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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Sheriff: Savannah Guthrie's Mother Abducted, Home Crime Scene; Trump Calls For GOP To "Nationalize" Elections In At Least "15 Places"; Trump Slams Grammys And Threatens To Sue Host Trevor Noah After Epstein Joke; Former Prince Andrew, "Melania" Director Brett Ratner & British Lord Appear In Epstein Files; Epstein Victim's Lawyers Ask Judges To Force Takedown Of Released Files, Citing "Thousands Of Redaction Failures"; Trump: Kennedy Center Renovations Will Cost Around $200 Million; 5-Year-Old Boy, Father Back In MN After Release From ICE Detention. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired February 02, 2026 - 20:00   ET

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

GRETCHEN CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS ANCHOR: They really need to find a leader in all of this. And I think it's going to be somebody that we don't know about quite yet. That may come out as that person, but there needs to be some coalescing there.

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think that's true. But I do think that there's fish to be caught now. We need a good fish fisherman, fisherwoman but there's a lot of fish to be caught now. I think people are wrapping, they're getting to understand that Trump is not who he said he was going to be.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: All right, well, thank you both very much and thanks to all of you for being with us on this Monday night. Great to see you as always, we'll be back here tomorrow. AC360 begins now.

[20:00:27]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360, the shorts for Today showing Kris Savannah Guthrie's mom whose disappearance is now being treated as a crime and abduction, according to the local sheriff.

Also tonight, just in time for the midterms, the President says he wants to nationalize the elections in blue states. That, and the direct involvement, we now know he had in the recent FBI raid in Georgia over the 2020 election. He lost there.

And later, more revelations from the Epstein files about all the big names who did not seem to mind palling around with a sex offender, including then Prince Andrew, Steve Bannon and the director of the new Melania film seen there on the right, that and the redaction failures that have some victims heading to court.

Good evening, thanks for joining us.

We begin tonight with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, which is now being investigated as a crime. Miss Guthrie is the mom of "Today's Show" anchor, Savannah Guthrie, and was last seen Saturday night at home outside Tucson, Arizona. Her family reported her missing yesterday.

Today, the local sheriff had this troubling message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS NANOS, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA SHERIFF: We do, in fact, have a crime scene that we do, in fact, have a crime. She did not leave on her own. We know that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, Nancy Guthrie is 84 years old. She has limited mobility and takes medication that she relies on. The Sheriff says this is not a case of a senior with dementia wandering away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANOS: Miss Guthrie, Nancy Guthrie is of great sound mind. This is not dementia related. She is as sharp as a tack. The family wants everybody to know this isn't somebody who just wandered off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The sheriff added that authorities are looking at video from cameras at the Guthrie home, and want neighbors to try to do the same with any footage that they may have. The department wants your help, that Sheriff's Department, we're putting the number to call the bottom of the screen. It is 520-351-4900, again 520-351-4900.

In a moment, we'll be joined by former FBI criminal profiler as well as our chief law enforcement intelligence analyst, John Miller. But first, CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NANOS: We just want to find her and bring her back safe.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Eighty-four-year-old Nancy Guthrie hasn't been heard from in days. When she didn't show up at church on Sunday, people there alerted her family, who then alerted authorities around noon in Pima County, Arizona.

NANOS: We saw some things at the home that were concerning to us. We believe now, after we processed that crime scene, that we do, in fact have a crime scene, that we do, in fact have a crime and were asking the community's help.

KAYE (voice over): Officials say Nancy Guthrie was asleep in her bed at the time this occurred. They won't say what they found at Guthrie's home to lead them to conclude it was a crime scene. But they are convinced she was removed against her will.

NANOS: She is very limited in her mobility, right. We know she didn't just walk out of there. That is, that we know, there are other things that the that the scene that indicate she did not leave on her own. We know that. DAVID STIVERS, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA SEARGENT: There were circumstances on scene, that that we believe are suspicious in nature.

KAYE (voice over): Homicide detectives were called to the scene, which officials say is not standard for a missing person case. Nancy Guthrie is the mother of NBC's "Today Show" host, Savannah Guthrie. Her mysterious disappearance was their top story this morning.

REPORTER: We want to get right to what is a deeply personal story for us. Nancy Guthrie, Savannah's beloved mother, has been reported missing in Arizona.

