since 11 a.m. when it broke out. dramatic video showing the firefighters desperately trying to enter the building to reach victims and then taking away some that they were able to rescue. cnn's paolo sandoval is on the scene for us. paolo, what more are you learning about those who have been rescued, those hospitalized and how this all happened? >> fred, well, at least the positive note here is that the fire is out, and now it's just about tallying up the numbers right now of those affected and likely even killed according to authorities. we heard directly from the fire commissioner himself a few moments ago. they are basically bracing for the worst in terms of the number and the potential death toll that may emerge here which at this point they don't have solid confirmation but based on what the fire commissioner has been told and what he's seen firsthand they are basically bracing for that. as i step out of the shot, just to give you a sense what have happened here. it's about had a 19-story apartment building. these are all duplexes, and we understand that the fire itself, that was contained to one two-story apartment, but the issue here was the smoke. according to authorities that smoke basically filled this entire building and that is likely what contributed to these injuries and perhaps even those deaths. i want you to hear directly from mayor eric adams who was just here a few moments ago along with the commissioner as he tried to give us a sense of the scale of what we could potentially get once they figure out exactly how many people have potentially died. 63 injuries. 32 critical injuries. >> this is a difficult moment for us, and men and women who live here, not only in the bronx and throughout this city, this is going to be one of the worst fires that we have witnessed in modern times here in the city of new yorkp. >> reporter: units arrived here this morning within three minutes of the call for a fire that was in a duplex apartment. apartments spanned floors two, four and three. they were met with very heavy smoke and fire. units pushed in. this smoke extended the entire height of the building, completely unusual. members found victims on every floor instairwells. they were taking them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest. >> and adding that when everything is said and done and we take a look at the full assessment and potentially the death, this could potentially be according to him the worst fire as we've seen in over 30 years. as you may be able to make out from the remarks from the mayor that this is likely going to bring a tremendous amount of pain and despair for dozens of families, many of whom i've seep here on the streets now displaced. >> yeah. it's a horrible situation. paolo sandoval. keep us posted. we're going to talk right now to the new york city mayor eric adams. he's on the phone with me now. thanks so much for joining us, mayor, so my goodness, i mean, as a new mayor you're hit with yet another crises. we've got the ongoing pandemic, the issue of keeping schools open and now this devastating fire. more than 60 injured. 32 in life-threatening condition. what do you know about des, potential deaths? >> and you're right. this is truly a tragedy, not only for the bronx and the city. this is going to be one of the worst fires in our history. we know that we have 19 people who are confirmed dead as well as several others are in critical condition, and over 63 people were injured in this fire and then the loss of residency, people have been displaced, this is really a horrible day for us. i want to commend the firefighters and those who really put their public safety on the line by going in. some firefighters ran out of oxygen and their masks and continued to push through to get the members of the building out of the location. >> and i know so many are grateful for their efforts. you touched on the conditions. we just heard from our meteorologist how the temperatures will be dipping. real unbearable conditions that are moving into new york city, and now you have so many people who are displaced. what are you prepared to be able to do to assist? >> amazing coordination in new york city. unfortunately, we respond quickly during the moments of a crisis of this proportion, and we have our office of monk management coordinating with the red cross as well as our department of education. we have a school building that's open for immediate services, for the public that were displaced. we're using the location as a staging area so that we can get hotels, food, other items that are needed to those who are impacted so the agencies are all coordinated together to address this up precedented crises in the city in the area of fires. >> to hear the fire official earlier talk about a door being left open in the apartment where the fire may have originated helping the flames, the fire to grow. can you expand on that at all, any new details that you're hearing about at the start of this fire, each smoke detectors, is that an issue? was there an absence of such or what helped appropriate tate so much smoke inhalation-related injuries? >> the fire marshal is currently doing a thorough investigate to determine the origin of the fair and what took place so that we can learn from it and know what we can do to prevent fires of this magnitude. we do know that