We have some very sad news to report to you. And I'm very sorry that I have to tell you this. CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Alice Stewart has passed away. Many of you know her. She's been a staple on this network, participating in many political panels, bringing us deep insight into politics. You'll remember she was a former communications director for Senator Ted Cruz. She worked with Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, just to name a few. She also hosted a podcast with her friend and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona called Hot Mikes from Left to Right. Alice and I both got our start in Arkansas, television and local news. And when I was coming up as an intern, she was working there. And as we both made our way to CNN, she was always available with an encouraging smile or a text. As I climbed my way up the ladder here. And I know that personally, I miss her very much. And I'm very sad to hear this news. And she brought us all so much information and insight and was such a valuable piece of the team here at CNN. And we are all processing this news as it was so sudden. And joining us now on the phone is CNN anchor Wolf BLITZER Wolf. Hi. This is a terrible thing to have to report to everyone. Alice was such not only a wonderful insight and brain and asset here at CNN, but she was also just a good person, a person whose faith was so much at the center of her life. You're absolutely right, Jessica. She was really, really a very special woman. She was always a excellent, excellent, friendly colleague, was always there for us whenever we needed her, including yesterday when she was on with me and Maria Cardona and issued a special relationship, a good working relationship with Maria as well. We were very good friends in college. And I'm so sad when I heard the news just a little while ago, we just broke the happened. Very, very sad to hear that because we will miss her greatly. She was just a wonderful, wonderful friend, a wonderful colleague, a great person. Going back to all your memories, going back many, many years in Arkansas. Absolutely. And you know, Wolf, and I would think you probably feel the same way. You know, when when you're in television and you have the relationship with each other on television. But then there's, of course, the breaks and the green room, and you see each other in the hallway and what was wonderful and sparkling about Alice was that it was as much fun and maybe even more fun to see her in those moments, in those human moments as well as when we had her on talking about politics. And there was always something good to talk about with her. That's why we always invited her to come on my show, because we knew we would be a little bit smarter at the end of the conversation than we were at the beginning of that conversation, because she always helped us better appreciate what was going on and she helped her viewers better appreciate what was going on. And that's why we will miss her so much. Yesterday, when she was on going to be, she posted a picture of the three of us afterwards that it was just a friendly reminder of how special this woman really is was. Absolutely. Absolutely. Wolf, stay with us. We want to come back to you. I believe we also have CNN anchor Dana Bash. Dan, are you with us? I am, Jessica. Oh, Dana, I am so sorry that we are talking under these circumstances. But, you know, I'm thinking about you and your background and coming up in politics and you covering Arkansas politics, too. You've known Alice a long time. I have. I first met Alice in 2007. She was working on the Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, his first one. And it was an upstart campaign. And I was a political reporter and I was assigned to cover all of the Republican candidates. And I, you know, like many of us kind of just set up shop in Iowa. And Alice was somebody who was one of the the people who was certainly a true believer of Mike Huckabee. And it was her first entree into national politics, working on the Huckabee campaign. And even then, you know, she was doing her job and acting as a spokesperson or press secretary for Mike Huckabee. She was always somebody who told it straight. She told it straight with a smile, with good nature. And and she also had this understanding of what it is that we as reporters, as journalists needed, first and foremost, the facts information, but also sort of the color and the context about why her boss was doing what he was doing and why the campaign was doing what it was doing. Because as you said it, when you came on, Jessica, she she came from journalism. She started out in her home state of Georgia, in Savannah, and then she went to Little Rock where she was an anchor, as you said, it was it was where you were as well until she made the move over to politics to work for the then governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, before she ended up on the presidential campaign that I was talking about. And so that's when I first met her. And she was so valuable to not just Mike Huckabee, but after his campaign was over to other candidates who, you know, sort of hired her right away when they decided that they, too, wanted to run for president, whether it was Rick Santorum in 2012, Ted Cruz in 2016. She also worked for Michele Bachmann. And in between, she would, you know, continue to sort of hone her her skills and her knowledge and her expertise and that, Jessica, is what we benefited from at CNN. One of the many reasons she was so valuable to us