KAYE: Savannah Guthrie released a statement through NBC saying the family is grateful for the "thoughts, prayers and messages of support, adding their focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom".

Nancy Guthrie has appeared on the Today show with her daughter numerous times. In 2016, cooking up her special fried chicken.

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, MAIN CO-ANCHOR OF THE NBC NEWS MORNING SHOW TODAY: I am thrilled to welcome a very talented cook to our kitchen, one I know well. My mom, Nancy Guthrie.

KAYE: And in 2022, Savannah honored her mom on air for her 80th birthday.

S. GUTHRIE: It is my mom's 80th birthday. She loves us, her family, fiercely.

KAYE: She described her mom as a truth teller, well read, daring and adventurous. Officials say Nancy Guthrie lived alone. They say they've recovered her cell phone and are examining video from cameras at the home.

NANOS: This is an 84-year-old lady who suffers from some physical ailments, has some physical challenges, is in need of medication, medication that if she doesn't have in 24 hours, it could be fatal.

KAYE: Given her famous daughter, a journalist and T.V. host. The sheriff isn't ruling out the possibility Nancy Guthrie may have been targeted.

NANOS: We don't know. We look at all of that, but we just don't know yet.

[20:05:19]

KAYE: Search and rescue teams, including volunteers, dogs, Border Patrol agents and helicopters searched through the night for Guthrie. The FBI is also now involved. Savannah Guthrie lost her father when she was in high school. Authorities say she is in Arizona now, hoping for the safe return of her mother.

S. GUTHRIE: Mama, great job, love you. Thank you. We're back in a moment, this is today --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Randi, I mean, we mentioned the sheriff downplaying any concerns about Guthrie's cognitive state. Did he give any other details?

KAYE: Yes, again, Anderson, the sheriff did mention that she's sharp as a tack and reiterated once again, this is not a dementia issue. He did give a few more details as he makes this desperate plea for the public's help. As I mentioned, they will be going over the video and the cameras that are at Nancy Guthrie's home. They're also looking at some other high-tech options. They're going to be looking at license plate readers in the area. Also, the traffic cameras in the area, and also, of course, those ring cameras with the neighbors.

But they do want anybody who sees anything to contact the tip line. That number, once again, is 520-351-4900. And Anderson, I can't reiterate enough that they are up against the clock here. As you heard from the sheriff, they need medicine for Nancy Guthrie. She needs that medicine within 24 hours. Or it could prove to be fatal. So, the family is especially concerned -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Randi, thanks very much, very disturbing.

With me now is CNN chief law enforcement intelligence analyst John Miller and former FBI profiler, Jim Clemente. John, let me start off with you. What do you read into what authorities are saying?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, you look at what they found when they got there, which was, according to the sheriff, her phone was still there, her bag was still there. The things you would take if you were going out remain behind.

What they did not find was a ransacked house where it looked like the telltale signs of a regular burglary or something. And more important, what they did not find was Nancy Guthrie.

So, it appears, given what they see and what they don't see, that someone came there after she was dropped off around 9:30, after dinner with her family at home. The sheriff indicates it appears she went to bed and that someone woke her up and took her away. So, that is very suggestive of an abduction.

COOPER: I mean, that's got to be incredibly rare, isn't it?

MILLER: Well, it is, but then you look at cases like the Elizabeth Smart case, we all remember that where, you know, someone came in through the window and took a little girl away who was missing for some time.

In this case, now you have a massive response from the Pima County Sheriff. All of their resources, fixed wing aircraft, helicopters, search team, drones, a crime scene they're still processing DNA, fingerprints, tire tracks, footprints and trying to extract video from some of the technology that's in the house.

And you have the FBI now bringing in the cellular survey analysis teams, people who worked on things like the Idaho student murders looking at the license plate readers, the traffic cameras.

So, it's not any giant lead that's popped up, but it's going to be a million threads of leads. And if there is someone who abducted her, there's going to be a lot of pressure and a lot of resources pointing at them.

COOPER: Jim, just in terms of your experience, based on what officials have said so far, what stands out to you?

JIM CLEMENTE, FORMER FBI PROFILER: Well, the fact that they said that it is a crime scene and she did not leave on her own is concerning. However, it's probably a good thing if they don't have an indication that she was killed at the scene because if they kept her alive to remove her, there had to be a reason for that.