the door was left open, and what happens in cases like that. it allows the smoke to spread in a rapid fashion. it appears as though many who were injured in this case were due to smoke inhalation. it is imperative that we close the door. we're going to double down on our campaign to inform people there's a national tendency with a fire that you open the door but that can be detrimental to all the people in the building and household. >> the injured have been dispersed through five area hospitals and children who were also victimized here. what can you tell us about how many children are among those injured or displaced. >> we know there were children who were injured, and some children lost their lives. we are receiving an exact number now. you know, as you can imagine this is dramatic and is relatively early, but we're going to let the public know exactly the number of children and put in place a hotline for those who need to call to find out about their loved runs. i spoke to a young man who was an uber driver. his loved ones were in the building, and he's seeking information so i can only imagine the uncertainty that is really engulfing those who have families that are connected, but this tragedy -- we're going to try to get as much information as possible to all those who are speaking it. >> mayor, this is so sad, and, again, i want to confirm with you the number of dead that you are able to report right now? >> right now we have 19 people confirmed dead, and we have several more that are on -- is -- they are in critical condition, and so we hopefully -- we're hoping the numbers don't rise, but we want to be prepared. >> so terribly sad. our hearts go out to the so many families whose lives are forever changed on this day with this massive fire there in the bronx at this 19-story building. mayor eric adams, i thank you so much for being with us. we know you've got -- you and your team have a huge undertaking at this juncture. thanks for your time. appreciate it. >> thank you. thank you very much. take care. >> all right. we'll be right back. we left aluminum out and put 48 hour freshness and 1 quarter moisturizers in. dove 0% aluminum deodorant lasting protection that's kinder on skin. we're getting destroyed out there. we need a plan! i have a plan... right now at t-mobile customers on magenta max can get the new iphone 13 and t-mobile will pay for it! upgrade to the iphone 13 on us. i always had a connection to my grandfather... i always wanted to learn more about him. i discovered some very interesting documents on ancestry. this is the uh registration card for the draft for world war two. and this is his signature which blew me away. being able to... make my grandfather real... not just a memory... is priceless. his legacy...lives on. ♪ three times the electorlytes and half the sugar. ♪ pedialyte powder packs. feel better fast. when they're sick, they get comfortable anywhere and spread germs everywhere. wherever they rest protection nothing kills more viruses, including the covid-19 virus, on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. lysol. what it takes to protect. welcome to silversneakers. are you ready to get moving? (throws punch) our new virtual classes were designed for you and millions of seniors like you. you can now choose from thousands of live virtual classes every week. get moving wherever you have an internet connection. and when you're ready, enjoy access to thousands of locations nationwide. with silversneakers, you're free to move. enroll today at no additional cost by visiting getsilversneakers dot com. some of my best memories growing up, were cooking with mom. she always said, “food is love.” so when she moved in with us, a new kitchen became part of our financial plan. ♪ i want to make the most of every meal we have together. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com all right. we're following this breaking news out of new york. 19 confirmed dead, including 9 children from this horrible apartment fire in a 19-story building there in the bronx. there you see the firefighters who responded. right now the flames are out, but the investigation is just at the beginning. what caused this fire, and why did it spread so rapidly? we just talked to the mayor a short time ago who said a door was open in what's believed to be the unit where the fire originated, and that helped the fire spread. the smoke spread leading now to so many families mourning, so many families fighting for their lives and so many families now displaced. you're looking at the dramatic video of some two dozen firefighters who were there trying to respond. all right. turning now to coronavirus pandemic. still causing major problems for many americans. new cases are skyrocketing. hospitals are getting overwhelmed once again. the department of health and human services says nearly a quarter of u.s. hospitals are now reporting critical staffing shortages, and it couldn't come at a worst time. hospitalizations are fast approaching record levels set nearly a year ago. more concerning, the number of children under 5 still unable to get a vaccine now at its highest level of infections since the pandemic began two yearsing 'of the right now according to the cdc, only 53% of kids ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated while only 25% of kids 5 to 11 have at