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Bad Bunny's Big Night at Grammy's; Five-Year-Old Home after ICE Detention; Ru Landau is Interviewed about Philadelphia's Warning About ICE; Democrats Score Surprise Wins in Texas. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 02, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: The divide in this country right now.

SABRINA RODRIGUEZ, POLITICS REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Absolutely. And I think we saw it in the selection of Bad Bunny initially. You know, in September, when they announced that he would be the headliner, there was sort of this big MAGA backlash. But what was interesting at the time, though, was that Trump did not really take the bait on that.

CORNISH: Yes.

RODRIGUEZ: We saw a lot of MAGA influencers come out and say, what a terrible choice.

CORNISH: There's going to -- isn't there going to be a TP USA half- time show?

RODRIGUEZ: So, question mark. They -- so, so right now there's still questions about what the details are around that. We're less than a week out from the Super Bowl and Turning Point has not announced a location, has not announced who the headliners are going to be. Just last week they were saying, oh, we'll get -- we'll let people know next week. So, there isn't some big announcement around this. There was a lot of talk at the time about, oh, it's going to be this huge contrast, this huge counterprogramming. In some extent that has fizzled.

And I think it's kind of indicative of the moment. You know, in September we were having a different conversation about immigration enforcement.

CORNISH: Yes.

RODRIGUEZ: Things have not ramped up in the way they have now. So, I think there's an added significance to having Bad Bunny as the headliner when we're seeing what's happening in Minneapolis and across the country on immigration.

CORNISH: I also wonder, Trump is so good at inserting himself into cultural moments, like with the FIFA thing or whatever. And I wonder if this will be a moment where he's boxed out. Like, people are so focused on the Super Bowl and its halftime shows and the Puppy Bowl and the ads, and it's just like one of the rare -- could it be the rare moment where Trump is not the center of it.

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, look, we don't know. Is he going to do the traditional, as it sometimes is, it's not really that traditional, presidential interview during a Super Bowl. Will that be part of it? Will he find other ways to try to be doing his live commentary on the Bad Bunny show? We'll see.

But I think that the -- Sabrina's point is exactly right, that they -- the -- when Bad Bunny was announced, people had a very different view of what was going on with immigration enforcement and the country than they do now. And "ICE out" wasn't a thing then.

CORNISH: Yes.

DOVERE: People weren't thinking about ICE so much. Now, the images of everything that's been going on in Minneapolis and in other cities are very much on the minds of a lot of Americans, it seems, from all the polling that we've seen.

CORNISH: OK, we're going to talk about that more. We're actually going to have someone from Philadelphia to talk about what they're doing there.

But in the meantime, can a picture of a child change an election? Well, ask Al Gore. Five-year-old Liam Ramos now home, but the picture of his capture may haunt the Trump administration.

Plus, Iran hopeful that it can get on better footing with the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:37:13]

CORNISH: Good morning, everyone. I'm Audie Cornish. Thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING. It's half past the hour. And here's what's happening right now.

House Speaker Mike Johnson faces a tough road ahead as Congress looks to avoid another shutdown. A Senate passed bill approves funding for most government agencies, at least through September, but funding for the Department of Homeland Security, well, that's only extended for two weeks. Johnson says he's sure a deal can be reached by Tuesday.

And Iranian officials say they're confident they'll be able to strike a nuclear deal with the U.S. The U.S. has been increasing its military presence in the Middle East as President Trump threatened to take military action against Iran if it does not agree to negotiate a nuclear deal.

And in less than an hour from now, Punxsutawney Phil will make his Groundhog Day prediction. Will winter linger for another six weeks, or is he predicting an early spring? That depends on if he sees his shadow. This is a live shot of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. It's been a harsh winter for millions of Americans. Most of the

country still digging out from the massive arctic blast that dumped some historic snowfall in some parts. And thousands across the south are still without power.

And five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father are finally back in Minneapolis after being released from a Texas detention center. They were held there for more than a week after federal agents detained them outside their home, which caused a national uproar because the image of five-year-old Liam sporting a bunny hat with an agent, clung to his backpack, became the center point of protests coast to coast. Officials were accused of using Liam as bait to get his mother to open the door. The Trump administration still denies that.

Now the judge who ordered their release issued a scathing opinion blaming the Trump administration for, quote, "the ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children."

So, the group chat is back.

One of the reasons why I wanted to talk about this, we'll get to the government shutdown, is I was thinking of an image of a child from my youth, which is Elian Gonzalez, who was a young boy found in a boat. His family from Cuba. And once -- this was during our so-called like wet-dry foot policy. And INS and the federal government decided he needed to go back to Cuba.