Now, if it was a kidnaping, we know the motive, which is money. So, you have to have a ransom demand for it to be kidnaping. But an abduction could be for reasons of revenge or personal ideology or some kind of, well, delusional reason that we don't know. But it could have been an attempt at a burglary. They were surprised by Miss Guthrie, and they did an impulsive abduction. There's a lot of possibilities here.

But based on what John said, I would like to add, I would like to add one thing, that the best and certainly the smartest thing for them to do now would be to bring her anonymously, drop her off at an E.R. or at a fire station, because the full weight and force of law enforcement, local and the FBI will come down on these people if they don't do that right away.

COOPER: John, I mean, kidnappings, how rare are they these days?

[20:10:06]

MILLER: Well, they're fairly rare. And, you know, they're more complicated. You know, in the olden days, if there was a kidnaping and it was for ransom, as Jimmy points out, you know, there would be the demand for money, the ransom drop.

Technology has made a lot of that harder until you get these curveballs. The last kidnaping I was involved with in the NYPD, you know, the ransom demand came in through Bitcoin, which meant there wasn't going to be a ransom drop where we would go to a place and someone would pick it up. So, you just, you don't know what you have here exactly. It's certainly suggestive and you don't know what you're going to have next.

COOPER: And Jim, obviously there are so many, you know, security cameras and residential areas these days. I'm not sure how isolated an area this is or if houses are not on, you know, on a road. So, the RING camera might pick something up. It's a little hard to tell from the image we have of the location, it does look like they're right on the street.

CLEMENTE: No, so, but the thing, Anderson, there's only a certain number of ways to get into that location and egress from that location. So, there are going to be cameras somewhere on the way there or on the way away. And that's what they have to do. They have to do concentric circles working out from the house itself if there are no RING cameras right at the location.

MILLER: And when you look at that picture of the house from the air, you know, you see, this is not your northeast or California suburban model, where the houses are next to each other and there's camera, camera, camera. They're set back from the road. They're far apart from each other. So, whatever you may get from their cameras, particularly if it's on the road, is going to be at a distance away. It's a challenge.

COOPER: John Miller thank you, Jim Clemente as well, appreciate it.

Up next, word tonight that Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, put President Trump on the phone with FBI agents after their search of Fulton County, Georgia's election offices. The question was, why was she even there?

The photo that riveted the nation as well, five-year-old Liam Ramos, detained by ICE in Minneapolis. Well, tonight, Liam and his dad are back home. We'll update what's going on with them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:16:38]

COOPER: President Trump is now calling on Republicans to nationalize elections in the United States. Now, the constitution gives the power to run elections to the states. But the President is claiming without evidence that many of those elections are, in his words, crooked. The President made his remarks today on dan Bongino's podcast. That's right, Mr. Bongino has quit his brief stint as deputy director of the FBI and is once again behind the mic.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TRUMP: The Republicans should say, we want to take over, we should take over the voting, and at least many 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that are so crooked and they are counting votes. We have states that I won that show I didn't win. Now you're going to see something in Georgia where they were able to get with a court order and the ballots. You're going to see some in interesting things coming out. But, you know, like the 2020 election, I won that election by so much.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COOPER: That's not true, he did not win the 2020 election. And no matter how much he claims he did, he didn't. He lost Georgia to Joe Biden. And his lies, have consequences, last week, the FBI descended on the elections office in Fulton County, Georgia, and seized ballots and election records. Listen to this exchange yesterday between my colleague Dana Bash and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The President told reporters, "They got into the votes. You're going to see some interesting things happening. What interesting things is he talking about, and why was he so involved in an FBI and DOJ raid?

TODD BLANCHE, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, just because he said that doesn't mean that he's involved. I don't believe he was involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, keeping them honest, tonight, sources tell CNN that Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, who was present for the search, put President Trump on speakerphone with some of the actual agents who were involved. A lot to discuss with Andrew McCabe, the former FBI Deputy Director, and Jeffrey Toobin, a former federal prosecutor.