least one shot. cnn's natasha chen is in los angeles where hospitalizations among children are rising at an alarming rate, natasha. what are you hearing? >> reporter: yeah, fred. the hospitalizations at children's hospital l.a. definitely spiking at the moment, so the focus right now is how to safely restart school scheduled for tuesday as l.a. unified school districts the second largest school in the country. right behind mesa very long line for testing because all of the students need to provide a negative test before coming back to classes on tuesday. they are used to this. they have been doing this back in august and they have been doing weekly testing as well, weekly required testing for both students and employees. that alongside what spokesperson told me was ghostbusters level amount of sanitation and required masks indoors and outdoors, required vaccination for employees, and they are even going to require students 12 and up to be vaccinated by august. a combination of those strategies has allowed them to keep their campuses, more than 1,000 schools, open this entire school year. none of them had had to go virtual. we spoke to one tenth grader who came to get tested today and here's what he had to say about this experience. >> my group chat, they are all testing positive for some reason. i think it's the new virus or something like that. >> the new variant that's going around? >> yeah, yeah, all my group chat got positive. we always get tested in school so i don't know, and then we always have this daily pass that we have to enter school with, and then if -- if it doesn't come out that means you tested positive and you can't get into school. honestly it's just extra safety so, yeah, it's not that much big of a deal. >> no big deal he tells me. they are used to it, and the l.a. unified spokes person tells me positivity rates among students and employees right now, about 13% compared to the overall positivity rate in l.a. county which is more than 20% right now, fred. >> wow, that young man taking it in stride that this is part of the routine. natasha chen, thanks so much. let's talk more about all of this with dr. bess set-mccain, the director of the baylor college of medicine. doctor, always good to see you. here we are seeing the number of children needing hospitalizations growing to levels not seen in this pandemic. how concerned should parents be in your view, especially for kids 5 and under who still can't get a vaccine? >> i definitely think patients should be worried and parents should be concerned. there's no place in our community right now that is at zero risk of transmission of covid-19, but i especially think that schools are a high-risk situation, not because of the nature of schools in and of themselves because although we know what tools are available to us and we have the tools to mitigate those risks, they are not being employed adequately. students have access to testing, we need to give them high quality masks and let's increase air circulation and increase vendtlation with hepa filters. let's make sure we're sending our schools safely. the landscape is change and we have to change the approach. that's interesting. you say schools are high risk and the mayors of new york and chicago are saying follow the science and they are reiterating what they have heard which is that schools are the safest places for kids to be. >> again, fred, schools could potentially be very safe. we do have the tools to make in-person learning a safe situation, but when children went away for winter break we were seeing maybe about 120 pediatric cases of covid in a single week. we were seeing overall in the united states about 170,000 cases per day. those numbers have increased exponentially. the environment that children are coming back to is not the same environment that they left from so telling children and teachers to come back to school without changing the protocols and changing what is required to keep them safe, they need a different approach. >> a look at what hospitals are deal with today and here's what dr. walensky had to say. >> what we're seeing with the omicron variant it tends to be milder person by person but given how large the numbers are that we're seeing more and more cases come into the hospital. some hospitals that we've talked, to up to 40% of the patients who are coming in with covid are coming in not because they are sick with covid but because they are coming in with something else and have -- have had covid or the omicron variant detected. >> that, too, is fascinating. 40% of people don't even know they are infected when they arrive at the hospital so what does that tell you, and what does that tell hospitals in terms of what they have to do differently to equip themselves for that? >> it may be fascinated, fred, but to me it's extremely worrisome because that means that even though the "new york times" reported just on friday there were 900,000 positive cases in this country, that is likely a gross undercount which really shows you just how transmissible omicron is and how prevalent it is in our community. the numbers that we're seeing are likely a gross undercounting of the number of positive cases in the community right now. >> all right. doctor, thanks so much. >> thank, fred. still ahead, the u.s. and russia are set to hold high-stakes diplomatic talks in geneva aimed at averting a war in ukraine. why the biden administration is not expecting any breakthroughs next. 