This image, like, really tore things up for Democrats who backed it at the time. And a lot of people think it pushed the conversion of Cuban voters in Florida that year, which famously came down to 537 votes.

Can we talk about the power of a photo, especially when it comes to a kid?

RODRIGUEZ: They're -- I mean it's incredibly powerful.

[06:40:01]

And I think of, you know, during Trump's first administration, there was also an iconic photo of a young toddler sobbing when she was being separated from her mother at the border. That was a photo during the Trump administration that came to haunt him for a long time in that, you know, in that first administration as there was that backlash that happened to family separation at the time.

So, it almost feels like we're seeing, you know, round two of that for, you know, Trump's second administration --

CORNISH: Yes.

RODRIGUEZ: Where, you know, when you bring in children into this, there's another level of sensitivity.

CORNISH: Yes, here's the photo side by side. The hand of an officer on the backpack of little Liam. And that's outside from the public schools. And that's another thing. Once the administration opened up the door to, like, we can go to schools, we can go to churches, it feels like it brought it to more sensitive places for Americans.

DOVERE: Well, but then I think that what you see is this feeling among a lot of Americans who support the idea of an immigration crackdown, of kicking out people who are here illegally. For all the things that Donald Trump spoke about, but are saying, not like this. That they don't like the way that this is going down. They say -- whether it's what's going on with the ICE agents on the streets of Minneapolis or things like this where -- and some of that is just, it's always easier to talk about things in the abstract --

CORNISH: Yes.

DOVERE: Than it is to look at the actual human beings involved.

CORNISH: That's true, because at this point --

DOVERE: And you can't look at that child and not see a human being.

CORNISH: There's 170 children on average per day being held in ICE facilities. That's accordance to the Marshall Project. That's their independent reporting.

And, you know, people may have been hearing about these kids for weeks, but seeing all of that happen in real time, having the teachers speak out, is it -- I wonder if it's one of the many reasons that the administration struggled with its messaging last week.

MICHELLE PRICE, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "THE ASSOCIATED PRESS": I mean it's certainly one of the reasons that this -- you know, it's putting a name, it's a face, it's a story to the people who are kind of feeling this very, very personally.

And we're starting to hear this from Republicans who voted for Trump because of his immigration policies. We're hearing from some of them who are upset about the way he's doing this. They thought maybe he would only be going after people with criminal records, not parents picking their kids up from school. There are some of them saying that this isn't a very Christian thing to do. So, it's -- you're starting to see those impacts.

I think one of the key questions I have is that this is very different from Elian Gonzalez days. This news cycle is so sped up, and the amount of other things that the Trump administration, that Donald Trump does --

CORNISH: You mean like dumping the Epstein files on a Friday afternoon and going away for the weekend?

PRICE: Right. Like in July, in October --

CORNISH: Yes.

PRICE: Is this still going to be something people are remembering and talking about? I know Democrats are probably going to be bringing this up, but that's a real question I have is, what else will be on people's minds at that moment.

CORNISH: Yes. Or the economy.

RODRIGUEZ: I mean, I think that we're still going to see -- the reality in this moment is that, to your point, like the social media videos are everywhere of this happening across the country. So, it's something very hard for the Trump administration to escape.

You know, I had a story this weekend that spoke to, you know, the Trump administration, the Trump supporters who think he's gone too far. And for a lot of the folks that I spoke to that are different parts of the country, it is those images that they're seeing every day of the children, of the families, of the mother, of the chaos. And that's not -- chaos is not something that people voted for. And I think the more images of that is going to be harder for the administration to control the narrative on.

CORNISH: Yes, you cannot tell the internet what to do or what to think about. And people have eyes. We can see some of the protests that are happening. That's in Minneapolis. Of course, there were other cities that participated in street protests. So, people are making their frustrations known.

If you missed any part of that conversation, maybe you want to share it. Know that we're a podcast. This is your time to scan the QR code, but know that you can find CNN THIS MORNING anywhere you get your podcasts.

And next, Texas flips a deep red seat blue. So, is this the momentum Democrats need ahead of the midterms?

Plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KRASNER (D), PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: If we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Philadelphia has a message for immigration agents. I'm going to be talking to one of the city's council members next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:43]

CORNISH: We're going to turn now to the killing of Alex Pretti. Two agents connected to the shooting now identified. ProPublica identified them based on government documents. Both agents are based in south Texas. One is a Border Patrol agent who joined in 2018. The other, it's a Customs and Border Protection officer who joined CBP in 2014.

Now, the Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into Pretti's death. The investigation is unfolding as nationwide protests spread over the administration's immigration tactics. And Philadelphia's leaders have sounded a defiant tone if the feds surge agents to their city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KRASNER (D), PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: This is a small bunch of wannabe Nazis -- that's what they are -- in a country of 350 million. We outnumber them. If we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities. We will find you. We will achieve justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now, Ru Landau, a member of the Philadelphia City Council.