So, Jeff, I mean, is it legally problematic for the President of the United States to talk directly to FBI agents investigating his long- debunked accusations of electoral fraud or just optics and norms of law?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, it is certainly opposed to norms of law. I'm not sure a case could be thrown out as a result of this, but, you know, there are bedrock principles that the government has operated by, at least since Watergate and probably before then, which is that the President of the United States does not get directly involved in who is investigated, how they are investigated, who does the investigating. All of that has been thrown out the window in this administration.

As we have seen, the President direct investigations of his enemies and now, to pursue his pet causes, like his false claim that he won the 2020 election.

COOPER: Andrew, is there any reason for the Director of National Intelligence for Tulsi Gabbard to actually be on site as a domestic law enforcement warrant is executed? I mean, regardless of whether it's a serious investigation or in this case, simply to indulge the President's complaints about losing an election fair and square.

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: None, zero, no reason whatsoever. Tulsi Gabbard should be anywhere near the execution of a search warrant in a criminal case by the FBI, or by any other law enforcement entity.

As DNI, she has no operational authority, as a member of the intelligence community; indeed, the leader of the intelligence community, the nation's essentially highest ranking intelligence officer, she should be more familiar with the requirement that in this country, our intelligence officers do not handle U.S. person information.

[20:20:24]

We don't use intelligence agencies to investigate citizens. People here in the United States. That is exclusively the province of law enforcement. That's why the FBI, with this dual hatted mission of National Security and criminal investigations, is very unique. So, when we share information with our intelligence colleagues, we mask the identities of U.S., persons and corporations for this purpose.

She can only see that information if it's necessary to understand foreign intelligence, right. If you have a U.S. person who's talking to the Russians, something like that.

So, yes, it's absolutely contrary. She doesn't have the authority to do it. She absolutely should not do it. And it's a terrible, terrible influence on what they purport to be conducting a legitimate criminal investigation. It's injecting politics into an already very political situation, which is bad on all counts.

COOPER: And, Jeff, when the President says he wants to nationalize the voting in Democratic states or in several, in a bunch of states, would that -- is that even remotely constitutional?

TOOBIN: You know, the constitution is vague in certain ways, uses phrases like due process that, you know, are susceptible to many different interpretations. This is not one of those areas. If you look at Article I of the Constitution, we have, I think, the full screen here, you can read it, Anderson.

COOPER: The times, places and manner of holding elections in my eyes -- my eyes are not that good. There it is. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.

TOOBIN: States run elections in this country, period. I mean, that's how it works. Maybe that's not how it should work, but the constitution directs that states run elections. And the idea that the President is saying on his own that the federal government will take that power away from states, is simply not allowed under our system.

COOPER: Especially in particular states that he chooses.

TOOBIN: Well, that's right. The states where he is fantasizing that he won which he in fact did not win in 2020.

COOPER: Andrew, if the President wants to deploy the FBI to polling places on election day this November or federalize the National Guard to stand post in precincts, he claims are rife with fraud, well, we lost him. Can we do that? Could he do that, Jeff?

TOOBIN: Well, I mean, the FBI traditionally has had some role in protecting voting rights, whether that is protecting voting rights or intimidating Donald Trump's opponents from going to the polls. That's the question that, you know, that hangs over this issue. But, you know, statements like what the President made yesterday or today are one reason why so many people are worried about the fairness of the midterm elections, coming up to say nothing of the Presidential elections in 2028.

COOPER: Jeff Toobin, as well, Andrew McCabe, Thank you. Next, more revelations and photos from the Epstein files. New word from the Justice Department on whether anyone will face any charges and survivors demanding action over redactions that should have been made but weren't.

Later, the President's new answers to performers canceling gigs at the Kennedy Center ever since he took it over and put his name on it. It's not demolition, but it could be close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:28:20]

COOPER: Three days since one of the biggest government document dumps ever, there are countless new revelations from the Justice Department's Epstein files. Theres also new legal action centered on a problem in this, as well as earlier releases, something the governments point man acknowledged during Friday's rollout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLANCHE: With the production of this magnitude, mistakes are inevitable. We, of course, want to immediately correct any redaction errors that our team may have made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Errors revealing the names of survivors and according to "The New York Times," showing the unredacted bodies and faces of nearly 40 young people. Today, lawyers representing some of those survivors asked two judges in the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases to force the Department of Justice to take down the millions of documents now posted. They cited thousands of redactions, failures by the Department of Justice.

