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Fatalities Reported In Private Jet Crash In North Carolina; GOP Divided On Health Care Approach Deepens; Tennessee Dems See An Opening In "Almost Impossible" Red Districts; Trump Rewrites Presidential History. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired December 18, 2025 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:30:41]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news is in North Carolina. Officials are responding there to a deadly private plane crash. The Cessna jet crashed while landing at the Statesville Regional Airport shortly after 10:00 a.m. That airport is just 40 miles north of Charlotte.

CNN's Pete Muntean joins us now. Pete, what are you hearing?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're learning more information about this all the time, and we know that this flight just took off from the Statesville Regional Airport, according to the FlightAware track, about 10:06 a.m. local time. And it appeared to be a doomed flight from the start. The airplane took off to the east.

This citation jet seats between about six and eight people, then made a turn to the southwest, but maintained a very low altitude, below about 2,000 feet, and then turned immediately only about 5 miles away from the airport back to the airport to try and make an attempted landing.

The video that is coming out from the scenes shows skid marks ahead of the runway. You can also see the video in the scene of what appears to be poor weather there at the Statesville Regional Airport in Iredell County.

Bill Hamby, who's the Iredell County Sheriff, tells us there were fatalities on board this flight, although we do not know a number yet. We are standing by for a press conference from authorities there. It was supposed to be at the top of the hour. We are now half past.

We've been monitoring the feeds as they're coming in. We'll bring you more as we get it. Although this is a spot that is very familiar to those in NASCAR. We know that NASCAR is huge in the Charlotte area and the Statesville County Airport, the Statesville Regional Airport in Iredell County, often used by private jets associated with NASCAR teams.

NASCAR has been hit over and over again by plane crashes, often involving their teams. So we will see as this comes out. It's a small community, a tight knit community. Everybody's staying glued to this crash right now as more and more details are coming out.

And we're standing by to hear more from law enforcement and emergency crews that are there on the scene right now. A major outpouring of them at this scene in Iredell County, North Carolina.

BASH: Just terrible.

Pete, thank you so much for bringing us that information.

Coming up, congressional paralysis on an issue. Americans are screaming for help on health insurance premiums. I'll talk to a House Republican who says Speaker Johnson must do better.

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[12:37:31]

BASH: In just days, health care costs will skyrocket for millions of Americans, and lawmakers are scrambling to find a way to prevent that. And as they do, there's a noticeable crack emerging in the House Republican conference.

Joining me now is Republican Congressman Nick LaLota of New York. Thank you so much for being here. So I'm sure our viewers are aware there was a group of Republicans who signed on to the Democrats' plan, centrist Republicans. That plan would extend Obamacare subsidies for three years. You were not one of those Republicans. Why not?

REP. NICK LALOTA (R), NEW YORK: Well, the -- there only needed to be 218 signatures on that discharge petition, and there were only four spots remaining that morning. Four of my colleagues, good-hearted, responsible lawmakers, got to the petition quicker than I did. And once it got to 218, it was closed out.

BASH: So you would have done it?

LALOTA: I would have. And if it's the only solution presented to the House, I'll vote for the bill as well. But there really needs to be a bifurcated solution, one that, of course, addresses the cliff that we're facing with the expiry of those what were once called pandemic- related Obamacare tax credits, those enhanced premium tax credits.

But there also needs to be some long-term solutions, which Republicans voted for last night on the House floor, having to do with associated health plans and CSRs, those that the CBO scored that would lower health care premiums by 12 percent for every American in their plans. But I support a bifurcated approach, one that both addresses those enhanced premium tax credits but also addresses some of the long-term issues with every American's health care.

BASH: This is an urgent problem, as you well know, for tens of millions of Americans. According to Kaiser Family Foundation, there are more than 11,000 people in your district who are enrolled in the ACA marketplace. And many of them are staring down the cliff of the crisis that you just talked about. What do you say to them? LALOTA: The foundation of Obamacare has some large cracks that have unfortunately needed subsidies for the duration of Obamacare's 15 years. We were told when Democrats passed Obamacare that it would decrease costs and it would increase accessibility.

It has factually done neither of the two, and that's why previous Congresses have thrown subsidies after this. And -- but we need a solution, and we need a two-party solution to Obamacare's ills.

[12:40:03]

I support bills supported by Representatives Fitzpatrick and Kiggans that have a bifurcated short- and long-term addressing of the Obamacare's cracks in its foundations. I think that has -- those plans have the best chance of getting 60 votes in the Senate, a majority of votes in the House, and actually address the problems plaguing everyday Americans who rely on Obamacare.

BASH: Because the clock is ticking, that is why this so-called discharge petition got through, even though you didn't get there fast enough to get your signature on it. But this is only happening because the House Speaker won't take that bipartisan short-term measure, the three-year measure, and put it on the floor to help your constituents and others' constituents. Are you frustrated with him?