on our political panels and part of our discussion to us and to our viewers is because she brought that experience. She brought that understanding of how Republican politics, Republican campaigns work. And she never, ever did it with anything other than a smile with an even keel. And it was so important to have her. And as you started saying and I'll toss it back to you, Jessica, the key thing that people should know about Alice is also what we got to know behind the scenes and on the human level. And just one thing I'll share with you is it was just maybe a month ago, I walked into the makeup room and there was this beautiful, very sweet, beautiful flower, and they look like fresh cut flowers. And I said, Where did this come from? It's so pretty. And they said, Oh, Alice cut these from her garden and brought this in because she knew that it would make us happy and that, in a nutshell, was Alice Stewart. I love that story, Dana. And it's so, so, so true. And of course, here everyone is absorbing this news, as you mentioned, behind the scenes to the makeup rooms just out that door. We have a floor crew here and she was beloved. And it is it is very hard for everyone to kind of grapple with this very sudden loss. Dana, thank you so much. I want to go now to Laura Coates, CNN anchor Laura Coates, who's also with us. And, Laura, I know you and Alice were close to Oh, my God, I just can't believe it, Jessica, to think about Alice being gone. I you know, I was a contributor, as you all know, and before I became an anchor. And we are friends. I mean, when we are when people think about I wonder what happens behind the scenes and when people have different viewpoints, when people don't agree politically or perhaps in other ways, I wonder what it must be like behind the scenes. And let me tell you what it was like. If Alice Stewart was in the room, If she was in the room, she was unapologetically guided by her moral compass. She was as interested in your viewpoints as she was expressive about her own. She ensured that somebody had a space to communicate that even if it meant that there was disagreement, that there was still grace and honor and your ability to say it. And her ability to have an open mind to receive it. And her goal was not to change your mind. Her goal was to ensure that all of us had an opportunity to give information and to make sure that people had a voice and that people felt seen and represented. And whatever spectrum, whatever view, whatever walk of life. And I really just so appreciated her as a human being, as a friend. I always admired her curiosity, and I honestly found very odd for me to use the past tense when I'm talking about Alice, because, you know, she is somebody who routinely filled in for me on Sirius XM, the podcast channel as a well respected journalist, as a radio host. She was an Emmy Award winning journalist as well. And so she would take the reins repeatedly, consistently, and have dynamite conversations where people looked forward to hearing the way that she was able to navigate complex and difficult minefields in a way that left you feeling more resolved, more informed. And you always felt that she was a good person. And I'm so glad that Dana mentioned the toolbox that she would bring because it really is such an analogy for her life where she would recognize something and say this would make somebody happy and I'm going to share it with the world and I am going to sincerely miss my friend, my colleague. I'm going to miss the conversations. We were able to have the support woman to woman. She would give the behind the scenes championing and cheerleading. She would see something. She would say something. She would give you an expression or a look to tell you that she saw something too. And then she would talk to you about it. And whether it was seeing her in the hallways or in the makeup room or outside of the the bureau or anywhere. Alice Stewart will be remembered for her grace, for her beautiful mind, her spirit, and the way she made you feel when you were in her presence. I could not agree more with all of those things. Laura, you are absolutely describing the friend and colleague that we all knew so well. And we're also hearing on on X from Jake TAPPER, our colleague, horrible news about our beloved and gifted commentator Alice Stewart. Just awful. We are all gutted. Also from Caitlin Collins, just devastating news about our colleague, Alice Stewart. She will always be remembered by her kindness. Above all. We've got Jim Acosta on the line as well. Jim, it was her kindness. I mean, Laura's describing the cheerleading and I mentioned this a little bit ago. I was on the receiving end of that and it was just it's so nice and kind to have somebody out there that is willing to cheerlead you and encourage you. And that's what was an amazing thing about Alice. And I know the two of you on this particular show set for many, many segments together. Yeah. Yeah. Jessica, I, I, I'm really heartbroken over this. Alice was a friend. She wasn't just a panelist or an expert. I loved her so much, and she and I got to be friends back in the 2012 campaign. She was working for Rick Santorum back then, and I got my first taste of Alice's tremendous wit and there was a there was a moment during that campaign where a mitt Romney aide said, well, we're not worried about what Romney said during the primaries. We can just do an Etch a Sketch and he'll be just fine for the general election. And we were at a mitt Romney rally one day and Alice shows up and she asks me and