In its reply to the judges, the department said it has removed all documents that survivors or their lawyers identified. Theres also a big development as well, from Bill and Hillary Clinton, the former first couple, agreeing late today to give testimony to the House Oversight Committee. Their move coming just days before the House was expected to vote on holding them in contempt of Congress. The former President, as you know, took several flights on Jeffrey Epstein's jet but says he never visited Epstein's island and denies any Epstein related wrongdoing.

The current President, meantime, is threatening to sue The Daily Show's Trevor Noah over this joke he made at the Grammys last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREVOR NOAH, COMEDIAN: That is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense. I mean, because Epstein's island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton, so. Oh, I told you, it's my last year. What are you going to do about it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, the President has mentioned more than a thousand times in Friday's batch of documents. Well, some references are benign, others include unverified claims involving sexual assault, again, those claims are unverified.

Also newly discovered in the files, these photos of the former Prince Andrew on all fours, crouching over woman on a rug. He's long denied any wrong doing where Epstein is concerned.

[20:30:24]

Also the former British ambassador to Washington, Lord Peter Mandelson, who was fired from that post last September. Today Britain's Prime Minister urged Mandelson to resign from the House of Lords.

Longevity doctor, newly hired CBS News Contributor Peter Attia also features in the -- in some of the emails telling Epstein, as we've reported, quote, "The life you lead is so outrageous and yet I can't tell a soul." He wrote that in many other emails years after Epstein was an adjudicated sex offender.

Today in a lengthy statement, he said he was embarrassed and ashamed of himself as for whether any individual either named or unnamed in the files would be prosecutor -- prosecuted. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche had this to say on Fox tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: As you know, it is not a crime to party with Mr. Epstein. And so as horrible as it is, it's not a crime to email with Mr. Epstein. And then some of these men may have done horrible things.

And if we have evidence that allows us to prosecute them, you better believe we will. But it's also the kind of thing that that the American people need to understand that it isn't a crime to party with Mr. Epstein.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Joining us now is California Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who sits on the House Oversight Committee. So, Congressman, how does it happen that so many survivor's names were released by the Department of Justice? And according to The Times, dozens of unredacted nude photos were published in this latest release of documents.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, it shouldn't have happened. This is why Thomas Massie and I asked the judge for a special master. Had a special master been appointed, the documents would have been reviewed. And the Epstein Transparency Act required them to protect victim identity.

I've been in touch with the survivors' lawyers. They were contacting the Department of Justice, and the Department of Justice went dark on them. So I hope at the very least now they will meet with the lawyers of the survivors and try to resolve it expeditiously.

COOPER: You heard the president say that the Justice Department should move on from the Epstein files. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ's review is over. Blanche also indicated there would be no additional prosecutions. Is that acceptable to you?

KHANNA: No. And one of the most offensive things that the deputy attorney general said is that these men were just partying with Epstein, and that's not a crime or wrong. Let's just be clear about what these emails show. They show some of the most powerful people in technology, in finance, in real estate emailing Jeffrey Epstein to go to his island, knowing that Jeffrey Epstein is a pedophile and knowing that underage girls were being raped on that island.

They showed up in many cases to parties where underage girls were being paraded around. At the very least, every single person who went to Epstein's island should have an investigation and they should be asked, who else was on that island? Who raped these underage girls?

Did you see people raping underage girls? Do you know anyone who raped these underage girls? But just to say, oh, these were just rich people who were playboys, that's just disrespectful to these survivors.

COOPER: I do want to point out that Peter Attia, the longevity doctor, he had put out a statement saying he'd never been to the island, had no knowledge of any, you know, sexual misconduct that Mr. Epstein was involved with. I think he was offering him medical advice.

President Trump has denied any wrongdoing. You've said that the DOJ identified more than 6 million pages, but is only releasing about 3.5 million after the review and redactions. Is it clear if the public or members of Congress will ever know what's in the other half of the unreleased documents? And will you get to see the unredacted ones?

KHANNA: Thomas Massie and I -- well we've asked Deputy Attorney General Blanche to meet and see the documents. He was on one of these shows saying basically he's open to meeting. Our teams are trying to get now the meeting to happen.

Jamie Raskin has asked for a meeting and they have said they should show us the unredacted parts of the file and make sure that we get the information we do. It seems in some cases they spend more time protecting the people who committed these crimes than they did the survivors.