LALOTA: Well, I'm frustrated with the entire process, and both parties have responsibility for this. Hakeem Jeffries should have and could have told his members to sign other discharge petitions, specifically the Fitzpatrick and/or the Kiggans bills, which again tackle a bifurcated approach solving both the short and long-term problems with Obamacare.

He directed his members to sign a three-year clean extension, and that extension is -- only really solves some of the short-term problems. It does none of the long-term issues. The real approach needs to be a bipartisan one, and Jeffries can support it as well, that probably looks a little more like the Kiggans and/or the Fitz bills, which have much better long-term solutions baked into them as well.

BASH: Yes, but your leader is not putting that on the floor either, and he runs the House.

LALOTA: Yes. And you're right, I am frustrated about that process, but I think that rank-and-file members can join together and go around their leadership to ensure that bills come to the floor. Democrats can do it, Republicans can do it, I've done it in the past before. We should find ways to work together to get this legislation to the floor, despite our party's leaders not facilitating it.

BASH: I'm just listening to you and thinking, I don't remember very often Congress having sort of a grassroots, bipartisan situation where you come up with an agreement and leaders say, nope, we're not going to do that. It -- can you explain that?

LALOTA: Well, it's baked into the rules that if 218 members sign a discharge petition -- BASH: No, I know, but I'm talking about the leadership question, not

about the process.

LALOTA: Say your question again, please, Dana.

BASH: Just the process of which -- that you and your colleagues have worked across the aisle to try to find a short-term solution, and the leaders are saying, nope, we're not going to do it.

LALOTA: Yes, so be it. So be it. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. We will put things on the floor, rank-and-file members, who want to actually work towards solutions for real people. Too much of this town is engaged in hyper-partisanship.

Some folks would rather have a political issue ahead of the 2026 elections. There are folks like me from both sides of the aisle in the Problem Solvers Caucus and other bipartisan caucuses who, despite that partisanship, want to get real things done in this town.

BASH: All right. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for explaining that, and I appreciate your time, and Merry Christmas.

LALOTA: You too, Dana. Thanks so much.

Liberal Democrats are feeling a new sense of confidence in a surprising place. Up next, John Kings takes us deep into red Tennessee.

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[12:47:57]

BASH: Three of Tennessee's most reliably read districts surround Nashville, and in one, Democrats lost a special election this month, but now see an opening for the midterms. CNN's John King went to Tennessee to hear voters' take on the potential Music City comeback.

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JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Music City, Nashville, Tennessee. Yes, a place where stars are born, but also a place where dreams can be crushed. Just ask a local Democrat.

MEGAN SCHWALM, TENNESSEE VOTER: While there are moments of hope, for me, there are often overwhelming moments of hopelessness as well.

KING (voice-over): Yet there's more than coffee brewing here. A new vibe at the liberal ladies' social group, Megan Schwalm, started three years ago. More members, and a more ambitious conversation.

SCHWALM: -- caregiver tax credit, so that I'm really excited about --

KING (voice-over): Local school board fights brought most of these women here. Now they're excited about 2026 midterm house races where Democrats normally wouldn't have a prayer.

SCHWALM: When you're here, it's very clear you're in the Bible belt. Beliefs are very different from beliefs in Nashville, and politically it's very different going from Nashville to here.

KING (voice-over): This is Mount Juliet, a Nashville suburb in the 5th Congressional District. Early this month, there was a special election in the neighboring 7th District. Democrat Aftyn Behn lost by nine points. But a year earlier, the Republican won by 22.

SCHWALM: I mean, the numbers are the numbers and, you know, if we can keep closing that gap, that's incredible, but gerrymandering makes it nearly impossible to win.

KING: At least (ph).

SCHWALM: At least closing the gap does provide a little more hope for what things might look like in the next election, right?

KING (voice-over): If there's chatter, maybe a moderate would have run even stronger, but no one here sees it that way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been running moderate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It doesn't work. And she built that moment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't want liberal light anymore. We want the actual liberal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think if they try and run someone more moderate and they lose that progressive vote that they would have gotten with her, they're fooling themselves.

[12:50:10]

KING (voice-over): Everyone here lives within an hour of Nashville, but they are now sprinkled across three congressional districts.

KING: The old 5th congressional district included all of Nashville and was reliably blue, represented by a Democrat from 1875 to 2023. That's 148 years. But Tennessee Republicans redrew the lines before the 2022 elections, carving Nashville into three congressional districts that stretch from the city out to the suburbs, well out into rural Tennessee, and they are reliably red.

President Trump, for example, in 2024, carried the 5th congressional district by 18 points, the 6th by 35, and here in the 7th, where we are right now, by 22 points, despite getting trounced in Nashville.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One half, one ice (ph).