Thank you so much for being here.

So, there were those protests over the weekend, but can I ask you about these comments from Krasner. Once you start throwing around the term Nazi, a lot of people are saying this is part of the problem.

[06:50:04]

How did you hear what he had to say?

RU LANDAU (D), PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: Yes, well, I was at that protest. It was a rally to introduce our ICE legislation. I'm also the only Jewish member of Philadelphia's city council. So, I understand how it resonates with certain people. But I think what he was trying to do was just create the parallel between kind of an overly funded undertrained military group that has a mission to really tear apart, you know, tear families apart and to really -- just really inflict a lot of violence and harm on people.

I do understand that the rhetoric and the -- and the comments that he made are painful for folks. And maybe he should have used a different choice of words, but the essence is the same. We are in unprecedented times of watching the federal government come into our neighborhoods and really wreak havoc on us.

CORNISH: I want to talk about one of the most talked about pieces of legislation in that package, which is a ban on federal agents wearing masks or using unmarked vehicles. How will you enforce that?

LANDAU: Well, we're working with our mayoral administration, our police department to talk about these things. I mean, as you heard, our D.A., Larry Krasner, is ready to prosecute any ICE agents who are violating the law. And what's really important is that, in Philadelphia, our police department has a set of stands and rules that really build on police community relations. They don't wear masks. They don't --

CORNISH: Can I stop you for a second.

LANDAU: Sure.

CORNISH: So, we know what you want, but are you gearing up for your police department to be at odds with ICE, to be enforcing some of these laws that you're putting in place?

LANDAU: This is ongoing conversations with the police department. This is -- this will be up to them. But as I said, our D.A. is ready to prosecute folks who are not following the law. Most important thing is we're trying to set the standard, right? We are trying to show that our expectations of when you're in Philadelphia and if they descend on Philadelphia is, you're not allowed to wear masks. You're not wearing masks. You got to show your badge. And you got to use marked vehicles so we know who you are and what you're doing here.

CORNISH: I want to play for you border czar Tom Homan, because he has been talking about trying to de-escalate, sort of in the aftermath. And will this sort of cause problems with that effort? Here's Homan speaking last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR: Give us access to the illegal alien public safety threat in the safety and security of a jail.

More agents in the jail means less agents in the street.

The drawdown can happen even more if the hateful rhetoric and the impeachment interference will stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: "More agents in the jail means less agents in the street." Is that something Philly is open to?

LANDRU: You know, we already have an executive order. Part of the -- what we did with our laws is we're codifying our executive orders that have been in place for a decade here in Philadelphia. We -- ICE has basically set the standard that they say they're going to -- they're going after the most -- the non -- undocumented folks with the most amount of criminal records. We don't have that many in Philadelphia and across the country. But what we have an executive order that already sets in place who they could have access to in the jail and who they could not. I don't know that this would keep America safer. And what we are really trying to do is not collaborate with ICE.

CORNISH: Before I let you go, what we saw in Minneapolis is people who do not agree with the tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement have taken to monitoring them, to filming them. And, of course, this -- both of the people involved with ICE who lost their lives were doing similar work.

Are you discouraging that in Philadelphia? Do you anticipate or have concerns about those kinds of clashes between protesters and ICE officers?

LANDRU: We've been working so closely with community organizations throughout the city, immigrant organizations. We are training as many Philadelphians as possible. We've already trained hundreds of people on what to do in public when they see ICE. And if there's an encounter. And there's now thousands more who have lined up who want to be trained.

[06:55:00]

Philadelphia is going to take care of Philadelphia at the end of the day, and we need to be on watch. And we have seen firsthand that filming and taking care of each other is actually the way we are going to hold them accountable.

CORNISH: OK, Ru Landau, thank you so much for speaking with us.

LANDAU: Thank you so much for having me.

CORNISH: One more thing. Democrats scored a pair of surprising special election wins in Texas. In Houston, Christian Menefee won a House race, narrowing the slim Republican majority.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIAN MENEFEE (D), TEXAS REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT: President Trump, my message to you is this, you've gone nearly a year without hearing from the people of the 18th congressional district of Texas. The results here tonight are a mandate for me to work as hard as I can to oppose your agenda, to fight back against what --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: And the hits keep coming for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm election. In the Texas State Senate. Union leader and Air Force veteran Taylor Rehmet flipped a deep red seat. Rehmet's win is notable and being considered a wakeup call, frankly, for Republicans. That's because Trump actually won that district by 17 points in 2024. Rehmet won by 14 points. So, roughly a 31-point difference.

The group chat is back.