she says, Jim, I'm here. I'll come outside. And Alice had a bag full of Etch a Sketch that she was handing out to the press. She had pulled over at a Toys R US and bought a bunch of small extra sketches to try to point across from the Santorum campaign that, you know, Mitt Romney can't get away with this anyway. That's the kind of sense of humor that Alice brought to the table. She was conservative, but, you know, for her, it wasn't about winning every debate, every argument. She sincerely held on to her beliefs. And that was one reason why I always enjoyed having her on with Maria Cardona, because we could have these and we did it for years on on the weekend edition of NEWSROOM. You know, you can have these heart to heart conversations, you know. Very strongly held views could be expressed but done in a civil and professional manner. And I think that's what sets Alice apart from so many other political pundits that she she really led with the heart. And, you know, one other thing that we should know about Alice is that she was a fellow up at Harvard and invited me up there one time, invited a lot of seniors up there. And, you know, this was politics was just a passion for her. It was her life and it just flowed out of her. And just to echo what Dana and Laura was saying, absolutely. That's why we're all broken up over this, is because she was such a tremendously kind person. And always as as Laura was saying a few moments ago, always trying to lift you up. She always came on set with this big smile on her face and that that wonderful southern accent of hers. You know, any sense that you had would just melt away when you're in her presence. And I'm just going to miss her dealer dearly. And it does remind me of, you know, what? We are told that that God takes the good ones early. And I'm going to miss her. I know terribly. It is a very, very sad day. And it is it is a hard thing to absorb. And, Jim, I know it is hard. I am aching with you listening to you talk about it, because it is it is such a devastating piece of news. Again, if you're just joining us, we're very sad to report that our political commentator, Alice Stewart, has died at the age of 58. Dana, if you're still there, I'd like to go back to you because Jim brought up something that I also think is worth repeating, because you've also covered politics for a while now. And politics is what it is today. It is very divided. It is hyper partizan. It is rough and tumble. It is insults all the way. And what was unique about Alice is that she wasn't like that. She was smart. She was firm. She was very much a believer in her conservative values and her her conservative beliefs. But she was she was not mean spirited. And she never she always stayed above the fray. And that's unique these days. Yeah. Sorry, Jim. Do not be good. Absolutely. Absolutely. And, you know, I'm thinking just even of some of the most sort of personal contentious politically, but very deeply held philosophical debates that have that go on and are still raging and really exploded after Roe v Wade was overturned. And I'm just thinking about some of the conversations that she had on abortion. I mean, that's an example of where she has had very deep philosophical, I believe, religious belief in in her in her views against abortion. And it was a conversation that she would have in various forums and she would express herself in a way that was really important for our viewers. And for people in America to hear, particularly when she was having a debate with somebody who disagreed with her because she could do it in a way that was with her heart, with her head, but not with any anger or any fire. And and it was that just as an example. It's just something I was thinking about. One of the important examples of how crucial it was to have her and her, not just her point of view, but her her as a person, her to express that point of view and also to give the political analysis of how it's playing. Because she worked in politics for so many high profile candidates and in so many and so many places, it was invaluable. And that's where kind of, again, the very kind person, the the warm soul that we're describing cannot be separated from the ideas and the smarts that she expressed to give to give our viewers and give our colleagues an understanding, a better understanding of our political discourse. Absolutely. Absolutely. Stay with us. We have Maria Cardona on the phone as well. Mary, are you there? Hi, Jessica. Yes, hi, Maria. Okay. Well, I'm so sorry that we are talking about this. And I know you and Alice spent a lot of time together, opposite sides of the political aisle, but a real friendship that you two had. That's exactly right. Jessica, I'm going to try to make it through. Alice was a sister to me, and everything that everyone has said is absolutely right on. I'll talk about the civility and the decency of our debate every time that she and I were on. We've never pull any punches in terms of the debate that we were having on politics or didn't I was, you know, but but what always stood out, Jessica, is that we did it with civility and respect and love. And if there's anything that everyone should remember about her, and I think this has been underscored by everyone who has spoken, is that Alice loved period. She loved she loved her family. She loved her dog, Sammy. But I think all of us knew and adored as well. She loved what she did for CNN. She loved what she did at Harvard IOP and she loved communicating her passion about politics, about the importance of what