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(burke) seventeen-car garage you got there? ♪we are farmers♪ ♪bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum♪ are you one of the millions of americans who experience occasional bloating, gas, or abdominal discomfort? taking align can help. align contains a quality probiotic to naturally help soothe digestive upsets 24/7. try align, the pros in digestive health. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire . just hours from now u.s. officials will meet with their russian counterparts in geneva in an attempt to de-escalate the crisis over ukraine. russia appears poised to invade with nearly 100,000 troops stationed on the border with ukraine. here's what secretary of state blinken said on cnn today. >> the principle that one country can't change one country and one country can't dictate the policy choices and with whom they associate. all of that is on the table. that's why exact -- that's exactly why we're standing up and we've rallied countries in europe and indeed beyond to make it clear to russia that this aggression will not be accepted, will not be tolerated and will not stand. >> cnn's senior national security correspondent alex marquardt is in geneva. jake also asked the secretary about what potentially is on the table in these talks and what isn't. what did he say? >> reporter: well, you heard blinken there essentially saying that the demands that russia has made so far in the lead-up to these talks are not anything that the u.s. and its allies and nato could ever go for, and that is, for example, never allowing ukraine to join nato or withdrawing all nato forces from eastern european countries that belong to nato. those according to the u.s. and nato are non-starters. what the u.s. and biden administration have said could be discussed in these direct talks between the u.s. and russia which in fact started tonight with a dipper between the heads of the delegations and will really take place tomorrow is there could be some discussion over u.s. missiles, nato missiles, both in ukraine. russia has said that they don't want offensive missiles in ukraine there. could also be a discussion about missiles in the rest of europe. interestingly, fred, blinken did not rule out the removal of some weaponry from poland and that could cause quite a stir and then the other thing that blinken said could be discussed is the size of exercises, both by the russians and by the u.s. and nato, and -- and the scale and scope of those exercises, so those are the things that could be discussed, but what's important to note is the u.s. is saying that these need to be reciprocal. these are not concessions and if they do them, there has to be reciprocity. the meeting between the u.s. and russia and the meetings later in the week with nato and the osce, all of this designed to deter russia from using 1,900,000 troops to insaid ukraine. >> alex marquardt, thanks so much. let's now bring in cnn's fareed zakaria, host of of "fareed zakaria gps." good to see you and happy new year. just a few questions to start off the new year. what do you hope will come out of the high-stakes talks in geneva this week? >> you're right to describe them as high stakes, fredericka, because putin has set out some very tough demands. if you look at them in the totality, they are really difficult to imagine how the west, biden, nato could accept them. they really would cripple nato's ability to defend the accept industries that it has taken in. you can't take you a krein into nato, but then it's many countries. you can't deploy any nuclear weapons in europe, you know, can't did i pleau any significant military hardware and can't engage in existing nato members. the question then becomes is being there a fullback that putin accept? is the fullback to guarantee that ukraine will not be a part of nato. is this just for them to say i tried my hand in negotiations and, therefore, i'm forced to escalate militarily. that's what we're all trying to figure out. are these god faith negotiations or is putting set up the negotiations to foil so that when we force he can say well, i gave things a chance. i want to get your reaction to the shoot to kill protest, is 60 people have been killed. what does it say about the level of desperation there, and how concerning is it that vladimir putin is being welcomed to intervene? >> it tells you about the level of brutality and repression rather than desperation. this is, as you point out correctly, that caught my eye as well. a shoot to kill without warning issue given to the military. i don't recall seeing one of those for 40 years, fredericka. i mean, that is real throwback to the days of the 1970s with coup coups and countercoups. kazakhstan has always relied on russia as the big brother so it's not surprising that the russians will give their -- asked for their assistance and russia under putin is trying to reconstruct not the soviet union but the odile czarist empire. you look at ukraine, belarus, kazakhstan, all facing crises of some kind or the other. the russian goal is to say we get to decide what happens. we get to dominate these areas. this is our sphere of influence has it has been for 300 