But one thing, Anderson, there's been so much talk about what hasn't been released and that could be even worse. There hasn't been enough focus on what has been released. This really should be a moral reckoning for this country.

How did we have so many people in the most powerful, prestigious positions emailing for years with a pedophile talking about going to his island where people were being abused? And how did we ignore 1,200 survivors and make them out to be hoaxes and liars? [20:35:17]

This should be a wake-up call for our country. And are rich and powerful people corrupting the system so much that they can show up to this kind of filing? And I don't think that moral reckoning has happened.

I understand that, you know, people have to be careful about naming names and defamation and all of that. But just look at how many people are part of these files and it's sickening. And I'm telling you, for many of the survivors, it's sickening.

COOPER: Congressman Ro Khanna, I appreciate your time tonight. We'll continue to follow this.

Up next, President Trump announcing he is shutting down the Kennedy Center for about two years of renovations, this after he added his name to it, and artists canceled and ticket sales went down. What the president said about the project and price tag ahead.

Also tonight, what might be next for five-year-old Liam Ramos and his dad now that they are out of ICE detention and back in Minneapolis after a federal judge's ruling? I'll talk with the superintendent of a school district who's also worried about other kids taken into custody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:40:54]

COOPER: President Trump has plans for a new massive renovations project. This time it is the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. The president recently added his name to the building. A lot of big-name artists have refused to perform there and ticket sales have been plummeting.

Over the weekend, the president revealed on social media it will be closed for about two years, he says, for extensive work starting July 4th. A reporter asked him about the project this afternoon. Here's some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you plan on tearing it down and how much will all of the renovations cost?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Probably around $200 million. It's dilapidated. It's sort of dangerous -- things fall out. Fall out of ceilings. You've seen it. I'm not ripping it down. I'll be using the steel.

So we're using the structure. We're using some of the marble and some of the marble comes down. But when it's open, it'll be brand new and really beautiful.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Well, the president fired the center's board of trustees last year, selected new ones who elected him as chair. More now from CNN's Sunlen Serfaty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: There's really nothing like it in the country.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For months, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has been thrust into the center of politics.

TRUMP: We ended the woke political programming and we're restoring the Kennedy Center as the premier venue for performing arts anywhere in the country.

SERFATY (voice-over): The remaking of the iconic institution becoming a personal conquest for President Trump.

TRUMP: In the coming months, we'll fully renovate the dated and really the entire -- the infrastructure of the building.

SERFATY (voice-over): Last year, the president took the extraordinary step of gutting the existing board of trustees, replacing them with allies. He also ousted the chairman and installed himself in that role.

TRUMP: In a few short months since I became chairman of the board at the Kennedy Center, we have completely reversed the decline of this cherished national institution.

SERFATY (voice-over): Trump even served as host of the Kennedy Center Honors Award Ceremony in December.

TRUMP: And I'm doing it because I feel it's very important that we all get out and do something. And if that can make a difference, that's tremendous.

SERFATY (voice-over): Then the board voted to rename the building The Trump Kennedy Center, though an act of Congress is required to legally change the name since it was designated as a memorial to President Kennedy following his assassination.

TRUMP: This was brought up by one of the very distinguished board members and they voted on it. And there's a lot of board members and they voted unanimously. So I was very honored by it. Thank you.

SERFATY (voice-over): But Trump's efforts to reshape the national landmark to his personal liking has been met with pushback. After Trump's aggressive moves to remake the center, protesters voiced their frustration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Together we can continue to fight back and to make a difference.

SERFATY (voice-over): And artists and productions like Hamilton, The Washington National Opera, and Bela Fleck began dropping out of scheduled engagements.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: There has been this rejection of the Trump Kennedy Center by many in the arts and entertainment world. And now you have Trump saying, hey, let's turn off the lights altogether for two years.

Let's renovate the building. Maybe he sees an opportunity for a big construction project. We know the president likes those.

SERFATY (voice-over): This isn't the only renovation project the president has undertaken in his second term. He completely demolished the East Wing of the White House to build a massive ballroom, paved over the Rose Garden in favor of a patio resembling his Mar-a-Lago resort, redecorated the Oval Office with ornate gold trimmings, and has announced his intention to build a giant arch across from the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary.

