump administration dismantling FEMA. Dozens of disaster response recovery staffers have been fired now, according to internal emails obtained by CNN.

The cuts target FEMA's on-call response and recovery teams, which form the backbone of the agency's operations during and after a disaster.

President Trump now giving us an explanation for the bruising that you see here on his hands. He blames it on aspirin.

In a new interview on his health with "The Wall Street Journal," he says he takes a daily aspirin pill regimen that is larger than his doctors recommend, contributing to bruising. He also told "The Journal" he wasn't interested in regular exercise, calling walking or running on a treadmill, quote, "boring."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this considered panic buying? I feel like this is justified.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Pasta lovers in America breathing a bit of a sigh of relief this morning. The 107 percent tariff on Italian pasta will no longer go into effect.

That number now could drop to around 29 percent. The Commerce Department will announce the final rates in March.

And nothing marks the start of the new year quite like running into ice-cold water for fun. And one community in Washington state is hoping their polar bear dip was world record breaking.

Officials say nearly 5,000 people were counted for yesterday. The current world record is held by Norway at just over 3,000. The official count not out just yet. Those brave souls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Smooth like butter, like criminal undercover.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: And the faint screams that you may hear, that is K-pop fans around the world rejoicing. BTS is coming back.

The band is releasing its first album in four years. BTS has been on hiatus while its members fulfilled their mandatory South Korean military service.

The new album drops in March.

Well, straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, Americans detained in Venezuela. Is this how the Maduro regime will hit back under U.S. pressure?

Plus, Miami, probably not the first place that comes to mind when you think winter sports, but it's about to become a hockey haven.

And good morning to San Francisco.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)