I hate to give people math early in the morning, but the math matters because right now if someone has a cold in the House, Mike Johnson is worried. Will they be there for the vote? What's going on?

DOVERE: Yes.

CORNISH: Like, it's narrow enough that these things matter.

DOVERE: Yes. With that -- with that House win for the Democrats, that's a one seat majority now the Republicans have.

But look, this is -- special elections are always overread, I think, for what they mean. In this case, a 31-point swing in a district that is often seen as sort of a bellwether with what it reflects around other voting trends around the country. And look, I think you can maybe go to what Donald Trump himself said about this. He said, when he was asked about it yesterday, you mean I won by 17 and this person lost? Things like that happen. I'm not on the ballot. That might be, in fact, the problem for the Republicans.

CORNISH: Yes, I mean, the thing I'm confused about is, you're sending Tulsi Gabbard down to Fulton County to look at votes from 2020. And meanwhile, the calls are coming from inside the House that there are some frustrated voters in places that should be a lock. Am I misreading that?

PRICE: No. The president has been very clear that he's concerned about his elections, including the past one that he lost and doesn't admit that he lost. He's still litigating that. What we're not -- it's not clear yet if he's going to put that same level of attention into the midterm elections this year. We keep hearing from the White House that that's going to happen, that he's going to be touring the country, that he's going to be getting out for these candidates.

You know, and especially in the case of this Texas state legislative seat, it was a very half-hearted late attempt to get involved. But you are seeing Republicans start to warn very publicly that this is a wake-up call for them. The lieutenant governor of Texas, Ron DeSantis in Florida, saying, you know, there are -- it's a special election. There's asterisks to this. But it's a big swing. And it's something that Republicans, you're going to expect, are going to be much more vocal about publicly and privately to the White House.

CORNISH: All right, you guys, because, as you said, there's only so much we can read in the tea leaves. I have to find out, start of the week, what's in your group chat.

And, Sabrina, you're the coolest person at the table. So, what is in your group chat?

RODRIGUEZ: I'm not going to lie, we already talked about it. I will be talking about Bad Bunny every day between now and the Super Bowl. There's no doubt about that.

But I will plug also, we were talking about this earlier. , the iguanas in south Florida.

CORNISH: Oh, no. Yes.

RODRIGUEZ: They're having a rough week because even Florida is having cold weather. So --

CORNISH: They're like falling out of the trees.

RODRIGUEZ: They're falling out of the tree and freezing.

CORNISH: But are they OK?

RODRIGUEZ: Many will be OK.

CORNISH: Is that -- that's pundit speak for no, Sabrina. And I am appalled that you just said that.

What about you?

DOVERE: I'm going to contest that Sabrina's the coolest one at the table.

CORNISH: Yes.

DOVERE: Because I was going to say, this new Mel Brooks documentary that is out, it's directed by Judd Apatow, but it's really great. It's called "The 99 Year Old Man." It's amazing, this guy who has had such an impact on comedy and American culture and is still around talking about all of it. And then coming up, I would be remiss if I didn't say, we've got a new episode of "The Muppet Show," the renewal coming. So --

CORNISH: "The Muppet Show" renewal.

DOVERE: "The Muppet Show." It's a big deal.

CORNISH: Oh, nice. Nice

Michelle, how about you?

PRICE: Well, I've got two -- but two sides of the same coin. The snow- create, the freezing cold temperatures that have just made this winter feel bleak, but we've got the Winter Olympics coming up at the end of the week. The opening ceremony. Something to finally look forward to when the weather has been so miserable.

CORNISH: That's true.

PRICE: And something -- kind of silver lining for this (INAUDIBLE).

CORNISH: I'm going to be interested in how like Trump inserts himself into the Olympics and sort of like what the -- how the world responds to that after this whole like Greenland and all these other things. It's like, he's a superhero in his mind here, but there's a world that this is where they get to show their displeasure. And if there's one thing sports fans are good at, it's showing their displeasure.

[07:00:01]

That's what I've learned, because I grew up in Boston, OK, folks. That's -- that's the vibe there.

And we -- and other thing in my -- is Green Day going to be the -- I heard a rumor that, like, the -- Bad Bunny is going to have a guest.

RODRIGUEZ: I think they're also -- what -- but I think they're the pre-show.

PRICE: They're the pre-show.

CORNISH: Oh. Oh.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, they're the pre-show. So, there is a big question mark around who his guests will be.

CORNISH: Yes, there's always a surprise guest that sometimes over --

RODRIGUEZ: There's a hope that Cardi B. -- there's a hope that Cardi B. will be one of Bad Bunny's guests because also her partner is in the Patriots, so --

CORNISH: Oh, I'm here for it. All of that.

Thank you for being with us. The headlines are next.