she held dear in terms of doing these conversations, these really difficult conversations, especially in today's environment, doing it with respect and civility. And and I remember, Jessica, the day that we were all sent home from CNN whenever anyone was going virtual because of the pandemic, we were no longer going to be in the bureau. Alice and I had just finished, I think we were on with Jim Acosta, uh, was one of the last times that we were on the air in the bureau, and we went to the coffee shop right down the street and we said, we need to continue these conversations because more than ever, people need to see that people who don't agree can actually have these civil conversations. And that's when the idea for our podcast, Hot Mikes from left to Right was born and and we did it. We did it throughout the pandemic. We still have it going on, as you know. And I'm talking to you and I, it's still so unreal to me. And and what I remember most about her, Jessica, is that every single time that I talked to her, whether we were at the bureau or whether we were on the phone, he would finish her sentence with. Okay, Maria, I'll talk to you later. I love you. And I would say exactly the same thing about her. And I said it to her yesterday when I was on with her, when we had just finished our segment with Wolf. We were going to see each other this weekend. We thought maybe we were going to be on because people always call us at the last minute if they need to. We were scheduled to be on on Monday with Jim and we were going to do our podcast we were going to do about the day know. And I just can't believe that she's gone, but I want everyone to know what a special person she was, especially and the industry. As you know, today's politics can be so indecent and so dirty. And Alice was just such a loving, shining light that she came into a room and she would light it up and she was witty and smart and funny, and she would always tease me right before our segment when we went on, when, you know, sometimes you all have to tell us. Jessica okay, ladies, keep it tight. There. And she would turn to me and say, Did you hear that, Maria? 30 seconds filibuster made. She would always tease me like that is, you know, And so I love her dearly, as we all do. It's a huge loss for CNN. It's a huge loss for politics. It's a huge loss for our conversation. But if we all keep her spirit in our hearts, then she will never be gone. And her additions, her light and her love will always be a part of what we do. And I think that's our obligation to her and to the country and to the world. Is that light? I think that's so true. And I think what a testament to a life lived. You know, she really did sparkle. Maria, you're exactly right. When she walked into a room, it just lit up and she brought such positive and happy and joy. I think joyful is probably the right word. Joyful energy just kind of followed her. And it is that is a rare and that's a rare thing to see today. And and especially as we keep going back to in television news and politics, that can be a place that can sometimes be a bit without joy and not so sparkly. And we are we were very lucky that she brought that to us. And Maria, I know to you, being personally close with her, as I as we all so many of us were, you know, her faith was such a big part of her life as well. And she that was so important to her. She just had she had many layers, as we all do, as anyone does with a life well lived. That is exactly right. And that is part of what made her such a loving person. And I think I heard Dana talk about, you know, one of the toughest conversations that she and I ever have had, both personally and on the air, was about abortion because of her faith. And, you know, I come at it as a person of faith as well. And those kinds of conversations, as you can imagine, Jessica, could get really nasty and personal. But we thought that it was really important to have that delicate conversation and to bring to the fore all of what we brought to it, her with her face, me with mine. And I think that was something that was so special that I could always do with her. And I can't do that with everybody. And she just brought such an incredibly delicate, loving and sharp perspective. And we always sought to bring light instead of heat to our arguments, even though they would get a little bit heated but never personal. As you know, Mom and I will always remember, you know, she she knows me and my family and she knows my kids. And she went to my daughter, Maria Luna's quinceanera, and she knew when my daughter was confirmed and she gave me for Maya Luna, she gave me this gift. And it was a beautiful, beautiful cross for my daughter. I wasn't expecting it. And it was just I was just so touched because to her, that was such a big part of her life. And she knew that it was for us as well. Is is faith. And it wasn't a it was it wasn't something that she put on to show off. She lived it every day. And we all saw that every day was such an important part of of who she was. And I will miss her tremendously. And certainly every single day. I think what she again, what she brings to politics is something that we should all endeavor to keep alive because it was such an important part. The civility, the respect, the humanity. That was all Alice and we all love her for it. I know the humanity. That's it. That's it right there. Maria, we're so grateful for your memories of Alice, and we're all very sad. And I wish I could hug you, but thank you for talking with us. Thank you, Jessica.