years. this is not about the soviet union. this is about russia and its natural interests which have gone on for centuries. that's putin's world view. you wrote an essay in which you talked about the historical unity between the russia and ukraine basically saying that ukraine doesn't deserve to be its own country. it's an appendage of russia. that's how he thinks and he seems increasingly bold and part of the reason for that, fredericka, is high oil and gas prices. never forgot. russia is a petro state. when oil prices go high, vladimir putin's ambitions grow as well. all right. so it's been going on for centuries, but that certainly underscores why it seems to be escalating particularly in recent years. all right. i want to shift gears now to your latest cnn documentary which airs tonight, the fight to save democracy and one of the topics focuses on this country, the republicans and the passing of new laws that tighten the grip on how elections are run and who counts the votes. let's watch a clip. >> a year into joe biden's president. >> i he cheated. >> there was fraud. >> you've got to revisit. >> trump won. >> across the country donald trump's allies are still at war to overturn the last election forcing local election officials to revisit the 2020 vote count again and again and again. >> count the legal votes. >> count the legal votes! >> in wisconsin, local republicans have conducted three separate partisan audits in an attempt to prove that joe biden should not be president. no widespread fraud has ever been found. the third review is still ongoing behind closed doors. >> the purpose of this investigation -- >> the man republicans have put in charge is michael gableman. >> the office of special counsel is conducting a full investigation. >> he dodged questions from cnn crews. >> can we talk to you about your investigation. >> yeah, have a good night. >> and even called for the arrest of madison's democratic mayor who refuses to testify in private. >> if it comes down to it and i have to go to jail for democracy, i certainly won't be the first person to have done so. >> the you had a sit likely to cost taxpayers close to $700,000. >> i think this is really about 2022 and 2024. this is an effort to reduce people econfidence in our election results. >> efforts like the one in wisconsin are taking place across the country. >> whoa, it's ominous and threateningning at the very least. so how is this intense republican loyalty to donald trump impacting our democracy? >> well, it's -- what is happening right now is kind of a series of measures that are preparatory, and it's important to understand that we don't pay a lot of attention to local politics in this country, but in state after state what is happening is you're clearing out all the republicans, all the impartial officials who adjudicated election results works certified them. you know, the best example is brad raffensperger, the guy in georgia works stood up to trump. he's been stripped of all powers to oversee elections in georgia. that's the kind of thing that's happening. power instead has been given pretty nakedly to state legislatures which are largely republican-dominated and in most of the swing states that we're talking about, state legislatures are republican-dominated. they will now have the final say. they will be able to even override the popular vote if they believe they allege that there's fraud involved, and so all these pieces are being put in place, and the fear, of course, is that what is going to happen in 2024 donald trump will run. he will get the nomination. those two things i think are fair assumptions, and here's the third assumption i'm making is that it will be a close election. elections have been close for the last 20 years in the united states, and donald trump will claim he won and that is when this apparatus comes in which can plausibly testify regardless of what the actual facts are that he did win and there were irregularities and there needs to be a recount, a reaudit. the legislatures are even allowed under the constitution to send their own slate of electors. what happens in that situation? we are setting ourselves up for a constitutional crisis in 2024, the likes of which we have not had since the late 19th century. >> all potentially compromising votes on both the front and back end. f-zarq yeah, thank you so much. >> always a pleasure. so don't forgot to join faried tonight as he investigates "the fight to save american democracy." the new special begins tonight at 9:00 p.m. only on cnn. syste but rid-x does. in a 21 month study, scientists proved that rid- x reduces up to 20% of waste build up every month. take the pressure off with rid-x. plaque psoriasis, the tightness, stinging... ...the pain. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor about tremfya® today. i just wish more people knew how easy it was to get health coverage. i'm only paying $52 a month for there are quality plans for even less. my job doesn't offer health insurance, but with the new law, i found an affordable plan and only pay $47 a month. actually, a friend of mine recommended healthcare.gov and now we're paying less than $60 a month for coverage. i was skeptical at first, but it is real. i'm covered with no monthly payment. new law. lower prices. more people qualify. at healthcare.gov . we're following breaking news out of new york where 19 people are dead follow a massive apartment fire in the bronx, and we now know nine of the deaths are children. in total, 63 people are injured after fire broke out at this 19-story apartment building. approximately 200 firefighters were there fighting the blaze in dramatic reveals firefighters desperately trying to watch the building to reach those inside. i spoke with the new york mayor eric adams earlier this hour. >> this is truly a tragedy, not only for the bronx or the city, but this is going to be one of the worst fires in our history. we know that we have 19 people who are confirmed dead as well as several others in critical condition and over 63 people were injured in this fire and in the loss of residency people have been displaced. this is really a horrific today for us but i want to commend the firefighters and those who put their safety on the line to go in. some went in without masks in order to push through to get the members of the billing out of the location. >> horrible situation. origins of the fire still under investigation, and this just into cnn. there are now ten people confirmed dead after a boulder fell in several tourists boats in brazil. the disaster hospital on a popular lake right there in southeastern brazil where boaters come to view the beautiful waterfalls but the terrifying moment of massive rocks falling on to the boat. that was actually caught on video and do i want to warn you that the video is disturbing. [ screaming ] >> oh, my goodness. heavy rains actually caused those rocks to loosen. at least 32 people why injured from the incident and, again, ten people killed. rescue efforts will continue into monday. >> after the break, one year after the january 6th insurrection, the gop is still just as divide as the mid-term battles get under way. we'll discuss. said, “food is love.” so when she moved in with us, a new kitchen became part of our financial plan. ♪ i want to make the most of every meal we have together. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible... with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to the possibility of lower a1c with rybelsus®. you may pay as little as $10 for up to a 3-month prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. ♪ three times the electorlytes and half the sugar. ♪ pedialyte powder packs. feel better fast. ♪ ♪ do your eyes bother you? because after all these emails, my eyes feel like a combo of stressed, dry and sandpaper. strypaper? why do we all put up with this? when there's biotrue hydration boost eye drops. biotrue uses naturally inspired ingredients like an electrolyte, antioxidant, even your tears' own moisturizer. and no preservatives. these ingredients are true to your eyes' biology. see? bio.true. one year after the january 6th insurrection when a mob of pro-trump supporters took over the capitol, republican leaders are now hoping to turn the page and look towards the upcoming midterm elections. this week several former trump administration officials say they will gather to plot ways to stop trump from influencing the party and the country. >> next week, a group of former trump staff are going to come together, administration officials are going to come together and we're going to talk about how we can formally do some things to try and stop him and also, you know, the extremism, that kind of violence and rhetoric that has been talked about and continues to divide our country. >> with me now to talk about this is cnn political commentator charlie den, a former republican congressman from pennsylvania. and scott jennings is also a cnn political commentator and former special assistant to president george w. bush. good to see both of you, and happy new year. scott, to you first, what do you make about what grisham is saying that there will be this meeting of former administration officials who will plot to figure out how to stop trump, in what way? >> i mean, with all due respect, i don't think very much of it candidly. i think these folks will have very little impact. i think larger conversations about the influence of trump will likely be sorted out at the '24 presidential primary. but as it relates to these midterms, i think republicans are in pretty good shape given the political environment, given where biden is, and we're going to end up pushing off the conversation about whether trump's going to lead the party until the next cycle, '24. >> scott, are you surprised at all that a year after that insurrection there remain people, particularly followers of trump, who still do not believe that there was a free and fair election in 2020? >> no, i'm not surprised at all. trump has stayed on his message, and a lot of people believe what he says more than they believe what a democrat would say or what the media would say so i'm not surprised. but let's also be honest, there are democrats who don't think he won. there are democrats who still think bush didn't win. you have people who continue to carry these falsehoods around, and we're on this escalator, and we're going to have to choose as a country to get off of it and start believing in the legitimacy of our election. so am i surprised? no. is it worrying to me? absolutely. >> how worrying is it to you, charlie? i mean, after so many failed attempts to state otherwise it was