TRUMP: It'll be substantial. I'd like it to be the biggest one of all. We're the biggest, most powerful nation. I'd like it to be the biggest one of all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Sunlen Serfaty joins us outside the Kennedy Center. What more are you learning about this renovation?

SERFATY (on-camera): Well, Anderson, our reporting reflects what President Trump's own comments were really today in the Oval Office, really suggesting that this is a pretty dramatic renovation of the Kennedy Center beyond just replacing the carpets inside, beyond just painting the columns behind me, that this is a massive renovation. In that price tag, there are $200 million, as you heard him refer to, certainly a hefty price tag.

[20:45:07]

He said significantly in the Oval Office, as you heard referenced in the set-up to this piece, that he's planning to keep the structure of this building behind me, but that the steel will be exposed, really suggesting, again, the massive reconstruction project that this will be taking over the course of the next two years.

And also notable here tonight is that the Kennedy family has really criticized this decision, criticized this move. We heard from numerous members of the Kennedy family, notably former Representative Joe Kennedy, who said in a statement on X in part, quote, "President Kennedy would remind us that it is not buildings that define the greatness of a nation. It is the actions of its people and its leaders. So do not be distracted from what this administration is actually trying to erase, our connection, our community, and our commitment to the rights of all."

And Maria Shriver, JFK's niece, of course, saying also in a statement, really suggesting that the closure was in part motivated by the series of artists that have pulled out of their scheduled performances here at the Kennedy Center. Anderson? COOPER: Sunlen Serfaty, thanks very much.

Joining me now CNN Chief Political Analyst, former Senior Adviser to President Obama, David Axelrod. Do you think this is really about the Kennedy Center needing a renovation or is it about the president trying to save face after, you know, this thing is kind of plummeting?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Well, look, clearly it has been headed in the wrong direction of star after star, act after act, artist after artist has pulled out of performing there and their ticket sales have plummeted. So it is a disaster right now.

He's right. It's a disaster. But that is the disaster. And, yes, I think he was trying to buy some time here. He does like to, you know, tear things down and build things up, Anderson. So I, you know, I don't know what other motivations he has.

He bragged last a few months ago that he was going to replace the hand rests and the seats at the Kennedy Center with marble and people would really like it. The question I wonder is, if you're the average American and you're listening to this, I mean, the polls say that they were very much opposed to him renaming the Kennedy Center.

But I think more than that, they're thinking, why the hell is he thinking about this? Why is this a priority for him? And if I were advising him politically, I would say, you know what? This is not where your attention should lie. People want you to be concerned about their lives and not festooning Washington with tributes to yourself.

COOPER: Yes. And then there's also this arch he intends to build. I mean, the president is somehow -- is -- the idea is that he's somehow saving the Kennedy Center. He held the premiere of the First Lady's movie there.

He previously told the board how much he loved Betty Buckley's performance in "Cats." Beyond that, I mean, has -- what has he really done for the place except put his name on the front?

AXELROD: And more than that, he has besmirched a national monument. It was designated by Congress as a national monument to a great president, John F. Kennedy, who was committed to the arts and actually did build the thing-- the center was created in 1958 by President Eisenhower. It was John F. Kennedy who really put some oomph behind transforming the place into a great center for the arts.

But it was -- this was the memorial that Congress settled on for him after he was assassinated, like the Lincoln Memorial, like the Washington Monument and so on. So to just sort of casually throw that aside, I don't think it will stand over time. But the sad thing is the president seems to mistake putting your names on buildings with greatness. Greatness is earned.

And John F. Kennedy's name was on that building because of the things that he did as president of the United States. The Lincoln Memorial is there because Abraham Lincoln saved the nation and led us through the Civil War. I mean, this is a -- this -- it's -- it says so much about who the president is and how he thinks. And it's sad for him and sad for our country.

COOPER: Did it cross your mind that it would be so easy within a year for the president to essentially remake Washington in his own image, whether it's Kennedy Center, the East Wing, the giant arch, you know, he wants to build? I mean, there's very few constraints on him. Do you -- is this the next three years as well?

AXELROD: Well, I think so, unless someone stops him. You know, Congress has some say here and on some of these other matters. And let's hope that they do what they haven't done and stand up on this.