KING (voice-over): Cyndi Cortes and her husband own the coffee shop where the liberal ladies meet. They moved from Nashville to Mount Juliet two years ago and are Trump supporters. LUIS CORTES, MOUNT JULIET, TN RESIDENT: There's something that in this kind of suburbia Nashville that we really hold dear, and that's our love for God at first, and then our love for family, and then our love for country.

KING (voice-over): Luis Cortes cannot vote. His parents crossed illegally from Mexico when he was a child. They were deported when Luis was 17. He was allowed to stay.

L. CORTES: I was part of the program that President Obama started with the DACA.

KING (voice-over): Luis has permanent resident status now and hopes to one day become a citizen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is your daughter graduating yet?

KING (voice-over): Cyndi voted for Obama, then Hillary Clinton, but Trump in 2020 and 2024 because she says being a parent and owning a business have made her more conservative. Tariffs on coffee and paper goods hurt their bottom line, but they say Trump deserves more time for things to settle. Both like the president's crackdown on illegal crossings, but aggressive deportation roundups give them pause.

CYNDI CORTES, TENNESSEE VOTER: The means at which we're getting there is difficult. It's not comfortable to watch, and it's definitely affected Latin American communities.

KING (voice-over): Cyndi's 2026 thinking is important. She voted for Republican Andy Ogles in 2024 but hopes he loses in the GOP primary next year.

C. CORTES: I can't put a vote for a candidate that I just don't feel just embodies the values that matter to us. And a strong character, an honest, you know, honest character is important.

KING (voice-over): And if Ogles wins the primary?

C. CORTES: I'm not opposed to voting for a Democratic candidate.

KING (voice-over): Parnassus Books is in the 5th district slice of Nashville. Lisa Quigley lives a few miles away in the 7th district piece of the city. She was chief of staff to the last Democrat to represent Nashville when it was all one district. He was a centrist, and Quigley's experience tells her moderates have a better shot in the suburbs and the rural counties. But a surge of energy among progressives in the special election was eye-opening.

LISA QUIGLEY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIC: And when they turned to see who our nominee was, it was somebody who was fighting, who was talking about affordability, who was very aggressive, and voters here like that.

KING (voice-over): Quigley says the new Democratic energy here is real and predicts crowded primaries for the House seats. Yes, that just about guarantees tension between Democratic liberals and moderates. But Quigley believes at least two of the three House seats can be competitive.

KING: Do you think there's something in the water?

QUIGLEY: There's something happening, there's something happening. And so as long as we are smart enough to put our best players on the field, I think we're going to be able to take advantage of that. And I think that next November is going to be a big year for us.

KING (voice-over): Country and Western go together here. Democrats in optimism usually do not. So it may turn out to be all hat, no cattle. But at the moment, Democrats see a chance for a Music City comeback.

John King, CNN, Nashville.

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BASH: Up next, Donald Trump has made some updates to his Presidential Walk of Fame. You're going to want to see them.

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[12:58:42]

BASH: History is written by the winners, and President Trump is yet again rewriting his own personal history of the men who occupied the Oval Office before him. The White House debuted a Walk of Fame complete with plaques that describe presidents as Mr. Trump sees them.

Barack Obama, branded as divisive. Joe Biden, labeled as the worst president in American history. The Trump-written plaque openly promotes the 2020 election lives. The White House says Trump himself helped write them.

My panel is back now. I mean, if you look at these plaques, it's almost as if he took a Truth Social troll and put them on a plaque and put it on the outside of the White House.

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. This is when Karoline said that the President, as a student of history -- I will note she said, had a very big hand in writing these. I completely believe them. I mean, if you look at all the captions from below for each of the presidents, I mean, this is the President and the White House's, you know, reshaping of history in the way that President Trump wants it to be. They did this with the White House website, and they're doing it with the colonnade there.

BASH: I mean, Sleepy Joe, you know, we know about that.

KIM: Right.

BASH: That's -- this is probably not going to surprise anybody. He talked about Sleepy Joe, by far, the worst president in American history. The one he wrote about Ronald Reagan, he was a fan of President Donald J. Trump before President Trump's historic run for the White House, and President Trump was a fan of his.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I was surprised he didn't hit him for amnesty and immigration and separate from Reagan on that.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: I don't really care much about, like, the kind of surface-based stuff that a lot of people get fixated on or care about. That includes, like, the East Wing thing, this President or everyone. This is just, like, embarrassing.

I'm sorry, like, it is. Like, it's ridiculous. It's kind of a debasement of what it's supposed to be, but not surprised either.

CHALIAN: Never mind that it's not accurate history, right? Like, I don't think it would pass the --

MATTINGLY: Oh, yes. So that's threaded into my thinking.

BASH: It's not history. It's opinion.

OK. Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts right now.