indeed a free and fair and perhaps the most safe election in the height of the pandemic. >> well, let me just say this, fred. look, i'm glad that stephanie grisham and other former republican fishes are pushing back. i think it's important but it's going to take much more than that. we need republican elected officials in a sustained way to push back hard on what i call this nativist, nihilistic wing of the party, the bannon wing. the people that showed up with paraphernalia and camp auschwitz shirts. trump has empowered that group. we need to disempower that group. this is where i think the leadership teneeds to come from. we have to not normalize these extreme elements. that has been the problem and continues to be, and until we talk about that more honestly and openly, i think we're going to have some challenges. i agree with scott, the midterms are probably going to be pretty good to republicans. it's not about trump, it's about the republicans. but i think for 2024 this is an issue that we are going to have to discuss much more openly than we have up to this point. >> so, charlie, how influential is longtime republican stalwart carl rove to speak to those groups that you speak of when he woke this week in the "wall street journal" urging the gop to reject election conspiracies. might he be speaking to that group that you just described who was, you know, pretty hell bent on believing trump won, and do believe all the conspiracies? >> well, i'm glad carl rove is speaking up. while it's important for him to speak up and these former trump administration officials, it is important for republican-elected officials currently in office, people in positions of leadership at all levels, national, state, and local to push back and fight it. >> does that signal to you that the gop is coalescing on that message? >> well, at the moment i still feel that trump is pretty ascendant. if we simply ignore the worst of donald trump and all that he says, somehow this will go away. well silence has never worked and it's not going to work going forward, that if he's going to be defeated in a 2024 primary, we're going to have to have candidates who are actually going to draw a contrast and explain why this type of nativism, nihilism is not consistent with american values. it just can't be a few of us on great shows like this talking about it. we have to be pushing back, like i said, in a much more sustained way, many more people. that's how you defeat it because otherwise a leader with no followers is just taking a walk, as they say, and we need more leaders right now. >> earlier today republican congressman adam kinzinger addressed the party on right-wing talk radio. listen. >> did donald trump reveal what the republican party is or change it? >> you know, i think it's actually a little of both. so, i think, on the one hand, donald trump is a symptom of years and years of leaders, you know, profit-driven radio shows, whatever, turning the base into this angry, fearful, you know, victimized group of people who are saying, look, you can never get a fair shot. >> all right, scott, 15 seconds or less, what do you make of that? >> yeah, i mean, we've had talk radio for a long time. the rise of conservative talk radio in the '90s led to george w. bush who ran on a platform of compassionate conservatism so i'm not sure that's where i'd pin the explain. >> all right, thanks, gentlemen, we appreciate it. and thank you so much for joining me today. i'm fredricka whitfield. the "cnn newsroom" continues with jim acosta after this. conn? be conniption-free, thanks to the cartridge-free epson ecotank printer. a ridiculous amount of ink! do i look like a money tree? the epson ecotank. just fill & chill. one role of a lifetime...one sore throat. but she had enough. she took new mucinex instasoothe sore throat lozenges. show your sore throat who's boss. new mucinex instasoothe. works in seconds, lasts for hours. the living room slash yoga shanti slash regional office slash... and this is the basement slash panic room. maybe what your family needs is a vacation home slash vacation home. find yours on the vrbo app. when you have xfinity xfi, you have peace of mind built in at no extra cost. advanced security helps keep your family protected online. pause wifi whenever for ultimate control with the xfinity app. and family-safe browsing gives parents one less thing to worry about. security, control and peace of mind. with xfinity xfi, it's all built in at no extra cost. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ this is cnn breaking news. >> you are live in the "cnn newsroom." i'm jim acosta in washington, and we start with breaking news. 19 people are dead including nine children after a massive fire inside a high-rise building in new york city. fire officials describing the scene in the bronx as unprecedented with victims in cardiac and respiratory arrest in the stairwells of every floor of the building, that is 19 stories high. dozens are hurt, the mayor saying this fire will go down in the history books. >> this is going to be one of the worst fires in our history. we know that we have 19 people who are confirmed dead, as well as several others are in critical condition. and over 63 people were injured in this fire. people have been displaced. this is really a horrific date for us. we do know that the door