[20:50:05]

But, you know, Anderson, I worked in the White House for a couple of years and I may have said this to you before, but I felt a sense of awe every time I worked in that -- walked into that building. And there was -- you had a sense of history all around you.

I didn't find the building deficient in any way. I thought it was majestic in its humility. And it said something about our democracy. And all of Washington was filled with these monuments that had real meaning.

And now it's sort of profane what he's doing to it. And I hope that that gets slowed down because some of these things are going to be hard to reverse. The East Wing is gone and we're going to have this huge sort of majestic ballroom in its place. I don't think that's what American democracy -- that's not the symbol American democracy needs.

COOPER: David, I appreciate your time. Thanks.

Just ahead, an update on five-year-old Liam Ramos and his dad back in Minneapolis after more than a week in an immigration detention facility in Texas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:55:51]

COOPER: The Department of Homeland Security will now issue body cameras to all of its officers on the ground in Minneapolis effective immediately. That word tonight from Secretary Kristi Noem. President Trump issued an executive order in January last year which rescinded a Biden-era policy requiring ICE agents and a number of other federal law enforcement agencies to wear body cameras.

There's news tonight about five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father. They are back in Minneapolis after a judge ordered their release from an immigration detention facility in Texas. As you may remember, they were taken by officers in January and spent more than a week in Texas. Their lawyers say the family is focusing on being back together and finding some peace after their ordeal.

We're joined now by Zena Stenvik, superintendent of the Columbia Heights Minnesota Public Schools. Superintendent, I understand that Liam was feeling under the weather while in the custody of the detention facility in Texas. Have you heard from his family about how he's doing now that they're back?

ZENA STENVIK, SUPERINTENDENT, COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS: So as soon as I heard the notification that there was a judge's order, I immediately called Liam's mother to, one, verify is this really happening, what we've worked so hard for as a community, and two, just to send her -- I think I said to her, I'm sending you a thousand hugs.

And then quickly followed up by, we're going to get a lot of questions. What would you like -- what statement would you like us to make? And of course, the family's asking for privacy at this time. But our entire community is thrilled that Liam and his father are reunited with their family.

COOPER: The judge who ordered the release said, quote, "The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children." What have you heard from other students or parents in recent days?

STENVIK: All of our children, whether they've been detained, apprehended, harassed, or if they're coming to school, on their way to school, or those who are too fearful to leave their home to come to school, all of them have been impacted. I have students asking if they could be taken, if their parents could be taken. So it's having a serious impact on our children, and this will have long-lasting impacts for sure.

COOPER: I understand at least four other students from your district are currently in federal custody, or were. Do you know the status of any of those cases?

STENVIK: Yes, they all four are currently in the Dilley Detention Center in Texas where we've seen the news that there's a measles outbreak, so I'm very concerned about their well-being.

COOPER: And are you able to have any communication with any of them?

STENVIK: Our staff has been working closely on those cases, and reaching out to the family members who have been able to communicate with our three -- our four children, excuse me, that are there right now.

COOPER: You've talked about high school students being approached by masked agents and having to show their passports. So are kids --

STENVIK: That's right.

COOPER: -- carrying passports now?

STENVIK: Yes, kids are carrying their passports now. I have staff members who are carrying their passports now who are -- I had a staff member last week who was stopped every single day on his way to work last week.

COOPER: And lastly, your district closed schools today after getting an incredible bomb threat. Is there anything you can share tonight about the nature of that or?

STENVIK: Yes, I mean, we have our emergency plans and protocols in place, so we acted really swiftly very early this morning. Unfortunately, all school administrators across our nation are prepared for such emergencies. Our police department and a neighboring police department and our fire department acted quickly, brought in dogs and, you know, cleared the perimeter and the interior of all of our buildings, and we were clear and ready to go.

COOPER: And have you noticed any de-escalation in the area?

STENVIK: Not yet, but I'm very hopeful. I continue to seek a peaceful and diplomatic pathway out of this situation. So we still have a heavy ICE presence in our neighborhoods, and we're ready for that to de- escalate.

COOPER: Well, Superintendent Stenvik, I can't imagine how difficult this has been for all of the educators in the state, and I appreciate you coming on and talking to us. Thank you.

STENVIK: Thank you.

COOPER: Well, that's it for us. The news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now. I'll see you tomorrow.